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The Definitive Spec Ops Resource

THE DEFINITIVE SPEC OPS RESOURCE FOR FITNESS AND SELECTION

US Army Special Forces

How You Handle Adversity or Failure Will Follow You Through Life

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi


When we write here at SpecialOperations.com and have discussions with aspiring candidates for the various units, we tend to deal only with the positive. It is par for the course, by and large, the vast majority of us are those Type A, can-do personalities who are a glass-half-full type of people. We don’t deal in failure and won’t tolerate it. We focus on achieving everything that we set our sights on…it is who we are.

However, for the vast majority of candidates for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) forces, they will face adversity and in this case failure before attaining their goal. We’ve steered clear of this question for the most part in the past because we tend to only think positive, but what about the majority of the people who find that they have failed a part or all of the courses?

Why Do Candidates Fail: We know that the attrition rates in Selection are high, and the courses are designed exactly for that. So where do these candidates fall into the “unsuccessful” formation when all is said and done? Many get injured, through no fault of their own during the rigorous training. The vast majority of these candidates have an open path to return once they have fully healed and are once again ready to go.

Others will fail to meet the high standards that the services insist upon in Selection in one or more of the gated events physically or academically. The cadre at the Selection courses keep meticulous records for a reason. The candidates that fail to meet the standards will have their records closely evaluated and a decision will be made as to whether that individual is clear to return and try again.

Some candidates are recycled right into the next available class, which is the best scenario for everyone involved. This also happens many times with injured candidates whose injuries were of the minor category where the candidate heals up quickly. If these cases, most candidates are allowed to return in this scenario as well. The cadre will ensure the candidate knows why he failed and what would need to be done to rectify that unfortunate situation in the future.

The third group of candidates failed because they quit. That is a dicey can of worms there. When a candidate quits, there is a 99.9999 percent chance that he will not be allowed to return to Selection to try it again. The cadre members recognize that not everyone is cut out for Special Operations and many will fail to meet the standards. But as long as a candidate gives his all, that candidate will leave knowing that his efforts weren’t good enough but at least has an opportunity to fix the deficiencies that caused the failure. Quitting? That is too bitter a pill to contemplate.

How To Handle Failure? Here’s the elephant in the room. And remember this, even experienced operators will fail occasionally. Do you think every mission is a success? No, and it is in how we handle the adversity that we will judge ourselves and ultimately be judged by our peers.

I call your attention to the quote above, I also write for an NFL website, this weekend was the big cut-down for professional football players as teams had to cut their rosters from 90 players in training camp to a 53-man roster. So, at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, 1184 players not only failed to meet the standards but also lost their jobs as well. For most of them and you as well in Special Operations, how do you handle the adversity? It’s here now and isn’t a bad dream.

It’s time to get off the canvas and get back to work. Learn from this as you would any other training exercise where you were successful. Take stock of the good, the bad and if necessary, the ugly. Then embark on a course correction to retrain yourself on the tasks that need attention.

That is the Special Operations way, we aren’t going to dwell on the failure aspect of it, other than to admit to ourselves there was an issue that needs fixing. We don’t point fingers or blame others for our own shortcomings.

Others may decide to not return. Special Operations isn’t for everyone, and the attrition rates show that point clearly. It doesn’t mean that the candidate that tried…and failed is any less of a valued soldier. Many of those who fail, return to and excel in their home units. It is that excellence in the conventional military, that was the reason that they tried out for Special Operations in the first place.

Don’t let the failure rule your being, learn from it and become better for it. Many successful and very good special operators, didn’t pass their Selection and Qualification courses on the first attempt.

It is how we handle the adversity of a temporary setback that will ultimately show how we’ll be judged. If you get knocked on the canvas nine times, ensure you get back up ten. Don’t ever let a temporary failure stop you from giving it your absolute best. Go all out. When you get to Special Operations Selection, act like you are the third monkey on Noah’s Ark.

And it is raining like hell.

Photo: DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 7, Day 2

Some good pretest work for the Upper Body Round Robin (UBRR) with many of the exercises that will be tested. Always go for perfect form when doing the pushups, it will be an area that is always looked at hard during the PT tests in Selection.

