WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:16.120 Welcome to Veterans' Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 2 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:19.839 this edition is Kaj Larson. He served as a US 3 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.760 Navy seal, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant commander. 4 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:27.000 You may also know Larson from his many reporting roles 5 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:31.359 for outlets like CNN, Current TV, and for hosting the 6 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:36.439 award winning series Vice on HBO. Much of our conversation 7 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:40.719 with Lieutenant Commander Larson will focus on the unparalleled experience 8 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:47.159 that is Bud's training Basic Underwater Demolition Seal training. Larson 9 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:49.520 will not only share his own experience from two thousand 10 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.840 and one and two thousand and two, but offer some 11 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:55.719 insights into why the extremely difficult training is structured the 12 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.920 way it is, what his toughest moment was in training, 13 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.759 and what is first combat deployment was like, and much more. 14 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.879 CAJ Larson says his childhood on the California Coast was 15 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.640 pretty much what you'd expect it to be, but by 16 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:11.280 the time he was getting close to the end of 17 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:14.760 high school, his biggest goal was on the East Coast. 18 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:19.159 Nineteen ninety four, Coge Larson was a senior in high 19 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.079 school in Santa Cruz, California, which is a sleepy little 20 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.280 surfer town in northern California. I grew up surfing, spearfishing, 21 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:30.040 being a general waterman. My first job was as an 22 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:36.079 ocean lifeguard, and that path playing water polo competitively led 23 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.599 me to apply to the US Naval Academy in nineteen 24 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:39.120 ninety five. 25 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:41.480 I was accepted to the US Naval Academy and. 26 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:45.040 I reported as a fourth class midshipman at seventeen years 27 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:49.120 old in July of ninety five to Annapolis. 28 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.000 When a Navy Seals story starts with him getting admitted 29 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.640 into the US Naval Academy, you might think it was 30 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:58.040 a fairly straightforward path to becoming a candidate for the Seals. 31 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:02.920 CAJ Larson took a very different path away from Annapolis 32 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:04.599 to get to BUDS training. 33 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:07.359 I spent two years at the Naval Academy and ended 34 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.919 up leaving by my own choice, transferring playing water polo 35 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.680 at the University of California, and I was a civilian. 36 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:17.759 I was Joe civilian for two years, but I had 37 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.759 decided that my legacy of service wasn't over. I still 38 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.039 had that same desire to serve that led me to 39 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.000 the Naval Academy in the beginning. So I re went 40 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:31.240 into the Navy through Officer Candidate School, applied for a 41 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:36.039 seal billet and got it, and in August of two 42 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.199 thousand and one, I was on my way to seal training. 43 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:42.800 Larson's path is an unusual one, as he explains, getting 44 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:47.120 into buds training after leaving Annapolis is highly unlikely, even 45 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:51.719 as an officer. But fortunately for Larson, real life intervened 46 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:54.199 in a way that made it tough for the Navy 47 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:54.960 to say no. 48 00:02:55.479 --> 00:03:00.199 The thing to understand about the seal pipeline is that there's, 49 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:03.479 of course two pathways, just like everybody who enter a service. 50 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:04.759 You can go the officer router, or you can go 51 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:05.879 the enlisted route. 52 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.280 I decided that I wanted to be a seal officer, 53 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:13.159 and there's a finite number of Seal officer billets available 54 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.719 every year. The Naval Academy has a certain apportionment somewhere 55 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:21.280 between twelve and eighteen. ROTC Reserve Officer Training Corps has 56 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:24.560 a similar allotment, and then there's about ten to fifteen 57 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:28.879 billets a year for straight civilians who have graduated college, 58 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.759 and those billets, because there's so few of them, tend 59 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:37.199 to be extraordinarily competitive. I had a even further hurdle 60 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:39.000 to get over in the fact that I had spent 61 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:44.199 two years in an officer training pipeline. So the natural 62 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.680 question is, why would we give you one of these 63 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.599 very valuable and coveted civilian billets. I was actually when 64 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.000 I applied to go back in to get a seal 65 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.919 billet through Officer Candidate school, I was initially denied that billet, 66 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.719 and I was ocean lifeguarding in my hometown of Santa 67 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:07.039 Cruz at the time, and one of these strange twists 68 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:11.080 of fate, there was a collusion of circumstances where a 69 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.439 carge drove off a wharf at the pier that I 70 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:17.920 was lifeguarding at, and I was able to go up 71 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.639 and free dive down to the car, which was on 72 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:22.399 its back forty feet down. 73 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.959 Took me many many dives in many many minutes. 