4 ms·

How Navy SEALs Fight Smarter, Not Harder

32 points by bkohlmann 15y ago

danso 15y ago
I've also admired the Green Berets, though their work seems to rely less on the tight cohesion of the SEALs
- gexla 15y ago
  I disagree, tight cohesion is important for any position in the military. When you are in a combat situation where you are responsible for the life of yourself and the lives of others then it doesn't matter what unit you are in. You could be the cook and you are in the same situation as the SEALS right next to you. That's what military training is all about, right from basic training. You learn to think and act as one so that everyone is on the same page in any given situation. Special forces just gets a lot more of this type of training and it's more intense. Regular units are the punch clockers of the military, the special forces are more like the startups.
- runjake 15y ago
  Army Special Forces ("Green Berets") and the Navy SEALs have distinct missions, but teamwork is the root of everything they do. In what ways and to what do you base this opinion on? The whole of the US military is taught that the team comes first.
  - danso 15y ago
    Yes, I misspoke. What I meant was that GB seemed to be tasked more with longer-term missions (leading guerilla warfare, long term reconnaissance) and less of the kind that have the level of tactical teamwork that the SEALs seem to focus more on. Obviously, the GB work in teams for their work as well.
te_platt 15y ago
I particularly liked this quote from the article: "My training is never complete." It's a good reminder that a degree or certification is a marker of progress but not an end in itself.
gexla 15y ago
More lessons... The military is an organization which accepts nearly anyone who is able. The only real restrictions are criminal records and medical. Most of the people joining aren't the cream of the crop of society, they aren't the types who are sending out applications to ivy league colleges. Many are also simply looking for a job. The point here is that from the beginning, there isn't a high bar to become elite among the entrants. Once you are in the military and get started on the path of your career, most of your peers simply get into their regular lives. They have kids, get married and have real lives outside the military. They punch their clock to start the day and punch their clock to end the day. Again, there isn't a high bar to be elite among these peers. (ETA: that's not to say that they aren't elite because they got married and have kids. A lot of people in special forces have families. The difference is that the elites continue to keep their work as a high priority to the point where they likely struggle with keeping everything balanced.) Our society has fabricated a lot of glamour around the world of special forces and this attracts a lot of people who get caught up in that. I think a lot of people who try for special forces only see that glamour and that veil is easily pierced. Once they see the real work involved then they lose heart and fail the weeding out processes. The people who are left are those who are truly striving to be the best and have a competitive spirit which won't allow them to fail. At first, the recruits see hellish training, but eventually they see that this is simply the type of situation they could find themselves in at any time during real combat. When you are in a real survival situation and things get tough (this could be military or simply being stranded in a remote location) then you need grit and keeping calm under fire to keep yourself alive so that you can reach your goals. The special forces training put the recruits in this situation so that when shit hits the fan, they are already in a familiar situation. So, some of the lessons to me are... There might be a lot of competition out there, but most of that competition is just average. I can be a success simply by running a little faster than the herd, and this isn't hard to do. Of course, the curve gets exponentially steeper as I attempt to join the ranks of "world class." There is a lot of glamour in being a successful entrepreneur in a start-up, but that glamour is a fabrication. It's not the reason for being there and it's not what will keep you motivated to put in the work that is required for success. Those who aren't in for the right reasons will quickly fail. Those who are ready to compete and reach into that "super human" in us will be the ones standing at the end. When the start-up environment morphs the typical corporate environment, then we are no longer in the environment in which we forged our elite skills. At this point, it's time for us to go. Start-up for life!
mrgreenfur 15y ago
Respect to the SEALS, but these examples are absurd. They get billions in funding and they can't check the weather and buy some snow shoes???
dguaraglia 15y ago
Meh, am I this shallow? I just dismissed the whole article because of a misuse of "principal" instead of "principle".

32 points by bkohlmann 15y ago

danso 15y ago

I've also admired the Green Berets, though their work seems to rely less on the tight cohesion of the SEALs

gexla 15y ago
I disagree, tight cohesion is important for any position in the military. When you are in a combat situation where you are responsible for the life of yourself and the lives of others then it doesn't matter what unit you are in. You could be the cook and you are in the same situation as the SEALS right next to you. That's what military training is all about, right from basic training. You learn to think and act as one so that everyone is on the same page in any given situation. Special forces just gets a lot more of this type of training and it's more intense. Regular units are the punch clockers of the military, the special forces are more like the startups.
runjake 15y ago
Army Special Forces ("Green Berets") and the Navy SEALs have distinct missions, but teamwork is the root of everything they do. In what ways and to what do you base this opinion on? The whole of the US military is taught that the team comes first.
- danso 15y ago
  Yes, I misspoke. What I meant was that GB seemed to be tasked more with longer-term missions (leading guerilla warfare, long term reconnaissance) and less of the kind that have the level of tactical teamwork that the SEALs seem to focus more on. Obviously, the GB work in teams for their work as well.

te_platt 15y ago

I particularly liked this quote from the article: "My training is never complete." It's a good reminder that a degree or certification is a marker of progress but not an end in itself.

gexla 15y ago

More lessons... The military is an organization which accepts nearly anyone who is able. The only real restrictions are criminal records and medical. Most of the people joining aren't the cream of the crop of society, they aren't the types who are sending out applications to ivy league colleges. Many are also simply looking for a job. The point here is that from the beginning, there isn't a high bar to become elite among the entrants. Once you are in the military and get started on the path of your career, most of your peers simply get into their regular lives. They have kids, get married and have real lives outside the military. They punch their clock to start the day and punch their clock to end the day. Again, there isn't a high bar to be elite among these peers. (ETA: that's not to say that they aren't elite because they got married and have kids. A lot of people in special forces have families. The difference is that the elites continue to keep their work as a high priority to the point where they likely struggle with keeping everything balanced.) Our society has fabricated a lot of glamour around the world of special forces and this attracts a lot of people who get caught up in that. I think a lot of people who try for special forces only see that glamour and that veil is easily pierced. Once they see the real work involved then they lose heart and fail the weeding out processes. The people who are left are those who are truly striving to be the best and have a competitive spirit which won't allow them to fail. At first, the recruits see hellish training, but eventually they see that this is simply the type of situation they could find themselves in at any time during real combat. When you are in a real survival situation and things get tough (this could be military or simply being stranded in a remote location) then you need grit and keeping calm under fire to keep yourself alive so that you can reach your goals. The special forces training put the recruits in this situation so that when shit hits the fan, they are already in a familiar situation. So, some of the lessons to me are... There might be a lot of competition out there, but most of that competition is just average. I can be a success simply by running a little faster than the herd, and this isn't hard to do. Of course, the curve gets exponentially steeper as I attempt to join the ranks of "world class." There is a lot of glamour in being a successful entrepreneur in a start-up, but that glamour is a fabrication. It's not the reason for being there and it's not what will keep you motivated to put in the work that is required for success. Those who aren't in for the right reasons will quickly fail. Those who are ready to compete and reach into that "super human" in us will be the ones standing at the end. When the start-up environment morphs the typical corporate environment, then we are no longer in the environment in which we forged our elite skills. At this point, it's time for us to go. Start-up for life!

mrgreenfur 15y ago

Respect to the SEALS, but these examples are absurd. They get billions in funding and they can't check the weather and buy some snow shoes???

dguaraglia 15y ago

Meh, am I this shallow? I just dismissed the whole article because of a misuse of "principal" instead of "principle".