SSG Tim Kennedy's Journal

SSG Tim Kennedy is an 18B, Special Forces  Weapons Sergeant, and a professional mixed martial arts fighter. Tim joined the National Guard so that he could pursue his dreams of becoming a Green Beret and the best fighter in the world.

New Army Fitness Testing

I was ranked one of the top 10 middleweight mixed martial artists on the planet when I enlisted under the 18X Special Forces program. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 motivated me unlike anything else at that point in my life. I switched my focus from performing in the cage to being able to excel in the rigorous training for Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS).

Before SFAS, I had to take a few standard Army Physical Fitness Tests (APFTs) consisting of push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. The first time I took the APFT, I scored only a 240. I was dumbfounded. I was one of the most elite fighters on the planet, a collegiate athlete and in the best shape of my life. I adjusted my training program so I could max out the APFT, but it left me worried about what the military considered important in physical performance.

Nine years later, Army physical fitness testing has changed for the better. Two new tests, the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) and the Combat Readiness Test (CRT), are in line to replace the APFT. I subscribe to the idea that fast twitch explosive strength is extremely important in a combat setting, and the new tests examine just that. I don’t want to go into combat with someone who can’t pick me up and run 50 feet. Teaching Soldiers to train like they fight isn’t a new concept, but it’s one I’m excited to see implemented in how we train our bodies physically.

Special Forces

Walking up the ramp of a C-17 while the engines are beginning to spin is exciting enough. Adding the trepidation of being on your way to your first deployment makes for a mind-blowing experience. I had been in the Army for just over a year. During that time, I had attended back-to-back courses from Basic Training through the Special Forces Qualification Course. I had not had a weekend off in almost a year, and we had finished Pre-Mission Training (PMT) the week before. I didn’t feel like I was ready for this. I had only been a Green Beret for a few months. I was a "buck sergeant," the youngest guy in my company and what everyone else referred to as an "SF Baby." I felt like I didn’t belong with these guys.

We arrived in Iraq at the beginning of summer. As the ramp door began to lower, the hot, dry, sandy air blasted my face. They say we hit the ground running, and that couldn’t be truer. My team sergeant was intense, and being the new guy meant I had to do most of the running. We were set up by nightfall and operational within 24 hours. By the end of the week I was sitting in the door of a Black Hawk helicopter on my way to our first mission.

As we approached our objective, muzzle flashes were seen on the roof of our building. We couldn’t hear them through the sound of the rotors, and once we were near the ground we could barely see them through the brownout of the rotor wash. What I could see was every man from my ODA running toward the gunfire just like I was. We weren’t talking to each other. We were just doing what we had been training to do. I was doing exactly what they were doing. My feelings of not belonging were unfounded; I wasn’t such a "fish out of water." I was a shark swimming with a bunch of other sharks. I knew I still had a lot to learn, but for the moment I was right where I was supposed to be.

Enlisting

Growing up, I was a pretty energetic kid. I could never decide exactly what I wanted to do, from what to have for dinner to what sport I wanted to play each season. I felt like I wanted to do everything. Even through high school and college I couldn’t play just one sport; I wanted to compete at the highest level in multiple sports. I remember my dad telling me that I would be a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. He was right, of course, but what he didn’t know then was that being a jack-of-all-trades would ensure my later success.

When 9/11 happened, I was sitting in a cubicle working for a dot-com e-commerce company. I had just finished my undergraduate work after changing my major about eight times, and I was starting grad school. I watched live as that second plane flew into the second tower. I knew I had to do something. I walked down to the recruiter’s office a couple weeks later and asked what my options were. I was eligible for a new program called the 18 X-Ray program. It allowed new recruits to enlist directly into Special Forces.

My MOS would be 18X (Special Forces Enlistment Option). I would attend Basic Training, Airborne School and Special Operations Preparation Course (SOPC). With some success and a little luck, I would go straight to Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS).

We have four main Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) in Special Forces, but it’s important that every man on the Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) knows every job inside and out. We are a force multiplier. Our job is to go in ahead of everyone else and prep the battlefield for conventional forces. We do this in many ways, and every way takes a lot of creativity and the ability to adjust on the fly. Being that jack-of-all-trades makes these things seem natural. It’s nice to feel at home on an ODA, knowing that everyone else is just like you.