Cadre Dan is a Green Beret and one of our original Cadre.

I went to Special Forces Assessment and Selection at Camp Mackall with the mindset that I didn’t give a f**k what the Cadre threw at me. There were only two ways I was going home – on a stretcher as a med drop or escorted to Ft. Bragg by the cadre.  I got dropped off in front of the Special Operations Building on Ft. Bragg on a beautiful day in March of 2006. As I walked up to all the other soldiers who, like me, had roster numbers sewn on their uniforms, I looked back at all the hard work and training it taken me to get this far. The endless miles I had ruck-marched in Germany, six days a week at 4 AM, no matter the weather. The amount of aggravation I had to deal with from my current unit to get here. But I was ready.

I’ll break it all down for you. If you're looking for a mindless six-week program of PT, this isn’t for you. Life isn’t fair, and you’re not going to get all the answers.

When I started training for Selection, I was 5’9 and 160lbs. Years of being in the army meant I could run like the damn wind for miles with no issue. Whether PT tests or runs with my unit, I always came in first. I ran 35-40 miles a week. I took my platoon on SSG Plants’ Death Run weekly – an 8+ mile run with stops along the way to do various exercises. I didn’t believe that Finish Together s**t on these runs. I was trying to kill you, and the only reason we stopped was for your fat lazy ass to catch up. Needless to say, my Platoon would crush PT tests.  As with anything in life, when you are good at something your boss finds more work for you. So I got lucky enough to run fat lazyass PT for those who didn’t properly motivate themselves. I would just run the fat off of them. F**k 'em.

Cardio was my God. I already had the endurance to keep going when most would pull up and start walking, but my upper body strength at the time was lacking, to say the least. All I cared about was the fact that I could do a s**t ton of pushups and pull-ups. I didn’t work out with weights at all – no strength training whatsoever. Matter of fact, I never went to the gym. So I started converting the miles I ran into miles I would ruck. I started with a 35lb ruck for 3 miles. I would gradually add weight and distance. Gradually, I say. No need to go full out yet. I had three months until Selection.

My goal was to be able to ruck 12 miles in under 2.5 hours with a 65lb ruck, and I made my deadline two weeks before Selection. I just broke it down every Saturday, increasing distance and time. My Unit wanted me to still do PT with them, probably cause I was the only one that did it. To fit everything in, I started getting up at 4 AM. I would ruck for 4-6 miles and be standing in formation ready to take my platoon on PT. I promised myself that no matter what I would still lead PT even though some days I was smoked. Some ruck marches I had to run most of it because I woke up late. The thought of leaving my smoking hot wife all nice and warm in bed to get up and go out in 15 degree driving snowstorms to ruck was not exactly appealing. But I did it anyway, because I was committed to getting selected. Some days I would ruck at night after work. Never train at the same time every day. You might see this again. I felt great the first month. I was very lean and in excellent cardio shape. My back was killing me most of the time after a long ruck but I figured that was because I was getting used to the weight.

I decided that I needed to gain some weight. The hefeweizens in Germany just weren’t cutting it anymore. I started going to McDonald’s everyday for lunch. Double cheeseburger, fries, and a coke please. I started to get fat, but this is what I wanted. I needed to gain some fat because I needed that excess storage.

Two weeks before Selection I went on that 12 miler with my goal time and weight. I didn’t make it. I was close by a couple minutes but I didn’t make it. So much for goals. F**k it, I was ready. I kissed the wife, boarded the airplane, and took a seven hour flight to the US. I felt awesome, and nothing was going to stop me from getting selected.

Selection was three weeks long when I did it. It was f**king brutal to say the least. Thank God I rucked my ass off, cause that’s all we did. We went everywhere with our rucks. My feet were taking a beating from all the ruck marches. Good thing I took care of my feet beforehand. Some guys had to pour blood out of their boots when they took them off.

Right around the end of the first week I got out of bed and felt sharp pains in my joints on my left foot at the three little toes. I figured it was just aches and pains, and I sucked it up. Every day it got progressively worse. The day of the long walk, I was limping. We started moving on our own, and the pain kept getting worse with every step. I wouldn’t quit though, I just kept moving. I stopped by the side of the road to grab a smoke. That was a bad idea. Not because I was smoking, but because my feet were throbbing with pain. I decided that I wasn’t going to stop any more. I kept going, and going, and going. At times I was falling asleep while I was walking. I never believed that s**t could happen. Finally I made it to the finish line. I was way past done. I felt a great sense of accomplishment of just finishing with a broke ass foot. When I got back into the barracks I realized that I was one of the first ones back. F**k yeah. A couple days later, I found out I was selected.

The moral of that story is DO NOT OVERTRAIN. I lucked out big time. When I got back to Germany I had my foot x-rayed and come to find out I had major stress fractures in 3 of my toes. Bad enough I had to wear a wooden boot on my foot for the next month and a half. I rucked way too much prior to Selection. I could have cut half the miles out I rucked prior to selection and I would have been fine. My intense “I will not quit” mentality would have seen me through.

The other moral: DO STRENGTH TRAINING. I did none. I would have recovered better from Selection had I been stronger and gone to the gym instead of pounding the s**t out of my legs.

These days, my workout cycles match what I do operationally. For my 2009 trip to Afghanistan, I spent all my time in the gym getting Strong As F**k. No Cardio. Reason being, my mission for that trip was staying on a base and training dudes. No missions, no rolling out killing terrorist folk, straight 8-5 training. So I focused on getting strong. My teammate is one of those guys that for his size is as strong as a mule. The guy is my height and weight, but on some lifts would be 90lbs above me. I caught up but I was nowhere near as strong as him. At the time I was drinking protein shakes every couple hours, on a 2-month cycle of X-Tren, taking NO XPLODE, and working out every day. For the next 6 months I would cycle on and cycle off of X-Tren. When my daughter was born in November of 2009, I weighed 210lbs and thought I was strong as hell. I weigh 190 now and I am stronger now than I was when I weighed 210lbs.  More to follow on that. My 2010 trip to Afghanistan I did the same thing. Except no supplements to start. First couple months of that trip I was running and gunning all over that country. I worked out when I could. I was more or less maintain some strength but had lost all of that size. I started taking DMZ load and was starting to get pretty jacked up. When I would come back from missions I would be smoked though. It would take awhile to recover from missions, longer than I could remember. I had a mission in May that was the longest and hardest mission I have ever had. Walking out of that valley was a miracle and I no s**t lost almost 10lbs from that one day alone. I was so weak that I didn’t go to the gym for a couple days. I finished the DMZ Load but with that mission and my s**tty diet I might as well have pissed all over the bottle. I wasn’t in the kind of shape that I thought I needed to be. So I talked to some other guys and started a whole different regiment. I would do Strength Training in the afternoon and at night I would do Crossfit. No matter what the WOD was I would do it. The rest days I went back to my tried and true Cardio. I started to feel better within a couple weeks. Next mission I went on I felt great afterwards. We nailed some s**thead terrorist that was responsible for some American deaths. Kept training hard, strength in the afternoon, dinner, talk to my smoking hot wife, CrossFit WOD right after. When I came home from that trip I was in phenomenal shape. After some schools where I had no time to work out I signed up for Class 017 led by Lou and Jason. I went back to what I knew. Except I changed it up a little bit. I used the Stairmaster with a weighted backpack. Increase the time, speed and weight every session till I did the GORUCK Challenge. I cranked the elevation up on the treadmill and ran/walked till I felt like I would fall off. I kept lifting but I just did more reps to increase my Endurance. I completed the Challenge and the rest they say is history.

Moral of the story is never do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. You have to shock your body. I rotate what time during the day I work out. Some days it’s first thing in the morning, some days it’s before I go to bed. I am very open to different approaches to working out. I have done Crossfit, Arnold’s basic and advanced workout, Military Athlete, and a few other ones. Working out with different people at different times helps. Reading and researching different supplements online is good too. Right now I am on another strength cycle. I haven’t run in a couple months. I'm focused on getting back to being huge. I can do that because the next Challenge that I have to run is in a couple months. So I will get as big and as strong as I can and slowly infuse cardio back in to get me in shape for the Challenge I have a new workout plan that I am doing that includes more Olympic lifts, mobility stretching , military athlete style WOD's and keeping track of your goals. So far, after a couple weeks I am stronger now at 190lbs than I was at 210. I'm pretty sure it’s working.

So if you are trying to read between the lines and decipher how this applies to you, you are on the right path. Treat your body like you hate it and it will reward you during Selection. Don’t be a dumbass and over train. You should hit your peak a couple weeks or so before Selection. Then slowly work yourself back down. The week prior you should be doing light exercise to keep your mobility and endurance good. Stay Limber. You want to destroy your body during Selection, not before it.  I am not going to feed you some bulls**t about eating right and staying healthy and all that. I smoke, eat like s**t, train hard and drink beer. I will crush souls now and forever. When I am done working out, I want to feel like I am smoked, like I can’t do another rep. If I didn’t train this hard, I might as well stay home on my couch and eat potato chips. It’s all in your head ladies and gentleman. When you show up for Selection you should look right at me and say to yourself, “I don’t give a f**k what this guy makes me do, I will not QUIT, GFY”. So when I am standing over you at the 48^th hour and you're hating life, look up at me and smile. Cause God smiles on those he loves, and today, he loves you guys.

"You’re one of the most improved classes. You sucked for a really long time."  – Jason (Java’s dad)

Daily PT

Get your iphone or other music player out. Make sure you have at least 20 songs in a playlist. 20 loud songs, full of energy. I like the Smashing Pumpkins, GNR, Metallica, that kind of stuff. And for good measure, throw in Stairway to Heaven. That’s the roulette. It’s kind of a long one, you should hope that it comes up so you max yourself out. Pick your least favorite ten exercises from this list. Do them in whatever order you want, but pick your order before you hit shuffle.

