Most people are familiar with the multifaceted physical abilities and intensity of U.S. Navy SEALs. Yet there is a wide range of additional faculties, attributes, and disciplines necessary to excel as a Special Operator.
When it comes to pure physical prowess, requirements are extremely intense. U.S. Navy SEALs need to run, swim, jump, carry, endure, and lift, among many other things. That endurance is crucial — Navy SEALs must have the physical and mental resilience to withstand extremely cold temperatures, deprivation, long journeys, and intense heat. They will need to rappel out of helicopters and airplanes, climb mountains, or close with an enemy in tight quarters under heavy fire. They need to do all of this while under extreme stress and fatigue.
Any given Navy SEAL, whether underwater or climbing mountains to reach enemy locations, will be carrying a large amount of weight. SEALs don’t just need to be strong, but have to sustain physical strength over seemingly unachievable periods of time. The body must be tough.
Mental Toughness
However physically strong the SEAL, none of these tasks is even remotely possible without what are perhaps the most important attributes — mental toughness, discipline, and focus.
An Olympic swim coach once printed T-shirts saying, “The body achieves what the mind believes,” meaning every intense or significant physical accomplishment must be matched if not fully inspired by a commensurate mental intensity. This is key for Navy SEALs. Any act of physical resilience, strength, and endurance must be driven by a clear mental and emotional resolve.
There is still another reason adversaries see Navy SEALs as being so dangerous, and that is efficiency. Navy SEALs explain that Special Operators are trained to think of the most efficient way to accomplish an objective.
The emphasis must always be on finding a solution and focusing on a clear, measurable, and achievable goal. They then set out to achieve it in the most efficient way possible. Can an objective be reached faster? Can a goal be accomplished with less effort by identifying efficiencies? What is the optimal method among the many ways to accomplish an objective? By acting efficiently, perhaps one course of action will enable additional critical objectives to be accomplished.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in /lComparative Literature from Columbia University.
From 19FortyFive
A Russian Submarine Accidently ‘Destroyed Itself’
Total Massacre’: Ukraine Footage Shows Russian Cruise Missile Shipment Attacked