After the exercises, a three-mile run, the standard is 24 minutes, we’ll look to do better than that. Mark the time in your workout logbook

UBRR Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

2 x 1-minute Pushups

2 x 1-minute Sit-ups

2 x 1-minute, Crunches

2 x 1-minute, V-ups

2 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure (no time limit)

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

3-mile run (24-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Jose Rodela, Special Forces, Medal Of Honor, Sept. 1, 1969

Remember Your Regiment…

Former Green Beret, SFC Jose Rodela who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in Vietnam, did not find the news that his award was being upgraded to the Medal of Honor, many years later in 2014 very well. In fact, he wished that the government hadn’t brought up that fateful day at all.

The war, and the memory of close friends who didn’t survive that battle still haunt the veteran and he’d prefer to leave the battle and the results far away.

“I’m a little disturbed,” said Rodela, when he found out his medal was being upgraded. “I don’t like it, but I go along with it because of service to my country. I really wish they had left me alone, but I’m here and I’m going to give you the best I know.”

Congress, several years ago, began scanning records of Black, Hispanic and Jewish troops to see if there was any bias that would have prevented them from receiving the Medal of Honor from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. There were 19 men that fell into that category, two were Special Forces veterans from the Vietnam war. One of them was Rodela. He was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama at the White House on March 18, 2014.

Vietnam veterans Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris, Master Sgt. Jose Rodela, and Sgt. Santiago J. Erevia, along with 21 other veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, had their Distinguished Service Crosses upgraded to Medals of Honor. Here, they take part in a Medal of Honor presentation ceremony at the White House, March 18, 2014. Of the 24 who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, only Morris, Rodela and Erevia are living. (Department of Defense photo by J.D. Leipold, Army News Service, Defense Media Activity)

Rodela was born in Corpus Christi, TX and left school in his sophomore year because he was bored and looking for the discipline that the military offered. Rodela joined Special Forces and was assigned to Detachment B-36 of the 5th Special Forces Group, although an NCO was a company commander of a group of Cambodians, he helped to recruit, train and then lead into combat.

In an interview he did with the media in December of 2013, Rodela said that recruiting the Cambodians was a normal occurrence. “Every three months we’d go to Cambodia, load up the volunteers in C-130s, and take them to war,” he said. Rodela and the other SF NCOs would train them through basic combat training and then lead them into combat.

Rodela (center front row) with his Cambodian strikers

Rodela would sometimes recruit Vietnamese but preferred Cambodians as he said they were the superior fighters. But the Green Berets would never mix the two ethnic peoples as they both disliked and distrusted one another.

On September 1, 1969, the Mobile Strike Force that the SF troops were leading, would get into a pitched battle with North Vietnamese regulars at Phuoc Long Province, South Vietnam.

The North Vietnamese outnumbered, and outgunned the SF-led strikers but that never deterred the Green Berets. “We looked for them, found them and killed them,” Rodela said. “That’s what we were there to do.”

But the NVA regulars were dug in and prepared for the battle which was to come and would last 18 hours. At the very outset of the battle, the Cambodian troops under the SF men came under withering machine gun, rocket and artillery fire.

Rodela displaying immense coolness under fire moved out into the open and began to move his men into a half-moon defensive perimeter. His actions gave the rest of the battalion time to organize a coordinated defense and saved his unit from sustaining even worse casualties. The strikers lost 11 dead and 33 wounded.

During the battle, he was the only man moving, as he went from position to position, physically checking on the status of his men. Encouraging them, moving them to more stable defensive positions, checking on the wounded, he was an inspiration to the rest of the men. Despite being targeted by machine gun and rocket fire, he kept this up for the entire 18 hours and ignored his own wounds, shrapnel in his back and head.

In an interview with the San Antonio Express, Rodela recalled having to take out a machine gun position, armed by young teenagers just 16-17 who didn’t realize the predicament they were in until it was too late. They were laughing and jeering at Rodela as he tried to clear the position and free his men who were under fire.

