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Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 5

Back to the gym this Thursday morning for a Chest (Flat, incline bench, Flies, pushups) and Triceps (Cable pushdowns, dips) workout today at the gym before heading out for a 4-mile run.

Remember to stretch well before and after and to stay hydrated. Mark your progress down in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Bench Press

3 x 10 Dumbbell Flies

3 x 10 Dumbbell Incline press

3 x 20 Pushups (alternate sets with wide, narrow and shoulder width)

3 x 10 ‘V’ Ups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Forces and Entrepreneurship Can Make the Most of Any Bad Situation

“How the hell am I going to fill 1000 sandbags…and how did get myself into this mess?”

Sometimes life throws her curveballs at you and you have to do your best to sit back in the box and hit it the opposite way. And in doing so, you can take a bad situation and definitely make the most out of it.

Back in the day, the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua was a thorn in the side of the United States, especially the White House under President Reagan. And the U.S. was worried that the Sandinistas would be trying to spread their revolution (with outside help) to their neighboring countries.

And it was justified, with on-going bloody civil wars going on in El Salvador and Guatemala, Honduras had a latent insurgency issue and later we learned that the Nicaraguan government was preparing to aid that along.

While U.S. troop strength allowed in El Salvador was severely restricted and very few SOF troops allowed in Guatemala due to political issues, no such issue existed in Honduras at the time. And the U.S. always had a steady stream of conventional and SOF troops there.

Combat engineers were always building and improving roads, there was a slew of medical and dental units there helping the people. The U.S. constructed an airbase (Soto Cano) in Palmerola that is still in use today. And there were always a ton of 7th Special Forces Group troops on the ground. It always seemed like there was at least a company-sized element of six Special Forces A-Teams and a B-Team in the country at any given time. Many SF guys from that era would have half a dozen deployments to “Hondo” alone at that time, never mind deployments elsewhere.

This one deployment our Group decided to run had several teams from 2nd Bn., 7th SFG working with local Honduran units and our commander wanted to run several base station communication sites from the country, instead of back from Ft. Bragg. So, a bunch of SF radio operators (18E) from 1st Bn. were tasked to augment the Group’s Support Bn, and the Signal CO. to work in the base stations during this deployment.

Author and a high-speed, low drag supply vehicle in Honduras back in the day

We were starting one such base station in La Ceiba at the Honduran air base where they based their fighter aircraft (obsolescent Super Mystere) and then moving it after a few weeks up into the mountains, closer to the Nicaraguan border. So, during the time in La Ceiba, these SF radio operators would fall under the command of the Support Bn Staff. It was not a marriage made in heaven.

The sergeant major was… to put it simply a “Rick” with a silent P. He had a “do as I say and not as I do” attitude and was used to bullying the younger support guys…and girls. They had a gazillion rules that the A-Team guys never had to deal with in past deployments and it was soon apparent that heads were going to bump.

He instituted a “pass” system and a curfew with going downtown for everyone, except himself and his cronies. That didn’t fly with the SF guys. “Hey, that doesn’t apply to us, right?” LOL.

Well, after sampling some of the local nightlife in downtown La Ceiba and hanging out with a number of British schoolteachers from Belize, we arrived back at the base well after the established curfew. One of his little cronies made sure to rat us out…the little cockroach. However, we did beat the SGM back. Imagine that.

The next morning, he was going to make a big deal out of it and called us all in and said, we could be restricted to the base from our remainder of the time there (just a few more days thankfully) or fill sandbags for the Honduran base defenses. Most guys said screw it, they’d remain on base. Another guy and I opted for sandbag detail. Anything to get the hell away from those people.

So, we got a driver, a deuce and a half and 1000 sandbags. We told the driver to pack as many shovels as he had, which got a strange look but he grabbed about a dozen. The driver drove us to the far side of the base where there was a pit of clay that was as hard-packed as granite. “This is where our guys have been filling them,” he said. We laughed and told him we weren’t going to spend one minute there. Directing him out the back gate, we headed back down the highway in the opposite direction of town. After passing by some pineapple fields, we told him to take a dirt road to the right. After passing thru more fields and over a tiny bridge, we ended up on this tiny beach with the best bar you’d ever seen there.