Lunges
Push-Ups
Flutter Kicks
Air Squats
Chin-Ups  (+ruck ​)
Burpees  (+ruck )
Sit-Ups
Mountain Climbers ​​
Box Jumps
Supermans
 

Just the Tip

To add difficulty, add a rucksack with up to 6 bricks. When at failure, dead hang and try harder. No matter what, no posts about how you smoked this session. Nobody smokes this session, so don't cheat yourself. When complete, grab a recovery drink. My favorite is Bud Heavy.
 

The Back Story

In the Special Forces Qualification Course, Blade from the Smoke Session Phase liked to pick exercises for everyone, and we would do them for as long as the song lasted. “Do not cheat yourself, men’” – we heard that over and over and over. “If you cheat yourself on this stuff, it’ll never stop and before you know it, there’s nothing you won’t quit. You are supposed to be sucking, especially toward the end of each badass song I play.” So push harder at the end of each song, get those final reps in. That’s where you make your money.

"Pain don't hurt." – Patrick Swayze, Road House

My feet first spoke to me in the summer of 1995. I was 12 years old and running track. It was cool to wear Vans back then, but as I found out, it wasn’t cool to wear Vans and run track. I was diagnosed with Achilles tendonitis, and it took months of recovery before my feet were the same again. They didn’t talk again until Army Infantry Basic Training in 2002. It was a wake-up call to how weak my feet really were, but they toughened up quickly with the amount of ruck marching I did. In Special Forces Assessment and Selection in 2006 I found out that my feet were still a lot weaker than I thought. They talked to me LOUD in SFAS. After being selected, I went back to my Infantry unit and finally saw a medic. I had broken my 3^rd metatarsals clean in half on my left foot with overuse. My feet told me in the Special Forces Qualification Course that they were the most important part of my body and more important than any piece of hardware (except my rifle of course.) My feet have told me in their own language – and yours will tell you – how to get them stronger than stone, how to keep their skin after being soaking wet, how to operate with blisters, how to survive the frigid cold, and ultimately how to carry you to the Promised Land.

The best maintenance is preventive maintenance. The tougher your feet are, the less they get hurt. It’s that simple. It does take time and effort to toughen them; being able to walk on hot coals does not happen overnight. Start walking with a load (not too heavy at first, your goal is to not get injured; if you are injured going into an event it will be exacerbated tenfold DURING the event.) Start light, and wear thin socks. Only go far enough until you feel your first hotspots (hotspots are places on your feet you will get a blister if you continue to march). If you get hotspots too early or too often you may have not broken in your footwear yet, or you could possibly have the wrong footwear altogether. One way to help eliminate hotspots is by buying Moleskin (an adhesive with one side that is soft fabric, usually found in the foot section of a pharmacy) and applying it to known hotspots on your feet.

You can also toughen your feet and reduce injuries at the gym. Wear minimalist style shoes or lift barefoot (warning, you can get injured if you do not work up to this!) Do lower leg workouts that specifically strengthen the lower sections of your legs: one-legged dead lifts, one-legged squats, step-ups, calf raises, and one-legged balancing exercises are all good. Continue increasing distance (never more than 15 miles) and using lighter footwear. Walk barefoot outside, but be careful of where you step. Only walk barefoot until you are uncomfortable. Eventually, ruck barefoot. Ruck in the sand whenever possible, and ruck stairs. Take care of your nails so as not to get an ingrown toenail.

The socks you choose to train with are very important in toughening your feet as well. The thicker the sock you use, the more likely you are to sweat; the more moisture in your footwear, the more likely you are to get a blister. If you’ve really toughened your feet, you can use a thinner sock; the thinner the sock, the less you will sweat. When your feet sweat less, you’ll end up with fewer blisters.

Another way to help your feet sweat less is to spray them down twice a day with an antiperspirant spray. The one I use is Arrid XX Extra Extra Dry. This will help close the sweat holes in your feet and they will sweat less.

What do you do with a blister when you get one? A blister is caused by excessive friction and moisture. When you have a chance to stop moving, the first thing you should do after filling up with water is take care of your feet. Only take one shoe off at a time, whichever foot is bothering you most first (you never know when you might have to put your footwear back on in a hurry). Make a small incision in the bottom of the blister big enough to drain all of the fluid. Cut a piece of Moleskin so it fits over the affected area and make a hole in the Moleskin so that it doesn’t rub the damaged skin area. Put on a dry pair of socks when finished treating the blister. If you don’t have a dry pair, wring out the pair you have as much as possible and clear out any debris before putting them back on. If your blister is a blood blister, treat it the same as any other blister.

In the cold weather it is important to NOT put on more than one set of socks. This will only create more friction with the added layer. It is also important not to wear socks that are too thick and make your feet sweat. It is best to wear the same socks you have been training with: if that means thin socks, continue to use thin socks. Your feet will be cold, but they will also be cold if you are sweating; if your sweat freezes, you have blisters and possible trench foot or frostbite. In the cold it is important to change your socks regularly. This is the only way to keep them warm. Do not rub your feet vigorously when they are cold. This will not warm your feet up, but it could possibly tear skin off your feet.

Foot powder can cause more damage than good. A lot of people seem to think that if you dump a ton of foot powder in your boots your feet will never get wet. This is not true. When foot powder is used in excess, it will clump up and create a piece of debris in your footwear or sock. A piece of debris adds more friction and discomfort, which adds blisters and possible foot injury. If you are going to use foot powder, use it VERY sparingly or do not use it at all.

Bottom Line

If blisters are not taken care of properly, they will force you to walk differently than you normally would because you are trying to compensate for the discomfort you are feeling. If you change the way you walk, this can create problems that are not nearly as easy to recover from as a simple blister. These injuries can include stress fractures, breaks, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, sprained or broken ankles, and pain or problems in knees, hips, and back. The blister that you do not take care of could take you out of your prime years before your time and possibly put you in a wheelchair decades sooner, all because you did not learn to listen to your feet. The foot language is more beautiful than any in the world: learn it, love it and have an amazing relationship that will last your lifetime.

Your muscles need all the hydration and potassium they can get to keep from cramping. Your brain runs on fat and protein and is mostly made of water. When you deprive it, you make bad decisions and are slow to function in general. Bell peppers pack more potassium than bananas and carry more water. They will keep you cramp-free and hydrated. They are also conveniently shaped like a container. I recommend buying a bag of baby bell peppers, stuffing them with Brazil nuts, and throwing them in a large Ziploc® bag to take on a Ruckout. 

Brazil nuts contain essential fatty acids. They also pack and travel super well. While not as nutritious, don't forget that your favorite hard candy will supply you with quick burning sugars and will keep you sane as you ruck on. I call them small victories. They win the wars.

First you slice the baby bell pepper, then you pack it full of nuts. I call them Speed Reload Peppers because you load them up with ammo (Brazil nuts) and keep them close by (in your pocket or a ruck) for a quick, accessible reload of fuel for your body. 

It really is that easy. Not a lot of mess or prep but a ton of taste ready to go where you go. Just be sure that you make enough of Speed Reload Peppers to share. You never know who you might run into while out with your ruck.

The mission comes first. You eat when you can. When fuel for the body is running low, here's a quick way to reload. The proof is in the peppers. Even Jason thought they were 'really good'.

So, Devin. As a Green Beret and all you're pretty much an (obstacle course) expert. Which is why you’re starring in the story about how to conquer bars, nets, beams, and ropes. Form, technique, and some sexy thrown in – you’re the master. And then we got there and you bled our ears out with moans of discomfort from a little time on a rope bridge. Nobody forced you to rock it commando style, and nobody forced you to share your inner most, ummmm, feelings about it. And then the barrel chested freedom fighter who forgot to suffer in silence was christened Rub It Raw Devin and I had the perfect segue to say that there are all sorts of techniques we can share to help you tackle GORUCK Nasty or any O-Course. Like Rub It Raw Devin’s new motto: wear underwear or suffer the consequences for the rest of your life.

So now that Rub It Raw Devin's officially thrown under the bus – force on force style – I'd like to thank him for humanizing any and all experts out there. Obstacle courses aren't that hard, but there are some tricks we've learned and maybe even forgotten that will help you do them better and, how should I say it, more comfortably. O-Courses, including Nasty Nick, are the inspiration for GORUCK Nasty. You'll find monkey bars and cargo nets and wooden beams and ropes and some heights to climb and some waters to cross. Humans have been doing this kind of stuff since the beginning of time, and militaries, especially ours of course ('Merica) have perfected the set-up.

Let's get more intimate on the GORUCK Training page. Rope bridges. Obviously you straddle the rope (Rub It Raw Devin's pain point). One leg hangs down to help you balance. Your other leg goes up on the rope, as pictured below. Then you pull yourself forward. Your body weight is resting on the rope, which means there's some friction when moving.  Underwear helps, but here's the deal on that. No Army guy wears underwear. If you're in the field you're wet then you're dry etc, and underwear stays wet too long and bad things happen. I'll leave it at that, this isn't full intimacy here. So Devin no doubt learned the same lessons I did in the field. When we did Nasty Nick, we did it in fatigues, which are much thicker (aka much more protective) than PT shorts. When you do GORUCK Nasty, it's really up to you what to wear. Like every other day of your life.

So if the whole straddle the rope thing isn't working for you like it didn't work for Rub It Raw Devin, check out the alternate technique above. You'll suspend most of your body weight with your arms and the rest with your legs and core. Then you pull yourself forward, first with your legs and then with your arms. There is a lot less friction – in certain choice areas anyway – and when it comes to a rope bridge, this technique works arguably just as well. If you're used to doing this kind of stuff or you work with your hands, you'll probably be fine without gloves. If not, you may want to wear them. Grip strength is a key factor in this one.

Carrying sandbags. The military has the worst ones and you'll be fine to avoid them. They sit around, they get wet, they stay wet, you move them around to protect your fighting position. And that's not a fun process. At Nasty, you'll get to use the ones we build. They'll still be full of sand – which implies a corresponding weight – but handles and stuff mean you can carry them solo, together, however works best for you and your team. And don't forget to smile. Quick sneak preview of GORUCK's 40lb Coyote Sandbag below. We're doing 20lb, 40lb, 60lb, and 80lb sizes, all in black, coyote, and multicam. They'll hit the site early July.

