The secret to making it through the Air Force special warfare pipeline

How do you know you'll make it through the pipeline?

Becoming an Air Force special operator is a goal of many people.  I had the same goal earlier in my life.

When I started getting serious about joining the military, my question became:  why wouldn't everyone want to be a combat controller for at least a few years?

In my mid twenties the choice was easy for me.  I could join the Air Force and at least attempt the combat control pipeline, or I could keep doing what I was doing in Tennessee, and I'd hope that I could graduate college with a degree I didn't care about, keep working a job that paid just enough to survive, and probably never leave the area I grew up in.  

And lets not forget all the wonderful people that were starting to become regulars in my life.  I was starting to hang around the older mid to late twenties people that were not really doing anything in their life. They weren't in school.  They were working jobs that paid very little, and they had no real plans other than where the party was at.  That was dangerous.

My situation back then was not unique in any way.  In fact, it is very common.  Many young people struggle to find their way the world, especially in their mid to late twenties.  

The allure of being special

  Since most of us struggle to find our identities, jobs that we have at least some passion for, and have a strong pull to see the world before we become like our parents, the military seems like an obvious choice.  To the people who see the brochures, pamphlets in the recruiter's office, and the documentaries on TV, Air Force special warfare seems like a great choice.  Why not become an elite operator and live a life like a movie.  Sign up now.

To people struggling to stand out, to feel special, and become one of the elite, joining these hardcore groups seems like a dream.  You get a fancy beret, SCUBA dive, skydive, shoot the best weapons in the U.S. military, get in the best shape of your life, and get to tell people you ARE a special operator.  

This all sounds great, and it truly is.  The point of this article is to share what it takes to earn the title.  What it means to commit to these types of jobs.  

 Everything is a sacrifice...everything

Anything we do in our life is a sacrifice.  To graduate college, you must sacrifice your time and energy to take classes, many of them won't mean a lot to you, but you have to pass them.  You may need to sacrifice working full time, making less money, to ensure you will make more in the future by spending time on college courses. This is obvious, but may be overlooked when trying to decide what choices to make.  

I struggled on what to sacrifice in my twenties, and it's why I didn't join the Air Force until I was 24 years old.  I wasn't willing to make the sacrifices like: leaving friends and family behind, committing 4 years of my life to the government, and possibly failing the pipeline.  So, I continued on in college.  The only problem was that I didn't commit to that either.  Sure, graduating college with a degree in business sounded great.  The IDEA of graduating was a nice thought, but I didn't commit to the process.  I did it because I thought graduating college would solve all my problems and my parents would be proud.  Sounds ridiculous, right?

What did I do?  I worked part time in the evening and just showed up to class.  That was about it.  After about 3 and a half years, I was kicked out of college because of my grades.  I was pissed off.  I was trying hard, and at least I was showing up!  That's what I told myself anyway.  The truth was I was barely committed.

The problem was that I hated the process.  I hated the homework.  I even hated the idea of the type of work I'd be doing after graduating.  The was a formula for failure.  When I had to break the news to my family of failing out of college, I felt like a failure of life.  

Pick your sacrifice 

What does it take to accomplish great things in your life?  How to people become a combat controller, pararescue jumper, or a Navy SEAL?  How do people start a successful business, write novels, or restore a vehicle from the inside out?

If you were to ask a Navy SEAL, or a man who just restored his dream car into better shape than it came off the showroom floor, you'd find a common denominator with these individuals.  You'd find the same thing in common with Stephen King or Dave Grohl.  They are great and successful at what they do, but they didn't wonder if they'd be able to do what they did.  They just did it.  People like Stephen King sacrificed a stable career to write novels.  Dave Grohl didn't pursue a normal job or even go to college.  They both made a sacrifice in their lives to do what they did, and I'm sure it wasn't easy.

These people sacrificed time with family, friends, and watching the big game to do something they wanted to do.  It was worth whatever they gave up for the end result.

I wonder what Dave Grohl's mother thought about him riding around in an old van playing gigs in bars, and playing rock music instead of trying to get a good job?  He made a decision.  Dave didn't spend his time wondering what he wanted to do.  He went without money, a nice car to drive, and even a secure future to play music.  He was willing to make that sacrifice.

Having a stable job is also a sacrifice.  You give up some freedom, spend time doing work you may not care about, work with bad coworkers, and maybe not ever make what you're worth.  It's all a sacrifice.  What are you willing to give up for a reward in the future?

Becoming a combat controller is a huge sacrifice, but what would someone sacrifice if they don't do it?  What would you sacrifice?

When you feel like you are drowning in the indoor pool during the pipeline, it's important to remember that if you weren't in the pool, or even in the military, you'd have other issues that I'd argue could be worse.  

Before i joined the military, I was broke.  I had to work bullshit jobs that paid very little.  I also had little passion for any career choices the college path took, which made me struggle in classes, and ultimately made me feel like a failure.  I also lived in a house that was falling apart because I could not afford to pay the rent in a nicer place.  Being broke, unsure about my future, living in a dump, and feeling like my future was  bleak, was worse than the pain I felt in the pool.  I had a decent place to live, food to eat, and money in my pocket in the military.