“The rest of them left but they hung around that machine gun, and they kept shooting. I just went around the bushes and they just wouldn’t leave, wouldn’t leave. I shot them. I (yelled), ‘Get out of here!’” Rodela remembered. “I was trying to recover my people; they were being shot by the machine gun. They kept interfering. Young kids! Wow, that’s what bothers me. I had to shoot them.” During the battle, Rodela lost his two best friends, Green Berets SSG Rudy Chavez and SFC Joe Haga who were killed in the intense firefight.

Rodela and his Cambodians came across an orphaned 12-year old boy who was all alone with no one in the jungle. He took him in and was planning on adopting the boy and bringing him to the United States. So the boy stayed with the unit and one night he stepped on a landmine and was killed. Rodela said, he had already thought of the boy as his own son and his death haunted him.

After Vietnam, Rodela was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group and utilizing his Spanish language skills, he served in Colombia and many other countries in Latin America before retiring from the Army in 1975. He went into business with a Latin American seamstress making maternity clothes for a while but has lived quietly since. Until his DSC was upgraded to the MOH, his own children didn’t know about his exploits. Asked why, he said, “because you have the mission of giving them orders and they don’t come back.”

It is doubtful, the proud and private Rodela will be making many appearances as a speaker. “I can’t forget it, it’s just I don’t repeat it. I don’t want to repeat it. There was a lot of people hurt, a lot of people who never came back. Let them rest,” Rodela said.

Rodela still lives, quietly in San Antonio.

Medal Of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Sergeant First Class Jose Rodela distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the company commander, Detachment B-36, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces during combat operations against an armed enemy in Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam on September 1, 1969.

That afternoon, Sergeant First Class Rodela’s battalion came under an intense barrage of mortar, rocket, and machine gun fire. Ignoring the withering enemy fire, Sergeant First Class Rodela immediately began placing his men into defensive positions to prevent the enemy from overrunning the entire battalion. Repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire, Sergeant First Class Rodela moved from position to position, providing suppressing fire and assisting wounded, and was himself wounded in the back and head by a B-40 rocket while recovering a wounded comrade. Alone, Sergeant First Class Rodela assaulted and knocked out the B-40 rocket position before successfully returning to the battalion’s perimeter.

Sergeant First Class Rodela’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

Citation represents Soldier’s rank at time of action.

Photos: US Army/DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 6, Day 6

Friday morning at the gym means that it is Leg Day our favorite day of the week. Start off with some Squats – front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell. After the weighted sled push, and some lunges mixed in there as well, we’ll finish off with a 4-mile run.

The leg training is very important as it will help your strength and endurance during the ruck marches and will prepare you for life in the operational units where the rucks and gear get heavier.

UBRR Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR.

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

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x 10 Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 10 Leg Extensions

3 x Weighted sled push of substitute Fireman’s Carry

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Life In Special Operations Is in the Shadows, Not the Limelight

For the current crop of aspiring Special Operations Forces candidates that want to be part of the legacy of the different units under the SOCOM umbrella, being part of the command comes with not only great sacrifice but a great responsibility as well.

The special operators have to sacrifice much of themselves in training to get where they want to be and then in the long, endless operations that follow. It is strange to consider but the group of military personnel who flocked to sign up after the deadly events of 9/11, if they’ve stayed in the military, will reach service retirement eligibility in just three years.

And during this time, the Special Operations community, that constitutes just 1 percent of the force, has been doing the lion’s share of the combat during these many years of warfare in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and hundreds of other places where peace is a goal, not a reality. The warriors of the Special Operations Forces live in the shadows, despite the American public wishing it to be the opposite.

Every now and again, the veil is lifted off as we read and learn about men such as Air Force Tech Sgt John Chapman who was posthumously awarded the  Medal of Honor for incredible heroism in the face of overwhelming odds during a battle in Afghanistan many years ago. In 2016, President Obama hit the nail on the head while he was reading the Medal of Honor citation of Navy SEAL Ed Byers, he talked about the life of a Special Operations warrior.

“Today’s ceremony is truly unique — a rare opportunity for the American people to get a glimpse of a special breed of warrior that so often serves in the shadows.”

Byers’ comments after the ceremony touched on the notoriety that the vast majority of special operators eschew, in trying to stay out of the limelight.

