“They don’t yell at you in the special operations community…”
If I were you, I’d find out a lot more about serving in the military, if you don’t, you may end up having a huge suprise! I’m sure there are lots of blokes in Afghanistan right now dreaming of a time when all they had to worry about was someone shouting at them. Talk to as many people as you can.
[quote]Lolkema wrote:
Not sure what it’s like once training is completed but I’m taking things one step at a time.[/quote]
In this case, taking thing step by step is a bad move. If you don’t like wait comes after the training, do not do the training. SF or not, your superiors will occasionally shout at you because being nice takes time you won’t have in the middle of a mission. Accept that or stay away from the military. I’m not being judgmental, it was one of the reasons I never served myself.
You’re thinking about joining the SAS without even setting foot in the marines or army?
haha! GL with that.
I read up years ago that unless you have a warrior-like mentality, which is the ability to focus past the sanctioned death squad persona, then you’ll fail miserably.
Can you make friends with a rabbit and kill it? Thats basic army 101, not the SAS.
Can you shit yourself or not move and do a shit? Thats basic army recon, not SAS.
One thing you’ll find is the ability to move huge weights count for nothing in special forces, you see all that muscle? It consumes calories by the bucketloads, guys who are not naturally big and need calorie intake to maintain size wont get far in special operations. You do not have access to a kitchen with a nicely stocked fridge/freezer.
If you want to have a chance in the military, special forces more importantly and personality types aside you should take up;
- Fell running
- Swimming
- Have a reasonable amount of muscle, if you’re normally 170lbs, 190-200lbs would be ideal.
- Have a technical background in something or an ability to absorb technical stuff
- Like the outdoors
- Dont give a crap if you get wet, cold or burned by the sun
- Can stand scottish people longer than 5 minutes
Ideally you want to have a certain comfort level with borderline homosexual behavior too
Read this do not waste your time training for it you either have it or you don’t
I did not train jack shit for the French foreign legion and passed everything yet a mate that joined with me and trained for a year did not get in,it got jack shit to do with fitness and preparation…
Everyone wishing to pas SF selection should read the article below it’s a real eye opener.
''lthough I am no couch potato and enjoy marching across country for a purpose, I utterly detest fitness training. However, as the date for selection approached I decided that I should maybe make a bit of effort, so I drove down to the Brecon Beacons with the intention of tabbing over the hills for a week. After three days I got so fed up with my own company that I packed my bags and went home. Without even an iota of exaggeration, that was the sum total of my preparation for the feared 22nd SAS selection course. Come now, anyone can manage that!
In my defence, because I’m not proud of this indolence, I ought to add that I didn’t do any training at all for 21st SAS selection and had found it relatively easy. Or at least, I hadn’t been taken even close to my limits. (And for what it’s worth, at the end of that course I was awarded the ‘Best Recruit’ tankard. No one was more startled than me.)
Perhaps I’m well-muscled and generally gymnastic? 'Fraid not. I’m your original 10Ã?½-stone weakling. A xylophone player could produce a tune if he trilled his hammers up and down my ribcage, and in those days I had the upper-body strength of a sick parrot. Also, since I was a teenager I’ve smoked like a kipper factory on overtime.
I agree that this doesn’t quite fit with the Hollywood vision of the SAS, but I regret to inform you that I was not entirely alone. My selection course was stuffed full of huge, beefy Para NCOs and the like. I’m sure they’d all done whatever energetic, distasteful things it is the Paras do to preserve their self-image, but some of them lasted barely a week. There was nothing very special about the physical attributes of those who passed my course, nor indeed is there within the SAS as a whole. Most are medium-sized, very average-looking blokes. Some, it is true, are massive, and one corporal was the strongest man I have ever met, but such men were the exception rather than the rule. ‘’
The full article below
Quoted from the large posting above - ‘close-quarter firefight in open desert’. I’m not trained in strategy but wouldn’t you be able to spot enemy from a good distance in ‘open desert’ and personally I’d be trying to kill the c*nts before they got close.
I’ve watched Zulu a few times (required watching for a Welshman) and waiting to see the whites of their eyes worked for them, but they were up against a load of blokes armed only with bloody thin spears.
[quote]Dave 966 wrote:
Quoted from the large posting above - ‘close-quarter firefight in open desert’. I’m not trained in strategy but wouldn’t you be able to spot enemy from a good distance in ‘open desert’ and personally I’d be trying to kill the c*nts before they got close.
I’ve watched Zulu a few times (required watching for a Welshman) and waiting to see the whites of their eyes worked for them, but they were up against a load of blokes armed only with bloody thin spears.[/quote]
Never before have I read something so fundamentally retarded on T-Nation or any fitness forum (outside of the fitness area) than this.
I am dumber for having read that, in fact I actually think I may suffer in my exam revision because the grey matter in my head sort of bounced around for a few seconds after reading your post.
However I should have seen it coming, you’re Welsh, being stupid is in your blood.
Go bum some sheeps.
[quote]masonator wrote:
[quote]Lolkema wrote:
So long as something makes rational sense to me I have no problem doing it.
[/quote]
DUDE. You really should reconsider this philosophy before you jump into this…Even if one is SF, there will almost never be explanation of the rationale of orders, especially during training. Questioning one’s CO is a BAD IDEA. I hope you do well, though. I’m interested to see what SAS(R) training is like.[/quote]
I was just going to say that…
this is not a military attitude. Or one that’s necessary for it.
