From Amazon.com:

Book Description
In recent years "warrior" has become a buzzword. Most often it's used properly, though sometimes its use is a stretch of the definition. To seek out the true meaning of warrior and warriorhood, Loren W. Christensen - retired cop, war veteran, high-ranking martial artist and prolific author - went to the source, to those who live it. The writers who contributed to this work are some of the finest warrior authors, warrior trainers and warrior scholars today. They have been there and done that. Many have fought on the edge of death's yawning orifice, survived, and now teach others to do the same. Some are still in the trenches. Thirty-seven experts tell what it's like to kill, to sacrifice, to train, to fear, and do what needs to be done. Because that is what a warrior does.

About the Author
Loren Christensen began his law enforcement career in 1967 when he served in the army as a military policeman in the United States and in Vietnam. He joined the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau in 1972 and retired in 1997. During those years, he specialized in street gangs, defensive tactics, dignitary protection, and patrolling the bizarre streets of skid row. He now writes full time and teaches martial arts.

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I'm presently reading this and I am quite enjoying this!

Lucie

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TSQ Admin,

“And although we may do our best to avoid trouble, sometimes trouble insists on finding us. When that happens, when the time for talk is over, warriors act. They flip the switch and act decisively – ruthlessly if necessary – to preserve and defend the things they hold dear. And when the fight is over, they turn off the switch and continue to cherish the things they valued enough to defend. That’s what makes them warriors. And that’s what makes them the good guys.” (Michael D. Janich)

On sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs
Lieutenant Colonel Grossman

One Vietnam veteran once said to Lieutenant Colonel Grossman:

“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.

Then they are the wolves, and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.

Then there are the sheepdogs, and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.” (...)

The following are comments from Lieutenant Colonel Grossman:

"If you have no capacity for violence, you are a healthy, productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, you are an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have the capacity for violence and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who walks the hero’s path. You are able to walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed. (…)

Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: he is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently: the sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. (…)

If you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warriors path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip, and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door."

Lieutenant Colonel Grossman is the director of the Killology Research Group. Website: www.killology.com. He teaches at West Point and is a former Army Ranger. He has written numerous books on the psychology of killing, on combat, etc.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lucie Piché-Cantin,

Lucie,

-Thats exactly what I was talking about earlier, the mentality is not there for most. I'm glad you found this and are posting about it. Thank you.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

The Warrior
By Harry Humphries, Former US Navy SEAL

Unfortunately, a vast element of naive liberals associate today’s warriors with guns, gangs, bombs, killing, and comic books. (…) They view the warrior as a dinosaur in a civilized urban environment. They would negotiate ad infinitum seeing only the good in humankind, seeking peace, while evil continues to kill, pillage, and torture as a means of gaining or maintaining power. They fail to recognize the limits of diplomacy (…)

The professional warrior internalizes combat experience and prowess. I can usually smell the real deal through his body language and silence. The true sign of the pretender, or failed combatant, is loud verbosity and stories of exploits. No doubt a defensive syndrome or shield hiding past failures. (…)

Those of the Silent Proud truly know who they are and need not have others judge. This is not to say that they are without inner conflict and flaws. They are never sure if they owe their lives to combat skills, luck, or divine intervention. (…)

The warrior will seize unforeseen opportunities as they arise, setting the broadest objectives, realizing the detailed plan will fall apart after the first enemy contact. He or she stresses leadership and morale and thrives on an instinctual savvy. (…)

Warriors are, after all, human, demanded by society to maintain a civilized sense of decency on fields of horror – the world of kill or be killed. They are Dragon Slayers, precariously teetering on the brink of becoming the dragon. Even the hardened will carry demons, silently reliving memories of extremes beyond belief.

Harry Humphries is a former Navy SEAL with more than 200 combat operations as a SEAL operator; an engineer with operational and security consulting experience internationally; a recognized counterterrorism authority specializing in tactics of post-modern terrorism and WMD preparedness; a lecturer in modern law enforcement training technique; an accomplished trainer in combat tactics, small arms, and edged weapons; and owner/operator of Global Studies Group, Inc.

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This is a great book and a great dialogue.

I feel that this is the "make it or breat it" in getting through BUD/S and a life as SEAL Operator. Your mindset is more important that your physical abilities.

This should be one of the most read and posted too threads on the this forum.