 life is about constant evolution always better today than we were yesterday welcome back to another edition of the only easy day was yesterday I'm Scott Williams and with me again is Andrew Dow so as coordinator for Naval Special Warfare Center and Andrew welcome back hey Scott thanks for having me it's always great to come in here and you know just do some talking about so as and about the community and see how we're doing and get that answers to the questions that a lot of people have out there answered for them yeah on that note we do have a whole electronic mailbag full of emails from folks who have questions about so as and we'll remind you so as is so so as seal officer assessment selection thank you held once a year three blocks of training during the summer and applications are due in February and can I just put one thing out Scott yeah what's something that's interesting and a lot of questions I get is you know a lot of reference back to these podcasts and thank you for allowing us to do this but something I want to add to all the listeners out there is if you do have specific questions please please reach out to me I'll leave my email on the website of seal switch comm so you can reach out but if you have questions that you want answered on a podcast please send them directly to me and I'll hopefully get invited again by you Scott and have a conversation and answer some of those questions well it would be our owner yeah we we actually get quite a few questions about so as and you know basically so as is how we pick our Navy Seal officers now and it's it's a pretty formal process that it happens before candidates are actually allowed to come to Bud's and go through the pipeline it's this pre-selection process it's pretty rigorous and we've refined it over the years here at Naval Special Warfare Center and you've been here since the ground floor and a lot of these questions you know of course we get same ones you know quite frequently but we also get a lot of interesting questions and and if I might I'll just start out with one of those okay and I thought it was particularly interesting because we always talk about the physical aspects of so as but this listener actually wanted to know more about the interview process and the writing assessments can you talk a little bit about that sure so a quick intro to that is before you even get to interviews at so as you have to complete assessment week right the five days assessment week upon completion of that then you will move into interviews and other exposure type activities that so as staff provides for the candidate to kind of get a better idea of what the community is doing in a junior officer role and capabilities but the during assessment week that's when you'll do writing assignments I think I think right now we have slotted I believe two different writing assignments and don't everyone don't freak out those questions it's not like really challenging essay questions but it is important topics that relate to world issues we like to have writing assignments that lead towards debates and how you're it will give you a a side that you have to be either for or against and debate that topic writing assignments include hey what's your opinion on the current's footprint of some of those larger nations that we are kind of bumping heads with those types of political and worldview world issues that we're dealing with we want to get your opinion on those and that's some of the writing assignments you'll see as for interview process and excuse me interview the timeframe for interviews is usually you'll conduct two interviews during the second week of your so as blocked that you attend one will be a psychological interview with naval special warfare centers psychologists and then following that you will complete a community interview which is held by a seal officer and a senior enlisted so a senior enlisted is someone who is an E7 or above that could be a chief a senior chief a master chief a warrant officer that will sit down and kind of give you a job interview for about 90 minutes and they're gonna ask you real questions they want to hear the truth they don't want to hear just the fluffed up cookie cutter answers they want to hear really what your thoughts are on the questions they ask and you know that they can see right through you if you're trying to give the answer that they want to hear you need to give the answer that you believe in and that's that's something we truly look at a little originality a little creativity something to show how your mind works that it's spry and not rigid right you know because seal officer is someone who is a seal but someone who is also an officer and that officer part requires them to be eloquent in how they convey their thoughts you're gonna be briefing an admiral someday or briefing you know this that or the other person you know be able to do written communication reasonably well absolutely be able to speak he's all great points absolutely and it is so important just like you said you're an officer first you know and your job is a seal so it is it is so important to ensure that you are you know being true to yourself and being an acceptable role model and representation of the United States Navy okay that that's a nice look at you know the head piece of all this how you think and you know how you respond but a more general question we got was hey you know what are the training evolutions like it so as and you know like what specifically what are some of the more notable events and what does the day-to-day look like okay so can it's check in the so has blocked start on a Saturday but the actual physical evolutions won't be until Sunday so the first evolution that any candidate will complete is the seal PST which is consists of 500 yard swim 100 push-ups 100 sit-ups in two minutes max