Warrior Toughness

The world is an unforgiving place. Small mistakes can produce huge consequences; life and death may hang in the balance. Our nation’s enemies are cunning, trained, and motivated to do us harm. We will all face adversity across a broad spectrum of situations. To fight and win in this environment, the US Navy Sailor must be holistically tough. Warrior Toughness provides a template to develop this toughness.

Starting in Boot Camp, every Sailor learns the basics of Warrior Toughness. These basics are skills that train the body, mind, and soul. They consist of an outlook developed by Navy SEALs, performance psychology skills, mindfulness, and character development.

We define Warrior Toughness as the ability to:

1. Take a hit and keep fighting (1 Corinthians 9

2. Perform under pressure (Hebrews 12:1)

3. Excel in the day in and day out grind (Galatians 6:9)

The Warrior Mindset

Consider first the outlook, known as the Warrior Mindset. When faced with high-stress situations, it is imperative that we execute tasks at our peak performance. One of the ways to achieve this is by utilizing the Warrior Mindset. The Warrior Mindset is an unending cycle of Commitment, Preparation, Execution, and Reflection. By completing this cycle repeatedly, one is building and sustaining toughness while progressing toward peak performance. Everything that we do can be viewed through the lens of the Warrior Mindset.

Commitment. We start by establishing our personal and professional goals. Next, we outline our organizational core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment along with the four core attributes of Toughness, Integrity, Accountability, and Initiative. We must spend time searching for our own individual values and how they synchronize with the Navy Core Values and Attributes. Establishing a personal philosophy facilitates a deeper understanding and commitment to these values and guides our actions.

Answering the questions below will cultivate motivation and spiritual fortitude.

1. What are my personal values?

2. How do these align with the Navy Core Values and Attributes?

3. What are my personal and professional goals?

4. How can I best accomplish these?

Preparation. A Warrior’s approach to preparation derives enduring focus from a strong sense of commitment and purpose. We must have the discipline to endure arduous and rigorous training to ensure we have a foundation to rely on during combat or high-stakes situations. We align training from lessons learned and in doing so, will be able to approach challenges with confidence. This concept can be summed up in this quotation referenced frequently in the Naval Special Warfare community “We never rise to the occasion, but fail to the level of our training.”

Body: We commit to physical fitness as a lifestyle. Fitness must become a routine, but we need to take ownership by working on weaknesses and addressing occupational specific physical demands. An investment in realistic training scenarios in the worse conditions is the only way we will be ready for that critical moment in execution.

Mind: We utilize performance psychology and mindfulness to strengthen and focus our minds while preparing to deal with operational and other daily challenges. Repetition and routine is paramount for our success here as much, or more so than physical body preparation.

Soul: Through the soul we produce the conviction that drives our actions. We must intentionally develop a personal philosophy based on personal values that are consistent and aligned with our Navy Core Values. We exercise and strengthen those values by putting them into practice daily through our decisions and actions. These reps and sets for the soul strengthen the core of who we are and help us define for ourselves the why for what we do. Developing and strengthening personal and professional connections will strengthen our values and resolve.

Execution. This is where the rubber meets the road. We must respond mindfully to our situation instead of reacting emotionally. The success or failure during our execution phase directly correlates to the sum of our commitment and preparation. There is a high probability that we will have to execute our duties in a high-stress situation where human life is at stake. We utilize mindfulness to be fully engaged in our current tasks focusing on the here and now; this combats complacency and mind wandering, leading to peak performance. Even when we are performing our daily operational tasks, we must be prepared to flex when the situation changes and things go off script. We must maintain our situational awareness, agility, and focus without losing control. This phase is where we ensure our actions align with our commitments. Our actions must be guided by our principles. We cannot lose sight of the big picture or primary objective.

Reflection. There are two types: organizational and individual. This is not about devaluing our organization or ourselves, but rather about increasing performance through the realistic review of events and past performance(s).

Organizational reflection is more formalized and can be seen in post-evolution debriefs, After Action Reports (AARs), and lessons learned documents. These documents must be shared widely and openly to have the largest impact. This type of review is standardized throughout the Navy within each community. We analyze commitments and preparation for events and glean lessons-learned. Using these processes allows each organization to learn from previous engagements. In this way, the next group can elevate their performance by learning from historical mistakes and triumphs.

