One Warrior's Creed - A philosophy to live by

by Steven R. Watt

If today is to be THE DAY, so be it. If you seek to do battle with me this day you will receive the best that I am capable of giving. It may not be enough, but it will be everything that I have to give and it will be impressive, for I have constantly prepared myself for this day. I have trained, drilled and rehearsed my actions so that I might have the best chance of defeating you. I have kept myself in peak physical condition, schooled myself in the martial skills and have become proficient in the application of combat tactics. You may defeat me, but you will pay a severe price and will be lucky to escape with your life. You may kill me, but I am willing to die if necessary. I do not fear Death, for I have been close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me. But I do fear the loss of my Honor and would rather die fighting than to have it said that I was without Courage. So I will fight you, no matter how insurmountable it may seem, and to the death if need be, in order that it may never be said of me that I was not a Warrior.

Warriors are natural leaders. When times of crisis appear, they are naturally sought out and looked to by those for whom the situation is overwhelming. As a wise leader once told me, “We dont pay you for the day-to-day; we pay you for that occasional time of crisis when preparation and action are combined to form a resolution.” To be constantly prepared, warrior leaders must be committed to something far beyond themselves, something that clearly both separates and defines them, something on an order of magnitude well beyond normal lifestyles.

I penned the creed that introduced this article during the closing days of my military tour in Iraq as a counterterrorism advisor to Iraqi security forces. I was reflecting on those I had known during my time in Special Forces and SWAT, the truly dangerous and deadly men with whom I had shared fear, sweat and blood, men committed to the cause of liberty, who believed that it was worth everything they had to give, even their lives. Men who exported their capability to faraway places in the world where terror and tyranny reigned, and who, within the confines of cities and jurisdictions within the greatest nation on earth, the United States of America, utilized their dedication and skill to protect the rights of those unable or unwilling to protect them for themselves. These men and women (for I personally know that courage is not limited to one gender) truly represented the commitment to selfless service and willing sacrifice honed by previous generations of warriors.

I was reflecting on a recent operation in which a good friend perished. He left behind a young family and numerous tears were shed in the days following his death. At a memorial ceremony, words had been spoken, words that indicted the special nature of his service, and it later caused me to wonder, “Why do we do this?” Why do we, the “rough men” of whom Orwell speaks, voluntarily subject ourselves to the life-long efforts required to be the warriors, to be one of Dave Grossman’s “sheepdogs”? As I reflected, I began to recognize some underlying values that were consistent among those police and military special operations colleagues with whom I served. The recognition of the constancy of those values resulted in the writing of “One Warrior's Creed,” in an attempt to verbalize the values of the warriors of our great democracy.

If today is to be THE DAY, so be it. We do not know the day or the time when we will be called on and we do not care. By living, not just practicing, the creed, we will be ready no matter when or where. The day, time or place does not matter. Stephanie Shugart, wife of MSG Randall Shugart, recipient of the Medal of Honor, said that “it takes a real man to live a creed, not just say it.”

If you seek to do battle with me... We of the creed do not go looking for the fight; those purveying evil must bring it to us. We, the “quite professionals,” have nothing to demonstrate, nothing to show, no need to brag. We quietly go about our lives. We represent, as stated by the wife of one who lives the creed, “the most dangerous nice guys you’ll ever meet.” But if you bring the battle to us, you will receive the best that I am capable of giving. We are committed to fighting you, to defending ourselves and those for whom we feel responsible, and we will give it our best effort no matter what.

It may not be enough, as we recognize that we do not control tactical environment enough to ensure the outcome...but it will be everything that I have to give and it will be impressive, for I have constantly prepared myself for this day. We recognize that the commitment and responsibility we took upon ourselves by oath requires that we put forth daily effort to ensure our skills are at their utmost when called for. I have trained, drilled and rehearsed my actions so that I might have the best chance of defeating you. Never knowing when, where or how, we accept the standard of being constantly ready. Daily, we sweat, strain and push ourselves far beyond the boundaries of mere mortals, then smile and prepare to do it again tomorrow. If the call to action never comes, we are okay with that, but we are not okay with the potential for failure due to a lack of preparation.