Monkey Bars. Don't make them more complicated than they have to be. Have you ever seen a monkey do a pull-up? I haven't. It's not meant to be a static up-down, you're supposed to let momentum do the work for you. Grab every second bar and don't stop till you're done. If for whatever reason you have to stop midway through, make sure to get your momentum back before you start moving forward again.

Hand friction and upper body strength, not a problem for Rub It Raw Devin. A true professional at work. Meaning, no moans and pure calculated execution.

Cargo nets are another staple and Devin has another couple of tricks for you. This time at his apprentice's expense. As with most of this stuff, the key is to use your lower body and your body weight to work for you, not against you. Your arms are not nearly as strong as your legs – even you studs with python biceps – so you want to use your upper body for balance and your lower body for the heavy lifting. And by heavy lifting I mean lifting your own body.

There will be a wooden beam at the top. When you get there, the first thing you want to do is reach over the beam and grab a section of the cargo net, like Rub It Raw Devin is doing above with his left hand. Then you sort of roll over the top on your stomach and find new footing on the other side of the net. Too easy.

Rub It Raw Devin made it over then checked on his young, struggling apprentice. The most important thing is the stability of your feet and this is the key to getting up and down the cargo net quickly. And that's pretty much what Rub It Raw Devin is saying above.

Boots or shoes or even minimalist shoes – your call and you'll be fine with any of them so don't go buy a bunch of operator Gucci right before GORUCK Nasty. I'm pretty sure what you already have will work just fine. Important is that when you're climbing the cargo net, you want the piece of rope in the middle of your foot. It's better for balance and lets you explode up to the next section (with your legs, not your arms). Don't fall through and don't try to tip-toe your way up. Much like shooting firearms, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Take your time to do it correctly and you'll get through it with a smile. And you won't look like an apprentice. But if you do, when you recover, smile and stick your thumb up to let us know you're OK.

…and all was right in the world.

But we didn't just drop it. Out came the reenactment. Above: never do this, never stick your feet through the cargo net. If you have a stable foothold, this won't happen to you. You want at least two points of contact on the net at all times, i.e. at a minimum one hand and one foot. But most of the time you'll have more like three: both hands and one foot or both feet and one hand. When you're moving and only have one foot on the rope, make sure your other foot feels really stable before you take one hand off to grab another section. If you don't…

Of course I wish the whole upside down incident had actually happened to Rub It Raw Devin, but then his name would have been Upside Down Devin or something like that and not Rub It Raw Devin. Although I'm not sure - life is full of tough decisions and that would have been one of them. The picture above is meant to make you smile and to hammer home the importance of stable feet when climbing cargo nets. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast – I can't stress that enough.

Bears don't have knees, everyone knows that, and if you've done one of our other events, you've probably heard that, too. Sure, it can be a little easier to crawl on your knees but you can move faster and save on band-aids if you don't. Getting through like Sophie the Bear (above) is the preferred technique. And since bears have smiles – scout's honor I've seen them – don't forget them either.

Back to wooden beams. Same as if you see them at the top of the cargo net climb, your body weight is key. Trying to hurdle over them like Usain Bolt is a waste of energy and you won't do them as fast. Remember slow is smooth and smooth is fast and just roll right over the top.

The rope bridge you walk across is another case in point where technique matters. If you've seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and that scene where he cut the bridge (the least bad option no doubt), you know to grab the side ropes with your hands and use them to help balance your body as you walk across. But your feet are key. Since you only have the rope to walk across and not wooden panels, you need to angle each foot so that it straddles the rope. Like Rub It Raw Devin is doing below. It looks a little awkward and it feels a little awkward until you get used to it – sort of like going commando – but it's definitely the way to go.

Save the technique above for when you're starring in The Nutcracker or whatever, this is exactly what not to do. If the wind blows or if someone else gets on the rope at the same time, you'll fall over or have to support your whole body with your arms. And falling over is never the preferred outcome. Looking more closely above, doesn't it look like Rub It Raw Devin shaves his legs?

Nah, I'm just kidding. That's Sophie above. Her reaction when I smiled and had her try the rope bridge a second time was to smile back and say somthing about how she didn't grow up learning how to walk across ropes in Manhattan ya know. And I said yeah you didn't know what you were missing did ya and after she did it perfectly I gave her the line I always heard at the end of G.I. Joe where now ya know - and knowing is half the battle. So don't forget to angle your feet while you're walking across. This is G.I. Joe stuff, not a scene from The Nutcracker. No offense meant to Rub It Raw Devin, of course.

Of all the things I'm sure of in this world, I know that Rub It Raw Devin's gunnin' for me now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Iron sharpens iron and this is my way of saying I love you man. We're working closely together to make sure Nasty is the most authentic military obstacle course you've ever done outside the military. Combine that with planning a post-party to make any work hard play harder Green Beret proud and I'm sure Rub It Raw Devin will have plenty of chances to say he loves me, too. Including the ability to post his own stuff as part of the appropriately named (especially for this post) 'Cadre Tips' section on this training site. Regardless of how much iron gets sharpened or the banter about who can or can't handle commando style, smiles fuel the fire wherever we go. And it's all in good fun.

When you're done for the day (any day that is), cool off, grab some beers and soak it all in with friends. If it's a GORUCK Nasty kind of day, we'll see ya there. And whatever you do, don't say Rub It Raw Devin too loud even though I'm sure he'll be mostly all healed up by then. In the interim, I'm wishing him a full and speedy recovery full of waging war back on me. In the off chance there's a budding diplomat out there, a 'Save Ferris' style campaign might ease Rub It Raw Devin's burn a little bit. But nah, it's probably better just to let him lick his wounds in peace. Java will grab the beers and how can you not smile at that? So even if you have the time, do not make signs or t-shirts or patches that say 'Save Rub It Raw Devin'. That would be entirely too appropriate. In fact, let's forget the whole 'Rub it Raw Devin' thing entirely. Pretend I never said it. Wink wink nod nod rub rub.

GORUCK was recently asked to tackle the job of giving a weekly bootcamp at one of its best DC partners-in-crime, Balance Gym. Salty Cadre leading a group of strangers in the unconventional workouts we love? I’m in. It doesn’t take much to draw the GORUCK guys out of the woodwork for things like this, so I happily grabbed the first class scheduled. 

Just like at any GORUCK event, while I hate the thought of sounding like a drill sergeant, classic military exercises performed to cadence always do the trick to warm up the coldest of muscles. It’s also a little off-putting for people who’ve never heard it before because they never know when the sets will end. I like to end mine at random numbers just to keep people wondering. I mean, why not?    

23 x 4-count pushups, 36 x 4-count flutter kicks, 19 x 4-count air squats, and bear crawls for dessert.

After the warm-up, I divided everyone into pairs. Leave no man behind! You and your partner spend two minutes at each station before moving on to the next (50-second iterations, 10 seconds to switch, and 30 seconds to rotate to the next station.) There were four stations in all, meaning eight opportunities for people to look awkward. This is where I got to incorporate some of that less-than-conventional flavor that I love at GORUCK.   

Station 1: The Body Drag: Your partner is immobilized but can hang on to you – Drag them to safety. Stay low, you!  

Station 2: Bunny Hops: First goal is to not stop hopping, second goal is to avoid landing on your partner’s head. Prioritize as you like. 

Station 3: Partner pushups: Both individuals are in the ‘up’ position, Partner A does 1 rep while Partner B holds, Partner B then does 2 reps while Partner A holds, then Partner A does 3 reps…and so on. Go for time. Two 50-second sets of these are not nothing. 

Station 4: Partner situps: Why have only one person work at a time? I mean that ground looks hard and could scratch someone. 

Nothing fancy to this circuit, but it does the job of providing a full-body workout while incorporating some of my favorite mil-style rescue techniques. 

Not to say there’s anything wrong with the standard abs-centric cool-down, but I’ll rarely pass up an opportunity to teach something to a crowd of interested people (Love being the center of attention? Me? Never.) While GORUCK Events are known for their buddy carries, there are not too many people who have practiced getting someone into this life-saving position that is actually unconscious. It’s a different workout altogether. Knowing how to do this is a real confidence booster. And like most things in the military, there’s probably a 40-page instruction manual somewhere out there that will give you the by-the-numbers steps for how to perform whatever you’re doing. But I like the direct approach more. 

Yup, in this photo is where I really ham it up so that I can get some pictures of myself in here. 

And a good time was had by all.

The purpose of the smoothie is to get as much bang in the shortest amount of time possible.The ingredients are not to be measured nor are they ever in any particular order. I literally roll out of bed half conscious, and start mixing. It always tastes different as does each day of my life, and that's ok with me.

The smoothie ingredients were passed to me in high school one summer. I worked early mornings mixing and pouring cement, shovel and wheel barrel style, and stacking tires in a tire yard late afternoon and nights.

Needless to say I got to be exhausted everyday and had trouble getting up early the following mornings. The guy I poured cement with suggested to save time and not skip breakfast, I should put a banana in a blender with two raw eggs and some milk and a little honey for flavor.

He said it's quick and will give me a little energy because I was starting to drag ass on the job. Since then the shake has evolved and carried me through tough jobs ranching, hard times with money, road races and 10 yrs of military service. Now i'm giving it to you.

Ingredients: Play with them!

-bananas
-chocolate almond milk
-cinnamon
-honey
-steel cut oats or oatmeal
-flax seed oil
-cold coffee
-organic peanut butter 
-egg whites or whole eggs of you need the calories

Note: If you blend it too long it will just get too foamy to drink. Trial and error, do it.. do it. also, if you are new to taking flax seed oil or not used to drinking coffee in the morning, be close to a bathroom for your first couple shakes or take those ingredients out. Namaste, bitches!

In 2011, I showed up to the GORUCK Ascent a little nervous. I had never climbed a 14,000ft mountain. Sure, I had climbed mountains in Afghanistan, but not this high. GORUCK had enough faith in me to lead a group to the summit of Mt. Belfort, and since that day I have been hooked on mountains. I don’t get many opportunities to do an Ascent, but when I do, I take full advantage of the challenge. And when you’re in a far away and distant land that is 90% mountainous, as I am right now, you take advantage of climbing the above beauty that is roughly 14,201ft.