74 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:28.240 But ultimately was able to pull the victim out of 75 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:31.879 the car. That story became kind of known within the 76 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:35.680 seal community, and the officer detailer at the time, the 77 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.120 person who decides the billets, ultimately said, that's the kind 78 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:41.160 of fighting spirit that we want in the seal teams, 79 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:43.399 and he opened up a billet for me that year. 80 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:47.600 Whether watching movies or hearing stories from other seals, many 81 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.319 of us have some idea, at least we think we do, 82 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:55.000 of what Bud's training is like, but we don't. Larson 83 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:57.800 walks us through his thoughts as he rode onto the 84 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.000 training ground in Coronado, California. 85 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.519 The beginning of BUDS is not exactly what you imagine, 86 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.360 and it's changed somewhat since my day. In my day, 87 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:08.959 it was a little bit like throw you, like straight 88 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:11.759 into the pit and get you going. But when you 89 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:17.040 very first report to Coronado, California, to BUDS based underwater 90 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:20.560 Demolition seal training, you're really kind of shocked at the contrast. 91 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.480 Coronado is this idyllic community in San Diego. It's an 92 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.079 island off the coast of San Diego, and so you're 93 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.839 driving through this like very pristine, affluent community and then 94 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:35.879 you cross the threshold onto the surf side of the 95 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:39.560 base and you see the sort of ominous obstacle course 96 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:43.120 and these you seal teams that are on the other 97 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.519 side of the training facility. But you don't even really 98 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:48.040 want to look in those directions because that is so 99 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:52.120 far you have so many miles and so many logs 100 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.240 to carry, and so many ocean swims to complete before 101 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:59.839 you're even worthy of crossing the transom into those institutions. 102 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:05.399 You're mostly hyper focused on this very dark and scary place, 103 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:08.959 which is seal training. When you very first show up, 104 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.199 there's a ramp up period they call it pTRR, and 105 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:16.519 it's essentially a warm up for the when seal training 106 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.839 really begins. When I first showed up at pTRR, everybody 107 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.839 lives in this barracks called six' eighteen. I was thrown 108 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.040 into a room with three other officers, so four officers total, 109 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:30.199 two of whom were about to class up, and then 110 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.279 myself and another officer who were waiting for our class 111 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.120 to begin. So those early days of BUDS, when you're 112 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.720 in pTRR, which is the phase before first phase, is 113 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.759 sort of like getting to know the systems, like where 114 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:48.079 is everything located? How do you organize your gear and equipment. 115 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:51.480 They do some light PT sessions to kind of get 116 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.759 you ramped up, and then once you class up, that's 117 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.360 when all the fun games really begin. 118 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.000 And once Buds train, he begins in earnest. Larson says 119 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.879 there's no easing into the grueling weeks and months of 120 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:08.480 intense testing. He says, from the very first moment of 121 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:11.759 the very first day, he and all the other prospective 122 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.959 Navy seals, we're facing something completely different than they ever 123 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:18.079 experienced or even imagined. 124 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:23.240 Day one week one of BUDS is just like getting 125 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.480 smashed by a brick wall, Like there is no Once 126 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:33.000 you class up and actually start, you are fully fully immersed. 127 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:37.199 And that first morning of PT that starts at five 128 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.800 am and you're on the grinder, which is this fabled 129 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.839 cement spot where all of the physical training goes down 130 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:48.879 and you're doing you know, hundreds and hundreds of pushups, 131 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:51.040 and you're running back and forth and hitting the surf, 132 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.720 and there's these inflatable boats that you have to jump in. 133 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:56.160 You're just going through this. 134 00:07:56.839 --> 00:08:00.639 Day one week, one minute, one massive beatdown set by 135 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.519 the instructors, designed and orchestrated to intimidate you and to 136 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.439 cut the wheat from the chaff and to get the 137 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:11.040 week to quit. It is a daunting and scary experience. 