Imagine this: You're 6 feet, 5 inches tall, weigh 230 pounds and wear a 60-pound vest with assorted survival gear. You sleep only a very few hours during the day and you work mostly at night, carrying out the most critical and dangerous missions to protect the interests of the United States of America.
You are a Navy SEAL.
You are operating from a combat outpost in Afghanistan's mountainous Kunar Province, where it is always over 100 degrees, and you've grown accustomed to a thick layer of dust and dirt being caked over your body.
Located in the lower Hindu Kush, it is one of the toughest locations in which to operate, with tall mountains and narrow valleys with steep sides that create difficult terrain to navigate and make you highly vulnerable to ambush. Knowing this place has been a prime gathering spot for the enemy, you almost always end up in a firefight.
Tonight, a group of native Taliban forces is meeting with foreign al-Qaida fighters, and the mission for you and your eight-person team is to conduct a kill-or-capture operation on high-level Taliban. The only problem is the infiltration route is 4½ miles up some of the most treacherous trails in the area, and you have to get in and out before the sun comes up to have a chance at making it out alive.
To save yourself critical minutes and energy, your training tells you it's best to dump your bulletproof plates and extra ammo magazines because on a long journey like this, "light is right."
This is a synopsis of a true story right out of an emotionally compelling book I recently read that has changed my life. "No Easy Day"by Mark Owen of SEAL Team Six highlights the training and missions that ultimately led to his team's being a part of the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.
"My legs burned from climbing through the valley. Once we were finally in position, ... we started to creep forward. Everyone was quiet and each step was deliberate. … Our tactics weren't unique. What made us different was our experience level, (our training), and knowing when to take violent, decisive action and when to be patient and quiet."
Training builds trust
Those types of instincts and that level of execution are the result of years of some of the most intensive training you can imagine. It is training that our armed forces regularly endure. Day in and day out, they put their lives in the hands of their teammates, trusting that, when necessary, the training they have been through will save one another's lives.
There is something all teams can learn from that, something big. The more intense the training has been, the deeper the trust among team members to appropriately execute. Training isn't just a good idea that Navy SEALs casually use to fill their time. For them, the quality and intensity of their training determine later if they get to live or die. They rely on their training — and that of their teammates — to take over in situations that could ultimately determine national security.
Members of the military risk their lives so we can have freedom. They sacrifice their bodies for years so they will be well trained to handle the most dangerous of situations that might last only minutes.
Meanwhile, there are often times we can barely get along with our teammates at the office. We complain about the training we have to go through. And we wouldn't trust the people we work with to organize our desk, let alone save our lives.
Indeed, I think we all can learn something from Navy SEALs and the other members of the military who protect us.
Rory Vaden is co-founder of Southwestern Consulting, a self-discipline strategist and speaker and New York Times bestselling author of "Take the Stairs." Listen to his weekly podcast and get free daily insights at www.roryvadenblog.com.
