Hacker News Reader

Comment by sillysaurusx | Hacker News Reader

If you want to see what a Navy SEAL's life is like, I highly recommend this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGvvNKBGgUw

"Documentary" makes it sound sterile or clinical, but in fact it's pretty badass.

Kind of dispels the illusion that we're not pampered.

It's so good I'll probably watch it again today. The diving section is the best, IMO. Imagine someone spinning you around underwater and ripping off parts of your dive gear then having to reassemble it basically blind.

Imagine a junior code review that starts like this (https://youtu.be/AGvvNKBGgUw?t=230): "This entire codebase has been a joke. There hasn't been a single module that you've written during the course of this project that has even remotely resembled perfection. Everything has been sad, weak, and unreadable. And it's all because you're inside your tiny little brain, self-defeating yourself."

Admittedly that only happens during the training phase, though.

View on HN

A good friend of mine from high school is a Navy SEAL. He was shot in the leg in combat (similar to the guy from this story, though not quite as bad; but still multiple surgeries and over a year of recovery). He said he'd rather get shot again than go through BUD/S again.

This kind of training seems like it would cause a lot of injuries. Is that just an accepted part of it?

Yes and no. It’s not acceptable to overlook safety. During the documentary, there are situations where you can see the instructors prioritize the well-being of the candidates (as opposed to saying “no, keep going”). One candidate complained he was feeling dizzy, and the instructor sent the candidate to get checked even though he personally felt there was nothing wrong with him. Wish I could remember the timestamp.

There is also the concept of being rolled back due to injury. If you sprain your ankle, for example, you can’t keep going. It’s a persistent fear of all candidates, since it’s a big setback. But the flipside is that apparently you only get rolled back to when the next class catches up to where you’re at right now in training. It’s one of the cooler parts in my opinion, since you can see they truly value the candidates rather than thinking of them as disposable tools (which you occasionally feel like as a programmer...)

But, ultimately, you’re correct: it’s inherently dangerous. Everyone signs up knowing the risks.

EDIT: Found the timestamp: https://youtu.be/AGvvNKBGgUw?t=2266

Getting shot at with live fire in combat would cause a lot more injuries if you're not trained...

In Australia at least, the special forces training (so I've been told by those who know some who went through it) can definitely cause injury and you are free to leave at any time due to it. But you can never return.

The emotional impact of going through the training will not be the same the second time around, so they won't take you back for another try.

A story I heard was that the trainers were total arseholes saying he was weak, saying he couldn't finish, and so on - then as soon as he realised he had to stop (broken leg or something) their attitudes completely changed to supportive and caring. Going through that and seeing the other side would definitely ruin the experience if they let you back in.

Seems to be, yeah. Just about every SEAL I know suffered done sufficient (sometimes career ending) injury in training.

Yes, it is more likely for a serviceman to die in training than in combat.

A graduate of my high school (from a couple classes above mine) served as a member of Marine Force Recon. The opportunity to go through their training opened up after basic, but he sprained his ankle a couple days beforehand. They told him that was unfortunate, but that maybe he could try out in a year or so. Instead, he started training with a sprain.

A different breed.

Came for the BUD/s, stayed for the Patstone.

You'll get what I mean if you watch this documentary.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com