Special Forces Qualification Course

The Special Forces Qualification Course, or "Q-Course", is an intensive selection and training course conducted by the United States Army for the purposes of preparing soldiers to function as members of the United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets. The course lasts anywhere from 10 to 19 months, sometimes even longer, depending on the soldier's chosen SF Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and foreign language instruction. Enlisted soldiers are trained in one of four MOSs: weapons (18B), engineering (18C), medical (18D), or communications (18E). Officers are trained in career management field 18A while warrant officers are 180A.

As of late 2006, the course consists of six different phases:

• Phase I: 2 week Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS)
• Phase II: 13 weeks Small unit tactics/SERE/PGD/HD/Language Block I
• Phase III: 9 or 15 weeks of language school (Language block II) depending on which foreign language is selected (see below)
• Phase IV: 15 weeks MOS training/Language Block III for 18A, 18B, 18C, and 18E. 48 weeks for 18D
• Phase V: 4 week Unconventional Warfare Culmination Exercise "Robin Sage"
• Phase VI: 1 week, out processing, admission into the Special Forces regiment, graduation.

Language training is now administered throughout the Q-Course, with trainees being assigned their language packets immediately following successful completion of SFAS. However, there is a phase (phase 3), known as the "language blitz" which is completely devoted to teaching a student's selected foreign language. Students take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) test after completing and passing the Special Forces Assessment and Selection. The DLAB is graded on four levels, each with languages more difficult to learn. The higher a student scores, the more likely he will receive a higher level language and vis versa. If a student can already speak a foreign language, they may be given the opportunity to take the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). If a student scores high enough on the DLPT, he may be able to exempt phase III of the Q Course. There are currently 10 languages throughout the four levels as follows:

• Level 1: French and Spanish (9 weeks)
• Level 2: Indonesian (9 weeks)
• Level 3: Farsi, Thai, Tagalog, and Russian (15 weeks)
• Level 4: Arabic, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese (15 weeks)

Training is conducted at Camp Mackall, outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

After completion of the course, active duty soldiers are assigned to one of the five active Special Forces groups. National Guard soldiers return to their home units, either the 19th SFG(A), or the 20th SFG(A).