page_title: United States Army Special Forces
section_title: Qualifications
hierarchical_section_title: United States Army Special Forces / Qualifications
caption_attribution_description: English: Two U.S. Army Special Forces (SFQC) students (digital pattern uniforms) and a role player (2LT Jarren Thomas - wearing woodland pattern boonie hat), lead guerilla fighters (black uniforms) in pre-mission rehearsals during an iteration of Robin Sage, the SFQC culmination exercise taught by F Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne).
context_page_description: The United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the "green berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army that are designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and security force assistance. The first two missions emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary missions, include: combat search and rescue, counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, peacekeeping, and manhunts. Other components of the United States Special Operations Command or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions. The Special Forces conduct these missions via seven geographically focused groups. Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works and doctrinal manuals are available.
context_section_description: The basic eligibility requirements to be considered for entry into the Special Forces are:
  Be age 20–36.
  Be a U.S. citizen.
  Be a high school graduate.
  Score a General Technical score of 110 or higher or a combat operation score of 110 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
  Airborne qualified or volunteer for Airborne training
  Must pass the Physical Fitness Assessment with at least 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, 6 pull-ups, and run two miles in a maximum of 15 minutes and 12 seconds.
  Meet medical fitness standards as outlined in SF Physical IAW AR 40-501
  Must successfully complete the Pre-Basic Task list.
  Eligible for a secret security clearance
  Swim 50 m wearing boots and ACUs prior to SFQC
  Must have 20/20 or corrected to 20/20 in both near and distant vision in both eyes.
  One year of college is preferred, but it is not mandatory for enlistment.
caption: A Special Forces candidate conducts a pre-mission rehearsal with Army ROTC cadets role-playing guerrilla fighters during ROBIN SAGE.
exif: {}