When the stakes are high, only the best can get the job done. These are 5 of the most elite special forces around the world.

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As noted recently by Brandon Webb here on SOFREP, the Navy SEALs are preparing in the near future to accept their first female Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training candidates.

Packages are no doubt being prepared by some enterprising, hard-charging young women, and the command is undoubtedly in the planning stages of just how to handle these trailblazers. Teeth are probably being gnashed in some quarters, “I told you so’s” are being locked and loaded for the inevitable female candidates who fail, and all eyes will be intently fixed on the candidates as they enter one of the world’s most challenging military training programs.

What exactly can these women expect to face when they step across the quarterdeck of the Naval Special Warfare Center to start BUD/S? What will be in store for them as they embark on their journey of discovery and start hammering away at the heretofore ballistic glass ceiling that sits in place over top the military’s special operations community?

Here are just a few hurdles, challenges, factors, and realities that these women can surely look forward to encountering.

SEE ALSO: The moment when your own airstrike drops a 500 pound bomb on your position

1. Media scrutiny

 The first female to enter BUD/S training can be assured of facing media scrutiny the likes of which few could imagine. Every single US media outlet, from the Navy Times to Stripes to USA Today to the New York Times will want to interview, photograph, and chronicle the progress of this woman trailblazer.

The Naval Special Warfare Center will no doubt seek to run interference for most of those requests, but this author assumes that at least some journalists will be granted access, in an effort by the Navy to ensure that all is aboveboard in the integration of BUD/S training.

The country, if not the world, will be watching.

2. Unchanged standards

Of one thing this author is absolutely certain: The SEALs who run BUD/S training, from the commanding officer on down, will fight tooth and nail to maintain the rigorous standards that have always defined the training.

BUD/S is the crucible through which must pass all prospective SEALs. It is simply too important to the SEALs who serve as the gatekeepers of the community to ensure those standards are not altered for any candidate.

They have never done it in the past, and this author does not see it happening in the future. The BUD/S standards are sacrosanct, and should change for no man or woman.

3. Skepticism

There will surely be those, and some have already made their voice heard, who harbor no doubts whatsoever that a woman cannot make it through BUD/S without it being watered down to allow her to pass.

They will never be convinced. Some will be instructors, some will be fellow students, some will be salty retirees, and some will be active-duty SEALs.

The first women in the training should just expect such skepticism, and learn to deal with it. If it were me, I would harness it to make me more motivated to succeed and prove them wrong.

Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Army Rangers and many other elite soldiers in the US military go through SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training, which simulates what it's like if you're captured by the enemy. Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb, who is the Founder of SOFREP.com, explains what the experience is like. 

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The US embassy wanted the DEA and their Bolivian Leopardos to raid a finca, a ranch, out in the remote northern part of the country, and they wanted a rush put on it. 

DEA Agent Larry Leveron and Navy SEAL Hershal Davis rode on Bolivian UH-1 Huey helicopters with the Bolivian police, flying toward the finca, when Larry spotted a small, twin-engine aircraft taking off from a dirt airstrip while they were still five miles out.

They knew that the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was on target, but only got word later that he was, in fact, on the private aircraft that escaped just as they raided the compound as a part of Operation Snowcap.

The DEA and 7^th Special Forces Group soldiers participated in Snowcap, which deployed them across Central and South America on counter-narcotics missions from 1987 to 1994. Larry had been previously deployed to Bolivia with an earlier DEA mission called “Blast Furnace,” and had also deployed to Costa Rica and Ecuador to support Snowcap.

Back in Bolivia in 1991, Larry found the DEA was tasked with conducting military-style operations, but did not necessarily have the experience needed to be effective, as their agents were law enforcement officers, most with little military experience.

DEA agents assigned to Snowcap could get three weeks of jungle training at Fort Sherman in Panama, explosives training at Quantico, a few weeks of Spanish language immersion training at the border patrol academy, and maybe participate in an abridged form of US Army Ranger School, but then they were on the ground in foreign countries planning and executing operations directed against drug cartels.

In the beginning, DEA agents arrived with only some camping gear bought at K-mart and surplus military kit.

It was Supervisory Special Agent Frank White of the DEA who really turned the program around. A former LRRP/Ranger who had served in Vietnam, White had a better idea of what his agents were up against on the ground and lobbied the Pentagon for improved training.

There was talk at the time of creating a special division within the DEA for the Snowcap mission, but this did not come into existence until the war in Afghanistan kicked off and FAST teams were stood up.

In Bolivia, Leveron was the DEA team leader working with UOMPAR, an acronym which translated as “Mobile Unit for the Rural Patrols,” but they just went by Leopardos, or leopards for short. Knowing that he needed some extra help, Leveron requested the presence of several Navy SEALs deployed to the Trinidad region of Bolivia in the Amazon River basin.

Attached to MilGroup out of the US embassy, Command Master Chief Hershal Davis was partnered with another SEAL petty officer to help train the Bolivians in riverine operations, raids, and counter-ambush techniques.

Partnered with former SEALs who were then working for the DEA, including Richard Dobrich and Loris Kagnoni, and several personnel from the US Coast Guard, the advisory team had a small fleet of boats to work with on the Mamore River. Those boats were launched from a larger riverboat called the “Liberatador,” which acted as the mothership.

“I had a blast down there,” Davis recalled. A veteran SEAL, Davis retired with 34 years of service, having graduated from BUD/S class #36 in 1966 before being deployed to Vietnam. Having experience in South America going back to the initial training of Colombian SOF in 1970, Davis had been there, done that, and had gotten the T-shirt.

“You find some of the weirdest stuff in those jungles,” Davis said. “I met a couple of entomologists who said they find 12 new species of insects every time they came down there.”

One of his main tasks was training the indigenous troops to raid cocaine labs in the jungle. The terrain is constantly evolving, and one of the results is called an oxbow lake, which is created when a river changes its course. This results in the river flowing in wide loops back and forth.

The waterway that the river once took either dries up or becomes a small lake. Drug cartels would cut through the jungle into the oxbow to build their drug labs, then float their small skiffs up inside to load drugs or precursor chemicals.

“I had a couple kobols (corporals) who were gunslingers,” Davis said. “But their officer was an asshole. He was part of the group that killed Che Guevara, which I guess he thought made him important.” Davis would get frustrated that the officer would constantly steal from his men, so one day the command master chief confronted him about it. “If you want something, you pay for it,” Davis said to the Bolivian officer in no uncertain terms. “After that, the kobols respected me.”

When Leveron asked Davis to come to the embassy in La Paz, the veteran SEAL found their planning cell to be tactically flawed. Sitting in on briefings, Davis discovered that the DEA had trouble planning military operations. “If you do anything in the jungle, you have to do it at night,” he pointed out.

There were further frustrations, however, due to the fact that while the DEA could accompany Bolivian forces on operations, the SEALs could not. “Fucking rules of engagement,” Davis stated. “You can’t get anything done. An empty gun in your holster is State Department-ready. I’m a condition-one man.” Condition one means your pistol has a round chambered with the hammer back and the safety on, a reasonable way to carry your weapon when going into combat.