pull-ups and then a mile and a half run the run is in shorts and sneakers so people aren't confused you do not have to run the run in boots and camouflage utilities but that's the first evolution you need to do and if you fail that you get sent home because you're expected to perform and meet our expectations on day one right so it is important that aspiring seal candidates know that you know you you submit a PST in order to get down selected to be invited to so as that PST needs to be passing but not just passing I mean on the Sealswick website we have optimum scores for the PST for seal officers that can be referenced and looked at but you know you should be striving to do the best you can and to either match that or beat that at so as proper so it's Sunday that's the big that's the big nail biting evolution on Sunday month Monday is when things physically kick off I won't go into the micro of evolutions but I'll give the generalities of it you will see logs just like in buds you'll see boats just like in buds whether it's on your head running around or in the surf paddling out and doing some surf passage some some things candidates will see that they may not show do as much in buds is rocking the candidates will be expected to run with a 45 pound rucksack basically it's just a sandbag inside of a backpack and they'll be expected to run an unknown distance for an unknown amount of time at max effort and that their time will be calculated into their overall slowest score that that's in boots that is in boots and in navel NWU type 3's which are the green Navy pattern camouflage I'm used to saying BDU it says a lot of us older fellows are hey but it's NWU's they will so the rock runs a big one but not just physical evolutions there's there's gonna be some mentally challenging evolutions for these candidates to attack some being there could be memory tests there could be communications over radios that you know we'll give them a scripted communications dialogue that we will be reading one end they'll be reading the other while they're doing a physical evolution and they need to be able to answer the questions we're sending to them clearly concisely in a proper radio etiquette form right so for example like they could be running you know a four mile run but they have a radio in their hand and we're gonna ask them a really challenging math question or maybe we'll ask them hey who is the secretary of defense or just random questions or maybe we'll give them a scenario and pretend that they're a ground force commander within the SEAL teams and give them and put them in a an example where they have to problem solve and hey what's your best how would you approach this while they're doing the physical evolutions so it's it we're gonna challenge the candidates when they're at so especially during the evolution phases and these really have practical applications I mean I've heard you know being on a dead run and under fire and still having to call in you know air-to-ground support or whatever we try to incorporate real-life situations that you know these potential SEAL officers may see you know I mean the world's changing the enemies it's different than what it was 10 years ago but you need to be prepared for the basics and be able to do what you know we were what we're trained to do whether it's you know on land air sea whatever it may be we need to be able to perform and perform well and successfully when we're put under stress so it's that we're testing that I mean other evolutions that they'll see is there'll be some water evolutions there's can be some evolutions with with utilizing the obstacle O course the O course but they won't formally do the O course as they do in buds but they will be challenged with some kind of evolution regarding the O course yeah but a lot of the evolutions physical happens right where buds is right next door on the same beach on the same area that all the bud students are going through so everything that they do during so as will give them a kind of idea what to expect when they if they get invited and selected to buds yeah it's quite the preview and we we have all new facilities now basic training command has a brand new building got a brand new pool out there but the sand is the sand and the O course is still the O course yes well let's let's take a look at another question that we have from one of our listeners one of our many many listeners my producer here tells me what are the top three traits that make a great team leader which of course is something they're going to be looking for during so as so let's first define team leader right that in that may be a new term for candidates coming into the military team leader think of it as like the team captain or the the president of a club or the person who's in charge the officer in charge oh I see team leader can also be an enlisted personnel the senior man or woman that's in charge of a specific task but what traits we're looking for for team leaders I think the most common and most obvious one is you need to set the example lead from the front be that person that others are going to look to for guidance and for influence and for motivation to be able to complete the task at hand we also have some things as a team leader when you'll be incorporated this as soon as you get to so as is everyone will be separated through height line specifically just like in buds and they'll be designated boat crew leaders that is a leadership position that we're going to be assessing specifically so that we can get a good read on their leadership qualities and capabilities and we will rotate every candidate through this position so they all get an opportunity to shine or sink honestly that's the whole point of this is to get data on the candidate so we can make a educated and a exact determination on who would be selected