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A friend from my Navy days told me the only way he survived BUD/S hell week was to mentally accept that he would either pass the course or freeze to death in th

by nugget 10y ago

A friend from my Navy days told me the only way he survived BUD/S hell week was to mentally accept that he would either pass the course or freeze to death in the water.

jacobolus 10y ago
For anyone else curious, BUD/S = Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, part of the US Navy’s special forces training. Considering the crazy life-threatening things special forces soldiers might be commanded to do in a real mission, weeding out anyone who doesn’t think like your friend is likely one of the main goals.
- overcast 10y ago
  Actually SEAL's are Special Operations, US Army has the Special Forces designation. They are completely different in the context of the military.
  - jacobolus 10y ago
    Wikipedia: Special forces and special operations forces are military units trained to conduct special operations.[1][2][3] NATO defines special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, trained, and equipped forces, manned with selected personnel, using unconventional tactics, techniques, and modes of employment".[4][1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_special_forces_units#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_special_force... > They are completely different From what I can tell “special operations” and “special forces” mean the same thing, as far as lay definitions of the generic terms are concerned. Here’s what Collins Dictionary says: “special forces: élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions”
    - overcast 10y ago
      I'm just telling you how the military designates the branches.
      - rhizome 10y ago
        Sure, and it's useful as far as it goes (I didn't know precisely), but this isn't the military.
    - mr_overalls 10y ago
      overcast is correct. "Special Forces", in the context of US military units, refers specifically to the Army's Green Berets. "Special Operations" is an umbrella term describing the high-trained, unconventional soldiers who serve in all branches of our military. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces_(United_States_Army) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces_(United_States_...
  - bryondowd 10y ago
    To be fair, that appears to be directed to a layman audience, possibly including non-US. In a general context like that, lower case 'special forces' can be assumed to be the generic term for the many international groups with a wide variety of official designations that fit similar loose criteria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces
- andyjohnson0 10y ago
  "The first two weeks of basic conditioning prepare candidates for the third week, also known as "Hell Week." During Hell Week, candidates participate in five and a half days of continuous training. Each candidate sleeps at most four hours during the entire week, runs more than 200 miles, and does physical training for more than 20 hours per day." [1] Insane. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_SEAL_selection_and_training https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_SEAL_sele...
- barbs 10y ago
  There's a neat 6-part series following one of the classes. Here's part 1 on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5LgsYCgKs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5LgsYCgKs
Buttons840 10y ago
Since we're talking about Navy Seals on a website about startups and business, I have to recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057/ https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1...
remarkEon 10y ago
When I went through Ranger School there was a similar mentality. You learn pretty quickly about how far you can physically push yourself, but the real true test was how much you could endure mentally. Sleep deprivation combined with a low calorie diet and extremely taxing physical tasks, I would say, ends up attacking your mental abilities in a way it's difficult to prepare for. I was probably in the best shape of my life when I started (and the absolute worst when I graduated) but the fact that you could quit at any time meant that you had to dig elsewhere for motivation. I think more importantly than anything you learn about your own physiology or mental dedication, you learn how to motivate and lead people who are as broken or more so than yourself. So when people ask "why is it necessary to destroy people like this" that's why.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  >I think more importantly than anything you learn about your own physiology or mental dedication, you learn how to motivate and lead people who are as broken or more so than yourself. So when people ask "why is it necessary to destroy people like this" that's why. Yes, because everyone knows that Suffering Makes Stronk. In fact, permanent damage to your physiology is nothing if you're stronk, and there's certainly no advantage to actually keeping healthy your whole life in performing difficult mental and physical tasks. /s
  - scott_s 10y ago
    I think a charitable read of remarkEon's comment assumes he meant in the context of combat training, and not necessarily in preparation for life in general.
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      I legitimately don't think that permanently injuring people makes them more ready for combat.
      - scott_s 10y ago

by nugget 10y ago

A friend from my Navy days told me the only way he survived BUD/S hell week was to mentally accept that he would either pass the course or freeze to death in the water.

jacobolus 10y ago

For anyone else curious, BUD/S = Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, part of the US Navy’s special forces training. Considering the crazy life-threatening things special forces soldiers might be commanded to do in a real mission, weeding out anyone who doesn’t think like your friend is likely one of the main goals.

overcast 10y ago
Actually SEAL's are Special Operations, US Army has the Special Forces designation. They are completely different in the context of the military.
- jacobolus 10y ago
  Wikipedia: Special forces and special operations forces are military units trained to conduct special operations.[1][2][3] NATO defines special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, trained, and equipped forces, manned with selected personnel, using unconventional tactics, techniques, and modes of employment".[4][1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_special_forces_units#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_special_force... > They are completely different From what I can tell “special operations” and “special forces” mean the same thing, as far as lay definitions of the generic terms are concerned. Here’s what Collins Dictionary says: “special forces: élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions”
  - overcast 10y ago
    I'm just telling you how the military designates the branches.
    - rhizome 10y ago
      Sure, and it's useful as far as it goes (I didn't know precisely), but this isn't the military.
  - mr_overalls 10y ago
    overcast is correct. "Special Forces", in the context of US military units, refers specifically to the Army's Green Berets. "Special Operations" is an umbrella term describing the high-trained, unconventional soldiers who serve in all branches of our military. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces_(United_States_Army) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces_(United_States_...
- bryondowd 10y ago
  To be fair, that appears to be directed to a layman audience, possibly including non-US. In a general context like that, lower case 'special forces' can be assumed to be the generic term for the many international groups with a wide variety of official designations that fit similar loose criteria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces
andyjohnson0 10y ago
"The first two weeks of basic conditioning prepare candidates for the third week, also known as "Hell Week." During Hell Week, candidates participate in five and a half days of continuous training. Each candidate sleeps at most four hours during the entire week, runs more than 200 miles, and does physical training for more than 20 hours per day." [1] Insane. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_SEAL_selection_and_training https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_SEAL_sele...
barbs 10y ago
There's a neat 6-part series following one of the classes. Here's part 1 on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5LgsYCgKs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5LgsYCgKs

Buttons840 10y ago

Since we're talking about Navy Seals on a website about startups and business, I have to recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057/ https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1...

remarkEon 10y ago

When I went through Ranger School there was a similar mentality. You learn pretty quickly about how far you can physically push yourself, but the real true test was how much you could endure mentally. Sleep deprivation combined with a low calorie diet and extremely taxing physical tasks, I would say, ends up attacking your mental abilities in a way it's difficult to prepare for. I was probably in the best shape of my life when I started (and the absolute worst when I graduated) but the fact that you could quit at any time meant that you had to dig elsewhere for motivation. I think more importantly than anything you learn about your own physiology or mental dedication, you learn how to motivate and lead people who are as broken or more so than yourself. So when people ask "why is it necessary to destroy people like this" that's why.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago
>I think more importantly than anything you learn about your own physiology or mental dedication, you learn how to motivate and lead people who are as broken or more so than yourself. So when people ask "why is it necessary to destroy people like this" that's why. Yes, because everyone knows that Suffering Makes Stronk. In fact, permanent damage to your physiology is nothing if you're stronk, and there's certainly no advantage to actually keeping healthy your whole life in performing difficult mental and physical tasks. /s
- scott_s 10y ago
  I think a charitable read of remarkEon's comment assumes he meant in the context of combat training, and not necessarily in preparation for life in general.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    I legitimately don't think that permanently injuring people makes them more ready for combat.
    - scott_s 10y ago