“We stretched the rules a bit,” Leveron remembered. “The SEALs had to stay in safe areas, so we declared any area behind us on a mission to be a safe area.” Davis and his fellow SEALs started going out on missions with the Bolivians and the DEA, and if questioned where they had been, would make up excuses, such as they were downtown looking for hookers.

Things got a little dicey at times, though; Davis would stash his webgear under the seats of the helicopter to avoid the prying gaze of a US Special Forces warrant officer in their area. The man was hated by his own men who also wanted to go out on missions. Davis threatened to kill the Greet Beret if he ever dropped dime to MilGroup about his extracurricular activities.

However, Larry and Davis got along well. Larry even authorized a pay bonus for the Bolivians that Davis trained, but the money had to be given directly to the corporals rather than their corrupt commanding officer, lest it disappear into his pockets.

Raiding cocaine labs and targeting high-level Narcos was all a part of Operation Snowcap, but when Leveron got orders from the US embassy to hit one particular finca, something felt a bit off. The intelligence for the operation did not come from the DEA, but more likely from the CIA—an agency which he had felt mistreated the DEA at every turn. The embassy wanted the raid to happen sooner rather than later, so along with Davis and the Bolivians, they rushed into mission planning.

They did an overflight with a CASA aircraft to pinpoint the exact location of the ranch, and soon launched their assault force in the early morning hours. As the Bolivian Hueys approached, what looked like a twin-engine Beechcraft took off and flew toward the Colombian border. The workers at the finca fled into the jungle as the Leopardos landed and hit the compound. Inside, there were seven coffee cups resting on the kitchen table, still warm.

Only after the mission was completed did Larry later confirm that they had actually been on the tail of the notorious Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. On later raids, they confirmed that the series of fincas they were targeting belonged to Escobar as well. From Larry’s perspective, driving Escobar back into Colombia had probably been the CIA’s game plan from the beginning.

“There wasn’t a Bolivian prison that could hold Escobar,” Larry said, referring to the rampant corruption in the area. “I think we wanted the Colombian government to get the credit for the capture and prosecution.” Beyond that, the Bolivian government had been sandbagging Operation Snowcap for a long time. “We knew they were playing for the Narcos, so we really had to keep OPSEC tight until the last moment. Even for the helicopter pilots.”

Meanwhile, Davis was getting called to the carpet when it was discovered that he had been going out on operations. The MilGroup commander, Colonel Holmes, recalled Davis to La Paz. Holmes asked Davis if he had been out on missions, but then quickly said, “I knew you wouldn’t do that,” effectively answering his own question. Perhaps MilGroup really didn’t want to know in the first place. Davis was given three days to chill out in La Paz, and then sent back to his assignment.

There were a few other incidents Davis recalled with a chuckle. On a day-time mission to raid a drug lab, the son of a cartel boss popped out of the jungle and fired on the SEAL and his kobols. The Bolivians snap-shot him. “A round went through his chest and took out a silver-dollar piece of spine, and the other went through his ribcage. I loved that autopsy,” Davis said.

But for Larry and Davis, the hunt for Pablo Escobar was all but over. That was a mission that would be picked up by others in Colombia in a deadly game of cat and mouse that America’s Joint Special Operations Command dubbed “Heavy Shadow.” 

SEE ALSO: ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán says Mexican prison authorities ‘are turning me into a zombie’

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NOW WATCH: Pablo Escobar: The life and death of one of the biggest cocaine kingpins in history

Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb explains why he'll never go skydiving as a civilian again even though he logged numerous jumps in the military.

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The internet has no shortage of basement-dwelling commandos beating at their keyboards like chimpanzees as they forcefully insist upon one incorrect factoid or another regarding Special Operations units. All SEALs are considered Tier One, right?

No. Rangers pull security for Delta, correct? Time to throw away that scratched-up "Black Hawk Down" DVD, hero.

Since the internet stupidity goes on and on, two people at Sofrep decided to team up to write a definitive article about the differences between SEALs and Rangers. This article was written by Brandon Webb, who served in SEAL Team Three, and Jack Murphy, who served in the 3rd Ranger Battalion.

SEa Air Land. It always amazes me how many people that acronym is lost on. They think water, Navy, and marine mammal.

History

The history of the modern SEAL team dates back to the 1940s and World War II. They began as the Navy construction and demolition units and then saw a transformation with Draper Kauffman (great story here) and the Underwater Demolition Teams. John F. Kennedy would officially welcome the first SEAL teams: SEAL teams one and two in the 1960s. The US military desperately needed a maritime Special Operations fighting force; the SEALs were the answer. Come from the water and fight on land or sea.

For the UDTs, the operational pace in the combat zone frequently found two of their platoons–approximately 30-men forward deployed to a particular Amphibious Personnel Destroyer (APD) for periods of six to eight weeks. Embarked UDT platoons usually ran between 10 and 20 demolition or beach reconnaissance missions while aboard the APDs; depending on weather and enemy activity. Moreover, individual UDT personnel were often away on temporary duty with other military or CIA units; usually for advisory and training duties. This included the forward-basing of small teams on islands close to the North Korean coastline, where they stood alert duty with UN Escape and Evasion organizations assisting in the recovery of downed airmen. (Source: Navy SEAL Museum)

Historical UDT weapons and demolitions

Individual weaponry taken by UDT men behind enemy lines was usually limited to the submachine guns, pistols, and knives found most useful for the close-quarters combat that characterized most raiding missions. Though presumably available, sound suppressors for the weapons are not known to have been used. The men used a variety of demolitions in their work, but the standard Mark-135 Demolition Pack, which contained twenty pounds of C-3 plastic explosive was foremost. (Source: Navy SEAL Museum)

The modern SEAL mission

Navy SEALs and the Naval Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen form the operational arms of the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community, headed by the Naval Special Warfare Command. NSW acts both as the Navy's Special Operations force as well as the Navy component of the US Special Operations Command. Their roles include:

• Surveillance and reconnaissance operations to report on enemy activity or to provide a better understanding of the operational situation. These missions can include swimming ashore at night, tracking enemy units, monitoring military and civilian activity, and gathering information about beach and water conditions prior to a beach landing.
• Direct action — offensive strikes against an enemy target using tactics such as raids, ambushes, and assaults.
• Foreign Internal Defense (FID) — Training and assisting foreign counterparts to increase their capacity to respond to threats.
• VBSS (Visit, Board, Search, and Seize) — Maritime hostile ship boardings in the middle of the night on the high seas.

• Combat swimmer — Exactly what it sounds like. General Noriega's boat didn't blow itself up in Panama during the invasion of 1989; it was combat swimmers from SEAL Team Two. There's some other special stuff the SDV teams do, but you'll have to join to find out.
• Tier-one counterterrorism — This is Devgru's (AKA SEAL Team Six) turf. Granted, the edge goes to the Army's Delta Force for remaining much quieter about their jobs. Culturally, Delta does a much better job of cloaking their mission in secrecy. Several former command members in Devgru have apparently violated their disclosure agreements, and this has created a lot of internal strife in the community.