Individually, reflection allows us to view our personal performance to see if it aligns with the values and philosophy we established in the commitment phase. What went well and what went poorly? How can we do better next time? This brings our attention back to our commitments and allows us to question their place in our personal philosophy. In this way, the cycle repeats ad infinitum providing a stair step method for improving both individual and organizational performance.

Physical Toughness

The dictionary definition of “toughness” is a good starting point for physical toughness: “strong and durable; not easily broken.” In order for us to perform difficult tasks at a high level, our bodies must have the capacity to endure strain and punishment to ensure mission success. We maintain a high level of physical preparedness though PT, healthy living habits, and repetitive rigorous training specific to our occupation.

Psalm 147:10-11

1 Timothy 4:8

Mental Toughness

Consider next the mental skills necessary to be tough. Taking a holistic, body-mind-soul approach to toughness includes using mental skills to be able to perform at your best, bounce back from an unforeseen obstacle, and excel in your everyday life. The science behind accomplishing this is called performance psychology. The Navy focuses on a few fundamentals of performance psychology: the impact the mind has on the body, mindfulness, self-talk, mental rehearsal, energy management, and goal-setting.

Mind Body Connection. There are two small areas on the sides of our brain called the amygdala (pronounced uh-mig-duh-luh). They trigger the body’s alarm system also known as the “fight, flight, or freeze” response which includes very quick changes in thinking and body functioning. The amygdala triggers various electrical and chemical reactions throughout the body which prepare us to run or fight if needed. It helps us survive during life threatening situations. In that way it is like a smoke detector. When it detects smoke it immediately and loudly sets off an alarm signal. However, it is not very sophisticated and cannot distinguish between smoke from a fire or smoke from burning your dinner. If only the amygdala is in charge of our survival response, we can easily overreact to situations and lose focus. The frontal cortex is the most evolved part of the human brain. It is responsible for analyzing situations, making decisions and behaving effectively. It is like the volume knob for the amygdala – ensuring our fight, flight, or freeze response is at the appropriate level for the situation. Luckily, the frontal cortex can be strengthened with mental training, including the performance psychology techniques and mindfulness. Science shows us this translates to better performance and emotion regulation under stress.

Mindfulness and Mindfulness Exercises. There are many definitions of mindfulness, but at RTC we teach Mindfulness as “present moment awareness.” Being aware of what is happening in the here and now, without getting carried away by it, is crucial for performing under pressure.

In order to build mindfulness you have to take time to practice mindfulness exercises. If you do mindfulness exercises for at least 12 minutes at a time, 3-4 times a week, your brain will be stronger and better able to be mindful in everyday life. Being mindful means you can stay focused in the moment and respond, instead of react to a situation. At boot camp, recruits practice one of four mindfulness exercises every day: Recalibrate (a slow breathing technique), Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), Body Scan, and Mental Scan.

Self-talk and Performance Statements. Self-talk is the constant narrative inside our heads - it can be about anything. Examples include: judging others and ourselves, thinking about past, and planning for the future. Your thoughts and feelings usually lead to behaviors (what you do). It is important to note that thoughts and feelings aren’t always accurate. If we immediately act on our thoughts and feelings without reflection, we run the risk of making poor decisions. Performance Statements are a performance psychology technique that helps improve self-talk. A performance statement is a statement that interrupts our negative, doubtful, or distracted thinking and keeps us in a better state of mind to perform. Performance statements should be brief (you need to say it when you are exhausted mentally or physically), instructive (if it’s too vague won’t help you focus on the task), realistic (it should be believable), and motivating (focus on what you want to happen, not what you are trying to avoid).

Mental Rehearsal. A performance psychology technique of rehearsing in your mind, the exact steps necessary to complete a task. Mental rehearsal can apply to any physical activity (running, swimming, public speaking, inspections, etc.). When rehearsing something mentally, it should be vivid (using all senses) and controlled (only rehearsing what you want to happen). Research shows that vividly thinking through – mentally rehearsing – an activity will activate the same parts of your brain as if you were physically doing the activity. This translates to more practice, even if you do not have the opportunity to physically rehearse.