On an earlier trip, one of the scuba team guys had shown this place. It had a fantastic place to dive and the bar was open on three sides that emptied right out on the sand. The driver couldn’t believe it. Nursing hangovers we ordered the hair of the dog from the young girl behind the bar while my partner spoke to her quietly in the corner. Then pulling a hammock out of my ruck, I strung it up between two poles on the open part of the bar and reclined with an ice cold Port Royal while my bud nursed a Salva Vida.

“What are you guys doing,” the driver asked? “Well, we’re going to chill out, catch about a 20-minute power nap and wait for the cavalry to arrive,” we said. About the time that the first beer was gone, the cavalry arrived.

Kids from the nearby village came flocking in, thinking the gringos were going scuba diving again and offering the use of their small boats and their services for whatever we needed.

We explained what we wanted to do, and they quickly agreed, we’d give them each two (2) MREs that we weren’t going to eat anyway. The two oldest kids were going to be foremen and oversee the entire operation. We gave them a five-minute class on how to properly fill sandbags. And just like in Selection, on how full they had to be. The two “foremen” would get five bucks each.

After watching this slew of kids quickly filling up the sandbags for a few quick iterations, my bud and I retired back to the cool shadow of the bar and the hammocks. “Yes, I’ll have another beer, thank you very much.”

In less than an hour, we had 250 sandbags filled. They were loaded on the deuce-and-a-half and we sent the driver back with strict orders to use the rear gate and bring back more cases of MREs. And most importantly, not to breathe a word of this to anyone.

Around noon the kids wanted to take a break for lunch. They planned on eating their MREs. We can do better, we said. The girl at the bar had already been forewarned and we arranged chicken sandwiches and a few burgers for all of them. We sat in the shade of the bar and got those kids sodas. Afterward, it time for a dip in the ocean. Punishment details are hell.

By 2 to 2:30 all of our sandbags were full, in truth, we didn’t have 1000, because they’d thought we wouldn’t be able to fill a 1/10th of those. Our driver asked if we should head back. “Hell no,” we answered. It was time for some MTT. He asked what that meant. “Max Tanning Time”, we answered. So until about four, we laid out in the sun, swam a bit more and bought the kids a coke. There were about half again as many MREs as promised and we said the heck with it. We told them to spread those out evenly as well. It was money well spent. We thought about scrawling on the side of the truck, “7th SFG Sand and Gravel”, but thought better or it. We used UW principles to beat the Pogues at their own game.

We headed back with the final load of sandbags, arriving back at the base where we unloaded the last of the sandbags into the huge pile that the guys had made. Our “pal” the sergeant-major strolled up and gave us a sneer like, “I guess I showed you!” and then glanced at the pile and knew something was up. We jumped down from the truck and smiled a “fuck you very much” look and headed for the showers, ice cold water that could wake the dead.

That weekend our C-130 came in to get us thankfully out of there. And not a moment too soon, but not entirely home free. We moved our base station gear to a B-Team that was famously known as “The Plantation”…ask any of the oldtimers what that was all about.

Little did we know that this was just the beginning. But that is a story for another time.

Photo of Golosón International Airport, La Ceiba (1987): Wikipedia

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 4

Shoulders and back day in the gym before heading off to do the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Triathlon. A run, a rucksack march, and a swim with fatigues and boots. If you can do all three of these things well, you will have the inside track for most of the Selection courses.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

2 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)

2x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

2 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

2 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

2 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

2 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

3-mile Run (24 minutes maximum)

3-mile Rucksack march (45-lb minimum, 45 minutes maximum)

300-meter swim in fatigues and boots (no time limit)

Stretch well after completion

Special Op’s Gear Review: Salomon XA Forces Mid-Boot

Okay, so anyone who knows me or has read any of my articles in the past knows that I am and have always been a huge Merrell fan. Owner of too many pairs to count, Merrells are my go-to boots for anything. But that may be subject to change.

