Chosen Soldier - Dick Couch [144]
“It was noted by the cadre and his peers that Captain Smith transitioned into the unconventional mind-set more quickly than almost anyone in the class.”
When criticism was warranted, James did not pull his punches. “While I have seen some improvement, Captain Smith still has tendencies to be argumentative and abrupt in his dealings with others. If he can continue to improve his verbal and nonverbal communications and actions, he may be able to overcome this glaring weakness.” For all of these officers, this is by far the most formal and detailed critique they’ve received in their military careers.
On Thursday of the final week, 912 and the other officer ODAs are turning in their materials and phase-related equipment, and completing their evaluations that rate the 18 Alpha curriculum and the cadre. Everyone gets a critique. The student officers will have a long weekend before they begin Phase IV. I stop by the team room that afternoon to thank Major James and Master Sergeant Rameres, and wish 912 well in Phase IV. I catch Miguel Santos just as he is finishing up.
“Three down and one to go,” I remark. Captain Santos will get his Special Forces tab and Green Beret sooner than most because he is SERE qualified and a Spanish speaker, which means he could graduate from the Q-Course when he finishes Phase IV.
“Yes, sir,” he replies. “And I’m glad to have this one behind me. Phase IV won’t be easy, but I hope it won’t be as hard as this. I haven’t studied this much since finals week at West Point.”
“But you passed Phase III, right?”
He pauses a moment before replying. “Yes, sir, I passed, but this was a bit of an awakening for me. I’ve always been a hard worker, and I’ve always done well—at West Point, in my year group from West Point, and at my previous commands. Here I was average—maybe below average. Major James had a few good things to say in my final counseling session, and more than a few areas where he feels I came up short—where I need to improve. I’m not questioning him, but it’s been a while since I’ve been hammered on like that.”
“So what now?”
Santos gives me a tired grin. “I guess I need to spend a quiet weekend with my wife and think about all this. Then attack Phase IV on Monday and try to do better. You’re going to be with us out at Camp Mackall, aren’t you, sir?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Author’s Note: As mentioned in these notes following previous chapters, the Special Forces Qualification Course is a dynamic, changing process. Nowhere in this evolving process are these changes more dramatic or rapid than in the training of future detachment leaders. Without getting into specifics as to the then and now, let me just say that current changes to the 18 Alpha curriculum include the training and integration of the international student officers, physical training (cadre and student ODAs now conduct team physical training on a daily basis), an expanded Advanced Special Operations training block, and modifications to the adaptive leadership training and Volkmann Exercise. Training venues have also changed, with more of the training conducted away from Fort Bragg at remote sites.
HERE’S THE PLAN. Colonel Chissom and Sergeant Major Johnson, flanked by two guerrillas, listen as Specialist Antonio Costa briefs them on the ambush of a Pineland Army patrol.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ROBIN SAGE
At 0500 on a Monday morning in mid-April, 308 18 Series MOS-trained officers and enlisted men, along with their operational gear, muster in the parking lot of Aaron Bank Hall at Fort Bragg. Technically, they’re still Green Beret candidates, but they are trained Special Forces soldiers. Because of the training