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Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the

Odds

Andrew Otchie

To cite this article: Andrew Otchie (2019) Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds,
The RUSI Journal, 164:5-6, 155-156, DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2019.1694273

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2019.1694273

Published online: 29 Nov 2019.

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could reasonably be interpreted
as a visible sign of the growth
of the British ‘fiscal-military
state’. But Cormack cautions
the reader against adopting this
thesis wholeheartedly, drawing
attention to the shortcomings of
the reform in practice. Cormack
explains how, for example, at the
commencement of the ‘reform’,
local excise collectors were put
in the position of making these
financial arrangements as a virtual
favour. Understandably, they
reacted by levying fees of their
own devising. It took a while for
this situation to be regularised.
Cormack’s book
prompts questions
beyond its
immediate scope
Among the merits of a
discriminating work of history is
that it prompts questions beyond
its immediate scope. Cormack’s
book does not disappoint. A
standing army was often seen
as a threat to the liberties of
Englishmen. Soldiers as a group
were feared and despised. At
best they were a necessary evil,
and to anticipate modern usage,
‘expendable’. Yet paradoxically,
from the 1680s there was in place
a nationwide system (however
imperfect in execution) of relief
for old and disabled soldiers – the
‘meritorious objects of the Royal
Bounty’, as they were characterised
in parliamentary debate. A
military covenant in rudimentary
form clearly existed. As Cormack
proposes, the contrast between
in-built prejudice and practical
philanthropy may be attributed to
an acknowledgement on the part
of the Crown of service faithfully
rendered; fear of the latent power
of discontented soldiery; and, at
the upper reaches of establishment
culture, an imitation of the grand
establishment at the Hôtel des
Invalides in Paris.
But one can go beyond these
conclusions by suggesting that
a scheme of residential care
and an award of an extra-mural
payment to deserving ex-soldiers
was attuned to the contemporary
charitable impulses in favour of the
tractable, virtuous and industrious
poor, properly situated (under
God) within a hierarchical social
framework. Further widening the
enquiry, it is plain that there were
imperial benefits to be harvested
from charitable foundations
where religious, commercial and
philanthropic endeavour meshed
with such geopolitical initiatives
as the peopling of the military
frontiers in Georgia and Nova
Scotia with disbanded soldiers
and sailors.
For the military reader of
today, the prime interest of this
insightful study must be that it
gives historical continuity to the
notion that society owes a tangible
debt of gratitude to fighting
men (and women) who have
served it well. The importance
of the book to historians of the
early modern British Army has
already been noted, as well as the
revelations it makes about the
harsh existence of labouring men.
Cormack’s work stands complete
and alone in this (double) regard.
But to this reviewer’s mind, it
is also tentatively suggestive of
connections to the wider topics
of state-directed social care to the
‘deserving poor’ and, to stretch a
point, links between the buoyant
charity sector of Georgian
England and imperial expansion
by force of arms. Cormack’s book
can be confidently recommended
to anyone interested in these
topics. n
Alan J Guy was Director of the
National Army Museum, London,
2003–10.
DOI:10.1080/03071847.2019.1694272.
Reviews
Can’t Hurt Me:
Master Your Mind
and Defy the Odds
David Goggins
Lioncrest Publishing, 2018
I
n Can’t Hurt Me: Master
Your Mind and Defy the
Odds, David Goggins claims
that most of us only use a small
fraction of our capabilities, and he
uses a deeply visceral account of
his own life story as an American
ultra-marathon runner, US Navy
SEAL, Army Ranger and member
of the Air Force Tactical Air
Control Party, to prove this. His
autobiography is atypical in many
ways: the audiobook has bonus
podcasts containing more than
two hours of additional content in
which Goggins offers even deeper
insights, through his personal
reflections on the various chapters
of his book. Goggins was not a
senior commander, but a seasoned
NCO with experience of three
services of the US military. At still
only 44 years old, and now retired
from the US military, he is an
accomplished endurance athlete,
with a number of impressive
accolades such as completing over
