In the training and survival culture, the Navy SEALs were much respected. Somehow, we all came up with the belief that they are the greatest survival experts in the world, but they are not. Yes, they are well-trained in methods of survival; this is just a part of their preparation. Yet the SEALs are about survival, at least in the way we are talking about it. You’re talking about overcoming a hostile world in order to complete your mission. They’re about getting things done, rather than anything.
That’s not to say that we can’t learn a lot from the SEALs, we do. In fact, every SEAL needs to learn some very important lessons, in order to become a SEAL, which we should all learn as well. From what I know of SEALs, they should do well in a survival situation, and I have met a number of them. But it wouldn’t be because of their “survival capacity,” it was because of other items that I have ever seen or ever heard of in any SEAL.
In all the “special” armed forces worldwide, SEALs are unique. Their training is part of that. The word “SEAL,” which means that they are trained to operate in all three fields, stands for “sea, air and land.” It doesn’t matter if you use SCUBA to swim in, out of an airplane or hump your package across the hills in to your operating area; you are qualified to choose the best way for the specific mission.
Even though training is significant, something else makes SEALs much more unique. It’s something that comes from deep down inside the individual. Many people have it, others do not. Those that don’t can learn it, if they want it enough. But this drive must also come from within.
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This is what they have to dig up from within, which makes SEALs what they really are. It’s what makes them overcome all obstacles. That’s how they survive. What is it?
“The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.”
If there is anything that distinguishes SEALs from ordinary people, they don’t know how to quit. Each SEAL is a volunteer and has countless chances of leaving. Those wearing the trident insignia are those who decided not to give up, regardless of how rough it is.
The SEAL motto is “The only easy day was yesterday.” They’re not expecting it to be easy, in other words. No matter how rough it becomes, they steeled themselves to succeed.
There’s a bell right in front of the orderly room at the SEAL training camp. During Hell Week, the fourth week of BUD/S training, the trainees are kept going, in heavy physical training, for five days and five nights continually, with only four total hours of sleep. During that time, the instructors are constantly yelling at the trainees to “ring the bell”, which signifies they quit.
This may not seem like it, but the bell is actually the most important part of SEAL training. It’s not so much that they have to prove to the instructors that they can do it, but that they have to prove it to themselves. In order to be a SEAL, you must continue to do anything and carry out your mission. It is a very fearsome power that many armies admire, if you think about it.
We must have the same mentality towards our survival when it comes to you and I. If anything can ever defeat us, it is our own attitude, particularly an attitude that tells us to surrender. We will know that there is no reason to “ring a bell” and that we can resolve it.
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Think Ahead
SEALs aren’t just brawn, they’re brains as well. Although the requirements for BDU/S training do not set the bar to be so high, for SEALS the AFQT mean score is 112, two points higher than that required to become an officer. Most successful Navy SEALs have an IQ in the upper 120s.
It’s a good thing they’re that smart, too. SEAL teams are usually divided into smaller subunits, often units smaller than two or three people, so they can carry out their missions. While these teams are typically sponsored considerably, the team leaders also have to organize and track their own activities. Therefore, SEALs must be clever, they must also be planners; they must always be thinking ahead and be ready when it happens.
There was a great scene in a movie, where a SEAL was confronted on the beach by a group of five gang members who thought they were pretty tough. As he sat there, listening to them threaten him and drinking his beer, he was planning out his attack. He was more ready than they were to win the battle, even though they had him outnumbered.
Isn’t prepping all about looking ahead and deciding what we’ll need to have in order to survive? The more we can foresee what might happen in any given situation and, to solve it, the more we are prepared to be.
Always Aware
Situational awareness is such a part of a SEALs makeup that I really think it would be impossible to take one of them by surprise. These individuals lead a dangerous life, and they lift this awareness of the situation. Each sound, every smell and the surrounding air means something, perhaps not to their advantage. So they remain conscious, ready for anything.
We have two kinds of situational awareness in which we have to think about. They can be called Strategic situational awareness and Tactical situational awareness. Strategic situational awareness means recognizing what is going on in our world and which can lead to a disaster. This is the sort of consciousness “get ready, this comes here.” It helps us to respond until it is too late instead of simply responding. In order to preserve our strategic situational awareness, we need to remain updated.
The other form of situational awareness, the tactical situational awareness, is to know what’s going on around us. We don’t get that sort of awareness from watching the news, checking our favorite websites or even from listening to the police scanner. Rather, it is the type that is the way our environment is viewed and heard. The kind that came from a bad man with a knife or gun, looking for threats. The kind we have to react to RIGHT NOW!
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Know What You’re Doing
I’ve got to end this up by going back to where I started, the training that SEALs receive. They have an extensive experience in using any weapons, militant or civilian, that they might be part of our own armed forces, allies or enemies. They can make the most of it all.
Part of the purpose for Hell Week is to eliminate anyone who will quit before the Navy invests a great deal in their preparation. The Navy needs to ensure that they get their money’s worth. The costs of training for every SEAL, range from $350,000 to $500,000 and that running costs are about $1million a year. If someone is going to quit, it’s best that they do so before investing all that effort and money in them.
The Navy SEAL can be completed for up to 30 months, making it one of the world’s most rigorous military training programs. Nevertheless, this training is directly successful, because they can do whatever they are asked about. A Navy SEAL would probably never say “I don’t know how to do that.”. More importantly, if they don’t know how to do what they need, they will never be unable to complete a mission. Their well-equipped, but, above everything else, their preparation is exquisitely good.
We do need this standard of preparation when it comes to you and me. The ability to carry out and do a wide range in various tasks requires survival, and in particular long-term survival. I don’t care how large is your stockpile or what amount of equipment you have, your chances are extremely slender, if you don’t know how to use it. It’s time to learn new things, of course.
