Andy McNab on special forces performance

Andy McNab is perhaps the most recognisable name of any special forces operator in the world. Andy served in the Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland where he was awarded the Military medal for gallantry, he entered the Special Air Services in 1984 and worked on both covert and overt operations including and drug operations in the Middle East and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland
Andy is best know for commanding an 8 man SAS patrol designated Bravo Two Zero in Iraq, which he wrote about in the book bearing the same name.
The book tells of a mission that was compromised leading to three of the eight dying and four (including Andy being captured, held and tortured for 6 weeks).
I wanted to talk to Andy about his choices to join the military, what selection is like for special forces applicants and what qualities are selected for. And Andy as you’d expect tells it like it is. There is a clarity of understanding about what is required, how you undertake highly specialised manoeuvres and how you achieve high-performance under the intensity of combat.
But this isn’t all just aggression and attack (although there is a bit of that). Listen carefully and you’ll hear a profound lessons in how you select people, how you train people to perform and how you deliver when it matters.
We also discuss the finding that Andy is a diagnosed psychopath, or more specifically a functioning psychopath, how he found out, what that meant for his military performance as well as how understanding that has helped him engage more effectively in day-to-day life.
It was an honour to speak to Andy, not everything in special forces applies to our sporting and working lives, but here are some super interesting insights in this conversation - of which I have no doubt you could apply - it certainly, certainly offers a contrast.
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
Hi, I'm Steve Ingham Sports and Performance Scientist co-founder at Supporting Champions. I have the privilege of supporting over 1000 athletes of which over 200 have gone on to win World or Olympic medals. For the last 25 years I've been fascinated by, researched and applied innovative ideas to help people succeed and now I want to share those performance strategies with you.
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[@kenjiwa5895]

Very interesting interview as usual with Andy McNab.
Thank you for posting (I'd listened to the podcast a few times and found this video by chance).
Always instructive to hear the views of Andy and other people like him who've seen a lot and are also very thoughtful and drew a lot of lessons.

[@colinstewart1432]

He's definitely the go-to guy on military things. He's been there, done that, and headbutted the t-shirt.

[@cycleSCUBA]

​@@colinstewart1432 - McNabb is a bullshitter.

[@roadcyclingchannel1529]

do you need a phd in rocket science to join up lol ?

[@colinstewart1432]

Only joining NASA. More important for the Army is you enjoy a good scrap.

[@ThePedroski007]

No but from your comment you would fail.

[@colinstewart1432]

Andy Mcnab knows what he's talking about. He's been there, done that and headbutted the t-shirt. 🤜💥🤪

[@supportingchampions]

He sure does and it's a real and lived experience - one that isn't fabricated for TV

[@AllyRose1974.]

Really interesting!!!