To most people, the sacrifice of a special ops program is not worth it.  For me, there was no question.  A lot of people thought I made a huge sacrifice.  I did, but it was better than my alternatives.

The process

Once you decide to commit to something, whether it be a marathon, starting a business, or any other challenge in your life, the process of achieving the goal is the most important aspect to look at.  If you can handle the process of becoming a combat controller, then you will probably be successful.  I know, this seems obvious, and you may wonder why I'm even bringing it up.  The difference in the people that become combat controllers, or any other special operations forces, from the ones who aren't is: the ones that make it enjoyed the process of becoming and being an operator as much as the idea of being one.

When we see all the books that Stephen King writes, we see the end result.  We see incredible stories that are written very well.  This motivates writers like myself.  We have to be careful and remember that Stephen King sacrificed BIG TIME to make all those novels a reality.  We don't see the massive amount of time he spends writing, all the work he threw away, and all the times he was turned down by publishers earlier in his career.  We just see the end result.

Once I understand that I don't like the process of writing as much as he does, it makes me realize I'll never write as many novels, or even be as good as Stephen King.  If my first book never gets read, I may keep trying, but I may not.  I am good with this fact because I look deeper into the situation.  I realize he worked his ass off.  He enjoyed the process.  If Stephen King never had another person read his books, that man would still write.  He's in love with the process.

For years, people have tried to figure out what types of people make it through special warfare training like: Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Pararescuemen, Combat Controllers, etc.  There are certainly unique personality traits and athletic abilities that are present in successful individuals, but I think one of the most important traits is how they handle the process.  

Much like we see a successful business owner, author, musician, or great public speaker, seeing the poster of a Navy SEAL looks extremely appealing.  If you talk to any young man, they'd love to be the guy on the poster creeping out of a dark ocean with a re breather, carrying a weapon on a secret mission.  But what did they guy have to endure?  What did he have to sacrifice?  How does he view the job?  

We are seeing years of pain, struggle, and being uncomfortable when we look at that poster, assuming he's not just an actor.  Anyway, if it's just the final result we want, we'll be one of the majority that doesn't make it through BUD/s.  Again, I know this seems obvious, but many people don't understand this simple truth.

When I decided to become a combat controller, it was an obsession.  It's all I thought about.  Although it seems ridiculous, I pretended I was a special operator while I was in college doing all the workouts to prepare.  I bought the UDT shorts, BDU pants, and combat boots to do my workouts in.  My roommates thought I was crazy, and I was proud that I was.

People may think that being obsessed with something is a negative thing.  Was Stephen King obsessed with writing books?  Was Kurt Cobain obsessed about writing rock music with a catchy pop sound like the Beatles?  Yes and yes.  

Is the small business owner obsessed about getting his/her business off the ground working 60 to 80 hour work weeks to ensure it happens?  They'd better be, or they'll be one of the majority of businesses that fail.   They have to be willing to sacrifice almost everything and start to enjoy the process of starting a business, or admit they don't want to and find a stable job. 

To be achieve something great, something different than things that are achieved just going through the motions of life, we must behave different.  Many people may see an obsession with a process of achieving a goal as unhealthy or abnormal, but you HAVE to be.  We may be told to relax and not be so obsessed, like we have some kind of problem.

A good sign you'll make it

At the very beginning of the pipeline, I made a good impression on the instructors.  This helped me tremendously, and it will help you too.  I showed up physically prepared ( because I lived and breathed the workouts to prepare for the training before joining) and I was excited about the process.  I came to terms with the sacrifices I needed to make to be successful in the pipeline.

I was prepared to live the life as a CCT trainee.  I wasn't there to be the image on the poster; I was there to commit my life to the process.  The instructors could tell.  Other guys were not so sure.  They lasted a few days, weeks, and some even lasted a few months before deciding to quit.  All it took was enough pressure to test there commitment to be a combat controller.

I began to love the lifestyle and even the pain and suffering everyday brought.  I was ready for the long two year pipeline because I researched my ass off and knew what to expect.  I even liked when the instructors yelled at me in a sick sort of way because I was finally there, not just pretending to be one of the guys on the documentaries.

A lot of guys wanted the image, the final result, and the recognition of the title.  They told themselves they wanted the final result, but they were not obsessed with the process.

Making the training and the career your life and having a passion for the demand and sacrifice is why some make it through, but the majority do not.

Many people today want to work for themselves, become lawyers, doctors. writers, have blogs that generate an income, so they can work on their terms and from anywhere, and become Navy SEALS, but few want to put in the effort that these type of things require.  

This doesn't mean they are failures; it means they need to come to terms and think about what process they want to endure, and what sacrifices they are willing to make.  This requires deep thought.  Doing things beyond what is normal requires, and demands a LOT of work to make happen.

In summary, becoming a special operator is no different than any other great accomplishments.  I would guess the same fraction of people that make it through tough military training is the same as any other goal that brings recognition and attention.  They will always be more people who like the idea of something more than the process. 

Kevin