American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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the worst thing to do is rub them. You’re going to get snotty and you’re
going to be coughing and crying, but you can still shoot your weapon
and fight through it. That’s the point of the exercise.
We went up to Kodiak, Alaska, where we did a land navigation
course. It wasn’t the height of winter, but there was still so much snow
on the ground that we had to put on snowshoes. We started with basic
instruction on keeping warm—layering up, etc.—and learned about
things like snow shelters. One of the important points of this training,
which applied everywhere, was learning how to conserve weight in the
field. You have to figure out whether it’s more important to be lighter
and more mobile, or to have more ammunition and body armor.
I prefer lightness and speed. I count ounces when we go out, not
pounds. The lighter you are, the more mobile you become. The little
bastards out there are faster than hell; you need every advantage you
can get on them.
The training was pretty competitive. We found out at one point
that the best platoon in the Team would be shipped out to Afghanistan.
Training picked up from that point on. It was a fierce competition,
and not just out on the training range. The officers were backstabbing
each other. They’d go to the CO and dime each other out:
Did you see what those guys did on the range They’re no
good. . .
The competition came down to us and one other platoon. We
came in second. They went to war; we stayed home.
That’s about the worst fate a SEAL can imagine.