to go you're still doing peary vows right yep yeah talk to us a little bit about that peary vows so we have peary vows and accessory vows what an assessor is when you come to so as there's going to be instructors right they're going to be the ones leading the evolutions making sure everything's run safely and according to how we planned everything but on top of that there will be seal and swick as well as combat personnel that are supporting naval special warfare to serve as assessors what their role is is to one and to make sure everyone knows this is everyone nothing outrank safety so they're always watching to ensure that everything is being run safely if they see something they say something but their primary role is to ensure that data is being collected on the traits we're looking for in so as those traits being team ability right working as a team physicality how physically strong and physically how physically strong and how well you are performing under stress your cognitive ability how well you think on your feet with mental challenges and types of classroom work or those as we I discussed earlier the the the writing assignments or the debates that we talk about so cognitive ability and probably one of probably one of the most important ones is character right who you are as an individual who you are as a person and how you relate with others so those four things is the things we are looking at and that's what the role of the assessor is is to each evolution will be looking at one two three or even all four character traits excuse me traits and they will be documenting how each candidate hits those traits so for example you and me are under a Boku Scott and I'm the Boku leader so right now I'm being assessed for my my character and my team ability and physicality since we're under a boat so those three traits would be being assessed the assessors watching the Boku leader but also watching every Boku to see how they're performing are they following the directions of the Boku leader is the Boku leader giving clear and concise guidance on what they need to do is he is he or her pushing his boat his or her Boku to the through the evolution and trying to do the best they can these are all being documented on a score and these scores get added to their overall data card and that data card it collects all the scores throughout the so as evolutions and those points then get added up and then you get a total score at the end of so as and the peer eval that comes as part of it thank you and so to circle back what the peer eval is the assessors have their evaluation where they look at each individual candidate and assess whether this candidate is doing great if he or she is slacking or if they're just being a gray man and I'm sure some of the listeners heard that term but that is a big term in the NSW gray man being someone who's hey just there not really putting out the effort or making themselves heard but they're just getting through so you don't want to be a gray man not in our community but the peer evals each individual candidate will us rank their peers so I believe we do five throughout the week and you know I understand some of the beginning ones will be challenging because most of these candidates don't know each other unless you're a naval Academy guy or gal ROTC may know each other but they're from all over so it gives an opportunity for each candidate to grade and give a score to each other candidate on a score of I believe it's zero to five five being hey this person is someone I would love to serve with they they in my eyes represent what a good seal officer should be in their opinion or one to where hey this person is has is very risky and is unsafe on certain evolution so they are rating each other throughout the week so in the beginning like I said they may not know each other but towards the end of the week those pierce peer evaluations are very important because now they're getting to know each other what's happening behind the scenes and what the assessors and instructors don't see the pierce evaluation will show what's actually happening okay and so the peer evals those are weighted into the overall composite score like how much of a percentage would the opinions of my fellow so as participants have on my outcome I'm not really free to speak on the scoring of so as specifics that is a you know close-hold secret we don't really want to share with the audience but what I can tell you is the peer evaluations does carry some bearing in weight it may not be the end all be all thing that the selection panel looks at when we're looking at candidates but it does it does raise interesting talking points for the interview process so for example if when we have their scorecard at the end of the week and there's a lot of red red meaning bad those red points are going to be addressed during the interview to see if they're truly what their peers think they are right we want to get an understanding and this helps us really understand the whole person and ensure that we're selecting the correct candidates to go on to buds so so I don't have to worry if I'm if I'm participating in so as I don't have to worry too much about winning the popularity contest but I do have to take a reasonable person approach to this and not be you know a third to all my classmates and not expect some great points you know yeah blowback from that you know you several years ago we had a candidate who the term brown nosing and the instructors saw that right away and it was very clear that they were saying what the instructors wanted them to say in front of the instructors but when it came to when the instructors or assessors weren't around they completely did a 180 I mean we weren't born yesterday we're gonna see these types of candidates and we're gonna understand that hey this person's just