Modern SEAL culture

Unit culture is incredibly different from other branches of Special Operations such as the Army, the USMC, and the USAF. Only recently have SEAL candidates become immersed in small-unit tactics immediately after boot camp, and this is a good thing.

In times of war or uncertainty, there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our nation's call: a common man with an uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America's finest Special Operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life. I am that man.

 Navy SEAL ethos

My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every day. My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own. I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.

We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish themission. I lead by example in all situations. I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete. We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend. Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.

The SEAL pipeline

After their SEAL contract, the candidate goes off to boot camp. Then they get a shot at BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training — seven months of pain and suffering. In the unlikely event a candidate makes it through BUD/S, then it's on to the three-month SEAL Qualification Training. Some guys don't make it through SQT, usually for bad tactical performance. Those who do get their trident and are assigned to their SEAL team. That doesn't mean they can rest on their laurels. My swim buddy in class 215 got canned and sent back to the fleet during his first platoon. You have to earn your trident every day in the teams.

Before naval special warfare operator (SO) was an official Navy job title (we call it a rating in the Navy), we had an alphabet soup of job titles for enlisted SEALs. I started off in the Navy as a helicopter SAR swimmer and sonar operator (AW), and then went to BUD/S with class 215.

Quick fact for potential candidates: If you want to operate, really operate, then enlist. Officers don't get the same choice in schools or the same operational experience (sniper, race car driving, flying, stinger missile gunner, and on and on).

BUD/S

1. First Phase: The basic conditioning phase is seven weeks long and develops the class in physical training, water competency, and mental tenacity, while continuing to build teamwork. Each week, the class is expected to do more running, swimming, and calisthenics than the week before, and each man's performance is measured by a four-mile timed run, a timed obstacle course, and a two-mile timed swim. Because of its particularly challenging requirements, many candidates begin questioning their decision to come to BUD/S during First Phase, with a significant number deciding to drop on request (DOR).
2. Second Phase: The combat diving phase lasts seven weeks. This phase introduces underwater skills that are unique to Navy SEALs. During this phase, candidates become basic combat swimmers and learn open- and closed-circuit diving. Successful Second Phase candidates demonstrate a high level of comfort in the water and the ability to perform in stressful and often uncomfortable environments. Candidates who are not completely comfortable in the water often struggle to succeed.
3. Third Phase: This phase is seven weeks long and involves basic weapons, demolitions, land navigation, patrolling, rappelling, marksmanship, and small-unit tactics. The second half of training takes place on San Clemente Island, about 60 miles from Coronado. On the island, the class practices the skills they learned in Third Phase. Men who make it to Third Phase have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to becoming SEALs. They graduate BUD/S as special warfare operators but have a long way to go before pinning on a trident and becoming a SEAL.

SEAL Qualification Training (SQT)

SQT is designed to provide candidates with the core tactical knowledge they will need to join a SEAL platoon. Before graduation, candidates attend survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training. It is this intermediate skills course that prepares candidates for the advanced training they will receive once they arrive at a SEAL team.

SQT includes:

• Weapons training
• Small unit tactics
• Land navigation
• Demolitions
• Cold-weather training
• Medical skills
• Maritime operations

Before graduating, candidates also attend SERE training:

• Survival
• Evasion
• Resistance
• Escape

SQT training will also qualify candidates in:

• Static-line parachute operations
• Freefall parachute operations (High Altitude, Low Opening "HALO")
• Freefall parachute operations (High Altitude, High Opening  "HAHO")

Upon completing these requirements, trainees receive their SEAL trident, designating them as Navy SEALs. They are subsequently assigned to a SEAL team to begin preparing for their first deployment.

Reality of modern SEAL training

As Jack Murphy has pointed out before, most SEALs don't have the basic soldiering skills that other branches of service have before showing up for SOF selection. Their candidates are usually a bit older and more mature.

You can easily make an argument for older candidates or younger ones — both have their advantages. Admittedly, there are some major advantages in fundamental training that other branches have over newly minted SEALs. In all fairness, SEALs are quick studies and relentless in the pursuit of knowledge and training, and it's a gap that is quickly made up in certain areas. Some areas that Jack points out will never get made up; SEALs just don't focus on certain things. I talk about this in my first book, "The Red Circle."

The SEALs of 2012 (they've since ramped up) were way behind when it came to maritime operations. The community is catching up, but we should be leading from the front, leaning in — not playing catch-up.

A few years ago Admiral McRaven rightly pointed the SEAL ship back in the right direction toward maritime operations. But the equipment didn't match the new training requirements. A modern SEAL team resembled a Cousteau museum when it came to diving equipment (don't get me started on two-stroke outboard engines and clunky rubber boats).

"Some of our partners have equipment that, quite frankly, is better than ours because we spent a decade fighing ashore."—Admiral (SEAL) Pybus

Being a career officer in Special Ops has never been easy, until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the new Force 21 initiative opened up the doors for promotional growth. Before 9/11, most (not all) smart NSW (Naval Special Warfare) SEAL officers punched their ticket up to 0-3, hit the glass ceiling of being an operator and any chances at advancement stopped abruptly. A lot of great officers gave up their career because of this.

SEAL equipment

Modern SEALs get some of the best equipment available despite some setbacks with regards to maritime equipment.

There's still a do-it-yourself culture within the teams that has team members modifying their own gear to their liking, and blending off-the-shelf gear and technology with standard SOF issue. Weapons are very similar among all branches of SOF, especially since the advent of US Socom.

A typical SEAL will carry a primary weapon (M4 or SCAR) and a secondary (Sig Sauer or HK are both popular in .45 or 9mm). Specialty weapons are carried by snipers (SCAR, SR-25, .338 Lapua), machine gunners, and breachers. Breachers often carry specialty explosive packages including breaching tools. Safe to say you'll see a variety of pocket tools and knives as well. Emerson, Microtech, and SOG are favorites.

Night vision, laser sights, thermal, and fusion (IR and thermal) devices are all in play as well. SEALs have developed their own special blend of camo that incorporates material technology to defeat certain spectrums, but we won’t go into detail here.

SEAL organization

The teams are organized into the following:

West Coast

• Team 3, San Diego
• Team 5, San Diego
• Team 7, San Diego
• SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team-1  Oahu, Hawaii
• SEAL Team 17- San Diego (Reserve Unit)

East Coast

• SEAL Team 2- Virginia Beach, Virginia
• SEAL Team 4- Virginia Beach
• SEAL Team 8- Virginia Beach
• SEAL Team 1o- Virginia Beach
• SEAL Team 18- Virginia Beach (Reserve Unit)

Rangers

Rangers History

The Rangers are arguably the oldest existing unit in our military. Rangers fought in a number of American conflicts before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, such as the French and Indian War and King Philip's War. In the Revolutionary War, Francis Marion organized and fought in a Ranger unit against the British. Marion was known as the Swamp Fox because his men would attack and quickly disappear into the swamps to evade the British military.