138 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.279 It's pitch dark out. People are screaming, people are yelling, 139 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.839 The bell is ringing because guys are quitting left and right. 140 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:23.519 That's when you're like say to yourself, holy shit, Like 141 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:25.680 what have I gotten myself into? Even though you know, 142 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:30.040 I know, Actually it's a different experience to actually be there. 143 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.639 Earlier in the podcast, you may have noticed Kaj Larson 144 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.879 mentioned that he began Buds training in August of two 145 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:40.639 thousand and one. The very next month, of course, America 146 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:43.080 would change forever as a result of the nine to 147 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:47.639 eleven terrorist attacks out at Coronado. Larson says it was 148 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.720 strange to learn about such a huge and horrible event 149 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.440 that could deeply impact their lives while he and others 150 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.240 were completely immersed in their own world of Buds training. 151 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.039 On nine to eleven, we had just finished a two 152 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.200 mile ocean swim at the Budge Training compound in Cornado. 153 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:09.039 So it was about six am, six thirty eight am 154 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.039 our time. We had started our day at five am, 155 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.799 as you always do. We had just finished this two 156 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.639 mile ocean swim. We were changing out behind the barracks, 157 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:20.720 switching over from our swim gear to our PT gear 158 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:22.559 to do one of these mile long runs to the 159 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:27.240 chow hal and people started whispering because there's other people 160 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.600 roaming around besides just the instructors. There's the rollbacks who 161 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:32.960 are hurt seals who are kind of help you and 162 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.679 help your class move along, and different admin people, and 163 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:41.000 they said something about a plane hitting the World Trade Center, 164 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:45.799 but candidly, at first I thought it was like one 165 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.639 of these tricks that the instructors are always playing to 166 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.480 mess with you, like, oh, hurry up, you know, plane 167 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:53.200 just hit the World Trade Center. And I think at 168 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.600 that time it was very unclear, even though there was 169 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:58.919 sort of little rumors circuling around and people were whispering. 170 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.519 Then we did that mind run over to the chow 171 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:06.159 haul and we saw the images on the television screen, 172 00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:11.320 and we knew the instructors weren't sophisticated enough to do that, 173 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.120 and so then we knew it was really real and 174 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:17.399 that we were under attack. And as a bud student, 175 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.639 you're pretty dumb. You're just worry about surviving sometimes the 176 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.480 next five minutes, or surviving getting through the day, and 177 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:28.519 it's hard to assimilate these macro world events that are happening. 178 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.159 You're locked in your own little world of trying to 179 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:35.080 make it through. But the instructors, to their credit, had 180 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.039 a lot more clarity. In fact, they had instant clarity, 181 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:40.279 and so they sat us down as a class, and 182 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:45.080 they said, like, gentlemen, we're going to war and we 183 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:45.799 only want. 184 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:47.720 The people who are supposed to be here. 185 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.679 So we're going to beat you all day in till 186 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.639 X number of people quit and we're going to see 187 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.480 who really wants it. And so they beat us for 188 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:59.960 hours and hours and hours until they hit their number 189 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.519 certain number of people quit, heard the bell rang bim 190 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:07.639 bing boman, and then once it was once they hit 191 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.480 their number, they said, the day secured. 192 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:13.279 Go home, call your families. And that was my nine 193 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:13.720 to eleven. 194 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.600 That's US Navy Lieutenant commander and US Navy Seal Kaj Larsen. 195 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.480 Just ahead, Larson will share his insights into why the 196 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.399 seal instructors are so tough on the men in training 197 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:30.039 and why doing the training right matters personally to them. 198 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.559 He will also tell us about Hell Week, the toughest 199 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:37.279 moment he experienced in Bud's training, and his first combat 200 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:41.519 deployment in the Global War on Terrorism. I'm Greg Corumbus 201 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.480 and this is Veterans Chronicles. 