playing the game understanding though there is parts where you have to play the game right but at the end we want to ensure that what I what we like to see is you know candidates are good people they care about what they're doing and care about the person they're doing it with right and that they are doing the best that they can even when no one's looking genuine authenticity I think would go along perfect perfectly stated well it's true I mean you know I'm not just on here to say that hey we're looking for x y and z but we want good people in this community this community is a great community and we want we only want the best for it so that's why we're looking for the best candidates that can come here and continue the tradition of naval special warfare well and I don't think you can say there is an officer's point like a penultimate example of someone that is you know the icon of NSW per se right because you want a lot of diversity of background and experiences on the teams because that makes you stronger right without a doubt diversity different life experiences all these things add up to make a better operator in the end and being a better officer to lead men and women in combat if it comes down to you imagine oh without a doubt so let's say I'm the lucky person and I get notification that I am invited to so as and I've you know I've got four to six weeks before that happens what do you recommend I should do in those last few weeks before going to so as this is a question specific question from one of our listeners you know how do you spend those last let's say four to six weeks before so as you know preparing so before I hit on that one of the big things is Canada's shown up and shown up with injuries you know that they sustained because they train too hard I'm not a physical expert I'm not a coach I'm not I don't have a plan for you but it's it goes without saying you should you know you should be peaking at so as you should be peaking at Bud's so when you show up you should be in the top all all cylinders firing top performance capabilities that you have and show that off at so as and if you go to Bud's the same thing so within those last six you know say six weeks prior to you should be meeting your your personal records in long distance running in you know your swim times in your rucking you should be hitting your personal goals and feel like you can do this non-stop you know without hurting yourself you do because I it's happened so many times since I've been here where candidates six weeks show up to so as and they said oh I was training extra and they show up to so as injured and then they're a great candidate on paper but they show up and it's just they're not they're not cutting it because they hurt themselves they over trained I mean should they be taking the cold showers and you know that's not necessary either you know yeah right that fable where hey I need to take a cold shower every night to be prepared for the cold oceans of the Pacific let me tell you it's going to be cold no matter what the ocean and Pacific's beautiful but it is cold yeah that is just something you got to deal with and that's one of the mental challenges but the bottom line is six weeks out your training should you should have a good training regiment you should be meeting your goals of your personal records what you want to do and what how you your scores you want to meet but the important thing is to stay healthy continue to maintain good nutrition good health stretching and not getting injured prior to going to show so as it's just so important and it really you know breaks our heart from an instructor or assessor or from my point of view to see a candidate that you know all they wanted to do was be a seal officer and then to show up and get hurt and then have to wait a whole another year to apply and attend it's it's very it's very challenging but that's why I say six weeks out two weeks out start to taper down start to rest recover that's something you should be all planning to do anyway after every evolution that you do at home whether it's working out at the gym going for a long run or swim make sure you're having a rest and recovery period after the fact so that you are healed to continue training whenever that may be yeah and get some sleep I mean last thing you want to do is deselect yourself because you got injured overtraining for buds got that should they be you know studying their NF or their NSW lore and you know trivia and all that are they gonna get asked those kind of questions absolutely I mean you're coming into a community you should know something about it right yeah know the date it was created which teams are where I know right the evens on the east it's on the west just knowing just simple facts about is important I suggest everyone read the seal ethos right that's a lot of truth a lot of experience senior leaders came together and put that ethos together and it's it's a great piece of work and something that you know I still follow and it is it's something that seals follow and live by and it is important that candidates know what they're signing up for what they want to become so it's important to know the background of where they're going right you don't go to Burger King and ask for a Big Mac treat it like an actual job interview and be ready and know what you're getting into sounds good well thank you again for answering some of these questions we get we get tons of them on so as in yeah and just again everyone listening just if you have questions shoot me an email so I can address you know I can come back on the podcast and talk to Scott here and get those questions answered for you all right Andrew thank you very much and thank you everyone for joining us for another episode of the only easy day was yesterday I'm Scott Williams we'll see you next time