Six Ranger battalions fought in World War II. It was during D-Day, at Omaha beach, that the Rangers came upon their unit motto. During the assault, Colonel Norman Cota asked Major Max Schneider which unit he belonged to. When someone replied that they were 5th Ranger Battalion, Cota replied, "Well, then goddammit, Rangers, lead the way!" Today, all Rangers sound off with the unit motto "Rangers lead the way" when saluting an officer, to which any officer worth his salt responds, "All the way!"

Rangers also served in the Korean War with distinction, including 2nd Ranger Company, an all-African-American company of Rangers. For the first time, Rangers were now airborne-qualified. In the Vietnam War, there were long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) teams that executed some of the hairiest missions of the war. Penetrating deep into the jungle in their distinctive tiger-stripe uniforms to conduct reconnaissance, ambushes, and more, these men were later reorganized into Ranger companies. Despite what the press might have said, our Vietnam-era Rangers served with distinction and have plenty to be proud of.

With Rangers reformed after Vietnam in 1974, their next deployment was the failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980 — known as Desert One. First and 2nd Battalion conducted a combat jump into the island nation of Grenada in 1983, where they successfully captured the Point Salines airfield and rescued the American medical students being held on the True Blue facility. Third Ranger Battalion was formed shortly after, in 1984. In 1989, the entire regiment jumped into Panama as a part of Operation Just Cause.

Alpha and Bravo Company of 1/75 played a role in Operation Desert Storm, while Bravo Company of 3/75 participated in Operation Gothic Serpent — the infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident in Somalia in 1993.

Since 9/11, elements of the Ranger Regiment have been continuously and constantly deployed to combat.

Ranger mission

The 75th Ranger Regiment is America's premier raid force, specializing in direct action and airfield seizures. Strategic-level missions, airfield seizures are also known as forcible entry, but in this case we are talking about a forcible entry into a country — not simply a building. Also written into the 75th Ranger Regiment's mission-essential task list (METL) is counterterrorism. While traditionally an elite light infantry unit, the 75th has been conducting extensive counterterrorism operations throughout the War on Terror.

Ranger pipeline

Prospective Rangers usually enter the Army on an Option 40 contract, which gives them a guaranteed shot at going to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP). Note that I said it gives you a shot at it, and that's it. These prospective Rangers will then attend basic training, their advanced individual training (specific to their job in the military, i.e., infantry, radio operator, forward observer, etc.), and then will go on to Airborne School at Fort Benning.

Upon graduating Airborne School, these trainees are then marched (or run) down the road to begin the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP). This is an eight-week course which is designed to not just select who is mentally and physically prepared for service in the Regiment, but to also provide these new Rangers with the training they will need when they are assigned to a Ranger Battalion and deployed to combat shortly thereafter.

From the US Army:

RASP 1 is an 8 week selection course broken down into two phases.  Ranger candidates will learn the basics of what it takes to become a member of an elite fighting force.  Candidates are tested on their mental and physical capabilities, while learning the advanced skills all Rangers are required to know to start their career with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Phase 1 focuses more on the critical events and skill level 1 tasks and Phase 2 focuses on training in Marksmanship, Breaching, Mobility, and Physical Fitness.

After a year or two of service in one of the three Ranger Battalions or regimental headquarters, these young Rangers are then sent to Ranger School. The "school house" as it is referred to is a separate entity from the Ranger Regiment. The 75th is a SOF unit assigned to USASOC, while Ranger School is a training course open to most of the Army and is a part of Tradoc. Nonetheless, Ranger School provides important lessons in leadership and tactics, so 75th members will need to graduate before they are considered for leadership roles in the Regiment.

One of the main differences between the 75th Ranger Regiment and other Special Operations units like Special Forces and Delta Force is that we "grow our own," meaning we raise young soldiers from the time they are privates rather then getting them showing up at our doors as sergeants as those other units do.

Ranger training

Rangers train constantly while in garrison. Typically, the attitude is that spending two or three nights out at the range is a more efficient use of time rather than driving back and forth every day, so it isn't uncommon to work three or four days straight before being released for a three or four day weekend. After the range, there will usually be some recovery and refit time to clean weapons, maintain equipment, and tend to administrative issues before going back out to the field.

A normal day will start with a morning formation at 7 a.m. for accountability purposes before physical training. At times, your platoon or company may have a competition, which is often some insane combination of ruck marching, running, swimming, and land navigation, followed up by a stress shootout on the range. On normal days, PT is squad led with your squad leader or team leader taking their privates out for whatever PT events he has planned. Ruck marches are usually conducted on Thursdays.

After PT, you could be preparing for the range and signing out weapons, or moving on to individual training. Yes, there is some admin stuff that needs to get done, but Rangers do not get tasked out for post details such as post beautification or any such nonsense. Parachute jumps are conducted as often as possible to keep all Rangers current, usually once a month or so. As a general guide, Rangers focus on the Big Five, which are: small-unit tactics, mobility, marksmanship, PT, and medical training.

Other more intensive training exercises are frequent, such as squad and platoon evaluations that test critical Ranger skills and battle drills. These evaluations also became a type of pre-deployment training that incorporates direct-action raids. Rotary-wing training is often conducted with 160th Special Operations Aviation, and fixed-wing training is also mandatory, as airfield seizures are part of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s mission-essential task list.

One of the big strengths of the Ranger Regiment is how much training and spreading of knowledge is done "in-house." Take, for instance, the Special Forces CIF teams, which specialize in direct action. They get a fancy eight-week course called the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course (SFARTAETC) to teach them advanced urban-warfare techniques. Rangers don't get that; we do all of that training in-house and we train privates to do the same breaching, room clearing, and sensitive site exploitation techniques that Special Forces reserves for senior NCOs.

Ranger organization

The Ranger Regiment is organized as an airborne light infantry unit, and this is reflected in the Regiment's table of organization and equipment. Each Ranger platoon consists of four squads, with nine to 12 men per squad. Of those four squads, three are rifle squads and one is a weapons squad.

A weapons squad is responsible for laying down a base of fire with machine guns while the rifle squads maneuver to contact. There are four platoons in each Ranger company. Three of those platoons are rifle platoons/maneuver elements, and one is a headquarters platoon.

There are three rifle companies in each Ranger battalion and one support company. During the War on Terror, each Ranger battalion added an additional rifle company (D/co) and a support company (E/co).

The Regiment consists of three battalions, a regimental headquarters, and a regimental support battalion.

Ranger equipment

Because it is organized as an infantry regiment, the weapons and gear found in the Ranger Regiment start with the standard issue you would find in any infantry unit, such as the M4 rifle, M249 SAW, M240B, 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm mortars, and M2HB .50-caliber machine gun, but because the Regiment is like an infantry unit on steroids, the kit significantly deviates from there by comparison with the rest of the Army.

This includes specialized optics for rifles, the latest night vision and thermal systems, and even black-side Techint devices that can't be written about here.

Ranger culture

The culture of the Ranger Regiment is built upon the Ranger Creed, which is often recited in formation, and each word is taken very seriously.

The Ranger Creed

Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.

Rangers Lead The Way!!!

