Do it if you are mentally strong/flexible
From my experience- which includes trading training stories with SEALs, MARSOC, Army SF, Rangers, Aussie SAS, etc.- guys that pass initial selection, and all the schools after that, do so because they have the ability to alternate their focus from near to far, and right back again as often as necessary. So I’d say that right off the bat, if you have been able to set a long-term goal in the past, or currently, and you also have the ability to chip away a little each day at it, you’re on the right track. Throughout your career, but especially in the pipeline, you’re gonna have to think about getting to your next meal. Or to the next exercise. But at the same time, you need to think about how awesome it’ll be when YOU’RE that jacked and tan cadre wearing those sweet Von Zips, barking commands through a megaphone and just loving life. But then you’ll need to reign it back and not think about the hundreds (!!) of shitty days, just like this one, that stand between you and being that cadre. Flexibility. Gotta shut that negative shit out and think about lunch.
Don’t do it if you take a ton of fucking selfies, or if you have a problem using fucking as an adjective
I’m dead serious. If you’re the type of person that can’t stay off social media or can’t live without your phone, this isn’t for you. There are still some old school aspects of SOF, and trust me, teams view guys that can’t keep their team shit internal as a cancer. Stay off your phone. Keep team pics within the team. And if you put something on Facebook, expect to see it on the big screen at the next unit function for all to see. You know what I’m fucking saying? Yeah, there will be a lot of cussing. The F-bomb will be about 40% of your vocabulary by the time you’re on team. More like 60% if you’re a real stud.
Do it if you’re humble
The most important thing is to be able to laugh at yourself and accept your new position as the lowest of the low. The guys barking orders at you? They’ve been in your shoes. And the reason they got to where they’re at? Because during a particularly rough event, at the end of a particularly rough week, when they were facing a legitimately impossible task, those guys sacked up (can I still say that?) and did their best. And when they failed, like they were supposed to, and the cadre swarmed on them like sharks on a whale carcass, like they’d been planning to do, they didn’t get flustered. They didn’t take the insults personally. They didn’t fight back. They laughed it off. They knew this attention was a test and was only gonna make them better. And when they finished an event with relative ease? They didn’t brag about it. They remained even-keeled and humble. They didn’t even allow themselves to relax and think about what they just did. And then they reached down and helped the next guy over that wall, or across the finish line.
So if you follow those do’s and don’t’s I’d say you’re well on your way to not only joining SOF, but also making it past those big, initial attrition phases. More than anything, being a good teammate and a good person can go a long way in this community. I’ve seen the weakest dudes coming out of a selection make it further than anyone because they listened, learned, helped their team, and never fucking quit. People notice that. Muscle mass, strong shooting technique, and tactics in general can be gained, learned, and corrected with time. But something you’ll never get back is a first impression and your reputation. Fucking remember that.
Image Courtesy: U.S. Air Force / Senior Airman Ryan Conroy
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