“I’ve lived my entire career a very private life. We don’t talk about what we do, and this honor carries with it some obligations that I need to carry out…But I plan to continue doing my job as normal and continue being a SEAL. It’s something I love and grew up wanting to be.”

But for every Byers or Chapman that are bestowed with honors well deserved, there are hundreds if not thousands of special operators that work in the shadows of our 100 countries on a daily basis that perform acts of valor that John Q. Public will never know about. Most will receive no award or decoration for it, because, in their own words, it is just part of their job.

The American public can’t get enough stories about the warriors in the SOF community. Fueled by the Hollywood stereotype of superheroes in camouflage, with beards and tats, the public’s consciousness is full of these. But they’re not superheroes, their human, with human issues just like everyone else. They’re not all built like NFL linebackers, drag their knuckles on the ground or perform superhuman feats of strength every morning before breakfast.

The reality is quite different. Special Operations troops are, on average, a bit older and more mature than their conventional counterparts. Most are married with kids, and many are voracious readers of history, military tactics, business, and leadership. Many work on advanced degrees when they have the time at home station. They are like the founder of OSS (Office of Strategic Services in World War II) General William Donovan envisioned when he created the group that eventually morphed into CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces. “PhDs that can win a bar fight.”

So, while you are a member of our Special Operations Forces, most of what you do will never be recognized and with good reason, much of what are SOF units do on a daily basis is classified and the public doesn’t have the need to know what is transpiring behind the scenes in all of these countries. That’s why they are called the “Quiet Professionals.”

Americans have a right to know that their SOF troops are deployed in these countries and that part of it is public knowledge.

But what is exactly is going on, while boots are on the ground? Not necessarily. Once the veil is lifted on such operations by the Pentagon and the government, then, we’ll know what is happening.

There are exceptions to the rule. When an operation takes place of such huge implications like the bin Laden operation in Pakistan, then those operators need to tell their story right then.

Now, once a special operator’s career is over, then, by all means, they have every right to share their experiences with the public. In fact, all veterans have the right to share their stories with the people. Too many of our “Greatest Generation” veterans of the World War II era have been reluctant to share their stories, because the entire world was at war then and millions of being in uniform alone in just the United States, most of them feel, they did nothing that millions of other guys were doing.

As a result, with all of our veterans from that era, disappearing at the rate of more than a thousand a day, soon, the stories left untold will be lost forever. One of the things we’ve been doing here is trying to reach out to all veterans but especially the WWII ones to document their stories on video before they’re lost forever.

Just this week, a good friend from the Korean War era, who I’ve been after to tell his story was lost to us and we went to his wake with more than half the town in attendance on Tuesday night. He thought his story was unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Most of our town thought otherwise.

But as a reminder, if you think you’ll be famous by having a career in Special Operations, you’ll probably be disappointed. Most people will never know the vast majority of what you were able to accomplish. But you will and the men you served with will too. That’s all that is important.

Photo: DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 6, Day 5

Back to the gym on Thursday morning for a Chest and triceps workout to include some pushups, sit-ups, and kip ups. Then a 5-mile ruck march with 45-pounds minimum.

The weather in the Northeast is currently in the mid-to-high-90s with the heat index of about 105, so, ensure that you are taking the proper precautions out there,  remember to stay hydrated.  And mark your progress down in your workout log book.

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

3 x 10 Kip Ups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

5-mile rucksack march (45-pound minimum, 75-minutes minimum) over varied terrain, note your time

Stretch well after completion

Train To Pass The UBRR And You’ll Be Ready For Anything

About a year ago, we wrote a piece about preparing our candidates for Selection and in regards to the Physical Fitness test, training for the UBRR (Upper Body Round Robin) rather than the old, outdated 3-Event Physical Fitness test.

We had received several questions from potential candidates asking,“Why do use the Upper Body Round Robin Test, the UBRR to focus on for candidates fitness in your Special Operations Forces (SOF), Physical Training workouts instead of having them just ready themselves for the 3-Event test?  

It was a good question and for the next generation of candidates coming into the pipeline for Special Operations, we’ll explain why we feel this is not only the best way but the only way to go.