So let’s talk about aclimating. In the photo above, we’re doing just that – enjoying ranger TV and beers at 10,000 feet. Acclimating is probably the most important thing you can do on your Ascent. Going from sea level to 14,000ft is a bad idea. We made base camp at 3pm on a Friday and stayed at that elevation for about 16 hours. We also cheated a little and took some Diamox prior. I’m not sure it helped, but it made my beer taste terrible. Acclimating gets your body ready for the task at hand, and it’s cool to drink beers and tell stories at the base of the mountain.

So what do you carry with you up the mountain? How about as little as possible – only those items that are absolutely needed. My personal preference is my tried and true GR1 which has been with me everywhere. Also a set of Knucks in case you come across that abominable snowman. Here is exactly what I carry: Set of trekking poles, 3L Camelbak hydration bladder full, some food, fire, extra top and hat in case I get cold, pack of smokes, knife, carabineers, 550 cord, and at least one beer to drink at the summit. You will find that you really don’t need a bunch of stuff to take a long walk. Why carry a bunch of extra weight and make it suck more? Plus, it violates Rule #1.

Is the Ascent going to suck? Yes, but if it were easy why the hell would you do it? The air is thin at 12,000 feet – so much that no trees grow above this elevation. People are not supposed to climb and be at that elevation. You can play with nature a little bit, but nature will always win out. Make sure you are in good shape and you should be fine. Take some of the points that I have thrown out and you will have a successful Ascent. Don’t worry though, where we are going there will not be any snow. I just thought this picture was badass.

My Tajik friend pictured on the right is an experienced mountain climber. He has made successful ascents on 24,000ft mountains. He told us that if we don’t make it to the top, it’s not our fault. The mountain just didn’t let us. This picture is taken at 13,500ft. I tried climbing this mountain twice. On the day that this picture was taken we had been climbing for 9 hours. The mountain just didn’t let us make it to its summit. We had no trails, no maps, no anything to guide us to the top. We tried multiple different ways but ran out of time. Sometimes, you have to know your limitations. Nature and of course the mountain will always win.

The descent down the mountain is just as bad if not worse than your ascent. You are already fatigued, and falling down a mountain is a real hazard when you’re tired. Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated the entire time. Watch your step and take your time. Use your trekking poles to brace yourself when coming down steep terrain. Your knees will take a beating but in the end, it’s all worth it.

In closing, one of the most valuable things that I think gets lost is to enjoy your time. Take breaks. Sit there and enjoy the beauty of being in the mountains. Colorado is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I can state that with absoluteness because I have been around the world. Enjoy were you are and enjoy the company of those that are crazy enough to climb a 14er with you. Of course, over shared misery and beers being the most preferred.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the Recon Apple. This exact nutrition advice has been handed down for generations in the Reconnaissance community and has been “tried and trued” by some of the baddest motherf**kers I have ever known.

First things first, go out and get some regular bell peppers. I prefer the 'stoplight' variety trio. It reminds of the Recon mantra: Pain, Misery and Suffering, all key elements of any good workout.

Next you open up a can of tuna. Canned or packaged tuna has a decent shelf life without being needing to be kept cool. I guess it's cool enough as is.

Then you can chop up some of your favorite seasonings to make your tuna more exciting. My personal fave is adding minced garlic with a little bit of red pepper or tabasco to make me sweat. Mix it well and hold off from eating this deliciousness straight out of the can.

Cut a medium size hole open like a lid in your bell peper. Empty the seeds and then stuff it with your tuna concoction. Repeat until you have exhausted your bell pepper supply or yourself. 

Wrap your big bell peppers in foil and toss them in your ruck. They are good to go as long as you are out there. Which in case you get lost, could be a while. That's ok so long as you remember to look cool.

Jason might be saying WTF is that but it's not easy to wean him off his Wheat Thins and Beer diet. All you need to know is everything listed here is healthy, clean-burning and won’t take away from other nutrients in your body in order to break it down. Namaste, motherf**kers! 

GORUCK Selection is horrible and I do not recommend it. It came about because GRT’s wanted more and Selection was our reply. It’s not in my nature and it’s not in our Cadre’s nature to put people through pure hell. I love Light and The Challenge because they’re positive events, meaning we show you what you can do as a team. Selection is not that at all and it’s only positive if you finish or if you fail and learn some form of humility. And yet here’s the deal: if you want to give it a go, I want you to succeed. This is a raw draft of what I did to train for Special Forces Assessment and Selection in 2004 and how I would apply it to our Selection if I were training for it. Selection is Dan’s baby and Bert has the reins and it would take me 4-6 months off the world's radar to train up properly. There’s no science to this plan and there’s no wiggle room for failure – translation: get your body ready and your mind right. My goal was to join Special Forces and I sacrificed my body to do so and so does every guy who passes. It hurts and your body suffers and it’s worth it.

Thesis: Ruck More

Put the miles in. It’s vital and nobody who ever quits Selection says that they rucked too much in their train-up. In fact the opposite. So don’t use the fear of over-training as an excuse to do less work. Not getting injured is important and you have to know your own body to know when to back off a little here and there. But to take on a serious event like Selection you have to put in serious miles and do serious work. There are no shortcuts.

GORUCK Selection could go 100 miles or 200 or 300 in 48+ hours. Not really but you get the point – plan for the worst because it will over deliver on the suck factor. If you can’t accept that mentally or physically, you’re not ready. Your shoulders, back, joints, and feet have to be ready for catastrophic abuse – not to mention your mind, which is the only part of your body that will formulate the words ‘I quit.’ The good news is that you can train your body to be stronger and more prepared. And in that process, you’re training your mind to be stronger, too.

Where to Start

I never rucked until I joined the military in 2003 so I had to build up from nothing. 10 miles a week at ~25 lbs. (or 20 miles a week at ~35 lbs. if you’re more experienced) is a good starting point. Continue to do to other endurance centric PT – but wean out the heavy lifting that causes bulk. The more you weigh the more you have to carry around kind of deal. Up your miles gradually by 10 miles every 2-3 weeks until you get to 40 miles/week and keep 40 miles/week with 55 lbs. on your back as the standard. I was never a competitive runner but I was around several people who were and I based a lot of my mileage around what they did. They were running max 50 miles/week and I emulated that. So when I did 50 miles/week, I did it with less weight (45 lbs.). When I did 40 miles/week, I had 55lbs. on my back.

If you face a setback or remain constantly sore or your body doesn’t heal like mine did when I was 25, slow down your progress. This is perfectly acceptable. The goal is to get to a point where 40 miles/week with 55 lbs. feels good. Then maintain it with a few shocks to the system to avoid complacency.

When I had less time, I’d do less mileage with more weight and I’d run more as a tradeoff because that way I could put more miles in faster. I cannot stress this enough, though: you have to build your body up to be able to handle more weight. If you don’t, you will get injured.

Peak at 50 miles/week with 55 lbs. If that gets easy, up the weight to 65 lbs and do less mileage ~40 miles. The trick is to mix it up a little bit. Adjust the weight you’re carrying based on your mileage for the week but know this: putting the miles in is more important than the weight on your back. And because the only way to get faster is to go faster, you need to keep track of your pace and push yourself to get faster. Becoming a faster swimmer, a faster runner, a faster rucker will help your heart do its job when you need it to. When in doubt: more miles, less weight. And go even faster if you have less time.

Heavier Weight?

Yes, you should ruck with heavier weight some of the time – in my humble opinion. Other Cadre with more experience than I have will tell you never to ruck with more than 55 lbs. I disagree but only because I’d be a hypocrite not to. In my train up to various portions of the Q-Course (SFAS aka Selection was actually easier than other phases for me), I would routinely ruck with over 100 lbs. on my back. By routinely I mean twice a month and it almost always happened on Saturdays. I’d walk slowly and carefully and it sucked and Sunday became a day for non-impact PT: yoga, stretching, or swimming. Yes, real men do yoga. At that point, my body was already conditioned to move long distances with ~65 lbs. but I wanted to feel more. With a very heavy ruck (over 100lbs), speed is not the goal. Feeling how your body reacts is. Understanding how your shoes and your feet and your gear perform is an added benefit, but the main goal for me was mental.

Our culmination exercise in the Q-Course is called Robin Sage. After jumping in (from an aircraft) with a 125 lbs. ruck attached to my belt, our infiltration lasted 18 hours. That means I carried 125 lbs. on my back the entire time, and so did all the guys I was with. The point is to say that even 100 lbs. training rucks weren’t the heaviest I would ever have to carry and I’m glad I did not limit myself to 55 lbs. prior to the ‘Sage Infil.’ And just saying those two words together brings back memories for every Green Beret who will ever read this. It sucked and it was beautiful and I hated it and I loved it.

Tapering         

Three weeks to a month before your Selection, start tapering off. Go from 40/week to 30 to 20 to 10 the week of your event – all with 55lbs. on your back. Make sure to pack your ruck exactly how it will be at Selection. Know where everything is and know how to get it all quickly and in the dark with no headlamp.

Your Feet

Your feet are your workhorses and you better treat them like gold. And by that I mean your feet are always your #1 priority. If you have a 1-minute break, focus only on your feet. And while you’re focusing on your feet, focus on one foot at a time. Never take both boots off at the same time because you never know how long your break will last.

You have to prepare them for the massacre they will face. And you can do it gradually in your training. For me, it started by rucking with several pairs of good socks (merino wool) and two pairs of boots that worked for my feet. Start out rucking with thin socks. Get your feet wet at the beginning of each ruck you do. When you feel any hotspots developing through the thin socks, switch to your thicker pair of socks. If you still feel hotspots getting worse or becoming blisters, change your boots, too, putting a dry pair on. The goal is to harden your feet and develop callouses wherever your shoes or boots cause hotspots because hotspots become blisters. It’ll take time and don’t rush the process. Your feet will perform differently under more weight, so make sure they’re good to go when wet under a lot of weight for a lot of miles. At Selection, they’ll still turn into mush, but your goal is to prolong that outcome. The good news about blisters is they’re just pain and all you have to do is suck it up. The bad news, contrary to Patrick Swayze in Road House, is that pain does hurt and blisters cause the kind of pain that makes a weak mind start to utter words you never want to utter.