I like to scan and read whatever is out there and have been intrigued with Salomon boots for quite some time. They are producing some of the most popular boots on the market and our troops, specifically our Special Operations Forces are wearing them more during their overseas tours.

Salomon is hardly a newcomer to the boot business, they began the company under François Salomon in 1947 in Annecy, Rhône-Alpes which is located on the southeastern border of France. Now the company produces some of the very best in a variety of options. Everything from water shoes, trail running, hiking, ski boots and of course the tactical boots which we tested recently.

We ordered a set of the Salomon XA Forces Mid-Boots thru Tactical Outfitters and have been putting them thru the paces for the past few days. We’ve probably put between 25-30 miles on them thus far, so we can’t yet comment on the durability of the boots but here’s what we’ve seen at this point and we’ll add more comments below.

Pros:

Lightweight
Versatile, can function in nearly any environment
No break-in time required…worn straight out of the box
Sturdy, with improved design for hikers and tactical users
Excellent tread design, sure footing everywhere
Speed laces and storage is a small but great feature
Ortholite Sockliner
Rubber toe cap and nice roomy toe-box
Breathe well (Non-Gortex Model)

Cons:

Runs about a half-size small
A bit pricey, but not outrageously so

So, with the preliminaries out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the boot. Aesthetically speaking, the Salomon is a great looking boot right out of the box and their lightweight immediately stood out as these not only look the part but will cut down on weight and the clunkiness of some of the heavier boots on the market.

Based on Salomon’s iconic XA Pro 3D, the XA Force Mid has been designed for Special Operations and Law Enforcement units, they’ve increased the durability and have beefed up the outsole.

With the mid-length construction, the XA Forces are light but still provides good ankle stability and support. On your feet, they feel like a tactical running shoe, right out of the box with very minimal break-in time.

The Salomon Quicklace® system is a nice feature and the storage pocket at the top of the tongue is a favorite feature of mine. Obviously, the boots will never become untied and doesn’t it seem like your boots always become untied at the most inopportune time?

The outsole uses the company’s Contagrip® MD and is purported to provide long term durability along with their lug pattern which claims to work well on hard, smooth, soft or loose surfaces. Well, how did their claim hold up? Excellently. The trail we used has all of these surfaces… and more. Between hard packed dirt, to loose rocks and scree, to small sections of either paved or concrete roads that cut across the trail. With some exposed boulders on the side of the trail, we tried the boots grip on these as well and the results were very satisfactory.

With all of the rain, we’ve been experiencing this spring, there was plenty of wet grass and even wet logs to cross and our grip on all of those surfaces was excellent. While all of this was ongoing, our comfort inside the boots was also outstanding.

For the tactical users in the crowd, Salomon has beefed up the upper with a thick rubber panel which along with the curved area at the outsole seem designed for protecting the boots while fast-roping. One of the weak areas that were addressed in the new design was the area around the toe cap. I had read where that area was where the boots (as well as many other manufacturers) would separate. So, the company went from a double to a triple stitch.

The gusseted and nicely padded tongue keeps debris and crap from getting into the boot. It also keeps the tongue centered which can be a royal pain in the backside. The mesh and textile lining do help keep your feet cool, although I’ve found that it works better with a thin layer of socks. Wearing the thicker, wool socks I normally use while rucking got my feet just a tad warm after several miles but not too uncomfortable. We weren’t interested in the GoreTex version so we didn’t test the waterproof part of the equation.

After our initial testing of these boots, one would say they aced the test, obviously, we can’t remark on durability as the time we’ve had them is much too short. If there is one drawback to these, it is that you should probably order a pair a half-size larger. When wearing my wool socks, my foot was about touching the toe of the boot. With thinner, summer socks, it wasn’t an issue. And while the price is higher than some of their contemporaries, I don’t mind paying for quality. And you most definitely get what you pay for. However, with that being said, these are some tremendous, versatile, and comfortable boots. You can wear these boots hiking, on a trip to the range or even as a casual kicking around the town boot. For rucking, they come highly recommended. I can’t get enough of them…nuff said.

