SOF

SpecialOperations / SOFREP weekly ruck announcement

What would have been as early as this Sunday is postponed because of the short notice posting. However, a ruck march hosted by yours truly – will occur every week and all readers are welcome. If you’re interested please, leave your email and express interest in the comments below.

When: SUNDAY 2/5/2017 @ 1 P.M.

Where:

Rock Creek Park,

Western Ridge Trail

Total Distance: ~5 -6 miles
Elevation Gain: 335 ft.
Elevation Descent: -203 ft.

Parking: Parking locations can be found on the Map My Run link listed below

http://www.mapmyrun.com/us/washington-d-c-dc/western-ridge-trail-rock-creek-park-route-27768566

Wear long pants or shorts that you feel comfortable Rucking. Bring a smart watch that records your heart rate. Bring a container of war and whatever sports fuel gels or bars you’d like to experiment.

Must Bring:

Ruck: at least 35lbs.

Hiking or Military boots, no tennis shoes.

Cell phone in case of emergency.

Water.

The First Few Days at Selection

The first few fearful days at Selection are nerve-racking but eventually subside. The first few days at selection are disorienting and scary because you have no idea what’s coming and how you can prepare. You’ll become a number over night. You’ll be addressed as candidate followed by whatever number you get. God help you if you get to number one. To my knowledge number one has never made it and been selected.

There will be no sense of control over your schedule, how you’re treated, what you wear (you’ll be instructed to wear what they tell you). The only thing you can do is perform and whatever is asked of you. But, that’s not always enough for most. Many lay on their cots and try to figure out how they can pass this thing they call selection. But, the truth is the best thing you can do when you’re laying on the cot is relax.

Stop worrying about what could be and just live in the moment when you need to. No one is going to jump out at you like a horror movie and beat you. Whatever outlandish rumors you’ve heard aren’t true. It’s still an army leadership training course. Be a student and pass above the Army standard 70%. You do not have to be a marathoning bodybuilder to make it in SOF. To get in, you just have to finish selection and get selected.

My advice, something I wish I had done – take a book and – read it. You’ve got the choice between a Bible, the Ranger handbook or a novel. There will be plenty of Ranger handbook’s floating around, and you don’t need it to get selected. Take a great novel. Find an escape; there’s a lot of down time between training events. For that reason, something that takes you to another time or place but is motivating might work. For example, a game of thrones of other adventurous fantasies might get your mind off of selection but still into a motivated state of mind.

Although, at first selection is awful and you’re unsure what is happening to you. You eventually get used to it and selection is where you are – and not a prisoner. You’ll even know a little bit about the cadre and their personalities. It will become less mystifying and more predictable and follow the course of events you’ve heard of and read about.

Featured image courtesy of DoD.

SOF Selection PT Preparation Training: New weekly ruck and Today’s workout (1/26/2017)

On this site: there will be a daily workout intended for those preparing for selection. You can follow daily or use it as a filler for when you’re in between training plans. We prefer daily because the intention is for these workouts to progress in sophistication and intensity. But it will be sport specific most of the time with an emphasis on rucking and running. However, there will be cycles when we spend a month or more using the weight room more than the pavement (running).

SUNDAY – In Washington, D.C. will be SpecialOpeations.com / SOFREP inaugural weekly Ruck March. The first ruck march will begin at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. and the exact location will be posted Friday, here and SOFREP.com.

Next week – Monday (1/25/2017) we’ll begin a ruck and running centric program designed for those seeking to prepare their bodies for the rigors of selection.

Leading up to this week, today through Friday will be simple running workouts.

Here’s today’s SOF Selection PT Workout:

Run 5 miles as fast as possible and record the time.

Then, do 100 Push-ups, 200 Crunches, and 50 Pull-ups.

How to deal with your team if you’re a political outcast

Politics are always a hot button issue and it is unavoidable in the team. Political leaders will send you abroad and change who is in your sight picture

Earn and keep their respect. Stand up for yourself. Learn to articulate your point of view in a reasonable way and become a true pragmatic thinker. Take the opportunity to understand why others disagree with you. Most important, do your job and don’t complain. Your politics won’t matter on the battlefield. But their confidence in you will.

