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540 officers picked for spec ops

More than 540 company-grade officers have been selected for voluntary transfer to the Army's three special operations branches — special forces, psychological operations and civil affairs.

Most officers selected by the annual special operations accessions board are first lieutenants commissioned in fiscal 2005. A few of the officers have transferred to the Army from the sister services under the Blue-to-Green program.

Officers selected for transfer to Special Forces must successfully complete the Special Forces Assessment and Selection program before being scheduled for the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Ga., or Fort Knox, Ky.

Upon successful completion of the captains course, officers will be moved to Fort Bragg, N.C., for attendance at the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course.

The accession process for Special Forces officers takes about two years.

Officers designated for psychological operations and civil affairs must successfully complete the captain career course for their commissioning branch and airborne school before being moved to Fort Bragg for the PO or CA qualification course.

The accession process or PO and CA officers takes 16 to 18 months.

Names and commissioning branches of the selected officers