My boy earned his Green Beret this week.

zboys

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My 21 year old just finished his Special Forces training.
He started his career as an Army Diver, in a group of 33, he was 1 of 2 still remaining when he failed one of the final "drown tests". Not to be deterred, he studied and was able to pass all needed to be accepted into the Airborne Division/Special Forces. After extensive training he graduated Friday and is now a Green Beret. Next step is language school. I must say we are very proud of our son. On a sad note we had to tell him friday that his grandmother passed away 2 weeks ago.
 
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Not sure I’d post a photo of his face for the internet to see with his name tag in clear view, but that’s one bad ass dude right there!

congratulations to all of you!

just be careful who you share this information with...he’s quite literally a national treasure. Hundreds of thousands of dollars go into training spec ops.
 
Farsi ? If I'm saying it correctly

Yup, Farsi is a dialect of Arabic. My son studied MSA (Modern Standard Arabic). Arabic and dialects, Korean, Chinese and Japanese are considered the most difficult languages. They are tough.

A couple tips. The course of study is really hard. 8 hours a day of pure language training. IIRC the first week is a refresher on English language grammar because they often compare and contrast grammatical differences between languages.

Second, getting off base on weekends is really important. It's probably what kept my son going. The school is very stressful and challenging. The drop out rate is high.

They had a place on the local beach that they'd gather for a bonfire. And beers. Now DLI is rather strict about booze and drinking. But if you're of legal age they're a little more tolerant. And I believe the branch of the service you're in makes a difference. Yeah, different rules for drinking... go figure.

One of my son's buddy's got drunk 1 month before he turned 21. He was given several punishment and not allowed to graduate, even though he had finished the studies successfully. It crushed the kid. To this day he's not gotten his head straight.

The instructors are wonderful. By and large they are native speakers. And they care. Some have backgrounds that would make your skin crawl. Beatings, rapes, jail and more in their native countries. They have a strong allegiance to the US and most get citizenship by teaching at DLI. They hate the same enemies as we do.

Study groups are important. I don't think my son would have gotten through without a core group of like minded people. One was a former priest. A couple others young guys who wanted to make a difference. They are all still in contact 4 years later.

There's a cool pool hall in Monterey. When we went to visit we'd go shoot pool and have a few beers. And there's plenty of decent restaurants. Pro tip... if your son uses his military ID he can make hotel reservations at very good rates. He'll need to do the check-in but it saves you a lot.

If you go out to visit, try to go while the Barrett Jackson car auctions are going on. You'll see cars costing millions and more. Sitting on the street. Driving down the road. We saw a couple Bugatti's cruising around. A gull winged Mercedes. And some very top of the line cars.

Most important of all. Go to Compagno's Market & Deli. The best sub in all of Monterey. Run by a local guy named Bennett. He knows the soldiers. He remembers their names. He gives them hugs when they're being deployed. And hugs when they return. He's a great guy. And the sandwiches are amazing. For extra credit his desserts are to die for!

If your son has any interest in chatting with someone who's been through DLI let me know. I'd be glad to arrange a phone call. PM me if you'd like to do so.

Cheers

Rich
 
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Yup, Farsi is a dialect of Arabic. My son studied MSA (Modern Standard Arabic). Arabic and dialects, Korean, Chinese and Japanese are considered the most difficult languages. They are tough.

A couple tips. The course of study is really hard. 8 hours a day of pure language training. IIRC the first week is a refresher on English language grammar because they often compare and contrast grammatical differences between languages.

Second, getting off base on weekends is really important. It's probably what kept my son going. The school is very stressful and challenging. The drop out rate is high.

They had a place on the local beach that they'd gather for a bonfire. And beers. Now DLI is rather strict about booze and drinking. But if you're of legal age they're a little more tolerant. And I believe the branch of the service you're in makes a difference. Yeah, different rules for drinking... go figure.

One of my son's buddy's got drunk 1 month before he turned 21. He was given several punishment and not allowed to graduate, even though he had finished the studies successfully. It crushed the kid. To this day he's not gotten his head straight.

The instructors are wonderful. By and large they are native speakers. And they care. Some have backgrounds that would make your skin crawl. Beatings, rapes, jail and more in their native countries. They have a strong allegiance to the US and most get citizenship by teaching at DLI. They hate the same enemies as we do.

Study groups are important. I don't think my son would have gotten through without a core group of like minded people. One was a former priest. A couple others young guys who wanted to make a difference. They are all still in contact 4 years later.

There's a cool pool hall in Monterey. When we went to visit we'd go shoot pool and have a few beers. And there's plenty of decent restaurants. Pro tip... if your son uses his military ID he can make hotel reservations at very good rates. He'll need to do the check-in but it saves you a lot.

If you go out to visit, try to go while the Barrett Jackson car auctions are going on. You'll see cars costing millions and more. Sitting on the street. Driving down the road. We saw a couple Bugatti's cruising around. A gull winged Mercedes. And some very top of the line cars.

Most important of all. Go to Compagno's Market & Deli. The best sub in all of Monterey. Run by a local guy named Bennett. He knows the soldiers. He remembers their names. He gives them hugs when they're being deployed. And hugs when they return. He's a great guy. And the sandwiches are amazing. For extra credit his desserts are to die for!

If your son has any interest in chatting with someone who's been through DLI let me know. I'd be glad to arrange a phone call. PM me if you'd like to do so.

Cheers

Rich
Thanks Rich, I was under the impression his schooling would be around NC could be wrong.
I'll pass on your info.
Hell be finding out his schedule this coming week I'm guessing.
 
Thanks Rich, I was under the impression his schooling would be around NC could be wrong.
I'll pass on your info.
Hell be finding out his schedule this coming week I'm guessing.

It could be. DLI (Defense Language Institute) is where a lot of DOD, Justice Department and more go for language training. It has a world class reputation.

I do believe the military has some abbreviated courses to learn language basics and simple communications to use while in country. Different courses with a different purpose.

Congrats again to your son and family! This is truly a huge accomplishment.

Cheers

Rich
 
Congrats to your son! Good to know there are millennials who are very patriotic. I wonder about it sometimes.

@richc Farsi is not a dialect of Arabic it is a completely different language. Farsi is Persian (Iranian) and the written language and words are all different. But to a American it is hard to tell the difference.
 
Outstanding accomplishment. I know several people that attended DLI, and the worst complaint was just severe boredom, trying to stay awake in class every day, and trying to stay out of trouble on down time due to the boredom.
 
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