Changes to the Special Forces Qualification Course

The Special Forces Qualification Course has changed quite a bit from when I graduated in 2007.  In my opinion, these changes have been for the better.  When I attended the course, the language training was split up into modules.  This is how it would work: You would have a two week block of instruction in your language, then go to WLC/BNOC for a couple weeks, have another two week language block, then go to Small Unit Tactics training for seven weeks, have a two week language block, then three weeks of SERE, and…well, you get the idea.  Think you can learn a language like Arabic with the classes split up and all over the place like that?  That’s right, neither could we.

Today, when students show up in the Q-Course, they are assigned to an IODA (Instruction Operational Detachment Alpha if I am not mistaken) where their ODA leader is a Special Forces member assigned as an instructor to the Special Warfare Center (SWC) whose job is to coach, teach, and mentor the students until they graduate.  The Special Forces instructor assigned to each IODA handles the paperwork, gets his men laid on for parachute jumps, and helps instruct the students when they attend the Small Unit Tactics portion of their training.  SUT still teaches basic tactics but now also includes Close Quarter Battle and Counter-Insurgency Training.

Keep an eye on SOFREP in the near future for more information about the Q-Course as it continues to evolve.