As implied by the term "regiment," the 75th is very regimented in terms of its culture. Rangers are expected to do everything 100% and then some. The competitiveness between Ranger squads and platoons cannot be overstated, as they are constantly trying to show that they are the best. Having seen fistfights break out during banner-day games, you can believe that Rangers take any and all types of competition seriously.

Secret Squirrel

The 75th Ranger Regiment established a small recce element to scout out Ranger objectives in 1984. Organized into six-man recce teams, the Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment would do recon on airfields that the Ranger battalions were to jump into and seize. Over time, RRD became RRC, the Regimental Reconnaissance Company.  Sometime around 2004, RRC was absorbed into JSOC and went on to play a big role in one of the most distinctive and sensitive programs in the War on Terror.

Commentary and observations on the Rangers

Rangers are now going back to training for worldwide deployments with the war in Afghanistan winding down. Rangers are doing training rotations to Korea, participating in winter warfare training in Alaska, and conducting training in Australia. Sexy high-speed, time-sensitive counterterrorism missions may, or may not, be in the future for the Ranger Regiment.

When it comes to examining the differences between Rangers and SEALs, I think one thing you have to consider is that Rangers are infantrymen first. SEALs are sailors first. Navy basic training has absolutely nothing to do with ground combat, which partially explains why the BUD/S pipeline has to be as long as it is. It isn't that these young men are "bad" sailors; it is just that they have to be brought up to speed on small-unit tactics and land navigation.

In the Navy, everything is big, gray, and floating. As the only real ground combat element in the Navy, SEALs are special within the entire branch of service. In the Army, Rangers are yet another type of infantry unit, albeit a Special Operations infantry unit.

Say what you will about the Navy, though one thing I always respected about the SEALs is that their officers seem to actually support them. SEALs seem able to get away with just about anything, no matter how ridiculous, and their chain of command supports them. Not so in Army Special Operations. Our officers are a bunch of Jesus-crazed careerists desperate to get to the top, and they will bow down to the powers that be faster than you can blink an eye.

I also think that the organizational differences between one unit set up for infantry operations and the other set up for maritime operations has a bigger impact on everything from unit training to unit culture than many would think. A lot of Army SOF soldiers were shocked to see SEALs show up in Afghanistan in the early days not even knowing how to write an operations order. Things have changed a lot since then, but even the fabled Dev Group had to have operators detached to Delta so they could learn and help their unit get up to speed during those first few Afghan deployments.

Another thing I think the Regiment has gotten right is not making "Ranger" an MOS. The Regiment has had this opportunity and turned it down. Retaining the 11B (infantry) MOS for Rangers allows the unit to purge underachievers very easily. This is not the case with the SEALs, as they now have a SO rating meaning "special operator," which is their version of a MOS. The same goes for Army Special Forces, who receive an 18-series MOS upon completion of the Q-course.

Another difference is in weapons handling. I think the SEALs get a bit more training with sidearms, as they place more of an emphasis on it than Rangers do. One funny story I heard was about a former Ranger who went to vetting for the CIA's GRS program. Despite being a former Ranger, he had never actually fired a pistol and had to learn on the fly during testing! However, SEALs don't seem to have the same proficiency with crew-served weapons and other machine guns. One friend of mine had a SEAL armorer come into his arms room and look at a M249 SAW as if he were completely baffled. He had never even seen such a weapon. Nevermind mortar systems; I don't think they are even organic to the SEAL Team's TO&E.

Culturally, I think SEALs are way more laid back than Rangers. They don't call one another by rank or place much emphasis on proper military grooming standards. This sort of stuff would never fly in the Regiment.

I think that the SEALs-versus-Rangers debate is one of the most enduring rivalries (and pissing contests) within the US military. When you have two units from separate branches, one focused on ground combat and another focused on maritime combat, and both of these units are pitted against each other in competition for the direct action mission within Socom, well it is no wonder that this rivalry exists. Since working for Sofrep, I've come to discover that having a rift between naval and Army SOF is by no means limited to America, either. The same rivalry exists in Italy, Denmark, and other countries as well.

But with that, we also have to remember the great cooperation that has occurred between SOF units during the War on Terror. Yeah, you will be hard pressed to find a Ranger with anything nice to say about Dev Group, but there have been times when Army SOF and Navy SOF conducted joint operations quite successfully.

The truth about SEALs and Rangers is that these units have way more in common than either would like to admit. They both pride themselves on being effective killing machines who can kick in your front door and shoot everyone inside. This of course is exactly what leads to that rivalry I mentioned.

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Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers is just looking forward to getting back to work.

On Monday, the 36-year-old SEAL will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, for his role in the daring 2012 hostage rescue of an American aid worker, Dr. Dilip Joseph, in Afghanistan. But don't expect him to rest on those laurels.

In a Feb. 25 interview with Military.com, Byers said he has no intention of drawing his 17-year military career to a close, and may choose to stay on in the special warfare community even after he reaches the 20-year retirement threshold in 2018.

"As long as I continue to enjoy my job, I'm going to continue doing it," he said. "I love my job now; it's the greatest job in the world."

Byers spoke publicly this month for the first time about the events that earned him the Medal of Honor. Until recently, even the language on his award citation had been withheld from public release.

A member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team Six, Byers was about two months into a deployment to eastern Afghanistan when his team received their rescue mission. Joseph, the medical director of the nonprofit organization Morning Star Development, had been kidnapped along with his driver and Afghan interpreter by Taliban-affiliated forces Dec. 5, 2012.

On Dec. 8, Byers' team was sent to a remote compound in the Qarghah'i district of Laghman province, where intelligence showed Joseph was being held. The team reached the building late at night, after a four-hour march to the mountainous location on primitive footpaths.

Going into the mission, Byers and his teammates knew the stakes were high.

"Success of the rescue operation relied upon surprise, speed, and aggressive action," Byers' summary of action states. "Trading personal security for speed of action was inherent to the success of this rescue mission. Each assaulter in the rescue force volunteered for this operation with full appreciation for the risks they were to undertake."

As the team got within 25 meters of the compound, a sentry at the door was alerted to their presence. The first member of the team, Petty Officer First Class Nicolas Checque, shot at the guard and ran towards the door of the compound. He fell wounded by an AK-47 round to the head as he charged into the building.

Byers was the second man inside the building, sprinting in on Checque's heels.

"There were some blankets hanging up; it wasn't like a typical door, so you couldn't just open the door and walk in," Byers recalled. "When I finally [made my way through the blankets], down my area of responsibility there was an enemy that I engaged with and then I saw another person that was moving across the floor. I didn't know whether or not that person was [the hostage] or if it was just an enemy coming to and trying to get some weapons, so by the time I got to him, I was able to get on top of him, straddle him, pin him down with my legs."

Locked in hand-to-hand combat with the unknown man underneath him, Byers managed to subdue him with one hand and use the other to adjust the focus of his night-vision goggles. Having done so, he saw that the man was one of the captors and engaged him with his weapon.

"At the same time, we're calling out, trying to find the location of the American hostage," Byers said.

Joseph called out, alerting the SEALs to his presence, three to five feet away from where Byers had grappled with the guard. Byers immediately tackled the captive American, using his own body and body armor to shield him from the fighting.

