Navy Seals and Special Forces
 

We all have our images we love to keep of the special forces guys - being beyond supermen. While they are incredible people and very highly trained and conditioned, they are not the robot monster killing machines that so many of the kids and some adults think. I am sure many of us have known our fair share. Here is what I have witnessed:

1) They are not huge muscle head monsters but rather very lean and fit.
2) They are not crazy but rather very rational and cool headed.
3) They do not have a chip on their shoulders or mean but rather friendly and have a very good sense of humor.
4) They don't get rattled over anything.
5) They never ever talk about the tours or assignments but will share some stories about the pyhysical training.
6) They have a very deep sense of honor and commitment.
7) They are very humble.
8) Unless presssed, they would never tell you outright how they served other than they were in the Army or Navy and then it 'was a job'.

These are just my observations of several they I have known over the years - From Seal Team 2 to Green Barets to Jumpmasters for Airbourne.

The best ground pounders are usually the smaller( under 6 foot) spindly guy(160 lbs), same in the special forces. In most cases they can "hump" more and longer.

The "average" winner of the Ranger competition is 5' 9", 140-150lbs ...

I know one former SEAL, wouldn't have known it if it hadn't come up in first aid training. Calm, quiet, nice guy.

I know one person who spent '69-72 in SE Asia, but only 8 days in vietnam. Again, calm, quiet, nice guy. Only thing weird about him is that for deer hunting he went from rifle to handgun to archery to improve the challenge, and when that was too easy he started using a big azz knife on a full moon night...

The most polite and gentle man I know is a former Sniper. Not a make believe sniper like some on this board, but someone who has been on many missions. You have to know him very well before he will even admit his former occupation. I have only heard him talk about it once and that was a very unusual situation.

Lube nailed it.

me too! this guy, raises bees, makes candles,..gardens. wimpy stuff..not that i'm gonna say anything.

i bowhunt with the guy, dont drink, dont smoke, dont cuss. really cool dude. he has gotten fat tho.

my high school friend..Andy was a ranger. he died at desert storm doing ranger stuff. if he didnt bang such hot chicks back then, i would have thought he was gay. cool dude tho.

You mean the movie depiction of the special forces personnel are just bad stereotypes.

I hired a guy about 4 years ago who is a retired marine sniper. He's quiet and does his job well, no problems and no drama.
he has a large scar on his forehead, prolly 4" long and hard to miss.
I never asked about it but one of the other ex-marines here said he got a purple heart for that scar in combat and that this young man had "chased the elephant". Not sure what that means.

He's never brought up his military duty in front of me and it's none of my business, don't know and don't care. But as long as he shows up every day he'll always have a good paying job if I can help it.

I fully agree with all of you points except for number 4.

They do get rattled but they are able to over come it and continue very quickly.
They like other soldiers also go through anxiety between missions.

There is a lot of air force housing in my area thus a lot of air force families go to my church.

Honestly these guys look like accountants.

Until they start talking about their jobs.

When one of the guys was out of town on duty his wife told the story (because he wouldn't) about how he had crashed his plane and was stranded on a mountain side for four days in 40 degree temps with massive internal injuries.

Mike,

I trained and worked with people from the SAS to the SEALS and all were just as you described them, very professional and not boastful about their jobs. The SAS are even more "undercover" than the SEALS and are rightfully called the "Baby faced killers" as they are usually not large, muscle bound guys, they blend into almost any crowd only to emerge when needed.

Glad they are on our side!

Joe A

I've worked with some of them, typically I didn't know they were SOF until someone else told me. Consummate professionals, and very impressive.

I've known two.

One was ex Delta Force, from Nebraska and had a country way about him. BIG dude, and was certainly someone you could tell was not to be messed with.

The other was a SEAL and had become a Buddhist monk.

They make up all personality types, just like society at large.

"Seeing the elephant" has long been military slang for seeing action. Goes back to the American Civil War.

Cheers

d.

That, he did.

My only additional observation about the two examples that I've met (one a Special Forces with time in Viet Nam, one a SEAL) is that they both shared a deep intensity. Not that kind that you can see from a mile away like in the movies. Nope, both of these guys were pleasant, professional and could be "goof balls". But after you'd been around them for a while and you got to know them, you'd start to sense that whatever you saw on the outside, the inside was solid steel. If the order was given to kill you, you'd be promptly dispatched without any hysterics, and then they would go back to whatever they were doing.

That, and they both were very competitive.

One of my friends is a former Ranger. One day we were out at lunch time and he asked where I wanted to eat. I suggested fried chicken at a local place. He said "I don't eat chicken" like like that was normal for an American. I had grilled steaks for he and his wife just the week before so I knew he was not a vegetarian. I asked him about not eating chicken and he said that during a mission he had to eat a lot of raw birds. They could not start a fire or they would be discovered. He said that after a few raw birds he vowed to never eat fowl again. He went on to say he would eat just about anything if necessary, but he did not want to get to that stage ever again.

He would never leave the house without his knife & two full Bic Lighters. He never mentioned the mission or his Ranger days again.

Even notice how everyone knows a guy and they all seem to have actual ops experience? There are millions of servicemen and thousands of special ops guys(ranger thru delta and everything in between) who never fired a shot in actual combat. Between 1973 and 1993 you could have done a whole 20 year career in special ops and never had a mission.

And your point is?