I have a feeling my MOABs, (which I’ve always been very biased toward) will be collecting dust this summer. The Salomon XA Forces are going to get a ton of work during the warm weather months.

I especially liked that Tactical Distributors included two little Army men in there. While as a former radio operator (18E), I liked the guy gabbing on the radio with a Mac-10, I’m more partial to the guy with the recoilless rifle. Because… who doesn’t like blowing stuff up?

Photos: Author

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 3

Tuesdays are always our Leg Day at the gym followed by a 5-mile run. Begin with pull-ups, then squats, lunges, and the sled or Fireman’s carry followed by a 5-mile run.

You must build up your legs to carry you thru the course and beyond. Those are the muscles that tote the rucksack to the nth degree both in the course and in the Regiment. Stay hydrated and log your time in your workout notebook.

UBRR Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps

1 x 25 ft. climbing ropes if they are available

3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x 10 Deadlifts

4 x Sled push heavier weight (or Fireman’s Carry)

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 20 Side Planks

5-Mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Looking For a Binge-Watching Series on Memorial Day? Look No Further

Memorial Day preparations and programs are all going non-stop this weekend. In our small bucolic town in Central Massachusetts, our schools have all put together very nice programs to honor those members of our country who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Our high school put together a nice program where the students researched town members who had been killed in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Global War on Terror. They then read a brief bio on each to hit home the high cost of our freedoms.

Our vets from the local Veterans Council, VFW, American Legion, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts, as well as local citizens, went into our local cemeteries, placed flags on all of the military graves recently. Then we placed wreaths on all of the monuments around town.

Our local Memorial Day ceremonies will kick off at 8:20 today. Once that is over, we’ll partake in the traditional Memorial Day activities by grilling some food outside while giving thanks to those who made this all possible.

One of the other traditional fares on Memorial Day is the War Film marathons that are always on television. We’ve compiled a list of our favorites in the past, however, this year, we’re going to recommend a mini-series to binge watch and if you can last thru the entire thing, it will take some time.

Ken Burns produced some outstanding mini-series on PBS, his one of the Civil War back in 1990 was a classic. He later did one on Baseball in 1994 that was another must watch. But the one we’re recommending everyone dust off on Netflix is his marathon documentary on World War II, simply called ‘The War’.

Burns made this one in 2007 and it took six years of research to put together. Critics panned it because they said he tried to make it sound like the United States won the war alone. That is hogwash, Burns just eschewed the big picture and focused on the regular small town people of four communities and how the war was seen and felt down in Waterbury, Connecticut, Mobile, Alabama, Luverne, Minnesota, and Sacramento, California.

I was out of the country when it first aired and I missed it. It was put on my list of things to see but I never got around to watching it. Recently we saw it on Netflix and binge-watched the entire 15 or so hours over one weekend. And we were glad we did.

At the end of World War II, Eric Sevareid had reported to the people of the United States what he saw during the war years but after the war was over, he felt like he …and others like him failed to bring the true cost of it home. He wrote:

“Only the soldier really lives the war. The journalist does not — war happens inside a man — and that is why, in a certain sense, you and your sons from the war will be forever strangers. If, by the miracles of art and genius, in later years two or three among them can open their hearts and the right words come, then perhaps we shall all know a little of what it was like — and we shall know then that all the present speakers and writers hardly touched the story.”

What Burns showed in this masterpiece of filmmaking was while we all get to know several small-town Americans during the seven episodes, there is nothing ordinary about any of them. This isn’t a glossed over, sanitized version of World War II but a true first-hand look at the ugliness and cost of sending an entire generation off to war.

Burns often shows the brutality and the gruesome nature of how the war was conducted. With some never seen before footage. Troops being starved and beaten on the Bataan Death March, Japanese troops being burned alive by flamethrowers, the awful scope, and brutality of the Nazi death camps.

