Numbers from first class of A&S
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For those that didn't make it, it was a variety of quitters, injuries and non-selects.
-Quitters happen. Although A&S is shorter, instructors give applicants very little, if any feedback on how they are performing. In the end, the staff may not pick up an applicant for failure to perform or not meeting desired attributes that the course and career fields value. This can mess with the minds of students and they quit. (This example is among many reasons why quitters quit, but is a new phenomena to A&S)
-Injuries have been and will continue to be large reasons why applicants fail. The prep course generally sees around 50% of students show up with lingering injuries that may or may not be remedied by the time A&S starts. The lesson to be learned here is ensure you are working out smartly and not injuring yourself prior to A&S/Prep/BMT. Not all workout plans are created equal. We personally recommend the Team ST program as it was specifically designed for A&S applicants and injury mitigation. https://afspecialwarfare.com/premium-workouts/
-Non-Selects. See the quitter section for info. Even if you make it through the pounding of 4 weeks, the cadre may not select you based on their desirable attributes. Attributes include integrity, leadership/followership, physical fitness, etc. See https://afspecialwarfare.com/assessment-selection/ for more info.
We dont have full specific numbers. SOWT (Special Recon) will see a new pipeline. The old SOWT weather curriculum will be significantly reduced and pipeline schools such as Marine Recon and Ranger Recon will emerge.
The high percentage who quit the first two training days has been a problem for decades.
The perspective to be considered is the first two days are the least physically and psychologically demanding other than hope the BMT type training environment would be more relaxed after completing BMT and SW prep course. Also two days gives very little to observe to give performance feedback that was already provided at the SW prep course. Considering the training environment hasn't changed much from the BMT and SW training environment there isn't much to adapt to during the first two days other than doing more physical fitness activities for a longer time.
During the 1970s and 1980s much of the messing of minds was there was no actual class number assigned until PJ Indoc was completed. Every Wednesday and Friday, twenty or so new perspective students would arrive immediately after completing BMT and as they signed in would see PJ Indoc students doing week 1, week 2, week 3, or week 4 training. Many would see those in training and doing the training and immediately quit not realizing they were looking at groups in different weeks of being there in training. Many other after the first day of orientation which was primarily gear issue, sneaker, swim suits, etc, would quit before actually participating in any training still not realizing they were in a barracks where were meeting students who might be there a week and others as much as eight weeks. This was the first two days back then and it was the days most of the quitting happened. What kind of feedback to the students is possible when they didn't do any training activities yet, but were seeing what they would be doing for the next eight weeks would ask more of them each week.
Saying never quit before being confronted with do it now is not a decision point, the decision point is when do or quit is unavoidable.
Consider how many don't get counted as nonselecting themselves for training because they never sign the enlistment contract because after months of doing what they think will make them successful in training they never actual gain confidence in themselves they could and can successfully complete all the required training. The class starting with 117 probably has a back story statistics of 1000 hoping for the chance, but never actually signing the enlistment contract after processing through MEPS.
The perspective to be considered is the first two days are the least physically and psychologically demanding other than hope the BMT type training environment would be more relaxed after completing BMT and SW prep course. Also two days gives very little to observe to give performance feedback that was already provided at the SW prep course. Considering the training environment hasn't changed much from the BMT and SW training environment there isn't much to adapt to during the first two days other than doing more physical fitness activities for a longer time.
During the 1970s and 1980s much of the messing of minds was there was no actual class number assigned until PJ Indoc was completed. Every Wednesday and Friday, twenty or so new perspective students would arrive immediately after completing BMT and as they signed in would see PJ Indoc students doing week 1, week 2, week 3, or week 4 training. Many would see those in training and doing the training and immediately quit not realizing they were looking at groups in different weeks of being there in training. Many other after the first day of orientation which was primarily gear issue, sneaker, swim suits, etc, would quit before actually participating in any training still not realizing they were in a barracks where were meeting students who might be there a week and others as much as eight weeks. This was the first two days back then and it was the days most of the quitting happened. What kind of feedback to the students is possible when they didn't do any training activities yet, but were seeing what they would be doing for the next eight weeks would ask more of them each week.
Saying never quit before being confronted with do it now is not a decision point, the decision point is when do or quit is unavoidable.
Consider how many don't get counted as nonselecting themselves for training because they never sign the enlistment contract because after months of doing what they think will make them successful in training they never actual gain confidence in themselves they could and can successfully complete all the required training. The class starting with 117 probably has a back story statistics of 1000 hoping for the chance, but never actually signing the enlistment contract after processing through MEPS.
