page_title: United States Army Special Forces selection and training
section_title: UW CULEX (Robin Sage): Phase V (4 weeks)
hierarchical_section_title: United States Army Special Forces selection and training / Special Forces Qualification Course / UW CULEX (Robin Sage): Phase V (4 weeks)
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the People's Republic of Pineland, a fictitious nation used in Exercise Robin Sage
context_page_description: The Special Forces Qualification Course or, informally, the Q Course is the initial formal training program for entry into the United States Army Special Forces. Phase I of the Q Course is Special Forces Assessment and Selection. Getting "Selected" at SFAS will enable a candidate to continue to the next of the four phases. If a candidate successfully completes all phases he or she will graduate as a Special Forces qualified soldier and then, generally, be assigned to a 12-man Operational Detachment "A", commonly known as an "A team." The length of the Q Course changes depending on the applicant's primary job field within Special Forces and their assigned foreign language capability but will usually last between 56 and 95 weeks.
context_section_description: Since 1974, Robin Sage, the culmination exercise for the SFQC, has been the litmus test for soldiers striving to earn the coveted Green Beret. (Prior to 1974, similar exercises were held under the name Devil's Arrow, Swift Strike, and Guerrilla USA.)  It is during Robin Sage, held across 15 rural North Carolina counties, that soldiers must put all of the skills they have learned throughout the SFQC to the test in an unconventional-warfare training exercise.
  The exercise, broken into two phases, puts students on their first SFODA. The SFODA is trained, advised and mentored throughout the entire exercise from mission receipt through planning and infiltration. During the first week, the students are taught the necessary skills to survive and succeed in a UW environment using the small group instruction teaching methodology. The remaining three weeks focus on their planning and application during Robin Sage.
  The students are placed into an environment of political instability characterized by armed conflict that forces soldiers to exercise both individual and collective problem solving. A key to the success of the Robin Sage training is its real-world feel that is established by the use of guerrilla forces. The SFODA must assess the combat effectiveness of the G-forces, and then train them in basic individual tasks from each of the MOSs as well as collective tasks in basic small-unit tactics, while remaining responsive to asymmetrical challenges. Just as language plays a key role in all other phases of the pipeline, language skills will be put to the test during Robin Sage. During this training, the SFODA must demonstrate its knowledge of UW doctrine and operational techniques.
  On the last day of isolation the detachment presents its plan to the battalion command and staff. This plan will explain how the commander intends to execute the mission. The next day, the students make an airborne infiltration into the fictitious country of "Pineland". They then make contact with the guerrilla forces and begin Robin Sage. Students will then begin their task of training, advising, and assisting the guerrillas. The training will educate the guerrillas in various specialties, including weapons, communications, medical, and demolitions. The training is designed to enable the guerrillas to begin liberating their country from oppression. It is the last portion of the Special Forces Qualification Course before they receive their "Green Berets".
  Robin Sage involves approximately 100 Special Forces students, 100 counter-insurgent personnel (OPFOR), 200 guerrilla personnel, 40 auxiliary personnel, and 50 cadre. The local communities of North Carolina also participate in the exercise by role playing as citizens of Pineland. The exercise is conducted in approximately 50,000 square miles (130,000 km²) of North Carolina. Many of the OPFOR and guerrilla personnel are made up of North Carolina residents who are financially compensated for their participation. The role of the guerrilla chief, "G-chief," is sometimes played by a retired Green Beret. During the summer Robin Sage exercises, Army ROTC cadets from The Citadel act as guerrilla fighters.
caption: The 15 counties that make up the People's Republic of Pineland
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