The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Recently we have revisited some of the basics of Land Navigation, one of the trio of the biggest obstacles that Special Operations candidates will face in their individual Selection courses. And now weâll move on to the next one, and one we always get a lot of questions about. Rucking. I look upon rucking just […]
(Dedicated to Recon6) Riiiingggg⌠riiiingggg⌠riiiingggg⌠(this is a sound that phones made in the day, back before we could we could select Poison by Bell Biv Devoe as a ring tone) Jesus H. Christ, it’s only 0230⌠and oh-no, there can be only one good reason my home phone is ringing at this hour. […]
se¡lect /sÉËlekt/ verb 1.â¨carefully choose as being the best or most suitable: “he has been selected to take part” Every one of us inherently wants to be selected. âOhâŚPICK ME, PICK ME!â We bustled on the school playground forming up for games. Doesnât it seem like you can hardly just go participate in a thing […]
Prologue:There a two men who I credit, or blame, for bringing me to the Delta Force from my state of uncertainty and lack of self-confidence: James Nelson Sudderth and Matthew Loren Rierson. Both are departed. Both deliberately approached me and asked me to come to Delta Force. First it was Matt who asked me âwhen […]
One of the indirect benefits of being a Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit member is getting the chance to attend a series of interesting schools. Such schools aim at improving the participantsâ craft, whether he’s a shooter or an enabler (support guy). Each component command has a number of schools tailored to the needs of […]
The journey to becoming a Special Forces soldier won’t be easy. Special Forces training is rigorous and highly selective, but the courage and strength you will gain as a candidate will stay with you your entire life. In addition to Basic Combat Training, soldiers must have completed Advanced Individual Training and U.S. Army Airborne School […]
While taking part in a training course for a special mission, I understood that I would be attending SERE school at some point during the six-month course, though I didnât really know when. Our SERE training was split into an administrative phase of classroom training, followed by a no-notice internment phase in a prisoner-of-war camp⌠[…]
In an apparent move to attract more candidates, the Navy has released a new recruiting video about the Navy SEAL selection and training process. Many people donât realize that shiny military career fields in special operationsâsuch as SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, Pararescuemen, and Marine Reconâserve as a great way to recruit quality people for the […]
The time I spent in Hereford was hell on my body, even though it was almost healed from my ordeal on the hills. I had no toenails left, and the blister scars on my feet were still visible and hurt a little bit, especially when I put them in my new jungle boots to break […]
Read Part 1 of Surviving Delta Force Selection here. Having completed the first leg of the 40-mile forced march in twice the amount of time allowed to pass the selection phase, I was sure I was behind the power curve, but felt strong and fast and in good spirits. I felt confident that I could […]