But first, a bit of background on the UBRR. Several years ago, a group of Delta operators headed up by Ed Bugarin decided to test themselves physically and came up with a test that would take some of the already most fit special operators in the world and give them a challenge. They took certain things each of them did well and weaved them into a round robin type of workout that eventually became the UBRR.

So, why use the UBRR and not the 3-Event PT Test that each candidate will be tested on when they get to Selection? Let’s take a look at some of these and any questions you have should be answered.

The 3-Event Test is a Poor Test For “Functional” Fitness for SOF: Although the three event PT Test is still what the military uses to test a candidate’s physical fitness, It is a poor choice for testing a Special Operations team member on functional fitness.

What is functional fitness? The textbook definition is that functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, at work or in sports. While using various muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time, functional fitness exercises also emphasize core stability.

The 3-Event test doesn’t train your body to do the tasks you’ll be required to conduct in SOF and for the military for that matter. The Army is scrapping the 3-Event PT Test (finally) and is working on a newer, more functional test.

Ask any Special Operator about the 3-Event PT test and they’ll tell you it is a joke. Many of the candidates who regularly get 300 on their PT test at their unit, come to Selection and are completely unprepared physically for what comes their way.

UBRR is a Much Better Fitness Indicator Overall: When it comes to functional fitness and having core body strength, the UBRR is head and shoulders above the standard testing event.

As we mentioned above the UBRR was designed by Ed Bugarin and some of the other Delta Force operators many years ago. These Delta operators were into fitness and decided to come up with a physical fitness test for themselves that would incorporate total body fitness. That is how the UBRR was born. The test will measure, upper body strength, endurance, cardio as well as core fitness.

Selection is no joke. You’ll be pushed to your physical limits. That is what the course was designed to do. And if you want to be in Special Operations and be part of the best-trained units in the world, you’ll have to be ready for any and all challenges that come your way. The UBRR is a very tough test that will gauge a person’s fitness level overall and takes into consideration upper body strength as well as endurance and cardio.

Let’s refresh our memories on the events of the UBRR

The UBRR test consists of nine events.

#1: Bench Press– 80% of your body weight, 6 repetitions minimum, no time limit

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 3 points

#2: Pushups– 40 push-ups is the minimum, 1-minute time limit.

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 2 points

#3 Sit-Ups– 40 sit-ups is the minimum, 1-minute time limit.

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 3 points

#4: Pull-ups– 6 pull-ups is the minimum, no time limit.

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 3.5 points

#5: Dips– 10 dips is the minimum, no time limit.

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 2.5 points

#6: Rope Climb– Member must climb a 20-foot rope while wearing a 20lb vest. No time limit. Pass/Fail

#7: Kipp Up– 6 Kipp Ups is the minimum, no time limit.

Each additional repetition above the minimum is worth 3.5 points

#8: Shuttle Run– 25 meters shuttle run, done 4 times, 24 second time limit.

Each full 0.1 second under the maximum is worth 2 points.

#9: 5 Mile Run/Ruck– 5-mile run, 40-minute time limit.

Every full 5-second increment under the maximum time is worth 2 points

5-mile ruck, 75-minute time limit. 45-lb rucksack, not counting water.

Every full-time increment of 15 seconds under the maximum is worth 2 points.

As soon as an individual finishes one exercise, he must start the next exercise in no more than 1 minute.

There is only one common standard for all age groups.

A failure of any part of the test is a failure overall. The fact that there is no sliding scale for age groups is interesting in the fact that, when members are in the operational units, they are all expected to be able to do the same job regardless of one’s age.

Only one attempt is allowed per participant at each station

In order to pass the UBRR, participants must achieve the following:

Pass all of the events with at least the minimum score, and receive at least 1100 total points from all the events combined. For those with trouble with math in figuring out your score, there is an online UBRR calculator that will figure out your score for you.

This is a much tougher test to measure total physical fitness and much better functional fitness test for what Special Operations troops are required to do. And this is part of being in SOF, the ability to work harder and accomplish more than the average troop.

The bottom line is this: if you as a Special Operations candidate are ready to pass the UBRR then the first gate you’ll be required to pass, the 3-Event PT test will be an absolute breeze. For now, we’re stuck with the antiquated PT Test. Eventually, the military will break out their new test, which is much better but in our opinion still has a way to go, especially for what you are setting your sights on.

