getting after it, day to day

On Thursdays I meet up with a couple Navy recruiters and a group of aspiring enlisted guys looking to join EOD, SWCC, Air Rescue, Dive or SEALS. Before running hill sprints and going for a trail run we gathered up in a large dirt clearing for some 'beat down.' This is a colloquial term they use in the Navy to describe group PT sessions that are typically very intense, with lots of repetitions, little rest, and long static holds in various uncomfortable positions. I don't run into that many other officer candidates in the recruiting pipeline that I'm in, and this group is no exception. Out of eleven or so enlisted candidates I am the only officer candidate, and this means that the recruiters running our training often expect me to step up into a leadership role.

Halfway into the beat down, and shortly after completing 50 pushups and holding the position for two or three minutes a lot of us were starting to fail. I could feel myself losing strength in my core. That's when Petty Officer Quinteros calls me to front of the company, facing the rest of the group: "Alright, Polhamus, mountain climbers. 25. Go." As the leader it's my job to yell out the four-count rhythm, making the exercise doubly-tiring. "1-2-3, ONE! 1-2-3, TWO!".... In the midst of the pain a voice inside asks why I'm here in the dirt suffering like this, but I keep the tempo moving. We finish the mountain climbers, chests burning, but are kept in the pushup position for close to another minute before we are allowed to drop to the dirt.

Five seconds of rest and then: "On your backs! Flutter kicks. 50. Go!" I begin the count again: "1-2-3, ONE! 1-2-3, TWO!".... We're getting pretty damn tired. We finish the count and are told to keep our feet six inches of the ground. The recruiters, along with a retired former SEAL who's joined us, wander through the crowd, loudly castigating anyone who's slacking or falling behind. "Alright, once all those feet are six inches off the ground I'll start the count down!" the SEAL says. Some guys are really hurting. We get from 10 to 6 before one guy drops his feet. Officer Quinteros didn't miss it, though: "Get 'em back up! Start again!" 10... 9... 8... I can hear the labored breathing of a bunch of suffering dudes, and my hip flexors and abs are burning. Then something clicks inside. I realize that we're all at our limit, but that it falls to me as the aspiring officer to set the tone. "KEEP EM UP! COME ON!" I yell at the guys. 7... 6... 5... "COME ON! DON'T DROP!" 4... 3.. 2... 1... and done.

A SEAL I greatly respect recently told me that to lead lions you have to be one. As I aspire to that privilege I find myself becoming a stronger man and hungering for more. That's why I spent the morning in the dirt at Eaton Canyon.