[quote]M.B wrote:
Read this do not waste your time training for it you either have it or you don’t
I did not train jack shit for the French foreign legion and passed everything yet a mate that joined with me and trained for a year did not get in,it got jack shit to do with fitness and preparation…
Everyone wishing to pas SF selection should read the article below it’s a real eye opener.
''lthough I am no couch potato and enjoy marching across country for a purpose, I utterly detest fitness training. However, as the date for selection approached I decided that I should maybe make a bit of effort, so I drove down to the Brecon Beacons with the intention of tabbing over the hills for a week. After three days I got so fed up with my own company that I packed my bags and went home. Without even an iota of exaggeration, that was the sum total of my preparation for the feared 22nd SAS selection course. Come now, anyone can manage that!
In my defence, because I’m not proud of this indolence, I ought to add that I didn’t do any training at all for 21st SAS selection and had found it relatively easy. Or at least, I hadn’t been taken even close to my limits. (And for what it’s worth, at the end of that course I was awarded the ‘Best Recruit’ tankard. No one was more startled than me.)
Perhaps I’m well-muscled and generally gymnastic? 'Fraid not. I’m your original 10Ã??Ã?½-stone weakling. A xylophone player could produce a tune if he trilled his hammers up and down my ribcage, and in those days I had the upper-body strength of a sick parrot. Also, since I was a teenager I’ve smoked like a kipper factory on overtime.
I agree that this doesn’t quite fit with the Hollywood vision of the SAS, but I regret to inform you that I was not entirely alone. My selection course was stuffed full of huge, beefy Para NCOs and the like. I’m sure they’d all done whatever energetic, distasteful things it is the Paras do to preserve their self-image, but some of them lasted barely a week. There was nothing very special about the physical attributes of those who passed my course, nor indeed is there within the SAS as a whole. Most are medium-sized, very average-looking blokes. Some, it is true, are massive, and one corporal was the strongest man I have ever met, but such men were the exception rather than the rule. ‘’
The full article below
http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A12936765
[/quote]
That guy is a complete anomaly and he joined pre Iran embassy siege, the tests have become progressively tougher, a typical day might be an 8 hour trek and then cross a cold river in your underwear and then you get waterboarded.
“Being in the reserves also means you are part-time and I can focus on other areas of my life.”
Right now I’m working towards a contract. Not with the SAS, I’m American. But I can tell you what I’ve heard from people within the community. If you’re worried about focusing on other areas of your life it might not be for you. There’s nothing wrong with not making it through selection as long as you put out, it isn’t for everybody. But nothing on the SOF side of the military is glamorous and the selection process is often times the easiest aspect of being in the SAS, Special Forces or whatever else. If you don’t want to give it 100% of your focus just be honest with yourself and serve in a different way, every job in the military is important and you’re all fighting for the same team.
OP wrote:
Dude you have no idea. That is the ENTIRE BLEEDING POINT of SAS selection. They WILL break you. They will do anything and everything they can think of to make you want to quit, to make you think you’re going to die and that you’re not good enough, and then they’ll tell you you’re going to fail over and over and over.
The entire point of SAS selection is to break you mentally and physically. You need to be aware of that before you decide to pursue the course.
I don’t understand why you would be bothered by people shouting at you. I would think having people shoot at you is worse.
I’ve never been shot at by the way.
OP, you have some very unrealistic expectations.
If SAS is really what you want then go for it but you might want to re evaluate things.
Hmmmm…I could be an employee…but they get yelled and are bossed around lots…I think I’ll just be the CEO…that is so much easier.
[quote]harrypotter wrote:
[quote]Dave 966 wrote:
Quoted from the large posting above - ‘close-quarter firefight in open desert’. I’m not trained in strategy but wouldn’t you be able to spot enemy from a good distance in ‘open desert’ and personally I’d be trying to kill the c*nts before they got close.
I’ve watched Zulu a few times (required watching for a Welshman) and waiting to see the whites of their eyes worked for them, but they were up against a load of blokes armed only with bloody thin spears.[/quote]
Never before have I read something so fundamentally retarded on T-Nation or any fitness forum (outside of the fitness area) than this.
I am dumber for having read that, in fact I actually think I may suffer in my exam revision because the grey matter in my head sort of bounced around for a few seconds after reading your post.
However I should have seen it coming, you’re Welsh, being stupid is in your blood.
Go bum some sheeps.[/quote]
You actually thought I was being serious!! LOL
OP:
Please erase your expectations for your SAS experience; they will do nothing but hurt you. DO Expect to be assaulted mentally, physically, and emotionally. This training is not for personal enrichment, it is to pick out those with potential to be superior soldiers and train them further. As stated, it is your CO’s responsibility to make your life as close to the 7th ring of hell as he can. If he doesn’t do this, he is failing to prepare you for combat.
Does it suck to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn to run until you want to puke but can’t because chow isn’t until 0700? Yes. Does it suck to get smoked because of something stupid some douche-bag in your company did? Hell yes. Does it suck to be told what to do by superiors who you know you are smarter/stronger/faster/whatever than? Hell yes. But it must be done. You must be toughened inside and out or you are a worthless soldier.
I have never even seen SAS training, but its special designation alone should be enough to clue you in that it will be more challenging of an experience. I truly do hope you do well- but if you go into this with any expectations other than pain, you are truly doing yourself a disservice.
Remember: Nothing worth being proud of is easy. If this shit was tiddlywinks, everyone would be on SEAL Team Six.
^^you must be army.