But that doesn’t mean you have to set your standards low. Set out to get 1300-1400 in the UBRR, then achieve it and you’ll smoke the 3-Event PT Test, that we can guarantee. And if you’re in that kind of shape, you’ll be much better prepared to handle anything that will get thrown in your direction during the course. Does it guarantee you’ll be selected? No, but the odds of you being selected will be much, much higher

Approach all of your workouts and your physical preparation like any other challenge, and meet it head-on. Better yet, approach it like you are the third monkey on Noah’s Ark and it is beginning to rain.

Photo: DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 6, Day 4

Happy Hump Day, it is back and shoulders day at the gym. Then a 5-miler rucksack march. Ensure that your second pair of boots are well broken in and wear them today.

Remember to stay hydrated while on the march, especially so now that there is a heatwave blanketing the East Coast and mark your progress in the workout log book.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

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

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 10 Deadlift

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

5-mile Rucksack march (45-lb minimum, 75-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

“We Keep Rucking Until Our Leg Falls Off…Right?

There are times in Special Operations where you just have to stand back and say WTF just happened. And it seems to crazy that it can’t possibly be true…but it is and then you just have to laugh. He’s a funny rucking story for you guys this morning.

Many years ago, while our Special Forces team was on a counter-narcotics MTT to Bolivia, the 7th SFG guys did what they always have done, they worked themselves out of a job. For years we had been sending A-Teams to Chimore and Villa Tunari for the “Red Dragon” deployments. Then came the “Stonebridge” deployments, along with teams that trained with other Bolivian units in Riberalta, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and the Bolivian Rangers (the Manchego Bn), the unit that captured and executed Che Guevara after being trained up by Pappy Shelton and the 8th SFG from Panama.

The SF guys trained the UMOPAR, Unidad Móvil Policial para Áreas Rurales (Mobile Police Unit for Rural Areas) the Bolivian para-military counternarcotics police. They wore camouflage uniforms, carried M-2 carbines and M-79 grenade launchers and worked alongside the DEA Snowcap personnel.

As we were getting ready to leave after our six-month deployment, the MILGRP commander and the Country Team made it clear that they felt the UMOPAR training no longer needed an entire (or at times piggybacked pair of A-Teams) to train them up. In fact, they were looking for the DEA to have their own strike force that would remain on the books for the Bolivian government but would be trained and answer only to the U.S.  They asked us how it should be trained and put together. We threw together a quick concept and gave them an outline for that.

Fast forward a year later and my partner Dave and I are back and starting the training for this new UMOPAR unit. The first group of guys who were supposed to be the best troops in the UMOPAR for this new unit. The guys, mostly Bolivian campesinos were a mix of city guys from La Paz, Sucre and Cochabamba and the Indian tribes from the countryside who spoke Spanish as a second language.  

They were really short but were good natural runners but their rucking skills were in the neophyte stage. So we decided we’d start with 35-lb rucks and not the standard 45-lb that U.S. Special Operations troops begin with.

So for the first cadre-led ruck march PT session, we lined up in the dark about 4:45 in the morning. They were bitching in formation like all soldiers do about being up so early. Our concept was simple since we were just a two-man training team. I’d set the pace up front and Dave would be the “pusher” in the back, keeping the stragglers from falling too far behind. This should be easy…right?

So we trudge out the gate of Chimore with a few guys having chemlights attached to their rucks on the back, just in case the odd driver would be traveling the highway at that time of morning. The pace was easy for the first half-mile, we had already done a test run with just ourselves and had the route marked out.

I started picking up the pace and it wasn’t long before I’d hear the all-too-familiar sound of one guy behind me begin to shuffle and then that sound echoing as the slinky effect took hold.

At the Mile-2 mark, I picked up the pace even more and now the sound of small, intermittent pattering of Bolivian feet became a steady shuffle to keep up with the gringo up front. About two minutes later, from the middle of the formation behind me, I heard something I didn’t expect to….laughter. I turned to see where it was coming from but in the near pitch darkness, I couldn’t see more than one or two guys behind me.

