Ep 560: AFSW Attribute - Drive

Ones Ready

Aaron Love, Trent Seegmiller, and Jared "Peaches" Pietras

Education, Special Reconnaissance, Special Operations, Air Force, Pj, Combat Control, Tactical Air Control Party, Self-improvement, Fitness, Selection, Health & Fitness, Pararescue, Special Warfare, Tacp, Government, Assessment And Selection, Cct

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Send us Fan Mail This episode breaks down one of the most misunderstood attributes in Air Force Special Warfare: drive. Aaron explains why drive and grit aren’t about hype, yelling, or being the best on day one—they’re about self-initiation, perseverance, and long-term commitment when the outcome is uncertain. Using real selection examples, RAND research, and hard lessons from the pipeline, this episode shows how instructors actually evaluate drive: effort when exhausted, bouncing back from f...

Transcript

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0:00.0	If we only selected for people that were high drive, high grit, and we wanted people that were a fully finished product, our attrition rate would go to 99% in a heartbeat.
0:08.4	What the instructors are looking for at Air Force Special Warfare Assessment selection is that you have the raw materials to build that grit, to build that drive, to continue in the face of adversity.
0:19.9	One's ready.
0:23.3	Go!
0:26.9	So you guys are going into Special Warfare Assessment Selection.
0:29.7	It is an attributes-based selection model.
0:32.1	What does that mean?
0:33.0	Guys, are we running right now to get better than we're practicing running?
0:36.4	Practicing.
0:37.2	Right?
0:38.3	I can't.
0:39.3	Freaking.
0:40.3	So there's a holistic picture that we're looking for.
0:43.3	The instructors are giving you input and we're expecting an output.
0:47.3	And everything is for a reason.
0:49.3	If you guys haven't heard my spiel yet, everything that we do,
0:52.3	every single exercise has a connection to the job that you're trying to do.
1:00.0	We don't want people at in-doc special warfare assessment selection, whatever they're going to call the new course when it inevitably changes somewhere down the road.
1:07.9	I don't care what they call it.
1:09.7	What I need is you need to show me the raw materials for the things that I don't care what they call it. What I need is you to show me the raw
1:11.8	materials for the things that I want to build you into. Just like everything else, it's a crawl, walk,
1:18.2	run. I can run a key slur just like this. All the way to HECC and never quit. All the way to
	...

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