Other PT

I lifted weights for a couple hours a week and did some functional fitness, but I was never a true gym rat because I preferred endurance training outside. I swam, I ran, and I rucked. When I did lift weights, I never did anything for my lower body because those muscles were getting all they could handle with the rucking. The downside to doing so much endurance work is that it’s hard to maintain muscle mass. I didn’t fight it (pretty muscles don’t work anyway) but I wanted to stay strong so I did really low weight/high reps of anything upper body related. I never maxed out on anything with weights and I’m sure I looked ridiculous benching 95 lbs. at the base gym over and over and over but I didn’t care. More weight/lower reps builds bigger muscles you have to carry around with you. I stuck to really low weight or did bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks, etc. You’ll need the strength and the endurance but when you’re going to move 75 miles in two days with at least 50lbs on your back, more body weight is not a benefit.

Your Mind

Make sure it’s ready. And knowing whether you’re ready is not for anyone else to answer. When someone asks you if you’re gonna pass, tell them you’ll do your best but in your heart say there’s no way I’ll ever fail. In my training, I wanted to know that I had done everything physically possible before I showed up. Maybe I over-trained, I don’t know – but it worked. Doing so gave me a lot of mental strength, strength to never quit. Rucking with excessive weight helped me feel ready. If you’ve put in the work, the thought of quitting becomes repulsive – even when life gets really tough. You cannot fool yourself and you’ll know if you’ve done all you could.

Other Tips

Rucksack training weight: Do not ever up the weight in your ruck by more than 10 lbs. Meaning, if you ruck with 45 lbs., do not go straight to 65 lbs. Do 55 lbs. first and see how it feels. When in doubt, up the weight gradually and focus on the miles.

Rucking pace: With 55 lbs. and under, 15 minutes per mile is the standard and do not walk slower than that.

Walking vs. Running: do not run with a rucksack. Yes, I’ve done it because I had to to make time hacks. For this, it’s not necessary.

Miles: Running vs. Rucking. I recommend 40 miles/week as your baseline and something you’re comfortable with. If you are getting burned out rucking, trade some rucking miles for running miles. But do not dip below 20 miles rucking/week.

Your ruck: Train like you fight. Get use to how it feels under the weight you have to carry. How the weight distributes over your shoulders matters – you want it to be even. Make sure it feels OK when it’s completely soaking wet. If you have a GR2, which is what I would use because I know it’ll hold up just fine, you may want to go to a local sew shop and have them add drain holes to the bottom of the two main compartments

Hydration bladders: Two is one and one is none. Make sure to have two just in case – we recommend Source because they’re better built than anything else on the market. Other than making sure you have a ruck that won’t break, this is the most important piece of gear you’ll bring so choose wisely. Carabiner it into the top of your rucksack via the MOLLE webbing so that as you drink the water, it still functions properly. Meaning, when you suck through the tube it pulls water from the bottom of the bladder so you have to let gravity work for you. Do not place your bladder sideways in your ruck.

Socks: I recommend merino wool socks, such as the Darn Tough ones on our site. We have a thin version and a thick version. Do not under any circumstances wear ‘waterproof’ socks. I tried it one time and I’m pretty sure you could still find my blood trails at Camp Mackall.

Shoes: You need support. No milimalist shoes and I recommend light boots. During my training I used jungle boots with drain holes in them and I modified the soles so that they felt more like sneakers. Vibram sole #5 is what I think I told the guy at the shoe shop near Fort Bragg. I loved them and still have them and yet I'm sure there are better civilian models out there. Key is that you do not want Gore-Tex, your shoes have to drain, and you need support. Moving ~75 miles in two days with wet feet under a lot of weight over uneven terrain creates loads of friction. No matter what boots or shoes you select, make sure to test them out on your feet extensively before you show up. Do not listen to your buddies or a guy to passed or whatever to make the final decision.

Baby powder: Maybe. If you have time to use it, your goal is to give your feet a light dusting and then get as much off as possible. You do not want to put your feet back in your socks if they’re caked in powder. I know because I did it – one time and one time only.

Calories: At least some of the time, ruck with no food and no electrolytes – only water. Put some Gatorade or something in your ruck in case you get light headed. But do not drink it unless absolutely necessary. You have to train yourself to perform without many calories – yes, your body can and will adapt.

Alcohol: I’ve got Irish blood in me and I love beer. But when I was in the Q-Course I almost never went out and I only very occasionally drank even a couple beers. This is not prescriptive for others, it’s just where I was in my life in 2003-06 and achieving goals requires sacrifices.

Blisters: Bring 100mph tape and Vaseline to Selection. If you get a blister, put some Vaseline on top of your blister and cover the hell out of it with 100mph tape. Ensure that the tape has some area to stick around the affected area. If you bring moleskin, that will help but do not use it standalone. It will come off and cause more problems than solutions. You’ll still want to use the Vaseline and the 100mph tape.

Chafing: Ranger Panties make excellent underwear if your thighs typically rub each other when you ruck, but my preferred technique was always commando. To prevent chafing, apply a finger's worth of Vaseline to the top of your butt crack. As you move around, it makes its way to all the right places. You don't need all that fancy schmancy $10/bottle stuff. Vaseline works great and when you have a break, re-apply. If you feel any hotspots developing between your legs, apply more directly to the affected area and drive on.

Music: Train without it. You won’t have that stimulus at Selection.

Other GORUCK Events: They’re good confidence builders, especially Heavy. If you really want to do it right, do a Heavy, get your patch, smile with your team, then go for a 20-mile ruck. Do not do this too close to your Selection event because it’ll require some serious recovery. But your mind will be stronger than ever if you exude the confidence and discipline to do more after any of our Events.

Physical Training: Fit in other PT such as what you'll find on our training blog a couple days a week, but rucking is priority.

Miles: Do them, and lots of them.

In closing: There are no shortcuts. And good luck. I hope you pass and so do all the Cadre and we're dying to meet the kind of people who earn the Selection patch – to shake their hands and buy them the best tasting beer in the world. Meaning, the one you drink when you finish.

If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section and I'll do my best. Other Cadre – feel free to add any of your thoughts, too.

I was 18 years old and straight out of high school when I joined the military. I knew exactly what I wanted to do as far back as 8th grade. I honestly have no idea where the desire came from, but it was strong. I enlisted with an "18X contract," meaing after completing Basic, AIT and Jump School, you get to go through SOPC (Special Operations Preparation Course). SOPC is a prep course for SFAS (Special Forces Assessment and Selection).

During my time in SOPC, I had my boot soles replaced with a softer sole called the SOPC sole. The sole that comes standard on boots is hard and inflexible, and with running and rucking, you want something with flexibility. While I was in SOPC, the course gradually wore down on the insides of my feet from all the rucking and running. I should have replaced the boots before I went to Selection, but I didn’t. If you’re looking for a good pair, Garmonts were my favorite boots that I’ve ever used. They break in easily and are very comfortable. If you use a really soft sole, like the SOPC sole, and do as much running and rucking as we did, you should have them replaced every month. You will be able to tell because it's visibly obvious. I was cheap and ignored this.

When I arrived at Selection, I had the same mix of feelings that I’m sure everyone did: nervous, excited, and anxious. Week one of Selection is entirely individual. You’re either rucking, running, doing obstacle courses, or getting smoked with log and rifle PT. You cover many miles in the span of 7 days, and I paid the price for not replacing my soles. I broke the 3rd metatarsal bone in my left foot while doing Nasty Nick. I wasn’t completing an obstacle when it broke; in fact, I had just completed one of our rope obstacles and was running to the next. The stress from all the previous events in Selection finally took its toll. I felt it pop and instantly knew something was wrong. At this point I didn’t care; I was dedicated to getting selected and making it through the course. There was no way I was going to call all my friends and family and tell them that I didn’t get selected to continue to the qualification course.

I drove on through the rest of week, one compensating for the weight on my right foot. It was painful, but not as painful as failing would have been. The second week was land navigation, which I was really happy about. I could go at my own pace and take breaks if required. We did a few practical exercises in the day, some at night, then conducted the star course. I went through Selection in February, so the weather was pretty cold. During my star course, sleet started coming down. I was tired, hungry, cold, and didn’t think that the night could get any worse.

Wrong.

During one of my movements, I just happened to step the wrong way with my right foot on a fallen limb, and I felt the same pop as I had heard in my left foot. Sure enough, I broke the 3rd metatarsal. I was in the middle of the woods moving to my next point, which was a 7K movement with a 55-pound rucksack in the dead of night. At this point I was about 2k in according to my pace count. I almost let it get in my head. The thought of not being able to continue, and having to make that dreaded call home saying that I didn’t make it kept me going. It wasn’t easy, but I continued on, and completed the STAR course.

The third and final week was team week. We were back from the woods and in barracks, which you might think would be better. I had a top bunk, and getting up and down was terrible for me but entertaining to anyone who watched me struggling to use only my upper body to pull myself up. Getting my boots on and off was probably the worst part of my day. Once they were off, I would change my socks and put baby powder on my feet. I used Fox River socks that would let my feet breathe, and baby powder to absorb moisture (plus it just felt good). I re-laced my boots so it would skip the midsection of my feet and not put so much pressure at the bone breaks. Even if injured, you want to have your boots laced up tight to keep good ankle support. The third week is, by far, the worst part of Selection, and I was broken. Carrying a lot of weight for many miles is bad enough, but when you have two broken feet it’s absolutely miserable. I took three 800mg Motrin twice a day, knowing it wouldn’t really help, but still hoping for that placebo effect. There was no way I was going to quit. I may have been hobbling around like no other, and every step I took was more painful than the last, but “quit” was not in my vocabulary.

I was only 18 when I went to Selection, but I still knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I made it through team week, and then it came down to waiting to see who got selected or not. Just because you finish Selection does not mean you will get selected. It felt like forever, sitting around waiting. They eventually called my roster number and I had been selected. It felt great, knowing I was going to get the opportunity to continue down the path toward becoming a Green Beret.

