Call to arms

As a member of the SDSU PHASE 0 SOF preparation organization, it is not your job to discourage or make judgment calls on who can, should, or wants to become a member of any Special Warfare Career field. It is our job as a member of Phase 0 to learn what it takes to become a successful candidate at Phase 2 selection.

“Phase 0: Everyone is welcome – many will show, not all will stay, and only a few will succeed”

Every Special Warfare career field is looking for the right Candidate. No one can pretend to be someone they are not, because the Cadre will see through it. Therefore, only the right people with mental fortitude and exceptional leadership under pressure will be selected. In Phase 0, members will learn nourishment, the proper way to train to exceed standards, and information about their desired Career field.

The body & mind make up an individual. These career fields want individuals with mental fortitude, the selfless person who doesn’t know how to quit and the type of person who would do anything for their team. You can train someone and build muscle, you can develop your leadership, but you cannot create mental fortitude –you either have it or you do not have a no quit attitude.

Everyone is welcome and you do not need to be a member of AFROTC, but you have to show commitment and dedication. This will not be an easy journey, and it will get harder. In this field, everything is more difficult than expected. Prepare for the unexpected, have a contingency plan and always make a timely decision. A decision is better than no decision.

If you are interested, come out to a meeting. See if your interest can be turned into dedication and discipline. If you decide this is the direction you wish to take your life, please note: a simple day dream accompanied with weight lifting once or twice a week will not get you into Special Warfare. Do not fall into complacency and convince yourself that you do not have to begin grinding and training like you want to compete because you are a freshman or sophomore. Time goes by fast, once you make the decision to pursue a Special Warfare career field, you must hit the ground running and give it 100%.

Find a mentor and become their shadow, learn from them and train like them. Do not half ass the decision to pursue this career, because it will show and you will falter among those who commit 100%. Always aim for top two, strive to be top third, and never be in the bottom half. It pays to be a winner. When you reach a goal, make another and keep improving –do not convince yourself that your current level of fitness is your full potential. Raise the bar and compete against the only other person that matters...yourself. You are your own worst enemy and your fiercest opponent and ally. Someone somewhere has the exact same goal and is training to out-perform you. If you constantly keep trying to out-perform yourself and improve by pushing past previous Personal Bests and previous personal records, you will be in the right mindset and on a path to success.

All it takes is all you have.

Fortify your mind and when faced with a situation that makes you uncomfortable, take a hard look at the issue, evaluate the situation, specify why you are uncomfortable and find a way to fix it. Successful people are not exempt from fear—fear is a human condition that is unavoidable. The difference between those who perform and those who do not is when faced with fear, those who perform look at fear as an obstacle that should be trouble-shooted and faced. Do not avoid fear, because it will not go away until it is overcome. At selection your imbalances will be exposed through stress and mental struggle. If you have a fear of deep water— that fear will be exploited at selection. If you have a muscular imbalance or injury that you avoid or pretend doesn’t exist, it will also be exploited and you will suffer because of your handicapped disadvantage. Train to fix imbalances before attending selection. The point is to be the most well balanced Combat Leader, who can efficiently look after his or her men and lead them during peace and war.

Great leaders do not come from a single mold. There are many leadership styles, but one thing that resonates and is a core foundation in all of them is selflessness. Being a leader is all about the men. As a leader you serve them. It is your job to make sure your men have everything they need to successfully accomplish the mission at hand. If you understand this and engrain it into your leadership style you will be on the right track.

As a ground commander – you must successfully implement the commanders intent by creating the up & out strategic plan so the men can properly execute the down & in expertise to accomplish the mission. As officers we are there for the men. To take care of everything that might affect their ability to excute their skills at the tactical level.

If you believe you have this no quit, selfless mentality, come out to a meeting and learn what it takes to make it through Phase 2 and one day serve as a Special Warfare Operator.