Tommos Whiteclaw
Acolyte
Trying to find a way to get my character into a military academy for future age special forces should I go by invitation or by application
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Special forces academy
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Tommos Whiteclaw
Acolyte
also what would be a cool squad name
Prince of Spires
Istar
Yes.
Wait, that probably wasn't a yes/no question...
You can do both or even just ignore the whole question, depending on what story you want to tell. My feeling is that with application you can have the character struggle more and come more from an underdog kind of position, while by invitation you get more a "chosen one" kind of feel.
If someone is invited then that is because that person has already proven himself and shown the potential. If it's by application then someone still sees the potential, but the person hasn't necessarily done something that proves he can do it already. Also, I would expect with application that more people get in and a lot drop out during the course, while with invitation, you get a smaller, more select group, but fewer people drop out.
CupofJoe
Myth Weaver
As others have said...
Why choose either to the exclusion of the other.
AFAIK Most special forces work on a blend of the two. It is suggested to likely candidates that they might want to apply. Then they go through the application programme. For services such as MI? and other TLA agencies, there is more of an invitation element. Some people are headhunted but still have to pass a selection process.
As for a name... That is up to you. A cool name comes from what the group does. The SAS [UK], COS [France], KSK [Germany], Spetsnaz [Russia] and SEALS [USA] are great names because they have done amazing things.
Do you want the group to inspire fear, inspire hope? Act as a beacon or a deterrent? Is it going to be a formal name or a nickname?
Why choose either to the exclusion of the other.
AFAIK Most special forces work on a blend of the two. It is suggested to likely candidates that they might want to apply. Then they go through the application programme. For services such as MI? and other TLA agencies, there is more of an invitation element. Some people are headhunted but still have to pass a selection process.
As for a name... That is up to you. A cool name comes from what the group does. The SAS [UK], COS [France], KSK [Germany], Spetsnaz [Russia] and SEALS [USA] are great names because they have done amazing things.
Do you want the group to inspire fear, inspire hope? Act as a beacon or a deterrent? Is it going to be a formal name or a nickname?
Maker of Things Not Kings
Maester
I think it depends on the story you want to tell.
It can be a good lead in if it's an invitation that comes as a shock to the character. Perhaps there are application processes but the character did not go through these, yet was summoned as one of a handful who are pulled from the masses. Maybe it's an invitation like a military draft where the selected do not have a right to refuse the call to serve. Maybe the last thing your character wants is to be a part of that service even though the selection brings a fair amount of esteem and honor? Maybe it derails their life.
Where as the application can be written as having been a lifelong aspiration. A family tradition to serve. Perhaps it is something the character never believed themselves worthy of despite having worked so hard to get there. Maybe strings are pulled behind the scenes to get them in and this is revealed far later in the story causing a moment of crisis or conflict or self doubt for the character. Maybe they ARE worthy in all but one category of the application process and they need to overcome that deficiency, or haven't been able to but they but get in anyway?
How you go about it, to me, relies entirely on what the character needs in the story and where in your story the end result, in this case their selection or admittance, takes place. If this is to be the start of your story, it should probably be something that sets the MC at odds with an antagonistic force straight away: A rival, the service itself, the enemy, their fears etc. Or they overcome one of those forces, or themselves, to gain their admittance in the opening chapter.
Ask yourself what path creates the best path to friction and conflict? Which opens a path to growth?
It can be a good lead in if it's an invitation that comes as a shock to the character. Perhaps there are application processes but the character did not go through these, yet was summoned as one of a handful who are pulled from the masses. Maybe it's an invitation like a military draft where the selected do not have a right to refuse the call to serve. Maybe the last thing your character wants is to be a part of that service even though the selection brings a fair amount of esteem and honor? Maybe it derails their life.