The Special Forces Survival Kit Issued then Improved – by cadre chris

During the course of my career as a Green Beret, I was issued many things, some I was made to turn back in to the Army and others I was allowed to keep. My Pelican 1020 Survival kit was one of the items I was allowed to keep: originally intended to keep a soldier alive during an escape and evade situation, it was rendered obsolete by a more modern idea, leaving it to a list of items that the military no longer wanted. I was giddy and thrilled, finding out the news that I was able to keep something. The Army was finally paying out dividends (granted, old crappy outdated dividends but payments nonetheless.) So I set out on a quest to perfect my little military nest egg in a vain attempt to stick it to the Man. As if saying, “You gave me what you thought was a piece of junk, Mr. Man, and I actually have the proverbial Cadillac of today’s survival kits. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, DOD.” I finally got over on the military through decommissioned goods. I have no real need for a survival kit in my day-to-day life, but when staying out in the field you never know.

“I would rather have and not need than need and not have.” Sound logic to live by, people. I don’t want to call what I am doing preaching, but a few could take a note or two.

The survival kit as Issued to SF soldiers in 5^th SFG(A) contains:

-One 1020 Pelican case
Water resistant, not proof. Used to house the following in a neat and orderly fashion:

-One small Write in the Rain pad (green)
To take notes with in case you slowly are going crazy in the field or you like coloring with a black pen (see the next point). In reality it is to take notes so as to not go crazy, make a calendar, or write down thoughts and ideas.

-One Write in the Rain pen (black)
To write in the notebook. The chassis of the pen is useful as a tube for whatever reason you may find necessary, such as a crike tube or a straw.

-One wrist band
To hold the compass (see next point).

-One wrist band compass
To navigate in an emergency, I repeat emergency, wrist compasses will get you going in a direction but are highly inaccurate. A wrist compass in trained hands is about as useful as a regular compass in untrained hands. Think I am wrong? Show up to Navigator and I or another cadre will prove it. 

-One Leatherman Squirt multi-tool
Contains all the goodies that normally come with a Leatherman: knife, pliers, screwdrivers, scissors, you name it. Find a use for it; I’m not here to solve all of your problems. 

-One signal mirror
This item is useful when signaling aircraft that are looking for you. Don’t go attempting to hail me on a Southwest flight going to my next Challenge because I will not see it. This is designed for low-flying aircraft that are looking down. There are much better ways to signal aircraft than using a mirror; I believe this was added to the kit to calm the lost person down.

-One flint and striker combo (spring-loaded)
This thing is a piece of junk. Yes, it produces sparks, but it sucks. There are many more on the market that are better.

-One blue light thumb flashlight
Flashlight, plain and simple. Don’t waste its battery, it will eventually go out.

-One snare wire
If you don’t know how to snare anything, learn. There are hundreds of books out there that will show you. Once you have learned from your reference, go put your knowledge to use and attempt to catch something.

-One laser pointer
I don’t know. It is stupid and useless; I just threw it away.

-One hand saw
Spooled cable with finger holds at each end. This thing is actually a good piece of equipment but be careful, it is delicate.

So, you have heard all my thoughts on what was issued to me. I try to carry this wherever I go in my GR1 except on airplanes, because TSA would blow a gasket if I tried to sneak this stuff through security. All of the items previously listed are extremely minimalist, which is important when packing into a Pelican 1020. There are certain components that are more important than others but they all serve a purpose. In order of importance: making a fire, then tools to make shelter/other tools like the Leatherman and cable saw, then everything else. It is that simple. Chances are that you will never find yourself in a survival situation with a survival kit; that is just the way things work, and it’s Murphy’s Law at its finest. So what you should use your kit for is the foreseeable future, like planned water purifications and fire starting when camping.

Getting into the “add to and take away section,” here are my upgrades, so to speak. I have taken away a significant amount from my kit, as should you if you have purchased a complete one (which will be a waste of money. It is a seller’s world in the survival kit game.)

Without further ado, my modifications:

Add:
-Iodine tablets
Let us not be ridiculous and think we are going to be boiling water every night to purify; yes, you can do that, but then you have to drink hot water or wait. Iodine takes 30 minutes and is completely effective. Don’t be a weirdo boiling all the time.

-10ft of 550 cord
If you ask me why I have 550 cord, you obviously have no place in the field. Go home. I’m kidding, but really, 10ft is the ideal amount to fit in a 1020 pelican case and not take up additional space.

-A Bic lighter
What is it, something like 3000 guaranteed lights? How can you say no?

-Sewing needles
You don’t need a kit; you already have thread through gutted 550. Just bring the needles; they may become your best friend.

-Same goes for safety pins

-Batteries
If you have a headlamp, carry a spare set of batteries for it. I want to reiterate, this kit will best serve you as a semi-emergency kit, not an “Oh my god I just crashed my plane and just happen to have my survival kit with me.”

-Upgraded flint and steel, and waterproof matches
Here is where mainstream REI and EMS actually come in handy. You can never have enough ways to make a fire. Fire is awesome, it’s warm, it cooks stuff, and it keeps bugs away.

Those are my would-be additions to the “new and improved survival kit by Chris.” Certain things you have to take into consideration, such as the size of your item. Just because it comes in packages of a dozen does not mean you are meant to have twelve in your kit. It is easy to get carried away with survival items; I could easily fill a GR1 with just survival items, but that is not the point. The point is to have a small case of problem-solving items that each have a purpose and that the user is well versed in using.

For the removals, number one is the signal mirror. Though a good idea, it is only useful when there is a low-flying plane nearby that is on the lookout. The same signal effect could be accomplished with a large fire, and in the case of an emergency you could just burn everything around you until someone spots you. That’s what I would do; screw the environment, it’s not actively trying to save my life. Number two, the laser pointer. Do we really have to go over this again? Those are my deductions. I would love to say there is more to it but it is indeed simple, stupid.

Happy Labor Day, everyone. There is no workout today, but we still have some suggestions for how you can maximize your holiday experience.

You should start with some delicious end-of-the-summer food. We recommend any and all forms of crustaceans.

Don't forget your veggies. Just make sure they aren't bogarting all the space on the grill. You'll need lots of room for all your Labor Day meats.

Shortcake is fancy schmancy, and props to anyone who can make it, but we like to just slap some whipped cream and strawberries on a biscuit and call it a day. Keepin' it real.

Don't forget the most important part. Having the bottle opener nearby ensures minimal effort which is crucial, because after all, it is Labor Day. 

Always remember Rule #1.

Watch out for crabs and gingers. 

Happy Labor Day from everyone at GORUCK. We hope your day is filled with good food and friends, classy Cadre and of course lots of A.C.R.T. Here's to not working and Good Livin'!

The 40-minute Five-miler:

What is it? 

The requirement to run five miles in 40 minutes or less is a classic benchmark in many elite units of the military. It’s called an “advanced physical training requirement” as it sits outside of the basic PT requirements found in standard fitness tests. It’s one of the first requirements upon starting the US Army’s Ranger School. And without a doubt you’ll encounter more than one of these in Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS), though at the time the actual distance and timehack will be unknown to you - just to make it extra fun. 

Why it matters:

Five miles and forty minutes are not chosen at random. The more elite units in the military pay significant attention to this event for a reason. This test demands more than shorter runs. Comparing a two-mile timed run to a five-mile run, one cannot just say it is 2.5 times harder. Every mile you add to a timed run makes it exponentially harder. The 40-minute Five-Miler tests your endurance, both cardiovascular and also, and perhaps more importantly, mental. Longer events have the ability to demand levels of mental toughness, commitment, and strategy that shorter events do not. By incorporating longer distances, individuals are forced to feel the realities of what they’re dealing with for longer periods of time. It’s been pretty clearly demonstrated over the years that many individuals do not want to take part in something difficult if it will not be over quickly. For those used to only being tested on short 1.5 to 3-mile runs, the 5-miler hits them in ways many don’t enjoy. Hence why if you’re looking to attend a Special Operations school, be ready to embrace this event as a new friend.  

Starting next Monday we will be incorporating a 12 week training program into our regular workouts to help you decrease your mile time and eventually run the Ranger 40-minute five-miler.

 When you want to make gains in your workouts – faster times, heavier lifts, etc – you need to focus on recovery almost as much as the workout itself.  When it comes to long movements for time (runs and rucks), to do recovery right, you gotta be sure to get that much needed dose of protein in after you crush that 40-minute or less five-miler so that you'll only be faster and stronger next time.

Scene: "Rocky II" – Mickey knew what he was talking about when he told Rocky Balboa before he stepped back in the ring with Apollo Creed: "We gotta get speed. We need greasy, fast, lightning speed." If you want speed, you need to feed that speed, plain and simple. So I give you my tasty-as-hell "Feed Your Speed" (post-run) omelet.  

Get what you need to make your version of the perfect omelet. (If that's different than my version, it's probably not perfect.) I'm pretty plain-jane and don't go too crazy with ingredients. First, chop and grill those onions. 

While they're cooking, get the main ingredients ready. In case you didn't know, you need eggs for your omelet – I go with four. Healthiest way is just egg whites, but sometimes I keep one yolk in if I'm trying to keep my weight up. Beat 'em up. 

The part I hate – Take your girlie low-cal Laughing Cow cheese and cut it up so it'll melt in the omelet. This cheese is crazy healthy (like 5 calories) and tastes awesome, but cutting it is a serious pain in the a$$. Whenever I have a helping hand in the kitchen I conveniently find a way to be busy at this stage so I don't have to do the cutting.  Once ready, add the cheese to your beaten eggs. 

Take the cooked onions out of your skillet/pan, hit it with some no-stick spray, and drop in the mixed eggs and cheese.  

I always lift the edges of my omelet while tilting the pan to let the egg on top cook faster. After just a minute or two, add your cooked onions. As soon as the top is cooked fold that delicious bastard. Should need less than a minute and you're good to go.