202 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:45.879 Sixty Seconds of Service. 203 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.159 This sixty Seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 204 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.320 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military 205 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:55.840 families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network. 206 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.919 Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more 207 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.240 about how these support our military community. From Canon Dagua, 208 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:04.960 New York, local veterans are giving back to another organization 209 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:08.200 that works to serve them. Blue Star Canteen, located on 210 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:11.120 Foster Street, gives veterans a home like place to stay 211 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:14.000 and host dinners to help out those who served. The 212 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:16.919 property recently needed some renovations, so a group of local 213 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.799 veteran owned businesses came together to make those upgrades happen. 214 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.679 It's the best feeling, it's the best give back you 215 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.720 could possibly imagine, said Rich Schultz, owner of Veterans' Choice Exteriors. 216 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:29.759 I served in Afghanistan and getting the care packages that 217 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.679 organizations like this had brought us back home just a 218 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:35.320 little bit. Today's sixty Seconds of Service is brought to 219 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.080 you by Prevagen. Prevagen is the number one pharmacist recommended 220 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.039 memory support brand. You can find Prevagen and the Vitamin 221 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.039 Aisle in stores everywhere. 222 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.440 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 223 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.919 this edition is US Navy Lieutenant Commander and US Navy 224 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.480 seal Kaj Larsen. You may also know him from his 225 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:59.639 reporting at CNN, Current TV and elsewhere. We've been talking 226 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:04.000 about the extreme difficulty of BUDS or seal training, but 227 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.320 you've only heard the tip of the iceberg so far. 228 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:12.720 BUDS training is divided into three phases, physical conditioning, diving, 229 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.399 and land warfare. Together it lasts many months, but the 230 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:22.159 most infamous stretch comes during the physical conditioning phase. It's 231 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:23.639 called hell a week. 232 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:28.080 People also don't realize that seal training is seven months long, 233 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.679 and we like to say, anybody can do seal training 234 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.360 for a day, but can you get up and consistently 235 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:35.840 do it time and time again for seven months and 236 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:40.279 maintain injury free and really be cognizant, especially when you 237 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.679 get into the more complicated phases where you're doing mission 238 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.679 planning and weapons. 239 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:48.360 BUDS exposes every weakness. It is a. 240 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:52.440 Challenge every day and the instructors will find something that 241 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:54.480 tests your inner fortitude. 242 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:57.639 Hell Week is distinct. 243 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:01.320 From the rest of the phases of training, mostly because 244 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:07.440 while yes, the physical intensity is ramped up, what's really 245 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.279 really distinct is that you don't sleep right. So Hell 246 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:13.679 week often starts on a Sunday night and end sometime 247 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.360 on Friday, and during that course of that week you 248 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:19.320 get only two to three hours of sleep at best. 249 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.759 So you have to do things like run twenty miles 250 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.759 with boats and logs on your head, but you're doing 251 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.159 it in a sleep deprived state. 252 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:30.960 And again the purpose of that. 253 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:35.120 Is to as close as we can simulate conditions that 254 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:39.480 you might see in combat. Truth is as hard as 255 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.639 buds is, as terrible as Hell Week is. I was 256 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:46.120 more cold, I was more tired. I was more scared 257 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.679 in combat than I ever was in training. So the 258 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:53.440 idea is, if you're the kind of guy who's just 259 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.720 going to quit when you know there's a little water 260 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:00.480 on your face in the Pacific Ocean on the Sandy 261 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:03.759 Coronado beach, right, you're certainly not going to be able 262 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.720 to hack it, like when we're in a firefight in 263 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:08.480 Afghanistan and the stakes are real. 264 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.000 Larson says the instructors see merciless during training, especially during 265 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:17.159 Hell Week, and they largely are merciless, But he says 266 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:19.240 there's a purpose for all of it. 267 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:24.279 The first phase instructors have one mission and one mission only, 268 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.759 and that is to test your mental fortitude the goal, 269 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.799 in fact, the goal of the entire spectrum of training 270 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:34.840 is pretty simple. 