So, to be brief on this one – just learn to deal with people. Because when you get to a team for the first time – it’s going to somewhat abusive. They’re going to make fun of you and it’s not going to stop until they feel you’ve proved yourself. In that process, if you reveal a large chink in your armor or they discover you’re a political idealogue it might affect your relationship with them. It’s not your first impression that counts the most but your first few months as you deal with the harassment.

I felt compelled to write this article now because it seems that politics is more polarized than ever before in my young life. Life outside is reflective of life, inside. Except, there simply are more conservative and republican voters. That’s important to understand for people joining from more liberal areas that are accustomed to a full-bore or semi-echo chamber. Understand that if you’re perceived as an extremist one way or the other that reputation will follow you.

If this applies to you – this is a great opportunity to just take a break from the constant outrage or, if your party wins, the jubilation. The ups and downs aren’t relevant to you as a Green Beret. It comes back to a simple fact that you need to do your job, do it well enough – and maintain the appropriate level of fitness.

Inauguration Day and the ‘Q’ course.

You won’t be too busy to miss out on real life while you’re training to become a Green Beret. You’ll spend more time not training than you know. The Special Forces Qualification Course is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s time between trainings and, naturally, plenty of time out in the field, too. Don’t get me wrong; you’ll do your time in areas of North Carolina. But, you’ll also pull a good amount of duty sitting on your hands in the barracks. You need to prepare for both and not waste your time.

If you think that you’d be too busy to watch the inauguration when you’re going through the Special Forces Qualification course, you’re wrong. I watched it, and I don’t think I had a single thing to do that day. While we were off work – it’s a misnomer that the entire ‘Q’ course takes place in the field. It doesn’t, and there’s a lot of time spent waiting for various training classes to begin. That’s what got most guys in trouble when I was there more than anything else.

Leaving young and brazen soldiers to their own devices, they get in trouble. DON’T GET IN TROUBLE. It’s critical advice. When you’re not in training, keep training on what you know you need to do. You need to know the basics of Small Unit Tactics and Military leadership and decision making. Also, what’s critical is your fitness and your ability to carry a ruck over a distance. Don’t let your fitness and most important, your rucking slip away from you. When you have the time, you need to be training harder than ever. Becuase the PT you will or won’t do at Small Unit Tactics will be a part of your evaluation.

Whenever you’re in training the other students are studying you looking for weaknesses. It’s not malicious, but they’re trying to protect their destiny. There’s a big sign out at there at Selection that reads, “The Brotherhood Starts Here.” It does start there in a shared experience but not in a treehouse sense. Don’t forget that you have to take care of yourself to make it through the ‘Q’ course because no one else will, and that’s not what they’re looking for in a Green Beret.

Featured image courtesy of Military.com.

Special Operations Forces Fitness: Train your body for the mission

In the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community you’re given all of the best equipment available. There’s a tool for every problem set. But, you can’t take everything on every operation. Along with a basic load common to 99% of missions you’ll also choose from a wide array of special equipment based on mission requirements and contingencies. An operator’s physical fitness is no different. Every unit has a baseline of standards for selection, and a baseline for continued employment in their respective organization. I know it’s a surprise for some to hear, but 99% of us can’t bench press 500 pounds, get up and then run a sub 12 minute 2 mile. You have to train your body for the mission at hand the same way like you load out for one. In order to meet specific requirements.

So when someone asks me “how do I get in shape” I always ask them their why. Are you a new or potential recruit? Already serving and attending an assessment and selection? In how long? Are you Law Enforcement? If so, in what environment? First responder? Or currently in a SOF unit and preparing for a mission with unusual or specific requirements? Or are you a normal guy or gal that just wants to be hard to kill?

From here it’s necessary to establish the specific requirements of your why. What are the minimum requirements? How long is the course? In what event/gate does the biggest attrition take place? Can I eat while I’m there? What kit do I need to operate in? Etc..etc…etc.

Once you know the specific requirements it’s time to take honest stock of your own abilities based on what it is you are trying to do. Brutal honesty is what makes SOF units successful, both self honesty and being honest with your teammates. Measure the differences in your performance and how well you need to do in order to meet your goals. Prioritize, set your gates, and get to work.

Image courtesy of DoD