One of the more daunting tasks of basic SEAL training was swimming in the shark-infested waters off the coast of California. Not only was the swimming itself difficult, but also never being quite sure how dangerous the situation was added tension, since “beneath the surface was a prehistoric creature just waiting to bite you in half” (51). In the end, only the trainees’ conviction that they were doing something worthwhile—that their work was honorable—enabled them to do their duty.

When US forces captured Saddam Hussein, McRaven was tasked with overseeing him in prison. Hussein was threatening and intimidating in person, but every day for a month, McRaven entered his cell to purposefully show that he wasn’t afraid: “The message was clear. He was no longer important. He could no longer intimidate those around him” (53). McRaven makes the point that bullies are everywhere, but standing up to them takes away their power. In the end, courage wins the day.

During training with Scuba equipment and newer rebreather technology, McRaven’s instructors reminded their recruits that the exercises designed to test their diving abilities were “the most technically difficult part of basic SEAL training” (56), warning that diving was the most likely, of all their endeavors, to result in the injury or death of a recruit.