Brandon Webb, Drago, Mike Ritland and Shane talk about their FTX’s (final training exercise) in BUD/S training. Mike talks about the time he and Brandon were paddling in and the boat got turned over, and what it’s like to be cheesegrated between rocks and the boat while Brandon unknowingly is standing on top of him in the zodiac.
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Gus , thanks for the reply.. I was not referring to scholastic aptitude rather life's experiences. All these guys are smart smart guys. The aptitude tests to get in ,flunk out enough by themselves. Your correct, I know many who graduated HS and basically shut it down. Me heart goes out to the 19 year old who learns more about love of country through the wars he fights than listening to some guy many years his senior lecturing on subjects he know little about. On that note, I know smart guys who cannot show you the figure of eight family yet they can give you the molecular breakdown of the rope in use and what it's frictional properties and tensile strength characteristics. Give me that 19 year old to work with every day. He is willing to learn.
Axeman15 "At 19 it is impossible to know what somebody 20-30 years his senior knows." Except there are scores of ignorant grown adults who stopped learning as soon as they graduated high school and are definitely less intelligent than 19 year old scholars pounding through books. Age is an awful grading scale for determining intelligence.
man, you guys are great. I especially enjoy watching Drago slam the shots and chasing it with swigs of beer. reminds me of the good old days when i was with my guys on deployment(s), wishing we were the hell back home.... Good Times.... Read more: http://specialoperations.com/29490/navy-seals-training-san-clemente-island/#ixzz3NzhVTzsD
Watching you guys laughing and having a good time is great. The main thing that comes to my mind is that you laugh now but what you did was dangerous, and you weren't there for the money. So for that I want to say thank you. There is a saying that applies well to the sentiment I hold: "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." As for youth, strength, and life experience debated above (and I don't think the first guy meant anything negative) I will say this: When I was young enough to survive the training physically I would not have been mentally strong enough to complete it. And by the time I had the emotional maturity I no longer would have been physically able. Within limits age is not the determining factor, it's something else. And I never had it. Guys who complete the training at whatever age they complete it the "how" or the "why" becomes immaterial. Which in large measure - speaking as a civilian - seems a lot like combat. Some guys will make it home while others do not. Yes, it helps to be physically and mentally strong, and hard training weeds out the DOR's. But Mr. Ritlands story is a perfect example. All the training in the world once you're pinned under the boat your survival at that point is a coin toss. And so to my mind the training is good preparation precisely because age isn't a factor. It presents the guys with uncontrolled situations (like tall surf and a fucked up boat) and says here you go - survive. And in that moment either you do or you don't. But if I could just close with one thing it would be to say again to you four, and everyone who served with you: thank you for never being out of the fight. I listen to your stories in amazement.
Brandon, I recently posted about being a SEAL and being 19. I stated all the things one does at 19 in the service , like fight , win and possibly die but cannot legally drink and then how much can a 19 year old know about America in general. I meant no disrespect and if it was taken that way, I apologize. A-15