Dr. David Walton, Part 1: How to Succeed in Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) - Ep. 72

Dr. David “Wally” Walton is a retired Army Special Forces officer with 25 years of experience in the SF community. His career spans service with the 7th Special Forces Group, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and the Special Warfare Center and School.

Dr. Walton’s extensive operational experience includes deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of Latin America. Since retiring in 2013, he has transitioned into academia, teaching National Security Studies and Executive Leadership. His extensive research portfolio covers Security Strategy, Organizational Culture and Dynamics, and Human Performance. His deep understanding of security studies encompasses everything from tactical operations to high-level strategic policy discussions.

Currently an instructor at JSOC, Dr. Walton is a subject matter expert in Special Forces Assessment and Selection. He specializes in land navigation and runs a prep program for SFAS candidates. This is how we came across one another. We had a BTE client attend one of his land nav courses, and he returned from the experience with great things to say. So, we contacted Dr. Walton and have been recommending his course to all of our SFAS prep clients.

As we’ll discuss in this episode, land nav is becoming an increasing issue at SFAS, with failure rates due to land nav shortfalls increasing dramatically over the past several years. If you’re on your way to Special Forces Assessment and Selection, Dr. Walton’s advice and in-person courses should absolutely be included in your preparation training.

Contact Info:

You can learn more about Dr. Walton, his courses, and his books at tfvoodoo.com

He’s also on Instagram at tf_voo_doo.

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Intro to Dr. David Walton

00:02:01 Dr. Walton’s Books: “Ruck Up or Shut Up” & “Shut Up and Ruck”

00:14:38 Where to Find Dr. Walton’s Books

00:15:02 What Dr. Walton Studied for His Doctorate 

00:23:27 How did you Improve the Special Warfare Center?

00:31:05 Ratio of Injuries to Voluntarily Withdrawal From SFAS

00:37:05 Telling the Story of What Selection Actually Is 

00:41:50 The Power of Journaling

00:45:55 Important Factors & Failure Points in Prep for SFAS

00:52:22 Obesity in America & Standard American Diet

00:53:43 No Shortcuts in the SFAS

00:58:41 Outro