Because I like my flavors intense, I add spicy guac and Tapatio tabasco sauce. (I live by Tapatio and affectionately refer to it as my favorite blue-eyed Mexican. I literally take it to combat.) 

Bacon is not the key ingredient here in terms of recovery, but if you just ran a 37-minute five-miler, you earned it. 

Protein supplements are great, but we all gotta eat. Scarf down that muscle regenerative in the form of an omelet and you're on the road to recovery for next time.

Stew Smith is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, a former Navy SEAL Lieutenant, and author of several fitness and self-defense books. Certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and as military fitness trainer, Stew has trained thousands of students for Navy SEAL, Special Forces, SWAT, FBI, ERT and many other law enforcement professions.

GORUCK Selection: 50% Preperation/50% Gut Check

Physically preparing for any GORUCK event is a requirement, but so is being able to tap into the part of the brain that allows for you go back to a primal caveman instinct of surviving – doing anything to survive and never quitting. Some call this mental toughness – some call it the gut check.  In fact, physical preparation is just 25% and 25% gear/nutritional preparation. The other 50% is pure gut check. Regardless, the ability to ignore pain, cold, heat, discomfort, stress from instructors and your environment is something we all have a natural ability to tap into. However, with proper physical preparation (ie specifically lots of rucking) you can avoid tapping into this “survival mode” until you really need it.

The better you are physically with a solid foundation of high miles of running, rucking, and high repetition calisthenics, the better you will do at Selection. However, physical preparation is just 25% of the equation. The other 25% of preparation is staying ahead of dehydration by constantly sipping on water, adding electrolytes when sweating profusely or in arid environments, and eating the right balance of carbs, proteins and fats that works best for you. To know what works for you means you need to put in the time – multiple hours on your feet moving with weight.  Knowing when to eat, what to eat, and when and what to drink is something you have to figure out. What is going to yield optimal results for you? Personally, I found that baby carrots and apple slices and peanut butter were a good mix of carbs, fat, and protein that helped me perform at high levels whether I was in a boat, under a log, or running timed runs on the beach. 

Can you Train to be More Mentally Tough? The other 50%!

Personally, I tend to place mental toughness on two different levels. For training programs, the line is pain versus injury.  Pushing pain into injury in training that gets you kicked out of training – well that is just stupid. For getting out of life or death situations, there is no stupid way – only the way that yields success. In a life or death situation, you may have to be severely injured and required to keep moving in order to live. This requires a mental toughness that is engrained in us all as a basic survival skill. Tapping into this survival skill is powerful and will make you a different person – even when only training.

Basically, being mentally tough helps you to keep competing when your mind wants you to quit. One thing I learned during Hellweek at BUDS was that we have a section in our brain that tells us to stop in order to prevent us from hurting ourselves. There are times you have to shut that part of your brain off.  When you do this, you will learn that your body is ten times stronger than the untrained mind will let it be.

Being mentally tough can take us into another level of competition or into a survival mode with success. You will find when sh*t hits the fan and you are worried more about living than anything else that your body will do all the work for you and not want to quit or die. We are built to survive as humans. One thing the Special Forces training programs will give you is an ability to think in that high stress situation when most people shut down. But even then, it is the repetition of our training that enables our body to perform in order to survive or help others to survive. The training does not make you mentally tough, it only brings it out.

Your Take Away from Selection: 

GORUCK allows people to not only prepare themselves mentally and physically for future Spec Ops programs, but offers a chance for civilians to tap into an ability that will make the rest of their lives easier. So push yourself hard and focus on your desire to succeed. Also you will have a better appreciation at the professions the proven mentally tough perform like running into a burning building to save others, running across a street when bullets are flying, or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane into enemy territory. These mentally tough people keep us safe from terrorists, criminals, burning houses, and other natural / man-made disasters. GORUCK Selection is a way for you to get a taste of that feeling to serve in harm’s way.

Training Recommendations to Simulate Tough PT Sessions

Favorite Workout #1:  (Tough PT / Cardio Day)
Run 4 miles

Devil’s Mile: 
Run ¼ mile followed by ¼ mile bear crawls
Run ¼ mile followed by a ¼ mile log carry or fireman carry (split with partner)
Run ¼ mile followed by a ¼ mile of burpee broad jumps
Run ¼ mile followed by a ¼ mile of walking lunges

Ruck 4 miles

Favorite Workout #2:  (Cardio Day)
Spec Ops Triathlon:
5 mile run / 5 mile ruck / 1 mile swim with fins

Favorite Workout #3:  (Fullbody / Cardio Mix)
Warmup with the Murph: 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats – 2 mile run

Circuit – Repeat 3 times
Stair climbs – 3 minute carrying 45 lbs
Hang clean 5
Dead lift 5
Power clean 5
Plank pose 3 minutes

Cooldown Cardio:
2 – 4 mile run or ruck

You can find more information on Stew's training programs at www.stewsmith.com

"Those who have been associated in the performance of any deed of valor or patriotism ever feel attracted to each other by an influence stronger and nobler than that of friendship. The daring patriots who joined in resistance to the tyrannizing might of Britain, were men pledged to die rather than betray each other, and to maintain their rights while they could lift the sword or aim the musket; and that pledge made them look upon each other in after years, when the storm of war was hushed and security dwelt at the fireside, as brothers whom no petty cause could sunder nor ill report make foes." — Henry C. Wilson "The Yankee Tea-Party or Boston in 1773

222 years later to the day I found myself standing on the famous yellow footprints that are painted onto the deck just outside the main hatch of Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot San Diego. These yellow footprints are your first lesson on the long road to earning the title of United States Marine, how to stand in formation. Hundreds of perfectly covered and aligned footprints demonstrate V shaped, 45 degree angles that are the foundation for the position of attention, lesson number two.

Now the Marine Corps celebrates its 238^th birthday. I look back on that 20 year old kid, shivering on that cool November morning in 1997 and think, “How did I get here? Why did I choose this career? This life?”  I’ll be the first to admit that this was not my plan!  Initially I joined because…. well why not?  I was young, no real plan and figured what’s four years?

Almost immediately, while still scrubbing the bulkheads of our squad bay with Bulldog smell good, I felt a fire building inside of me. It was small and buried deep at first but over time it has grown into an all consuming conflagration. I was never the rah-rah pomp and circumstance type of Marine. I fancied myself more the modern day chivalrous knight.

I bought into, and believe to this day, the Corps Values of honor, courage, and commitment. The Corps has defined other words for me that previously had little meaning. Words like service, duty, discipline, selflessness, sacrifice and humility. These words added fuel to the flames and I truly felt as if my mates and I were guards at the gate, which kept the enemy at bay.

Then 11 September 2001 came. About a month earlier I had submitted my re-enlistment package as more an administrative function than purpose. I was pending its approval when the Towers fell. On that day my service transitioned from something I do to something I am. The fire inside me was now inextinguishable. All the training, all the pain, misery and suffering; all the words that became part of my vocabulary suddenly had a clear purpose.

13 years, 5 deployments, 3 continents and 5 countries later the Global War on Terror carries on. In that time I’ve lived a few lives as a service member. I’ve moved from Infantry Rifleman, to Reconnaissance Marine and now to Marine Special Operations. During those transitions I have experienced several types of conflicts. I have seen the conventional line in the sand fighting, with big guns and big bombs, to the subtle small scale raid where not a single shot is fired.  

Over that same time period I have lived a few personal lives as well. I’ve been married, became a father, and was divorced. An unfortunate statistic that is equally unfortunate in its commonality during this conflict. I’ve since remarried and become a father for a second and third time. The struggle to maintain a personal life, a normal life, while simultaneously fighting our nation’s war is one that is shared throughout all the services; and an issue organizations like GORUCK are bringing to light by bridging the gap between civilian and military. This is what drew me to GORUCK, to share the good, bad and ugly of my experience. To highlight the challenges we must all face. How to overcome over a decade of conflict…together. 

Now I move into my 17^th year of service, my last 4 year enlistment. I look back on a career filled with great joy, camaraderie, esprit de corps, and life long friendships that will stay with me forever. I also look back on unimaginable pain, of great loss, bloodshed and sacrifice. I’ve known true heroes. I’ve seen absolute bravery and absolute fear. I’ve seen men slaughter on one street, only to turn the corner and play soccer with children on the next. It’s an amazing thing being a United States Marine.

So today your United States Marine Corps will celebrate the birth of what history will remember as one of the finest fighting forces in the world. Our pledge to you is to be there, to guard the gate, to win our wars and remain Always Faithful. To all the Marines, past and present, I say; Good luck, God speed, and remain Semper Fidelis. 

The United States Marine Corps was created on November 10th, 1775. Today marks the 238 birthday of the USMC. GORUCK employs several Marines to lead our Challenges and today we say thanks to those guys for all they've done and continue to do.

Cadre Adam: Recon
Cadre Andy:  Recon/MARSOC
Cadre Brent:  Recon/MARSOC
Cadre Brian:  Recon
Cadre Stokes:  Recon
Cadre John:  Recon
Cadre Carlos:  Recon/Corpsman
Cadre Matt:  MARSOC
Cadre Matt S.: Recon/Corpsman
Cadre Mickey:  Recon
Cadre Michael: Recon
Cadre Luke: Recon

Veterans Day means something different to everyone – for a lot of people it doesn’t mean anything. That’s okay. To me, it highlights the shared language and understanding of those who serve and have served in the military. What you take away from military service is very personal and different for everyone, but these takeaways are lasting and change you in some ways to your core. That culture and those experiences bring vets together in some semblance of an identity. I’ll relate two quick stories from my own experiences that convey what Veterans Day means to me. 

In 2007 I was on a Special Forces A-Team in Iraq, occupying a house (not a base) in a city that was essentially the HQ for al Qaeda in Iraq’s foreign fighters. We took a lot of contact. We were fortunate enough to also have two platoons of Airborne infantry billeted with us at this house. These guys were pulling double-duty, as they were tasked with providing security for our home-away-from-home, and doing missions on their own as well as alongside us during the night.