271 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:35.399 Right. 272 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.039 There's all these evolutions, and there's all these different things 273 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:43.279 that you do from diving to land warfare, right, but 274 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:46.919 the essential goal of seal training is the same, is 275 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:51.440 to determine whether you will or will not quit in combat. 276 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.159 And what BUDS is is the closest approximation we can 277 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:01.840 get to combat without actually throwing you into. 278 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.799 A live combat situation. 279 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:08.360 Right, So by approximating the intensity and the pressure and 280 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.279 the fear that's associated with combat, we can determine who 281 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:15.960 has the resiliency to make it eventually to the seal teams. 282 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:22.080 So the first phase instructors are vicious. They are by 283 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:26.159 design brutal. I mean, at the time, I thought they 284 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:29.440 were essentially satis, right, because their goal was to inflict 285 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:33.000 so much pain on you and to test your metal 286 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:37.519 and see if you quit. That whole phase culminates in 287 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.600 Hell Week, which is the hardest week of the hardest 288 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.840 military training in the world, and that sort of epitomizes 289 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.399 the entire phase of physical conditioning to really really see 290 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.799 who's tough enough to make it once you get in 291 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:51.679 the teams. 292 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:54.679 And Larson says there is another important reason that the 293 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.840 instructors are as tough as possible on Seal candidates. He says, 294 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.039 they are not just thinking about the coming weeks and 295 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:04.400 months of BUDS training, They also have the next several 296 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.359 years in mind, as well as their own futures. 297 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:12.759 They're not retired seals, they're not civilian contractors. They are active. 298 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:16.119 Duty seals who are on a short tour from the 299 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.160 Seal teams. So they've possibly done two, three, four seven 300 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:24.440 combat deployments. It's their time to do a rotation back home, 301 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:30.839 which is part of the bigger naval administration system, and they. 302 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.200 Take that job very seriously. 303 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:36.079 And part of the reason they take their charter so 304 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:40.400 seriously to be the sort of vetting force for the 305 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:45.000 entire community is because they know after their short tour, 306 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:48.759 after their time back in Cornado at BUDS, they will 307 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.680 rotate back into a Seal platoon and serve with the 308 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.559 guys who they put through training. So I served in 309 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:00.640 the Seal teams with many of my BUDS instructors, and 310 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:05.000 so especially as an officer, there's an extra level of scrutiny. 311 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:05.720 So you can. 312 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.960 Imagine an instructor who is putting you through training, is 313 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.359 not just looking at you for your individual skill set 314 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:14.240 and is this guy tough enough to be a seal 315 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.319 For an officer like myself, the instructors are evaluating would 316 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:21.640 I let this man lead me in combat? And that 317 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.319 is why they take their job so seriously. That's why 318 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.200 they are the sort of final quality check and quality 319 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.480 assurance for the entire seal community. 320 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:35.519 That's Kaj Larson, a US Navy Lieutenant commander and a 321 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:40.519 US Navy Seal. He's also an accomplished journalist. Still to come, 322 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.759 Larson will tell us about his lowest moment during BUDS training, 323 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:48.319 the accomplishment of becoming a US Navy seal, the evolution 324 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:53.240 of seal gear in combat, and his first combat deployment. 325 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:59.599 I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is 326 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.920 Veteran Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition 327 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:08.480 is US Navy Lieutenant commander and US Navy seal Caj Larson. 