From this position, Byers noticed another man close by.

"It ended up being an enemy who had grenades and a weapon on him within arms' reach," Byers said. "And I was able to pin him to the wall by his throat until our team was able to come in and take care of that threat."

The entire raid was over in a matter of minutes.

Byers said he immediately turned his attention to Joseph, verifying his identity and making sure he was physically well and could walk. Other members of the team, he said, assessed the room, making sure all the explosives and grenades inside were safe and no pins had been pulled. Once this had been done, the team escorted Joseph out of the compound.

It was only then that Byers was able to turn his focus to his teammate, Checque, who was being triaged by a team medic. A former hospital corpsman and certified paramedic, Byers began to provide aid, helping to perform CPR on Checque during the 40-minute helicopter flight to Bagram Airfield. Checque would be declared deceased upon arrival.

"Nic paid the ultimate sacrifice. He died a warrior's death," Byers said. "So he's an American hero for giving his life to rescue another American."

Checque's family will be present on Monday to participate in the Medal of Honor ceremony, Byers said.

They will join friends, family and teammates of Byers' from four countries and three continents who will be at the White House to mark the occasion. Byers' wife and daughter will also be present.

Byers is the first living sailor to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Two other SEALs have received the medal posthumously since Sept. 11, 2001: Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Michael Monsoor, for heroic actions in Iraq in 2006; and Lt. Michael Murphy, for valor during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in 2005.

Amid the accolades that come with receiving the prestigious medal, Byers said he is most concerned about maintaining the integrity of his community of "silent professionals" and protecting their trust.

"Receiving this award, there's an immense amount of humility that comes with it. And there's a lot of honor that comes with it, because now I'm a representative of the Navy and in particular the Naval Special Warfare Community," he said. "It's my only hope and desire that at the end of the day I represent my community in a way that's appeasing to my brothers. Because they're the ones that mean the most to me."

Byers said he has no plans to write a memoir or seek a movie deal. And he doesn't want to publicly discuss any other missions in which he has participated, seeking to maintain the privacy of his community above all.

"The deed is all, not the glory," he said.

Still, after 11 overseas deployments and nine combat tours, during which he was wounded twice and received the prestigious Bronze Star five times, Byers said he plans to savor the days of respite as he prepares to receive the Medal of Honor.

He hopes he'll be able to share a beer and some Chicago deep-dish pizza from the legendary Lou Malnati's with President Barack Obama. Though Byers said he'll drink "Bud Light or anything that's free," his favorite brews are made by the California-based company Gordon Biersch.

"It's going to be nice to have a little bit of down time to enjoy spending with my family, my wife and my daughter, my friends and my teammates, celebrating life a little bit," he said.

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Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb explains why sustainability is an important aspect of choosing a specific workout regimen. 

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Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Edward Byers Jr. has never sought the limelight in the more than 17 years that he has been in the Navy, but on Monday the eyes of the nation were on him as he received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House.

Byers was part of a SEAL Team Six rescue team sent to rescue Dilip Joseph, an American doctor and aid worker who had been taken hostage by the Taliban.

During the mission, Byers showed extreme courage and warfighting prowess by continuing into a room and shielding the doctor while taking out two insurgents after the SEAL in front of him, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, was hit by fire in the doorway.

The justification for the Medal of Honor was based largely on Joseph's testimony as captured in his book "Kidnapped by the Taliban: A Story of Terror, Hope and Rescue by SEAL Team 6," which was published in 2014. Joseph wrote in the book that he was sure his Taliban captors were going to kill him before the SEALs showed up.

The ceremony at the White House was attended by many members of the special operations community as well as other Medal of Honor recipients. Byers' family was also present in force. During his remarks, Obama noted that in addition to the SEAL's immediate family almost 50 members of his extended family were in attendance.

Obama also joked that Byers' mother's first question when she heard her son was receiving the Medal of Honor was, "Can I go to the ceremony?" Focusing on her in the audience the East Room, the president smiled and said, "Yes, mom, you can go."

Byers has deployed 11 times since 9/11. His previous awards include the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He is the 11th living recipient of the Medal of Honor since 9/11.

SEAL Team Six, officially known as Devgru, which is short for Development Group, is a very secretive part of the special operations community used for the Pentagon's most sensitive missions. Devgru came to the public's attention in 2011 during Operation Geronimo, the mission to take out Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

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Jesse Itzler felt he was in a rut. So he asked Navy SEAL David Goggins to live with him for 31 days, during which Jesse would do anything David told him to do.

Jesse would later write "Living With A Seal" documenting the grueling experience of getting whipped into shape by one of the toughest men on the planet. They ran through snow storms, jumped into a frozen lake, and did lots and lots of push-ups. 

The adopted the philosophy "if it doesn't suck, we don't do it." David and Jesse explain in order to get better you need to constantly take yourself out of your comfort zone, or do something that sucks every day.

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Resilience is defined as "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness."

There's no surprise that it's a characteristic of some of the world's most successful people. It's also a required trait to endure and succeed in some of the toughest specialties in the U.S. military.

Over on Task and Purpose (a site for members of the U.S. military) and Fatherly (a site for — well, fathers), a former U.S. Navy SEAL named Eric Greitens (now a candidate for Missouri governor, by the way) shared his tips for raising children to be more resilient — rules that also apply to anyone who wants to increase their mental toughness.

Here's our take on the plan Greitens outlined (you can read his original remarks here and here):

1. Set a great example.

Like any self-improvement program, increasing resiliency requires demonstrating a commitment. And if you hope to inspire others, such as your children, it's doubly important.

"To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, who you are will speak more loudly to your children than anything you say," says Greitens. "If they see you always able to pick yourself up when you've been knocked down, that's behavior they're going to adopt intuitively."

2. Take responsibility.

Responsibility here means over everything that you can control in your life. There are things you can't control, sure — but know the difference.

"Teach your children early not to pass the blame or make excuses, but to take responsibility for their actions" says Greitens.

3. Seek to serve others.

Besides positively affecting the rest of the world, service to others emphasizes that life really isn't about just one person (you). It also helps you increase resourcefulness and empathy.

"Children who know that they have something to offer others," Greitens says, "will learn that they can shape the world around them for the better."

4. Practice daily gratitude.

This is one of the things that the most successful people do under any circumstance.

Expressing gratitude to others improves your performance as a leader and also frames your mind to appreciate the things you've been given. Because, let's face it, even on your worst days, you probably have things a lot better than most people in the world.

5. Let others solve their own problems.

Certainly this doesn't mean letting other people founder or even flounder — especially your own children. However, there's often as much to be gained in learning how to solve problems as there is in solving the problems themselves.

"Your children should know that you're always there for them, and that they can call on you when needed," says Greitens. "But give them the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems."

6. Be a mentor — not a savior.

Sometimes the best thing that can happen is to make a big mistake and live with the consequences. However, it's often the case that the mistakes we make as children have fewer long-range effects than things we screw up we get older. So, better to learn from smaller mistakes while we're young.

