I Am a Warfighter
Written by Nate Palin
I mountain bike but I am not a mountain biker and I ski but I am not a skier. I also run and lift weights but I am neither a runner nor a weightlifter.
I fought a war and left the battlefield in 2010.
I am still, however, a warfighter.
A set of unique challenges separates warfighters from the rest of the population:
High Stakes Decision Making
Lethal Marksmanship
Predictable Unpredictability
Environmental Extremes
Relentless Load Carriage
A Call to Service
I described these briefly in a social media post (swipe through the carousel below).
As I look at those six characteristics of a warfighter, I currently engage with zero of them. If I don’t fight wars and I don’t take on any of the challenges that I use to describe what makes a warfighter, then how can I claim to be one?
Warfighter vs War_Fighter
A warfighter is less defined by what he does and more defined by how he does it.
Consider the traits that contribute to the “what” that are defined above.
What: High Stakes Decision Making
Trait: Willing to make a difficult choice and own the consequence of one’s actions
What: Lethal Marksmanship
Trait: Aiming, pulling the trigger, and confirming the kill (metaphorically speaking, of course)
What: Predictable Unpredictability
Trait: Expecting the unexpected and remaining as prepared as possible
What: Environmental Extremes
Trait: Respecting and leveraging discomfort as an operational advantage
What: Relentless Load Carriage
Trait: Remaining committed but also knowing when to cut ties with dead weight
What: A Call to Service
Trait: Working toward something bigger than your own self interests
“If I’d have done it for the money then I’d have been a fucking lawyer.”
Our job should not define us.
Ironically, I’d advise a warfighting professional to discover who he or she is independent of his or her military rank and role. Service members can struggle when their uniform is stripped away during the transition to suit and tie civilian life, especially if they do not define their own core values and apply them to a new purpose that is both aligned and fulfilling.
Victor vs Victim
I do not identify with the position or profession of warfighter but I do identify with the values that made me effective during my time in the Rangers.
If I further distill down the six I shared above, I value:
Responsibility (High Stakes Decision Making)
Follow-Through (Lethal Marksmanship)
Preparedness (Predictable Unpredictability)
Challenge (Environmental Extremes)
Commitment (Relentless Load Carriage)
Service (A Call to Service)
From Victim to Victor.
I must admit that I tried so hard to redefine myself as a coach that I abandoned these six positive values while embracing the comfort of living in extremes - too much “sex, drugs, and rock & roll,” and too little sleep, sobriety, and consistency. I was not a warfighter. I was a victim of my own mindset. Excuses were easier than action. I had to find an overwhelming intention to be a better human and give an equally intense attention to what it would take to transform good intentions into truly good deeds. After all, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
I do not believe we are remembered by our wins and losses so much as how we engaged in battle. I did not “win” in Iraq and I did not “win” in Afghanistan but I am confident I fought with honor and integrity. Likewise, I will not “win” at life - I don’t even know where the finish line lives - but I can damn sure take the initiative and fight like hell, even if overcoming some years of self-sabotage.
In the absence of a defined victory, we should adopt the victor’s ownership mindset instead of choosing the helplessness of victimhood.
A victor takes responsibility. A victor follows through. A victor uses every given day to prepare for any given day. A victor seeks and welcomes challenges. A victor remains committed in the face of adversity. A victor serves something bigger than himself (whether his god, his family, his country, the planet, or another higher cause).
A victor is a warfighter.
Are you a warfighter?
RLTW.
AGD Communications
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