The remembrances of Quinten Aanonsen, a farmer’s son from Luverne are particularly poignant. He wanted to learn to fly to escape the family farm. He became a pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt and as a close ground support squadron member, he saw up close what the awesome firepower of “the Jug” could bring on the enemy. He also watched many of his friends die. The girl he met while in flight school and their letters back and forth kept his sanity.

Two of the people who appear in the film have written books and they give a great look at the war in Europe and the Pacific. Paul Fussell was in the infantry fighting the Germans in France and Germany and his book “Doing Battle” was a definite page-turner. E.B Sledge from Mobile wrote the fantastic book, “With the Old Breed.”

“Something in me died at Peleliu,” Sledge wrote. “Possibly I lost faith that politicians in high places who do not have to endure war’s savagery will ever stop blundering and sending others to endure it.”

The film also shares the plight of Japanese-Americans who were uprooted from their homes and ordered to internment camps. Then asked to serve the very country that treated them and their families as the enemy.

The treatment of the blacks both in the war factories and in the military gets spared nothing either. One of the more telling moments was that of a black Marine who was wounded and transported to a hospital ship, the only black man on board. And the ship’s barber refused to cut his hair.

“The War” is marvelously filmed with some outstanding action shots, the personal stories are both riveting and at times both funny and sad. And the narration by Keith David, who did the older Navy recruiting films, is first rate.

Take the time to watch “The War” which Burns brilliantly put together and when you see one of those bent-over WWII vets today, shake his hand and wish him well. After all, “The War” is their story.

Photo of US Pilot Quinten Aanonsen: PBS

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 2

A quick and early workout to start the day and week off right before our annual Memorial Day parade. Start off with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups, and dips before a 5-mile run (40 minutes or less) in a UBRR prep workout.

Remember to stay hydrated and mark your progress in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

2 x 20, Crunches

2 x 1-minute, V-ups

2 x 10 Dips (or to muscle failure)

2 x 10 Pullups as many as possible or to muscle failure (No time limit)

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion, mark your progress in your workout log book.

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 1

Sunday morning Rucksack march. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before beginning. Head out over varied terrain and try to go as fast as you can without running. Going to try to make it a little different by heading out in one direction for an hour by going as fast as you can. And then turning around and heading back the same way. How long did it take to get back?

Stretch well both before and after the event. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there.

UBRR Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

2-hour Rucksack march over varied terrain with a 45-pound minimum. Go as hard and fast as you can in one direction for an hour. Then turn around and go back to the start point. And mark your distance in your workout log book. Should have been a minimum of 8 miles if you are sticking to the standard.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 12, Day 7

Saturday morning and heading back to the gym for a shoulder and back workout. Use climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run in less than 32 minutes. Log your numbers down in the workout notebook

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Rucking for the SOF Candidate, “Wear it Until You Love it”

Recently we have revisited some of the basics of Land Navigation, one of the trio of the biggest obstacles that Special Operations candidates will face in their individual Selection courses. And now we’ll move on to the next one, and one we always get a lot of questions about. Rucking.

I look upon rucking just like any perishable skill in SOF. And a lot like shooting, it is one skill that requires a lot of practice and constant repetition to master. And it begins with a proper mindset. When wearing a rucksack, I think back to the film, “The Man in the Iron Mask” when King Louis XIV finds out he has a twin and places him in a prison wearing an iron mask so no one will realize there are two heirs to the throne. “Wear it until you love it,” Louis says… Sage advice

When it comes to rucking you will hear 100 different things from 100 different people. We all have our own tips of the trade and the vast majority of them are good. But I’ll share this; you have to find what works best for you. All that we’re doing here is just giving you the benefits of our own experiences and hopefully, these will be of value to you. But as a caveat, I’d be remiss in saying that what works for one man won’t necessarily work for everyone… So, with that in mind, let’s go.

Packing Your Ruck:

First up on the agenda is how your rucksack is packed. Sounds like a no-brainer…right? Not so fast. Like everything else, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. A common mistake that many young guys make is to put the heavy stuff on the bottom of your ruck and then put the lighter stuff on top of that. Don’t do it.