I have kept myself in peak physical condition, for a warrior not highly fit is less than half a warrior. I have schooled myself in the martial skills, for we recognize that to be truly ready means that we must be capable of the use of the complete range of weapons, including firearms, blunt and edged weapons, personal weapons such as hands, elbows, knees and feet, and the mind, and have become proficient in the application of combat tactics. We understand that since we dont know where or when, we must understand the range of variables existing on any terrain and we must have prepared our strategies for fighting there.

You may defeat me - we know that we are mortal, and we have no false illusions or ideas of being invulnerable - but you will pay a severe price. We will inflict upon you whatever pain and injury is necessary to assure your defeat, and you will be lucky to escape with your life. We will take your life, without remorse, if you force us to do so. We do not enjoy killing, but we recognize that the taking of the life of an evil predator may be necessary in order to ensure the safety of ourselves, our loved ones, our cherished way of life and our nation.

You may kill me, but I am willing to die if necessary. We recognize that great sacrifices have been necessary in the past in order to maintain the cause of freedom and to ensure a free society, and we honor those who have died in the cause of liberty. We also recognize that warriors must be willing to do so today and in the future, or the sacrifices of those who have paid the ultimate price in the past will become nothing more that a historical anecdote. I do not fear death, for I have been close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me. We recognize that all who have received the God-given gift of mortality die, that it is nothing to be feared for it will come to us all. We have known warriors among us who have perished. We have honored them, paid tribute to the families who raised and supported them, and thanked God for the privilege of knowing them.

But I do fear the loss of my Honor. To live honorably is the root of our zeal, and it provides the fuel for our efforts, which is why the word is capitalized. We, like the great warrior classes of old, recognize that a life without honor is wasted. We are committed to greater things than ourselves, and would rather die fighting than to have it said that I was without Courage. Courage is the exemplification of all that we hold in great value, of all that we feel is worth the ultimate price. To ever be without Courage is to truly be unarmed, unprepared and easily overcome. We can never overstate its importance, which is why it is capitalized.

So I will fight you - we strongly commit to that and exemplify it with how we live the creed - no matter how insurmountable it may seem and to the death if need be. We care not what the odds are or what the probable outcome may be. What is important is that we are there and ready in order that it may never be said of me that I was not a Warrior. To live in the shame of knowing that we capitulated, that we surrendered to fear, that we failed to exemplify the creed, that we have dishonored those before us, is a shame and humiliation beyond comprehension. That is the only thing a Warrior truly fears.

November Update

Again I have let to much time go by in my journal posting. I wanted to share something personal to me that I got to experience in the past few weeks/months. In September I decided to try out for the SWAT team thinking I would most likely not make it but would set myself up to be better prepared when I try again a second time in 2009. I did really well in the testing process (Scenario based oral board, shooting, physical challenge) and was invited to attend SWAT school with 7 other candidates. I went through SWAT school October 9 through the 16th and after successfully completing the school 6 of us were invited to join the team on a 1 year probation. So here I am officially on the SWAT team going through a 1 year probation that started on November 1st.

Of course being on the team is so much fun and the training is amazing but what really made me feel honored was realizing who I get to work with. During the SWAT school I was given a home work assignment to analyze a poem called "The Warriors Creed", written by a special forces commander named Steven Watt. Reading the creed helped me see the character type and attributes that I wish to aspire to having in this life and common denominator in many of the team members around me. Obviously no one is perfect and there are character flaws in all of us but finding these common themes and being invited to join the group was a huge honor and a humbling experience.

The creed states that if today is to be THE DAY, then so be it. It reflects an individual who has spent their time preparing, training, drilling and rehearsing for THE DAY and an attitude that suggests that I will give everything I have in the final fight and if its not enough then it will still certainly impress the enemy and cost a severe price if not their very life in the fight. It goes on speaking on honor and courage yet it describes a humble attitude.

It talks about "the most dangerous nice guys you'll ever meet" and almost every trait can be viewed from a mortal and physical understanding to an eternal and spiritual one too. Anyway I will post the whole creed in a further post. I am honored and excited to be part of the SWAT team and I hope I can make a positive contribution to the team. I have been asked to show them my diligence in improvement of three areas of my life on a weekly basis. The three areas are: shooting, tactical knowledge, and physical preparation or exercise.