The 'Navy SEAL Training Guide: Mental Toughness' by Lars Draeger, gives us a glimpse into the mind of a SEAL. Draeger identifies specific traits that all SEALs possess, making them mentally tough enough to tolerate physical pain and extreme fatigue.
One of the things that the Navy Seals are taught during their training is to visualize themselves successfully completing any task that they're assigned over and over again. By using visualization they're training their mind for what is to come. They're winning in their mind in order to win in the battlefield.
The Navy SEAL Mindset: Courage, Confidence, Perseverance, Resilience.
Important personal traits for SEALs include maturity, self assurance and self confidence. You should be willing to follow orders and able to work under stressful or hazardous conditions.
The most important trait that distinguishes Navy SEALs from other military forces is that SEALs are maritime special forces, as they strike from and return to the sea. SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) take their name from the elements in and from which they operate.
Navy SEALs are free to tell family and friends their occupation. The Navy even offers "engagements" in which SEALs talk to high school athletic teams about physical fitness and mental toughness.
High Extraversion and conscientiousness scores have been shown to predict job performance in other professions. SEALs seek excitement and dangerous environments, but are otherwise stable, calm, and rarely reckless or impulsive.
Navy SEALs account for only about one percent of all active-duty members of the Navy, and it is estimated that only about 20-25% of all SEAL candidates complete the training needed to become a member of the SEALs, with approximately 1,000 candidates entering the training program and about 250 candidates completing ...
There are also standards for pushups, pullups, and curl-ups. You also must complete skills training, which includes combat diving and land warfare training. Navy Seal candidates must demonstrate mastery in weapons use, land navigation, demolitions, cold weather warfare, and maritime operations.
SEAL training is brutal by design, according to the U.S. Navy. SEALS have a high risk of mortality and must be equipped to complete nearly impossible missions. Over the course of one year, you will be subjected to physically punishing activities, extreme temperatures, mental fatigue and sleep deprivation.
All are nicknames the US Navy SEALs were called from World War II to the modern-day wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Their reputation is cemented as one of the most respected special operations forces in the world — and yet the US is not the only country in the world to have such a maritime-centric force.
Mental toughness is to be positive, optimistic, other-focused and to be in control.
No one is immune to anxiety, not even Navy SEALS. Jocko Willink spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, and he served in one of the most highly decorated special operations units of the Iraq war — and he has experienced fear throughout his career. Along the way, he's learned how to deal with it.
According to the article, the SEALs are fearless because of the training they undergo. Their secret is what psychologist call habituation. This simply means the more you're exposed to something that you initially fear, they less it will fear you and eventually you become immune to it. You get used to it.
Army Green Berets — "Special Forces"
They have about as much street-cred as numbered SEALs and Force Recon, depending on who's doing the talking. Notably, Green Berets have some of the toughest initial training in the entire military (at the risk of drawing the ire of SEALs and Marine Recon).
' You get 4 hours of sleep. You're not allowed to have any caffeine. Throughout the entire week, you're hungry, you're cold, you're sandy, you're wet, just the lack of sleep.
The divorce rate among U.S. Navy Seals is over 90 percent.
Navy Seal Age Breakdown
Interestingly enough, the average age of navy seals is 30-40 years old, which represents 41% of the population.
The Navy requires an AFQT score of at least 35. Men who succeed at BUD/S traditionally have AFQT scores of 78 or better. The 78th percentile on an IQ scale roughs out at about 112. Anecdotally, many successful SEALs run in the high-120 IQ range.
SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military.
That's because SEALs don't typically talk. The Navy's elite commandos aspire to be what they call “silent professionals,” who execute the toughest military missions and then fade without a word into the shadows. If a SEAL was not only talking, but publicly insulting the top admiral, something was up.
According to the Navy, only the head, face and scalp are off limits. The neck and behind the ear may have one tat but it should be restricted to one inch. Additionally, tattoos on the torso should not be visible through the white uniform shirt. For the rest of the body, there is no restriction on size and placement.
I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time.
Currently, three more women are in training. On top of that, the first female special tactics officer graduated from the Air Force in 2022. Despite this attempt to have more women, there still aren't any female Navy SEALs.