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By Root 1681 0

an air defense officer, and a chemical warfare officer. There are also two foreign officers, one Czech and one Pole. All are captains. Among the Americans, five are married, two have never been married, and one is divorced. Both of the foreign officers are married. Matt Anderson is divorced with two daughters, and Miguel Santos and his wife are expecting their first child in four months. All of the American officers, with the exception of the chemical warfare officer, have been to Ranger School. As in other phases of training, the group will train and function as a student ODA. My group is designated as ODA 912. The ten officer candidates file into the 912 team room and take their seats. The walls of the small classroom are plastered with maps, organizational charts, briefing formats, combat photographs, and technical information. This will be 912’s home for the next three months when it’s not traveling or in the field. Their homeroom teacher and senior small-group instructor is Major Eric James.

“Good afternoon, men, and welcome to 912 and Phase III. My name’s Eric James, and this is Master Sergeant John Rameres. We’ll be working with you for the next three months. The master sergeant is a former marine and a combat veteran. He came to Special Forces from Southern Methodist University by way of the post–Gulf War X-Ray Program. Get to know him; there’s a lot you can learn from him to help you be successful in this phase. All of you want to lead an ODA—to become detachment commanders. After this phase, Master Sergeant Rameres will be returning to 7th Group as a team sergeant. We’re a small community; he may be your team sergeant. I especially want to welcome the allied officers. We look on the allied officers as training aides, as well as brothers in the international special operations community.

“There’s a lot of information in this phase that you’re going to have to get your arms around. Master Sergeant Rameres and I are here to educate, train, and mentor you. We’re also here to push you—to see that you understand the mechanics of planning and executing special operations as well as understand the big-picture special operations environment. There’s a lot to learn, and you’ll put in a lot of long, hard hours to get through this. All of you were outstanding in your branches before you selected for Special Forces; you will work hard to be average here. You’ll leave here with the tools to solve difficult, complex, and ambiguous problems. You’ll learn to plan operations on a level you never thought possible. A lot of this will be death by PowerPoint, but we’ll spend some time in the field as well. We’ll counsel and evaluate you. This phase of training is designed to identify and improve on your strengths. It’s also designed to point out your weaknesses so you can work on them.

“I’m very passionate about this training and the skills you must have if you’re going to be an effective detachment commander. If I yell at you, don’t take it personally. I’m a fire-and-forget kind of guy. If there are problems, call me anytime, and that includes at home. If you have an issue, let’s get it resolved. I’ve been married quite a while, and my wife understands my commitment to this business and this training. If there’s someone in your life, then this job will affect them and will undoubtedly create hardships for them. Your wives, girlfriends, and/or fiancées are welcome to call or e-mail my wife if they want to talk about it. No problem.”

James hurriedly writes his home phone, cell phone, and e-mail on the board. Eric James is a straightforward, square-jawed officer from 10th Group. He’s been in the Army for eleven years and in Special Forces for six. He’s from Colorado and has a degree in mechanical engineering, as well as a master’s degree in unconventional warfare. He has made deployments to Kosovo and was with the Kurds in northern Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. James comes across as an open and affable officer with a passion for getting the job done right. He also projects a very crisp, no-nonsense approach to his work.

“Time