Physical and Mental Health vs. Tactical Proficiency in the life of a Soldier: Is one more Important than the other?

As a soldier, I’ve come to understand that physical and mental health are just as crucial as tactical ability. But are they, “more”, important than the tactical skills that make us warriors? Perhaps, they’re a pre-cursor to tactical ability. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s “more” important but in my experience it’s absolutely a prerequisite. It’s easy to focus solely on our military training and forget the importance of taking care of our mind and body. With our days filled with everything from combat diving to jumping out of planes to shooting in every environment you can imagine to demolition and land navigation to medical and communications to survival and fighting to fitness and driving; the daily training activities we do are long, arduous, dangerous and, let’s be honest, sometimes pretty sexy and fun! However, neglecting our health can have significant consequences for our performance and, most importantly, our well-being as team members. The neglect of this vital fact can potentially leave us combat ineffective and in turn make our team ineffective, resulting in mission failure. Which as we all know is not an option. Any soldier knows and understands the detriment to a single link in the chain becoming ineffective. As Leonidas quotes in the epic movie “300”:

“…We fight as a single impenetrable unit. That is the source of our strength. Each spartan protects the man to his left, thigh to neck, with his shield. A single weak spot and the phalanx shatters…”

Our standard is to be an asset to our brothers and not a liability. When your mental and physical health begin to decline so does the value you bring to the table as a teammate and leader. Part of being on a high performing team, whether that be on a special forces team, a business team, pro sport team, a family or marriage, is to be able to carry the weight of another if need be. We all have our moments and being able to pick up where there’s slack starts with being in the right mental and physical condition. Guys lose sight of this far too often by putting too much emphasis on perfection of a skill, (a future blog), and less on their own well-being. Your inability to manage this makes you worthless to your cause.

When I was a new guy at my first SEAL team, I had a chief that mentored me quite a bit and he told me something that has stuck with me to this day. He said, “there’s only three things you have control over as an operator at a SEAL team. Your attitude, your fitness and your tactical skills as a new SEAL. Worry about nothing else.” That’s it, he told me. You focus on those three things and you’ll be a “good dude”. We have zero control over politics, foreign policy, orders from our superiors, what war we fight or IF we’ll even fight. That’s all above us. I immediately translated this as mental and physical health matched with tactical proficiency. That’s my world now. In life, just as in war, there are countless factors that are out of our control. Things we have dominion over and things we do not. We focus on the things we can control and let go of the things we can’t. There will inevitably always be issues that arise that present their own unique set of challenges and all require different answers or tactics to overcome them. As a warrior in life, we must strive to mitigate the factors we can’t control and provide contingencies for them to better manage risk and expectation; while reinforcing and strengthening the things that are within our control.

First and foremost, physical fitness is essential for soldiers. It’s not just about looking good in uniform; it’s about being able to perform your duties to a set standard. Soldiers must be physically capable of handling the demands of the job, whether it’s carrying heavy gear or running long distances. A healthy body can withstand the rigors of training and combat, while an unfit soldier may be a liability. To take this a step further, your physical fitness has an absolute direct correlation to your central nervous system and cardiovascular health. If you are already operating at or near 100% fitness level just to do the basic job, what happens when something goes wrong and now your nervous system gets spiked through the roof or the stuff really hits the fan and now you have to kick it up a few notches? How many more notches do you have to give? If you’re already operating at full capacity and now you have to go above and beyond, well now you very quickly can become a casualty. Just as in finance and business, you have to have some reserves past what your “basic” job requirement is. Some financial reserves in an emergency or investment account in case something bad happens or an opportunity comes along. War fighting is the same way. You have to be more physically fit than just what the average day to day operations require so that in the event that gunshot goes off or explosion occurs or gunfight breaks out, you have some reserves in the tank to account for a spike in your nervous system and you can still manage combat stress and make life altering decisions with a clear-thinking head.

Moreover, a healthy body also leads to a healthy mind. Exercise releases endorphins that boost our mood and reduce stress levels. When we’re feeling good physically, we’re more likely to be mentally focused and clear-headed. In contrast, poor physical health can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and lack of confidence. Such feelings can quickly spiral out of control and impact our ability to carry out our mission. A cool, calm and collected mindset starts with physical health. And let’s not forget recovery. That too is an entirely different conversation for another time. Perhaps a part two to this article.

But physical health is only half the equation. Mental health is equally important, if not more so. Soldiers are often exposed to traumatic events that can lead to psychological trauma. Our mental health must be bullet proof and constantly attended to and cared for. There are many ways to manage this and we are taught a good amount of them throughout our training as SEALs. One of the largest impact techniques we learn and very early on in fact is breathwork. Fortunately, this is becoming more common in our society now with the popularization of meditation, yoga, Wim Hoff and cold plunge, all of which soldiers have been doing for years. Learning to manage the breath and control the mind simultaneously is probably one of the single greatest things any human can achieve to enhance their performance in any arena of life. This, in my humble opinion, makes up the building blocks of a bulletproof mindset and attitude.

Furthermore, good mental health is essential for decision-making and critical thinking. Soldiers must be able to think clearly under pressure, make quick decisions, and adapt to changing situations, as I stated previously. Poor mental health can cloud judgment, leading to bad decisions and putting the lives of both soldiers and civilians at risk. Again, resulting in mission failure.

Ultimately, physical and mental health are just as crucial as tactical ability. Not one more than the other. If you can’t keep up physically, you fail. If you can’t think, feel and breath correctly, you fail. If you can’t shoot, move and communicate you fail! Neglecting our health can have serious consequences, both for ourselves and those around us. As soldiers, we must prioritize our well-being and recognize that taking care of ourselves is not a sign of weakness. It’s a crucial aspect of being a well-rounded and effective warrior. It’s the difference between being an asset to your team or becoming a liability. The difference, at times, between life and death. Whether mortally or financially, on a battle field or in a board room or in your home with your spouse. These three aspects are the trinity to being successful in life.

In conclusion, I’ll leave you with this. It is my hope that you take what I’m about to give you and transmute your physical, mental and occupational health from this ideology. The idea of 212 degrees. 212 degrees is the boiling point of water. Why is that significant you ask? It’s important because boiling water creates steam. And steam, in the last two centuries, has saved our species. Steam has sent trains across our continent pushing further into westward expansion and advancing this great country. Steam kept us warm and safe from harsh winters and still does in some parts of the country to this day. Steam cleans and sterilizes medical tools to reduce infection and improve surgery statistics. Steam sent ships across the great oceans to establish trade routes with other countries and develop relationships with partnering allies. Steam has arguably been one of the single most advancing technologies of our species. So then, what is 211 degrees? It’s nothing but warm water. It’s the one extra degree that makes all the difference in the world. One degree is all it takes. One degree difference took us from the stone age, so to speak, and catapulted us into an entirely new world of advancement and human ingenuity. One degree is all it took to save our species. I believe, in everything that I do with all my being, that one degree can save the world. How do you put that into your day-to-day life? One more degree for everything. One more rep, one more mile, one more meeting, one more date night, one more book at night with your kids, one more… Live every day at 212 degrees and I assure you, you will conquer your life.

-Colter, OUT