“Well,” thinks I. If they’re finding so much humor in this, let’s get this party started. I picked up the pace even more. Now the shuffling was accompanied by heavy breathing from our candidates as we were moving out with a purpose.

A moment later, more laughter from the Bolivian troops, this time followed by Dave’s voice, now far behind me, “¡Conejo”, “¡Carajo!” Good I thought, Dave is kicking their asses back into the formation.

This sequence repeated two more times and each time, I’d pick up the pace even more, on the way back to base as we approached the bridge that led up to the gate, I started running and urged them to tighten it up and away we went. I ran the last 300 meters or so and then into the compound to where we had our formation. The sun was just beginning to rise and the inky blackness of night was giving way to that grey dawn where everything looks like it is in black and white.

As the formation slowed to a stop, the heavy breathing of the troops was intermingled with more laughter and good-natured shit talking of the troops to one another. I was totally unprepared for what I saw next. Dave looked like he’d run over by a semi. His uniform was tattered and covered with mud, and he was really pissed off…at me.

“What the hell happened”, I asked him?  He was hot but kept his voice low, “didn’t you hear me yelling in the back” he asked? The strap on my leg snapped and the f***ng thing kept falling off, and I must have wiped out about five times.”

Dave had lost his leg below the knee about three years earlier. And back then an SF guy or any army guy missing a limb still on active duty was a rarity. There was only three that I knew of. Dave, Carlos Parker, a Sergeant Major from 7th SFG who lost his in Vietnam and Major Dunford, who was our XO at SFAS and then lost his leg when his Hummer rolled over a mine during the first Gulf War.

The Bolivians in the dark had no idea that A. Dave had only one leg and B. that is was falling off during the ruck march. They thought he was just stumbling and falling in the dark. We would get to that in a moment. But first, we had to set things up properly.

We explained to the troops that they’d be carrying more weight and equipment than the average UMOPAR troops and they’d be getting better kit once we got the unit manned. But, they’d have to learn how to move and move fast with all of that gear.

So with that, I asked if there were any questions. And sure enough, one smart-ass in the back said, “It is easy for you guys to move that fast, you have legs twice as long as ours.” There was the cue.

I nodded to Dave, who slid his leg out of his pants and tossed it in front of the formation. It landed perfectly with the boot down standing at attention. There was a gasp from the formation, most of the Bolivians had never seen a prosthetic limb before and they were shocked into silence. “Your legs may be short, but at least you have two of those,” Dave said. You could hear a pin drop.

He leaned in and whispered to me, “that got their attention, I’m grabbing a shower”, and with that, he hopped on one foot into our building. I stood there for a moment longer. “Any other questions or comments?” There were none. I turned the formation over to the local commanders for showers and breakfast. As the troops left they were all coming by and staring at the leg before resuming their grab-assery on the way to their barracks.

We left Dave’s leg there until after breakfast, he had a spare with him and as the regular UMOPAR dudes were doing their morning chores they’d pass by our building and stare at this metal leg with a US jungle boot attached and then stare inside. Dave sent his broken prosthetic back up to Walter Reed and rather than fix it, they sent him a new high-speed version to the Embassy (that’s a story for another time).

Dave became Sargento Terminator to the troops and they asked a few times if he had any more metal parts. I told them his member was made of steel and they rolled on the floor and said that he must be popular with the ladies…if they only knew.

As we progressed with the training, the Bolivian guys never got great at rucking but they improved. One morning we told them we were going on an 8-miler. We told the troops we would be setting a quick pace thru the entire ruck march.

The Bolivian sergeant major looked at me and smiled. We keep rucking until our legs fall off, right?” he asked. That’s called motivation boys and girls.

So when you’re rucking to prepare for your own Selection and your legs begin to tire, remember…you’ve got two. DOL

Photo: DOD

Respect the Process In Selection and Don’t Overthink Things

When troops want to put themselves to the test and become members of the Special Operations Forces community, the Selection courses are frequently a source of treading in unknown waters. You’ll be asked to conduct exercises that may seem alien or unknown and you’ll frequently be in the dark until the last possible moment.

That is on purpose, it is part of what the course is designed to do, keep the candidates in the unknown. And for many candidates, it is a tough pill to swallow.