60 ultra-marathons, triathlons,
and ultra-triathlons.
155
 Reviews
Can’t Hurt Me should be
of interest to both military
professionals and a wider
audience – especially those
with responsibilities for
recruitment and manning issues,
or implementation of personnel
policy. Goggins divulges details
of an abusive childhood, painful
memories of a dysfunctional
family, learning difficulties,
obesity, injury, a heart defect
and shocking racism in the US.
At a certain point in his young
adulthood, he resolved to hold
himself accountable and thus
decided to join the US Air Force
Pararescue, being attracted by
the uniform, a family relative
who had served and the tales
of an experienced veteran that
spoke at his college. Goggins
describes the difficulties he had in
initially joining the military, being
challenged by the Armed Services
Vocational Aptitude Battery:
a multiple-choice test, used
to determine qualification for
enlistment into the US military.
He eventually became a member
of the US Air Force Tactical Air
Control Party but left before
serving out a full career.
Can’t Hurt
Me should be
of interest to
both military
professionals and
a wider audience
Goggins’s life spiralled
downhill but he was to return to
the US military after a television
advertisement inspired him to join
the US Navy SEALs. He spent time
as a reservist and, remarkably, had
to undertake the BUD/S (Basic
Underwater Demolition/SEAL)
Training multiple times before
he graduated in 2001. As a SEAL,
Goggins went on operational
156 © RUSI Journal July/August 2019
tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Unusually, Goggins also found his
way into US Army Ranger school
in 2004, where he graduated with
the distinction of enlisted Top
Honor Man.
One of the great strengths
of the book is the way Goggins
describes how he found himself
taking on a leadership position – a
result of rigourous self-discipline
and the determination to not give
up. The book brings home how
differently Goggins’s life could
have transpired and the weight
of the personal decisions that he
made. Moreover, when the US Air
Force failed to tap into Goggins’s
full potential, the US Navy SEALs
did not. A very good argument
for the retention and expansion
of elite special forces can be
made from the material set out
in this book. A further question
that arises from the book is what
strategies may be devised to find,
recruit, motivate and retain men
such as Goggins, and then return
them to civilian life.
Can’t Hurt Me also recounts
Operation Red Wings, a joint US
military operation that took place
in 2005, in the Pech District of
Kunar province, Afghanistan. A
team of four Navy SEALs had
been tasked for surveillance
and reconnaissance of a group
of structures known to be used
by insurgents, but fell into an
ambush, just hours after inserting
into the area by fastrope from an
MH-47 helicopter. Three of the
four SEALs were killed, and all
eight US Navy SEALs and eight
US Army Special Operations
aviators sent in aid were killed. It
was this tragedy that led Goggins
to compete in long-distance
running, with the aim of raising
money for the Special Operations
Warrior Foundation. Interestingly,
Goggins’s military experiences
did not leave him overcome
with PTSD, a phenomenon
experienced all too often by many
of his contemporary veterans.
While this could be because of
something that can be attributed
to Goggins himself, or the
structures around him, the book
offers hope that it is possible to
experience a thrilling military
career, at the very sharp end, and
then after leaving service, go on to
make further accomplishments in
civilian life.
One of the great
strengths of the
book is the way
Goggins describes
how he found
himself taking
on a leadership
position
Goggins also has interesting
comments on time management
and the use (or misuse) of social
media – he avoids it, and laments
that: ‘Our culture has become
hooked on the quick-fix, the life
hack, efficiency. Everyone is on
the hunt for that simple action
algorithm that nets maximum
profit with the least amount
of effort’ (p. 249). Can’t Hurt
Me is remarkable for the stark
emotional intelligence it displays,
how it describes Goggins’s use of
negative experiences to fuel his
drive and, indeed, defy the odds.
Some criticism has however been
made over his use of profane
language, in that he does not tone
it down, and he has even faced
accusations of misogyny as a
result. Notwithstanding, the book
is gripping and invites further
thinking on how we could all
achieve more. n
Andrew Otchie is a Flight
Lieutenant (RAF Reserves) and
practises law in London.
DOI:10.1080/03071847.2019.1694273.