328 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.640 Just a moment ago, Larson explained the different motivations that 329 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:15.920 seal instructors have for being as hard as possible on 330 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.440 the guys going through BUDS training. But while it's happening 331 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:25.279 the seal candidates understandably have no appreciation for it at all. 332 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.240 Larson shares his lowest moment during BUDS. 333 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.440 I would say the most challenging moment for me was 334 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.319 like a moment in Hell Week where there was an 335 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.599 instructor who at the time really did not like me. 336 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.119 Instructor Moffit J. 337 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:44.559 Moffitt like absolute stud of a seal, but for whatever reason, 338 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:47.519 he thought I was cocky and he decided somewhere around 339 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:49.480 Wednesday night of Hell Week that he was going to 340 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:53.000 like make sure that I understood my place in the 341 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:56.960 pecking order. And so it was three am or something 342 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.519 and he was missing me with a hose. 343 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:01.279 After one of these PT. 344 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.119 Sessions, and this is the middle of the night in Cornado, 345 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:09.240 the temperatures dropped and my core body temperature just started 346 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:11.759 to drop. So you know, the human body is essentially 347 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:15.119 ninety eight point six degrees, right. You can imagine if 348 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:17.680 you are sick and you have a fever, if you 349 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.400 have a fever of like one oh two, one oh three, that. 350 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:21.480 Would be a very high fever. 351 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.039 You would feel terrible, right, So the temperature range of 352 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:30.160 the human body is actually pretty fairly small. My body 353 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.799 temperature started to drop in the opposite direction, and eventually 354 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:37.200 I passed out on the cold cement. 355 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:40.319 They take your core temperature. 356 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:43.599 In two thousand and one, we didn't have all the 357 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:47.039 sophisticated instrumentation that we have now today. I think now 358 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:50.000 today's students can like swallow a pill that measures their 359 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:52.960 core body temperature, and those in those days you got 360 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:57.880 what's called the silver bullet, which is rectal temperature. Very accurate, 361 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:01.160 also very embarrassing. Although I was passed out so I 362 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:04.440 got the silver bullet, my core body temperature was eighty 363 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:09.359 nine degrees. That's very very dangerous when you're that hypothermic. 364 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.079 They have to not passively rewarm you, but actively rewarm you. 365 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:17.279 So they put me in a hot tub, and I 366 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:19.920 remember kind of coming to consciousness in the hot tub 367 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:22.640 and my body temperature sort of coming back and coming up. 368 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.319 I think it took me something like seventeen eighteen minutes 369 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:28.799 to get actively rewarmed. 370 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:31.000 They took me out. 371 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:32.799 I think my core body tempature was back to like 372 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:34.039 ninety six or ninety seven. 373 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:35.720 These are oral thermometers. 374 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.559 At this point, I remember they handed me a pair 375 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:47.000 of dry camouflage uniform like just fresh out of the laundry, 376 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:50.400 you know, like nice, nice smelling and everything. It was 377 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:54.839 the first time in three days that I had had 378 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:56.880 any dry clothing, the first time I had been dry 379 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:58.720 in three days. I had been wet and sandy for 380 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.359 the previous three days. I had just come out of 381 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:04.519 like being passed out, you know, twenty minutes ago. And 382 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.319 they handed me this dry, nice dry set of clothes, 383 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.799 and they said, Okay, you can go rejoin your class. 384 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:14.920 Go put on your clothes in the ocean. 385 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:18.440 And it was just like at that moment, even though 386 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:23.000 I but the consummate water mid spearfishers serveer groping cold water, 387 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:25.640 I was like, I just don't want to get back 388 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:26.799 in the ocean. 389 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:28.559 But I did it. 390 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:31.160 Sometimes, like we say in the teams, you don't have 391 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.000 to like it, you just have to do it. So 392 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.039 I like went back in the ocean, put on the clothes, 393 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:37.039 and rejoined my class. 394 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.119 But once the seven months of training concludes, the few 395 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:46.119 left standing become Navy Seals, knowing that they passed the 396 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:50.880 most demanding test of any service members anywhere in the world. 397 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:56.359 Larson says the satisfaction and pride are immense, but he 398 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:59.920 also says the work immediately continues. 399 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:05.000 When when you graduate from Seal Training, it's obviously an 400 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.960 extraordinary moment. And this has changed since my time going through. 401 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.160