Most guys, myself included, always want to know what’s going on and how everything works. A prime example of that was when I worked as a Security Advisor for the film industry. While on the set, I was fascinated by the creative process of filmmaking and would constantly ask other crew members about their own small (or sometimes large) part of the process.

It actually had little to do with my own job which was to ensure that everyone on the set was safe and that we had safeguards in place to ensure it stayed that way. But to see the countless people behind the camera doing their jobs is part of what makes the magic that appears on the screen either good, great or poor many times.

But in Selection, the best piece of advice I’d give to anyone is to trust the process and go with the flow. So what does that mean? It is simple although when it comes to matters of Selection, there are times when the answer is so simple that it is hard to comprehend.

You’re there to pass Selection, you should have it in your mind that you are there to do everything in your power to ensure that you are standing in the formation at the end of the happy souls that are being selected and not the long, sad faces of those who are not.

Remember that you’re there until they send you back at the end, you’re always being evaluated…ALWAYS and it doesn’t matter what they’re going to ask you to do, just do it to the utmost of your abilities. Even when it seems trivial and unimportant, it isn’t. Everything is a test and everything is applicable.

Too many guys waste too much time and energy trying to G-2 the course and the Cadre and find out what is going on in every minute of every day. Don’t be one of those guys and don’t fall into that trap. It is a losing proposition.

Ignore the noise. I got an email about a year ago from a guy who asked about that specific thing and how to combat it. My advice to him then and to you, all now is to bring a book. When you have a few minutes of precious downtime between events or are waiting on the next word from the cadre, don’t get caught up in the old ladies’ sewing circle of rumors of what’s coming next, or how the cadre graded the last event or what torture they’re designing at that very moment. It is self-defeating and worthless of your time and energy.

As I have mentioned in the past, while a cadre member at Selection many moons ago, we’d move thru the barracks area at night dressed similar to the candidates and listen to the chatter. And 99.9997 percent of the time, it was woefully inaccurate.

The events that had already been conducted were the past, let them go. You can’t control anything from those events. Don’t worry about your performance on those. Only concern yourself with the next one or the event that you are conducting right now.

Everything else is completely out of your hands. As long as you are standing in the formation every day, you are part of the class. Focus only on the events at hand. Trying to figure out what event is next up is a complete waste of your energy, and trust me, you will need every last ounce of it.

Now, this doesn’t pertain to the whiteboards that the cadre leave out to signify the next formation and what uniform and equipment that is needed for each event that is upcoming. A good rule of thumb is to have people watching those for any updates from the cadre. The last thing you want to be is late or out of uniform. And they will get updated …frequently. (Don’t need to heel stomp that one…right?)

Now, the next thing about respecting the process is probably the most dangerous game to try to play. Every class that I was involved in and I have no doubt that it still happens, some joker will come up with a cockamamie idea that they have “figured out the most important events” to pass and which ones won’t matter to the cadre evaluating them.

This… more than just about anything else will get your ass put on a truck headed back to Ft. Living Room with a really long face. Believe it or not, you’ll hear a candidate in your class trying to sell you woof tickets that they know which events they have to go all for and which ones they can coast on.

I’ve heard these fairy tales with my own ears, as we walked around the candidates and if you hear one of your fellow candidates’ mouths these fallacies, avoid him like the plague. He’s on the fast track to Palookaville.  He won’t pass go, he won’t collect $200 and he certainly won’t be selected.

The cadre members have seen it all and their job is to watch and evaluate everything you do. If they see this kind of behavior, you’re signing your own ticket out of Special Operations. If you put in so much time and effort into preparing to go to Selection, it is absolutely unfathomable and borderline criminal not to go all out once you are in the course. But yet in every class, there will be that candidate that tries to overthink it and play the course, when in fact he’s gotten played…by his own mind.

You’ve waited for the chance, put everything into it, every day and pass or fail, there will be no regrets.

Remember you are always being evaluated, don’t be late, don’t be light, and don’t be out of uniform. Eat every bit of food in your MREs, you’ll need it. And drink water until it is coming out of your ears, you will more than need that.

Photo: DOD