Mental Toughness Begins With Purpose Says US Navy SEAL

[rangerrebew]

 Apr 10, 2020,02:36pm EDT
Mental Toughness Begins With Purpose Says US Navy SEAL
 
Kevin KruseContributor
 

How can we increase our mental toughness, in order to drive more resilience?

Stephen Drum is a combat-tested retired Navy SEAL Master Chief who has 27 years of experience leading and developing high-performance teams. Drum has trained and led U.S. and foreign partner special operations forces on high-risk and strategically vital missions across the globe, including combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. I recently interviewed Drum on my leadership podcast about the “Warrior Toughness” program he co-developed for The U.S. Navy.

Kevin Kruse: When you went through SEAL training back in the early nineties, did they do any resiliency training or stress management training?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2020/04/10/mental-toughness-begins-with-purpose-says-us-navy-seal/#38ad40a5777d

[sneakypete]

@rangerrebew

As I am certain you already know this,this is for those that don't.

Anything this guy tells you is self-serving because his second career is developing training contracts with the Navy.

The TRUTH is pretty much nobody lacking in self-confidence or who tends to be a quitter when it starts getting tough ever volunteers for these career fields to start with. ANYBODY that thinks basic training or boot camp was tough should never even THINK about volunteering for ANY Special Operations career field.

Even then,there are a few who could make it if they wanted,but just dropped out when they began to fully realize the dangers involved,or just didn't want it bad enough to continue to make the effort.

Make no mistake about it. Being physically capable is the smallest part of this. It's the mental part that is the most important. Not only intelligence,but the mental drive to just not quit until you fall over and can't move another inch. Even then a good candidate will try to crawl.

A quitter on a special operation team is a danger to both himself and his team mates.

BTW,for those who don't know,the US Army Ranger training is the most physically demanding training in the US Army. I never got to go to Ranger School because when I was in the army the only way to go was to be a West Point graduate or reenlist with the guarantee of a slot in Ranger School,but I have been friends with a good number of SF NCO's who were both Ranger School Graduates as well as SFTG graduates,and every one I ever talked with this about told me Ranger School was tougher physically.

Now that the Ranger School field is open to any enlisted trash that wants to volunteer and can pass the physical ,I HIGHLY recommend it and at least a  year tour in a Ranger Battalion before volunteering for SF.

There is no such thing as too much "infantry prep" for a career combat arms soldier. You MUST master the basics to truly understand tactics and support at an advanced level,and it is not uncommon for a SF buck sergeant to serve in combat as a company commander of foreign troops. That is a piss-poor time to discover you don't know how to plan and command an advance or a tactical retreat of an infantry company in combat.

[rangerrebew]

A good example of mental toughness is the Story of Lou Zamperini, a POW of the Japanese during WWII,  in the book and movie Unbroken.

[sneakypete]

A good example of mental toughness is the Story of Lou Zamperini, a POW of the Japanese during WWII,  in the book and movie Unbroken.

@rangerrebew

That movie name rings a distant bell,but thanks to chemo brain I can't remember if I have seen it,or just heard about it at one time.

I will be using my ROKU to track it down and put it on my list as soon as I post this.

[rangerrebew]

It is one of the best.  Either the book or movie.