Moreover, allowing your children to live unimpeded through the consequences of what they choose to do can also have another benefit. It demonstrates that things are rarely as bad as they might appear at first blush — and that sometimes good can arise out of bad.

7. Embrace failure.

It's almost a cliché among entrepreneurs, but failure is a prerequisite to success. Nobody accomplishes anything great if he or she is afraid to fail.

"In failure, children learn how to struggle with adversity and how to confront fear. By reflecting on failure, children begin to see how to correct themselves and then try again with better results," Greitens says.

8. Encourage risk-taking.

Risk-taking and failure go hand-in-hand. People who are afraid to lose what little they have will likely never achieve very much more.

9. But assert your authority where it's sensible.

Greitens is writing for parents who want to increase their children's resiliency, but this is likely applicable to any situation in which you have some authority over others' actions — as a boss, a coach, or a mentor.

"Not every risk is a good risk to take," Greitens says. Sometimes we all need an experienced, more authoritative person to show us the better way.

10. Express your love for the people you care about.

Resilient people know that they rely on the love and care of others in their communities. One of the best ways to reinforce this is to express how you feel to those people often.

In fact, this is a great practice no matter what your self-improvement goals are. Doing so both reassures them and reminds you about the importance of your relationships.

If you find this post interesting, I recommend you check out the other two posts in this series:

• Want to Lead an Exceptional Life? A Navy SEAL Says Always Do These Things
• 11 Habits of Highly Effective Leadership: A Marine Corps Infantry Officer Shares the Secrets

SEE ALSO: A retired Navy SEAL commander explains 12 traits all effective leaders must have

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America's amphibious Marine Corps and Navy SEALs are some of the most elite fighting forces on the planet, with the ability to deploy in all environments — especially the sea.

That's why the military has created schools to prepare operators from all the sister-service branches to be physically fit, mentally tough, and responsive in high-stress aquatic situations.

During combat water-survival exercises, candidates swim with their hands and feet bound, assemble machine guns underwater, and take on the seas in full combat gear.

Below, we've collected 17 pictures showing just how rigorous their training can be. 

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A Marine uses his Supplemental Emergency Breathing Device prior to escaping the simulated helicopter seat during Shallow Water Egress Training at the Camp Hansen pool.

Marines and sailors with 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion perform flutter kicks during combat water-survival training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Petty Officers 3rd Class Brandon McKenney and Randall Carlson assemble an M240G machine gun 15 feet underwater during the 4th Annual Recon Challenge at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Retired Army Ranger Jack Murphy offers his opinion on how his regiment is different from the Navy SEALs. 

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The downfall of Tiger Woods, both on and off the golf course, remains one of the most perplexing stories in all of sports.

Woods, who turned 40 in December, is indefinitely sidelined from golf as a result of multiple back surgeries. Still, in the past few months he has been the subject of several lengthy profiles. These pieces have all tried to answer the same question: What happened to Tiger? 

The latest installment is a 12,000-word ESPN the Magazine story by Wright Thompson, who explores the relationship between Woods and his late father, Earl, especially after Earl Woods died in 2006.

Woods' father was a Green Beret, and after he died, Woods became obsessed with the Navy SEALs. He often visited their private training facilities, skydived regularly with them, and went through complex combat scenarios that included close-combat exercises and simulated raids. Thompson reports that Woods' obsession became so intense that his close inner-circle once staged an intervention, worried he wasn't focused on golf and might quit the sport to enlist. 

One anecdote in particular stands out, though. From Thompson:

Then there's the story of the lunch, which spread throughout the Naval Special Warfare community. Guys still tell it, almost a decade later. Tiger and a group of five or six went to a diner in La Posta. The waitress brought the check and the table went silent, according to two people there that day. Nobody said anything and neither did Tiger, and the other guys sort of looked at one another.

Finally one of the SEALs said, "Separate checks, please."

The waitress walked away.

"We are all baffled," says one SEAL, a veteran of numerous combat deployments. "We are sitting there with Tiger f---ing Woods, who probably makes more than all of us combined in a day. He's shooting our ammo, taking our time. He's a weird f---ing guy. That's weird s---. Something's wrong with you."

Over the course of his story, Thompson makes the case that Woods' obsession with the SEALs was twofold: at once a manifestation of grief over his father's death and a desire to escape the celebrity of being Tiger Woods.

But Woods also seemed to earnestly believe that the training he was doing was the same as the SEALs, that he was becoming one of them. His unsavory lunchtime etiquette indicates this; he wanted to be one of the guys, not a famous, millionaire athlete expected to pick up the tab. Not shockingly, many of the SEALs resented him, for this and other behavior.

For one thing, his training paled in comparison to the actual training it takes to become a SEAL. Writes Thompson, "Guys saw him doing the fun stuff, shooting guns and jumping out of airplanes, but never the brutal, awful parts of being a SEAL, soaking for hours in hypothermic waters, so covered in sand and grit that the skin simply grinds away."

Thompson went on:

"Tiger Woods never got wet and sandy," says former SEAL and current Montana congressman Ryan Zinke, who ran the training facility during the years Tiger came around. The BUD/S instructors didn't like the way Tiger talked about how he'd have been a SEAL if he didn't choose golf. "I just reached out to the guys I know who jumped with him and interacted with him," says a retired SEAL. "Not a single one wants to have any involvement, or have their name mentioned in the press anywhere near his. His interactions with the guys were not always the most stellar, and most were very underwhelmed with him as a man."

If nothing else, Woods' interactions with the SEALs reveals that in the years prior to the now-infamous car crash, his mind and sense of self were wildly adrift. Part of that was certainly (and understandably) the result of his father's death. But Earl Woods dying wasn't the only reason he drifted off course.

The answer to the question What happened to Tiger is, obviously, far more complicated. And no matter how many magazines continue to ask their most esteemed writers to tackle this question, ultimately no one but Woods himself will ever know the full answer.

Thompson's whole piece, though long, is worth reading in full. You can read it here.

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For their service in the 2006 Battle of Ramadi, Navy SEAL Team Three Task Unit Bruiser and its commander Jocko Willink became the most highly decorated special-operations unit of the Iraq War.

Willink is now retired from the SEALs, and he and his former platoon commander Leif Babin released a bestselling book last year titled "Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win." In it, they explain the lessons learned in combat that they've taught to corporate clients for the past five years in their leadership-consultancy firm, Echelon Front.

Willink writes that he realized during his 20 years as a SEAL that, "Just as discipline and freedom are opposing forces that must be balanced, leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities between one extreme and another."

By being aware of these seeming contradictions, a leader can "more easily balance the opposing forces and lead with maximum effectiveness."

Here are the 12 main "dichotomies of leadership" Willink identifies as rules every effective leader must follow.

Willink is the host of the Jocko Podcast.

SEE ALSO: A former Navy SEAL officer reveals the 11-point checklist he used to prepare for combat

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PHOENIX (AP) -- The Navy SEAL killed in Iraq on Tuesday was identified as Charlie Keating IV, a former Phoenix high school star distance runner and the grandson of the late Arizona financier involved in the 1980s savings and loan scandal.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Keating died in an Islamic State group attack near the city of Irbil.