Where as the application can be written as having been a lifelong aspiration. A family tradition to serve. Perhaps it is something the character never believed themselves worthy of despite having worked so hard to get there. Maybe strings are pulled behind the scenes to get them in and this is revealed far later in the story causing a moment of crisis or conflict or self doubt for the character. Maybe they ARE worthy in all but one category of the application process and they need to overcome that deficiency, or haven't been able to but they but get in anyway?
How you go about it, to me, relies entirely on what the character needs in the story and where in your story the end result, in this case their selection or admittance, takes place. If this is to be the start of your story, it should probably be something that sets the MC at odds with an antagonistic force straight away: A rival, the service itself, the enemy, their fears etc. Or they overcome one of those forces, or themselves, to gain their admittance in the opening chapter.
Ask yourself what path creates the best path to friction and conflict? Which opens a path to growth?
Slartibartfast
Minstrel
Not sure about other armies but the British Army draws special forces recruits from regulars who have a minimum of two years of service. Nobody is invited but it's well understood whether people do or do not meet the standards to apply and there will be a general understanding between a person and their colleagues/command whether they are the right person to go for selection. People who put themselves forward when they're not ready will be 'dissuaded' by their command... unless they're really unpopular in which case they will likely be heartily encouraged to go and make a fool of themselves. 
Potential recruits go on a 'beat-up' course where they get smashed around for a few weeks (minimal sleep, high standards, shouty people and lots of physical training) and the ones who make it to the end go on a training/selection course. The 'beat-up' period gets rid of people who obviously shouldn't be there. A lot of people get thrown off at this point. Training/selection is where instead of getting accepted and then starting training, the two processes are rolled together. People who have got this far have met a certain standard, but anyone can be 'returned to unit' at any time. Most do not complete the course.
I suppose what I'm getting at is that it could be more complicated than an invitation/application. If the joining process is a key part of your story and there is anything you want to convey with it you could make it a protracted process. I quite like the potential there is in a system where people are applying from a position of relative knowledge and require tacit approval from their command. Of course, this is one joining process that you can pick and choose bits from. I'm sure if you looked at other armies, you could find other selection methods to give you ideas. If you just need to get them through the door quickly so you can start the story then maybe this isn't what you're looking for.
Potential recruits go on a 'beat-up' course where they get smashed around for a few weeks (minimal sleep, high standards, shouty people and lots of physical training) and the ones who make it to the end go on a training/selection course. The 'beat-up' period gets rid of people who obviously shouldn't be there. A lot of people get thrown off at this point. Training/selection is where instead of getting accepted and then starting training, the two processes are rolled together. People who have got this far have met a certain standard, but anyone can be 'returned to unit' at any time. Most do not complete the course.
I suppose what I'm getting at is that it could be more complicated than an invitation/application. If the joining process is a key part of your story and there is anything you want to convey with it you could make it a protracted process. I quite like the potential there is in a system where people are applying from a position of relative knowledge and require tacit approval from their command. Of course, this is one joining process that you can pick and choose bits from. I'm sure if you looked at other armies, you could find other selection methods to give you ideas. If you just need to get them through the door quickly so you can start the story then maybe this isn't what you're looking for.
Nighty_Knight
Troubadour
I’ll also add when I comes to special forces units, preparation is huge. While basic in most militaries will whip you into shape, going into a special forces they expect you to already be in great shape. Another reason they throw you right in the deep end for the hell weeks they have. It will eliminate guys who didn’t show up ready physically or mentally (sometimes both). Many guys believe it or not will try again later and make it, a few kinda famous SEALs ended up doing exactly that.
Malik
Auror
Special Forces or Special Operations Forces? Unconventional warfare in the future would be interesting to concept out.
You've got the SF crest as your avatar, so I'm guessing you know all this, already, but for those who don't:
1. Special Forces is part of Special Operations, but not all Special Operations Forces (SOF) are Special Forces. This linked post in Ask me about Warfare is a breakdown of SOF units and some SOF-type ideas for fantasy, but it would easily be applicable to science fiction.
