Book: The Warrior Elite

The Warrior Elite - The Forging of SEAL Class 228 by Dick Couch follows a class of students as they go through Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUD/S). BUD/S is only one of the many steps it takes to become a Navy SEAL and it is considered to be one of, if not the toughest military training in the world. The drop out rate for BUD/S is extremely high; only about 20% make it through. Physical and mental endurance are pushed to the extreme.

There are three phases in BUD/S. The first phase consists of lots of physical training: pushups, situps, pullups, daily four mile timed runs, boat drills (both in the ocean and carrying the boat around on the land), and log PT where students spend hours doing exercises together while holding telephone-pole-sized logs to help build teamwork. The first phase concludes with Hell Week, which tends to see the highest number of DORs. It's five days of non-stop training with less than four hours of sleep (total).

The second phase is dive phase, where students must become extremely comfortable in the water. Students are expected to be able to swim for long periods of time with their hands and feet tied together. They learn deep diving techniques, with and without scuba tanks. They also attend classes to learn about the physics of diving. There are open ocean swims, with and without fins, and as with the timed runs, there are timed 2 mile+ swims. As in the first phase, there is also continuous PT mixed in with the diving instruction. Daily run distances are increased and maximum allowed times are decreased.

The third phase is the demolitions and tactics. The training is conducted mostly on land and includes land navigation, mission planning, plenty of shooting, and learning and becoming familiar with various weapons. But things don't get easier in third phase. Run distances are increased again. Daily PT continues. Things never get easier for the SEALs, only more difficult. "The only easy day was yesterday" is what the SEALs like to say. They're constantly striving for perfection, both physically and mentally, and improving their skills.

BUD/S training lasts six months. For the few who manage to graduate, another six months of vigorous and more specialized training is required to earn their Trident (which officially makes them Navy SEALs). After that, they're assigned to a platoon and there's another block of even more advanced training called SEAL Tactical Training (STT). When all is done, a SEAL will have been training for eighteen to twenty-four months before having a chance to be deployed.

During the past few months the SEALs have been an enormous source of motivation for my own physical fitness goals. This is the first book I've read cover-to-cover this year, and it was so good that I will no doubt read it several more times. What appeals to me the most about the SEALs is that they're all about pushing past mental roadblocks and striving for perfection. They're all about understanding the real physical limitations of the human body and conditioning it to the extreme. Several books on Navy SEAL fitness and nutrition are very detailed and describe with scientific precision how to train the human body. One such book is The U.S. Navy SEAL Guide to Fitness and Nutrition.

One of my goals for 2009 was to read one book every month. I'm already reading two others, and I hope to have a total of four books finished by the end of this month. For every book I finish reading, I'll write a post like this one.