The “New World”
A lot can be said about the “new army” and the changes that have taken place over time that you hear the older active duty and veterans talks about. The world is changing, so how does a new army recruit prepare for it?
The way conflicts are being fought are changing as well and the demands being put on the military and law enforcement and therefore the soldiers and officers are changing as well. Not only that, but international politics are changing drastically as well and yes, that does affect us, even the newest of recruits.
Prepare For The Worst
I can only think of one response to this scenario; the world is changing, and so is the nature of the job that we have signed up to do. It is become a more complex, chaotic and dynamic world. That only means one thing – we must become the sharpest tool in the shed. We must become the most dynamic, flexible and dialed in we can. There is no way to tell what battlefield we’ll be called to or how we’ll be called to fulfill our oath. The recent developments in the global COVID-19 epidemic prove that. So, prepare for everything and everything you can. Become adaptable, because Murphy’s law is coming, and it will hit like a freight train if we aren’t ready.
We must become the sharpest tool in the shed
Become Harder To Kill
How do we apply these ideas? We’ve got to train. Get the basics down first. Bodyweight strength endurance, rucking and running. From there, find a coach (like Dave ;)) that can turn you into a generalist and a work horse, quite literally. Here are the domains that I’m focusing on to get myself ready.
Physically, you want to be able to adapt to whatever gets thrown at you and make sure you can do your job, whether it’s combat specific or otherwise, even being the best parent you can be.
Become sharp mentally. Find ways to stress yourself. Brazilian Jiujitsu is great, even banging out some burpees and try to solve a puzzle. Anything. Reading books on psychological fortitude and combat are great options as well. There are tons of resources out there, especially in the tactical training world including podcasts. A lot of hard lessons were learned in our most recent combat deployments, it would be a shame and a waste not to study them. This brings me to my next point.
Learn to fight. Being able to defend yourself and the ones you love is not only a life skill but at the end of the day, we are members of the military and law enforcement. It’s a core of our job to protect our citizens and if we can’t do that effectively then there’s an issue. Not only that, but you want to be able to come home alive and safe too at the end of the day.
Turn [yourself] into a generalist and a work horse…
You can never predict the future, so don’t bother. Focus on what you can do each day to prepare for not only the training ahead, but the career ahead. The most important thing to do is start. Anywhere you can. Hard To Kill Training Programs is the perfect resource to use to help you in your journey. The world is changing, as new recruits, we must be able to change with it.
Train Hard, Fight Easy
Tim Byrne is a new recruit with the Royal Highland Regiment (Blackwatch) and a kettlebell instructor at Agatsu Montreal. He previously worked as a swim team coach and lifeguard and teaches first aid and CPR.