Energy Management. A performance psychology technique based on knowledge that people perform at their optimal level at a "just manageable" level of physiological activation or stress. Stress is not a bad thing. Energy, which can also be referred to as stress, is necessary to cope with every aspect of life - the key is finding the right level. Energy levels at the far ends of the spectrum, either too little or too much stress, result in less than optimal performance. Sometimes we need to "psych ourselves up" and other times we need to calm ourselves down to be in the optimal zone.

Goal Setting. A performance psychology technique that enhances performance by giving the person a sense of direction and a target outcome. The SMART acronym is how you can help determine if a goal is a good one. It should be Specific: detailed enough to have associated behaviors that one can do; Measurable: ideally there is a metric to evaluate outcomes, like pounds lost; Attainable: the goal should be challenging but realistic; Relevant: the goal should be personally meaningful to you; Timely: there should be a start and/or end point.

Isaiah 26:3

Psalm 144:1

Spiritual Toughness

Knowing who you are, what you believe, and why you do what you do is foundational to being spiritually tough. This understanding of one’s self is the strength and depth of character that gives the motivation and determination necessary to maintain faithfulness to one’s commitments, beliefs, and values in the face of adversity and in the daily grind. Spiritual toughness is a product of reflection, awareness, and commitment to something greater than one’s self propelling them to prepare and execute with conviction.

Character. The tough person is a person of strong character. For this reason, Warrior Toughness has a strong element of character development. Character is the adherence to the Navy Core Values and is demonstrated by the Navy Core Attributes. We know that a Sailor is a person of character because they act in ways consistent with our core attributes of toughness, integrity, initiative and accountability. The Navy cannot open your heart to see your character, but the Navy can see how you demonstrate your character.

We need you to rely on honor, courage and commitment to make good decisions. We need you to be strong in body and mind – run fast and have the mental skills to make good decisions – but also in soul. Even the fastest runner needs to run in the right direction, and this is a matter of character. If your body is fully capable and your mind is mentally prepared to move forward, it is your character that will guide the direction you go.

Jeremiah 17:9

Romans 6:1-14

1 Corinthians 9:23-27

Ephesians 2:1-10

Hebrews 12:11

Core Attributes. The core attributes, which are drawn from the Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority, is a document created by the Chief of Naval Operations to set the Navy’s overall “sailing direction.”

Toughness. We can take a hit and keep going, tapping all sources of strength and resilience. Through rigorous training for operations and combat, the fighting spirit of our people, and the steadfast support of our families, we maintain a culture of warfighting excellence and hone our warfighting ethos. We don’t give up the ship, we never give up on our shipmates, and we never give up on ourselves. We are never out of the fight.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

Romans 5:3-5

Integrity. Our behaviors as individuals and as an organization align with our values as a profession. We actively strengthen each other’s resolve to act consistently with our values. As individuals, as teams, and as a Navy, our conduct must always be upright and honorable both in public and when nobody’s looking.

Proverbs 10:9; 11:3; 19:1; 20:7; 28:6

1 Peter 3:16

Colossians 3:23

Luke 16:10

Accountability. We are a mission-focused force. We achieve and maintain high standards. Our actions support our strategy. We clearly define the problem we are trying to solve and the outcomes to which we will hold ourselves accountable. In execution, we honestly assess our progress and adjust as required. We are our own toughest critic. Our leaders in command recognize the unique trust and confidence placed in them to operate independently. This is a profound responsibility.

James 5:16

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Proverbs 27:17

Luke 17:3

Initiative. We strive to accomplish what needs to be done, even in the absence of direct orders. Leaders at all levels take ownership and act to the limit of their authorities. We foster a questioning attitude, and we encourage everyone to look at new ideas with an open mind. Our most junior teammate may have the best idea; we must be open to capturing and implementing that idea.

James 4:17

Proverbs 10:4

John 5:30

Luke 12:35; 40

Conclusion. Boot camp is designed to challenge recruits and transform them from civilians into Warriors. Beyond all the technical competencies written about in this manual, it is vital that every sailor be a Warrior that is strong in body, mind, and soul. Warrior Toughness provides a common language and approach to increasing toughness.