Now in preparation training for Selection, your ruck doesn’t have to have a packing list with all of your tactical needs. The weight, the correct weight is the important factor here. And a really, really, really good rule of thumb is to err on the side of caution.

If the cadre members tell you to have a 45-pound ruck without food and water, that’s exactly what that means and when I say err on the side of caution, the sword cuts both ways. 44 pounds and 15 ounces won’t cut it and that will be really frowned upon… Yes, that means, it could be a show-stopper. We always would add about 2-3 pounds extra just to be safe.

But just as being smart about adding a couple of extra pounds to be in the safe zone, there is such a phenomenon as “too much of a good thing.” If the cadre says “45-lbs”, while 50 is okay, going out there with 75-80 is not. Trust me, you won’t get Brownie points or extra credit for it. So, don’t go overboard with it. As always, be smart.

Your weight should be packed up high between the shoulder blades. If your ruck has radio pouch up high, that is where the sandbag or weight plates belongs. I prefer sandbags because it will mold to your pack and back and doesn’t have any sharp edges that can rub you on a ruck.

The guys over at GoRUCK sell these nice molded plates that will do the trick and they take all the guesswork out of it. I’ve used weighted plates in the past. And when the gym starts running short of 45-pound plates, someone will complain. But as I mentioned previously, I like to use sandbags.

We’ve talked boots in several different pieces before, in Selection, you will have to wear what the cadre allows, so the high-speed boots may have to take a backseat until you reach an operational unit. In the Army, that means boots that are compliant with AR-670-1. However, I recently acquired a new pair of boots and we’ll post a review of those ASAP.

Water and hydration are always very important even on days like the last couple where it is cloudy and cool and threatening rain. So, stay hydrated and force yourself to keep sipping while on the trail. Keep your hydration up in pre-training and it will be easier to keep going once you are in the course.

The trail we’ve been using in a power line cut so it was up-down without much flat terrain involved. When rucking it is best to lean forward and getting the arm swing going from side to side rather than a typical running type swing back and forth.

This spring, it seems the tick population has exploded. One can scarcely take a step without several of the buggers attaching themselves to you. Last night I took my dog on a quick jaunt down the trail. After only about 300 yards, she was covered. I pulled 10 off of her forelegs and cut things short. So, check yourself frequently.

But I digress, let’s talk about getting some speed going. When it comes to increasing speed, I don’t recommend that you run with a rucksack on your back while in training. They’ll be times in your selection course or the qualification course that you’ll have to make up time or want to pick your pace, especially on the downhill slopes. At those times, you’re going to have to do what you must, but for our training purposes don’t do it. Learn to increase your speed without running. Running with a ruck will hurt your knees and back…take it from the guy with two arthritic knees.

I like to lengthen my stride on the downhill slopes, some guys will tell you the exact opposite. Again, find out what works for you and stick to it. But the bottom line is don’t resort to running to increase your speed. You’re going to have to learn to ruck quickly without running sooner or later, and there’s no time like the present.

The standard is a 15-minute mile pace to pass the courses, you should be aiming to go lower than that. We were keeping a 14:30 pace on one of our practical exercise videos, which means we’ll have to step it up as well. Back in the day, I used to maintain around a 13-minute per mile pace which would bring myself in with around 20-25 minutes to spare on a 12-miler. And I could keep that pace for a 20-miler.

On one certification 20-miler at Ft. Bragg, our team maintained a 13-minute mile pace for the entire length of the course and that was with two 7-8 minute breaks built in to change socks and catch a breather. Of course, since the movement wasn’t considered tactical and was mapped out along a road, our communications supervisor (18E) strapped a boom box atop his rucksack and we rocked to AC-DC and Metallica. Much better than the sound of boots scuffling for 20 miles. We ended up with the best time in the battalion that night…the staff when learning of the music…were not amused. Always look for an edge, right? And sometimes it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

If anyone ever has any questions, feel free to send them along to [email protected] and I’ll be glad to answer them and we may use it in our next article or video.

Photo courtesy of US Army