2. Every capability within SOF--and there are dozens--has its own selection process, its own schoolhouses and training pipeline, its own doctrine, its own creed, its own systems, and even its own unique equipment.
I was in an MI unit at USSOCOM. I was initially tapped-in by a senior member of the unit, who recommended me personally to his commander after we'd worked together on a project.
Many specifics of the selection process are classified and most of them are unseen to the soldier, but I can say that for MI personnel, SOCOM generally looks for tactical Special Operations training (Ranger, CST, TACP, etc.), deployments attached to SOF units, high PT scores, Airborne qualifications (and ideally more than a five-jump chump), foreign language proficiency, and at least one degree.
A lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines can hit all those marks, so they also want to see that you've "made a dent"--i.e., done stuff. I'd contributed to a report that went to Congress and cross-leveled as Intelligence Officer for a SOF unit on a combat deployment. (How I got there is a novel in and of itself that would start with a record-scratch moment involving a broken radio, a pissed-off La Legion Capitaine, and a recalcitrant camel. Anywho . . .)
If you had most (ideally all) of what they were looking for, and you got on someone's radar at a SOF unit, you got a "tap," and then with your unit's bless-off your packet went to what Heinlein once called "The Fairy Godmother Department," which is one elderly GS-7 in a walker who sometimes pulls a file off a stack and waves a magic wand over it. If she picked yours, you transferred into Special Operations and underwent follow-on baseline training that was kind of a selection process, although really, it was just that if you decided it was bullshit and you didn't want to go through any more of it, you could walk away and they'd transfer you back to Big Army. So, MI had it pretty easy, comparatively. But again, this is for SOF, not SF. So, kind of both, I guess. Point being, it was messy.
I hope this helps.
You've got the SF crest as your avatar, so I'm guessing you know all this, already, but for those who don't:
1. Special Forces is part of Special Operations, but not all Special Operations Forces (SOF) are Special Forces. This linked post in Ask me about Warfare is a breakdown of SOF units and some SOF-type ideas for fantasy, but it would easily be applicable to science fiction.
2. Every capability within SOF--and there are dozens--has its own selection process, its own schoolhouses and training pipeline, its own doctrine, its own creed, its own systems, and even its own unique equipment.
I was in an MI unit at USSOCOM. I was initially tapped-in by a senior member of the unit, who recommended me personally to his commander after we'd worked together on a project.
Many specifics of the selection process are classified and most of them are unseen to the soldier, but I can say that for MI personnel, SOCOM generally looks for tactical Special Operations training (Ranger, CST, TACP, etc.), deployments attached to SOF units, high PT scores, Airborne qualifications (and ideally more than a five-jump chump), foreign language proficiency, and at least one degree.
A lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines can hit all those marks, so they also want to see that you've "made a dent"--i.e., done stuff. I'd contributed to a report that went to Congress and cross-leveled as Intelligence Officer for a SOF unit on a combat deployment. (How I got there is a novel in and of itself that would start with a record-scratch moment involving a broken radio, a pissed-off La Legion Capitaine, and a recalcitrant camel. Anywho . . .)
If you had most (ideally all) of what they were looking for, and you got on someone's radar at a SOF unit, you got a "tap," and then with your unit's bless-off your packet went to what Heinlein once called "The Fairy Godmother Department," which is one elderly GS-7 in a walker who sometimes pulls a file off a stack and waves a magic wand over it. If she picked yours, you transferred into Special Operations and underwent follow-on baseline training that was kind of a selection process, although really, it was just that if you decided it was bullshit and you didn't want to go through any more of it, you could walk away and they'd transfer you back to Big Army. So, MI had it pretty easy, comparatively. But again, this is for SOF, not SF. So, kind of both, I guess. Point being, it was messy.
I hope this helps.
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Tommos Whiteclaw
Acolyte
Thanks a lot, Malik, yes I knew most of that stuff thanks for some of the details. Surprised someone recognized the emblem Thanks again brother
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