A lot of times we tend to overthink things as Americans when facing an obstacle or a problem. Many of us, when facing an issue, do as much research as possible…which is a good thing. But then we’ll take it to the nth degree and overthink things too much. And for those trying to pass […]
LONG TAB
Mail Call | Rucking Problems With Shoulder Pain and How to Fix it
Getting prepared to pass Selection into Special Operations is a long, and difficult process. As the summer months begin to slowly morph into fall, many of the prospective candidates will begin their preparation in earnest to tackle the course. For many of the candidates, the two biggest elephants in the room revolve around carrying a […]
Not Comfortable Enough in the Water? Master the SEAL Drown Proofing Test
If you aspire to be a member of the Special Operations community, you are going to face challenges at every turn. A special operator has to be comfortable in any environment, on the land, in the air, and in the water. A former BUDS graduate told me once that for candidates going into Naval Special […]
How Can Women Improve on Rucking for Special Ops Selection
Rucking is one of the biggest discriminators for Special Operations Selection. It, along with Land Navigation are two of the biggest problem areas that candidates face when attempting to enter into one of the units in the military. And now with Special Operations open to women, they face the same issues that men face. In […]
How You Handle Adversity or Failure Will Follow You Through Life
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall” Vince Lombardi When we write here at SpecialOperations.com and have discussions with aspiring candidates for the various units, we tend to deal only with the positive. It is par for the course, by and large, the vast majority of us are those […]
Train To Pass The UBRR And You’ll Be Ready For Anything
About a year ago, we wrote a piece about preparing our candidates for Selection and in regards to the Physical Fitness test, training for the UBRR (Upper Body Round Robin) rather than the old, outdated 3-Event Physical Fitness test. We had received several questions from potential candidates asking,“Why do use the Upper Body Round Robin […]
“We Keep Rucking Until Our Leg Falls Off…Right?
There are times in Special Operations where you just have to stand back and say WTF just happened. And it seems to crazy that it can’t possibly be true…but it is and then you just have to laugh. He’s a funny rucking story for you guys this morning. Many years ago, while our Special Forces […]
Life In Special Operations Is in the Shadows, Not the Limelight
For the current crop of aspiring Special Operations Forces candidates that want to be part of the legacy of the different units under the SOCOM umbrella, being part of the command comes with not only great sacrifice but a great responsibility as well. The special operators have to sacrifice much of themselves in training to […]
Respect the Process In Selection and Don’t Overthink Things
When troops want to put themselves to the test and become members of the Special Operations Forces community, the Selection courses are frequently a source of treading in unknown waters. You’ll be asked to conduct exercises that may seem alien or unknown and you’ll frequently be in the dark until the last possible moment. That […]
Rucking Review, Doing It the Right Way is Very Important
In our Selection preparation, we always stress the importance of Rucking and the value that all of the services put on it in the Special Operations community. The services will all stress the 45-pound minimum in training and one of the frequent questions we get is why train with 45-pounds when in reality the amount […]