He's the third American serviceman to die in combat in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition launched its campaign against the Islamic State in the summer of 2014, according to military officials.

Ducey ordered all state flags be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Wednesday in honor of Keating, who also was the cousin of former Olympic swimming champion Gary Hall Jr.

Keating's grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., who died in 2014 at age 90, was the notorious financier who served prison time for his role in the costliest savings and loan failure of the 1980s

Charlie Keating, 31, attended the Naval Academy before becoming a Navy SEAL based out of Coronado, Calif.

A 2004 graduate of Phoenix's Arcadia High School, Keating was city and region champion in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Rob Reniewicki, Keating's former track coach at Arcadia, said he has kept it touch with him through Facebook over the years, and he is heartbroken by the news.

"I'm devastated. I'm crushed. I'm trying to hold myself together," Reniewicki told Phoenix TV station KTVK.

Keating was planning to get married in November, Reniewicki said.

Keating earned all-city and first-team all-state honors as a senior, according to Indiana University, where he ran in college.

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New details about the death of Charlie Keating IV, the Navy SEAL killed by ISIS fire in Iraq on Tuesday, have come to light after the cessation of fighting near Tel Askuf, a town just north of ISIS' Iraqi capital of Mosul.

US Army Col Steve Warren, the leader of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission to degrade and destroy ISIS, told reporters at the Pentagon that Keating was part of the quick reaction force (QRF) that responded to a request for help from a small group of US forces approximately two miles away from the front lines between Peshmerga and ISIS forces.

According to Warren, a team of fewer than a dozen US advise-and-assist operatives in Tel Askuf called for help after 120 or so ISIS militants poured into the area using around 20 "technicals," or commercial vehicles used to transport troops, as well as at least one bulldozer.

“After the enemy forces [punched] through the forward lines there and made their move into Tel Askuf, our forces automatically became kind of embroiled in the ensuing battle,” Warren said, according to the US Naval Institute. “They rapidly called for the quick reaction force and continued on the fight until such time one service member was shot and then medevaced out.”

Within two hours of receiving the call for help, Keating and the QRF were on the scene supporting the US and peshmerga forces against ISIS.

At around 9:32 a.m. Keating “was struck by direct fire, and although he was medevaced within the all-important golden hour, his wound was not survivable,” according to Warren.

“No other coalition or American forces were injured, though both medevac helicopters were damaged by small arms fire,” Warren added.

“He was killed by direct fire. But this was a gunfight, you know, a dynamic gun fight, so he got hit just in the course of his gun battle — whether it was a sniper or some fighter with his AK is unclear ... This was a gunfight so there were bullets everywhere,” Warren explained.

The clash continued for about 14 hours, with US air support eventually dealing decisive blows against the advancing ISIS forces.

“Coalition air responded with 31 strikes taken by 11 manned aircraft and two drones. Air power destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems, one bulldozer [and] 58 [ISIS] terrorists were killed. The Peshmerga have regained control of Tel Askuf,” said Warren.

Footage of the firefight obtained by The Guardian shows the US troops fighting alongside the Peshmerga, as well as medevac helicopters rushing to the scene.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter described Keating's death as "a combat death, of course. And very sad loss."

However, President Barack Obama has repeatedly avoided using the term "boots on the ground," and steered away from describing Special Operations deployments to Iraq and Syria as taking a combat role.

Instead, Obama explained on April 25 that a deployment of 250 Special Operations troops to Syria was “not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive [ISIS] back.”

Warren maintained that the primary role of US troops in Syria would be to advise and assist, but the events on Tuesday that left Keating and several Peshmerga soldiers dead shows just how quickly these missions can turn into full on combat.

General Wahid Kovali, the leader of a Peshmerga counter-terrorism unit that fought alongside the US forces, told The Guardian that Keating and the QRF “were very good fighters."

Keating joins Louis Cardin and Joshua Wheeler as the only three US forces killed by ISIS in Iraq.

SEE ALSO: Russia says it has withdrawn a jet that was terrorizing the Syrian rebels

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NOW WATCH: A Canadian model went to Syria to fight ISIS

Combat is the ultimate teacher.

In the Battle of Ramadi in 2006, at the epicenter of Iraq's most dangerous city, we learned many leadership lessons with SEAL Team Three's Task Unit Bruiser.

In six months of continuous urban combat, we helped mitigate some of the extreme risk that American Soldiers and Marines endured as they moved into al Qaeda-controlled areas, constructed permanent combat outposts, and secured the local populace from the terrorist insurgents.

Ultimately, that strategy stabilized Ramadi to a point previously unimaginable.

The lessons learned proved vast and invaluable. Through the crucible of the Battle of Ramadi we learned that leadership is the most important thing on the battlefield; the single greatest factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.

Of the many exceptional leaders we served alongside — both in the SEAL Teams and in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps — it wasn't their charisma or bravado that made them great.

It was that they took absolute ownership —Extreme Ownership — of everything that impacted their mission. These leaders cast no blame. They made no excuses.

Instead of complaining, they developed solutions and solved problems. They leveraged assets, relationships, and resources to get the job done. Their egos took a back seat to the mission and their troops. These leaders truly led.

In the years since we left active duty, we have worked with a multitude of leaders, from top executives to frontline managers, across a broad range of industries. The most successful men and women we've seen in the corporate world also exhibit this same breed of Extreme Ownership. Likewise, the most successful high-performance teams we've worked with demonstrated this mindset throughout their organizations.

This principle applies not just to business but to life. In more instances that we can count, people have told us how Extreme Ownership changed their lives and made them better people — stronger employees, more engaged spouses, or better parents.

Once people stop making excuses, stop blaming others, and take ownership of everything in their worlds, the outcomes become infinitely better.

Inherent in the idea of Extreme Ownership is the ability to remain humble and self-critical — to acknowledge mistakes, accept responsibility, and continuously strive to improve performance. Every leader, every team, and every person will fail at some point and must own, and thereby learn, from that failure.

In combat, we made mistakes. But our failures often provided the greatest lessons and enabled us to grow and become better. The mindset — the attitude — of Extreme Ownership, when properly understood and implemented, enables any leader, any follower, and any person to become effective and fulfill their ultimate purpose: Lead and Win.

Leif Babin and Jocko Willink served together as U.S. Navy SEAL Officers in the Battle of Ramadi. The unit they led, SEAL Team Three's Task Unit Bruiser, remains the most highly-decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War. Together, they wrote the #1 New York Times bestseller "Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win." Their company, Echelon Front, teaches others how to build, train, and lead high-performance, winning teams. For more from Jocko Willink, check out the Jocko Podcast and follow him on Twitter. Follow Leif Babin on Twitter.

SEE ALSO: A retired Navy SEAL commander’s 12 rules for being an effective leader

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NOW WATCH: The US Navy is set to take over this $4.4 billion futuristic-missile destroyer

Former Navy SEALs and "Extreme Ownership" authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin talk about Hollywood's depiction of Navy SEALs and what they get wrong. 

You can follow Jocko and Leif on Twitter.

Produced by Joe Avella & Richard Feloni

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