When our team arrived, we didn’t get the warmest welcome from these guys. Back in those days of the GWOT (Global War on Terrorism), the 82^nd boys had the very rough task of eighteen-month deployments, and when my team hit the ground in this city, they’d already been there about a year – having lost a number of their brothers and with far more wounded. We arrived clean, had sexier kit, some of us had the beards, and we got to do the more select missions grabbing the high-value targets. But separating us even more, we were unwounded (from that deployment at least) and we were not bone tired from the non-stop firefights and IEDs that were taking our friends. The “brothers-at-arms” motto didn’t exactly apply yet; it was more of a “there’s us and then there’s them” mentality.

After only about two weeks on the ground, simultaneously both my team and a few squads of 82^nd got ambushed in the city at separate points. My ODA fought its way out of the kill box quickly, but when we regrouped at our house we found that one of the eighty-deuce boys had been killed by small arms fire in their exfil from the ambush. The fallen’s squad members stood around his body bag, with no one speaking, looking about as tired and beaten in a way one can only know if you’ve felt it yourself. So my ODA did exactly what we would do if it were one of us – and ultimately, it was one of us. (Foot-stomping sound.)

At that time we all carried 4’x6’ American flags in our kit next to our skin. The point – if we were killed and our bodies were recovered, these flags would be given to our family members.

Standing next to the recently fallen, one of the senior members of my team took off his kit and pulled the folded flag he carried from beneath his ballistic plates. No one needed to talk. I happened to be standing next to him, so he turned to me; we unfolded the flag, and did a proper folding of the colors with the rest of my ODA standing at attention. We passed the flag as required down the line, each member saluting the flag after passing it on, until the last member placed the flag inside of the fallen’s body bag.        

No one said anything after that. Everyone moved off piecemeal, back to the work that needed to be done, getting ready for the next time. (The feeling one gets from the knowledge that a break is not coming for months on end is another one that’s “special” to these circumstances.)  Having done the presentation that day in our post-fight-dirty kit, outside, next to still-running Humvees, with no pomp or circumstance seemed the right way for that crowd of downtrodden. We were all the same.   

From that day on, though stemming from the worst type of circumstance, everyone in that house became brothers-at-arms. The change was night and day and immediate. Everything was shared especially the burden. And we went through more flags than anyone would hope to, and the presentation that is described here became a sad but proud tradition for all of us. In the years since, I've run into a few of those 82nd guys some now in SF. They told me that after that first day, a large number of their platoon-mates stated they now wanted to try out for SF. This wasn't for the cooler kit or the shorter deployments, it was because of the way they saw us pay respect, appreciate, and take care of our fighting brothers.

Those sentiments, that shared language and understanding, are things I still appreciate to this day even though I haven't been in a combat zone in about three years; because when you encounter it, you know its rare and it has a special meaning and significance. On September 22nd of this year, I was in Massanutten, VA with a few of the other GORUCK Cadre, taking part in closing down our event, GORUCK Nasty 001. While sharing some beers with Cadre Joel, I randomly asked if he knew of a particular guy I’d heard was assigned to his SF unit. Joel’s quick reply was, “Oh, the guy that was just killed?” Unbeknownst to Joel, the guy was a friend of mine since high school, and I heard nothing about him for years, let alone that he had been killed in action only a day or two prior to this conversation. When Joel found out this person was a friend of mine, (probably obvious from the dumbfounded look on my face), he made calls to confirm that we had the information right. When he did confirm it for me, he apologized for my loss and for being the bearer of the bad news. Nothing more was said about it for a while.  Later that night, we were joined by other Cadre – Michael, Garrett, Aaron, and Chris – and amidst other conversation in one sentence I told them my old friend’s name, how he’d just fallen in Afghanistan, and that he was one of the best. There was a pause, no one said a word, everyone stood up, we cheered to his name, drank, and sat down. 

This is what Veterans Day means to me. The understanding you know you share with those who have been in places like where you’ve been, and have gone through circumstances like you’ve gone through. It brings you together. It’s not an elitist thing. It’s about appreciation and camaraderie.

I was twenty-six years old when I joined the military. I had spent the seven years prior to 9/11 doing everything on earth I had ever wanted to do, living the life of an adrenaline junkie nomad. I worked at an outdoor shop in Boulder, CO while testing shoes for Salomon, traveled the country for 13 months in a 40-foot Winnebago RV competing in Whitewater “rodeos,” saw Jerry Garcia’s last show with the Grateful Dead, and even lived in South Africa for two years doing conservation and anti-poaching work. My grandfather and father had served in the military, but I had almost zero knowledge of the Army beyond what I had seen in movies like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, and of course Stripes. 

I was lucky enough to be able to join Army Special Forces under the 18X Program, which allows guys off the street to attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) directly, after passing a few gates such as Infantry Basic Training and Airborne School. The majority of candidates entering SFAS come from previous Active Duty positions with at least 18 months in.

I was in the initial group of 18X candidates post-9/11, when the program had just been started at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This small group of us had not been exposed much to ruck marching, but it didn’t take long for us to get acquainted with it. For the next three months, the Army prepared us for SFAS by having us focus on four events – running, rucking, land navigation, and of course getting our asses smoked for being smart (or dumb) enough to join the military with a shot at going straight into Special Forces, never having known the misery of a Private growing up in “Regular” Army.

We were a small group of guys, civilians who had never been in the Army and now were attempting to get in top condition to pass the dreaded twenty-four days of SFAS. Our group had every body type. I had grown up wrestling. We had a world champion runner, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, and then guys who had never played sports or trained a day in their life.  But something remarkable happened to us all immediately – we ate, slept, and breathed to train. Every day. We showed up early for every formation and trained like mad men late into the night. Our Cadre, the seasoned Special Forces guys in charge of us, gave us enough rope to hang ourselves, but fortunately we never did.

The learning curve was steep for me. I was 5’7 and about 150lbs at the time. I rucked with a 6’4 Native American guy who to this day is both the strongest and scariest man I’ve ever met. One of his ruck strides was two and a half of mine. His walk was my jog, and his jog was my run. As you can imagine, the first thirty days of rucking with him was miserable. The other guys on my ruck team were not much bigger than I was, but we were all motivated. I will never forget one of my Cadre, MSG Gary S. saying to us “No matter how bad your body feels, it can always be worse. And remember, you will pass out before you die. I promise.” At which point my classmate and great friend Michael leaned over and whispered to me “If you pass out on this ruck, I’m taking your water and leaving you to die. Less competition at Selection!”

This set the tone of the entire train-up for SFAS. The first day was simple. We started out doing six miles as fast as we could go with 45lbs plus  water in our rucks. I wore standard issue Vietnam-era "Jungle Boots", with a modified sole. Every day after that we increased both weight and distance. Some days were better than others. Our "off days" were never days off, as we either ran or rucked. No gym, no CrossFit, no tire flips, no biking, no swimming, no yoga. We just ran and rucked as fast as we could, with as much weight as our bodies could take, all powered by about 6,000 calories of crappy Army food. The week prior to SFAS we were doing sub three-hour 12-mile rucks with 80lbs. Every guy in the initial 1st and 2nd class of 18X passed SFAS and got selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course.

You’ll hear a lot of different techniques and advice for training for GORUCK Selection. I prefer the simplest route: ruck farther, ruck faster, and ruck with more weight. If your body can handle it. As Jason and I have said over the last year, no one ever leaves GORUCK Selection or even SFAS early saying “I over-trained for this.”

GORUCK Selection class 015 in Neptune Beach, Florida is not until October 2014. Between now and then, we will be focusing the training page on preparing you for both life and GORUCK Events, including GORUCK Selection. Don’t forget: “You will pass out before you die. I promise.”           

Protein Brownies

The holidays are just full of butter. Presents, lights, and butter. Meet the elusive healthy, butter-free brownie – Yes Virginia, it does exist. It's like Santa Claus riding a unicorn, but dessert and real. These brownies are free of flour and butter, and they are low in sugar. They are a great post bike/run/ruck snack. Eat one before your next holiday gathering as an alternative to sitting on  the couch stuffing your face with snowman sugar cookies and Aunt Elsey’s fruitcake (sorry Aunt Elsey). These brownies pack over 20 grams of protein per serving and that’s why this recipe gets Cadre Mike’s approval.

The Naughty:

Nutella- It’s not that good for you. But it does taste good. It’s the holiday season and you're not eating butter, so don't be a total Grinch and treat yourself.

The Nice:

Spiru-Tein protein powder - A great protein powder made with key ingredients and whey protein (no soy). It contains 100% RDA of your daily vitamins. This recipe is great because the whey protein in the powder when combined with the casein found in the milk provide long-lasting satiety as well as essential amino acids. The powder also contains important digestive enzymes like pectin and fiber. Each brownie contains about a serving size of Spiru-Tein which packs 14 g of protein. You are also adding peanut butter & milk, so you get approx. 20 grams of protein per brownie.

Coconut oil – It's much better for you than a stick of butter, and it has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It's great for baking and cooking because it has a high smoke point (gives no off-flavors and does not form dangerous compounds at high heat). Coconut oil can actually help improve cholesterol levels. Additionally, it enables the body to better absorb fat-soluble vitamins and improves thyroid function. Pretty amazing.

Natural Peanut butter- Get a brand with one ingredient listed – peanuts.  Try Crazy Richards. Peanut butter is an additional source of plant protein & vitamin E.

Milk- Horizon organic is great because of the taste and added protein. You can make this recipe lactose free by substituting almond milk.

Cadre Mocha Mike’s Mocha Protein Brownies Recipe:

• 1 cup chocolate Spiru-Tein protein powder
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil
• Nutella

​

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together protein powder, raw sugar, baking soda, salt. Whisk eggs, vanilla & milk together. Add egg mixture to dry protein mixture and add coconut oil (room temp, mainly liquid form) and peanut butter (slightly melted). Mix very well. Mixture should resemble pudding. If it is super dry, add a tiny bit more milk. Pour in 8 x 8 greased glass baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow brownies to cool for 1 hour. Cut into individual slices and lightly ice with Nutella. 

Cadre Mike signing off on another job well-done by the GORUCK Team House elves.