Most Disciplined Armies In The World

While a country’s military success depends on many factors like strategy, technology, and logistics, one thing they can’t do without is highly disciplined troops trained to keep their cool in the most dangerous situations known to man. Strap on your combat boots and get in formation, as we march through some of the most disciplined armies in the world!

China

The People’s Liberation Army of China is the world’s largest military force. With more than 2.5 million personnel, discipline is a huge part of the PLA’s military education from day one. Recruits are taught that loyalty to the state of China should come above all, and that extends to subscribing to a strict chain of command and rigorous physical activity.

As part of their combat readiness training, new recruits are instructed to run a minimum of 3 miles every day and are often exposed to harrowing, unexpected live fire war simulations throughout the day and night. The training becomes even more challenging for the PLA Special Operations unit, who face unimaginably scary training sessions, including jumping into a river from a 30 foot cliff with rocks jutting out everywhere.

Even scarier is something called the breaking through the interdiction barrage. Official Chinese military sources describe that exercise as consisting of recruits having to scramble over ten fences, while heavy machine guns are fired into the air above their heads, all of which must be completed after a 25 mile load carrying march.

PLA Starts Annual Training for 2024 by CCTV Video News Agency

The training programs faced by PLA recruits are so grueling that approximately 50 to 90 of every 100 recruits fail the initial training program alone. Serious physical and psychological discipline is essential if candidates have any hope of getting through the demanding training, and for those who do make it through, the pressure only heightens.

If that pressure ever proves too much, quitting isn’t much better. Chinese soldiers face severe penalties for quitting, that include being banned from foreign travel, fined the equivalent of thousands of dollars, and even publicly shamed in extreme cases. PLA personnel can also be forcibly dismissed from their posts for almost 40 different violations, including disobedience, laziness, and flinching from battle.

In fact, in 2020, China’s president Xi Jinping even went as far as commanding his troops not to fear meeting an early demise in the line of duty. Despite the harsh conditions, the PLA still receives plenty of volunteers keen to take on service for their country, so much so that the PLA hasn’t needed to enforce conscription since 1949.

What really sets China’s soldiers apart is an extremely intense sense of unflinching national pride, purpose and determination, which comes in part from the intense state controlled propaganda the Chinese public are subject to throughout their lives. That focus on national pride can be witnessed in full force at China’s National Day Parade, held every decade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

15 military units march in China's largest National Day parade by The Star

During such parades, battalions of the PLA’s Ground Force, Air Force, and Navy can be seen confidently marching in near flawless synchronicity, which can only be achieved through endless hours of dedicated practice.

Even China’s paramilitary units such as the People’s Armed Police, demonstrate a high degree of enforced discipline, often being made to keep sharp pins in the collars of their uniforms to correct their posture while on duty.

United States of America

While China may have the world’s largest army, the United States of America arguably has some of the most military experience of all. From the two World Wars and Vietnam War of the twentieth century, to their more recent service across the Middle East and Ukraine, the US Armed Forces common involvement in global conflicts has given them more combat experience than most other armed forces.

To truly prepare its soldiers for deployment at any time and any place, the US Army, one of 6 total service branches of the USAF enforces some of the rigorous training programs in the world. New recruits are usually trained at one of five army bases across the US, with more than 50% undergoing the intense basic training bootcamp at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

Army Basic Combat Training 2023 - Fort Jackson, South Carolina by Project SupremeSoldier

Trainees are inducted on an intense 10 week program which is broken down into different color coded phases. The second and most dreaded of the four phases, the three week long red phase, sees trainees spend almost all their time failing.

The red phase is deliberately designed for recruits to build resilience and overcome adversity, being assigned tasks that are near impossible to complete, to ensure they develop the ability to learn from failure and adapt.

The most feared challenge during the red phase is gas chamber training, which is about as much fun as it sounds. During the gas chamber drill, new recruits remove their gas masks while standing inside a room fogged out with tear gas, allowing the dense fumes to painfully penetrate their eyes, nose, and lungs. When you’ve learned to deal with a situation like that in a calm and collected manner, and keep going, it’s fair to say you’re at least a little disciplined!

Army Basic Training: Gas Chamber (Episode 5) by The U.S. Army

While the boot camp drills for the land based US Army push civilian hopefuls to their absolute limit, it’s the amphibious Navy SEALs special operations unit that’s regarded as the most lethal and self disciplined across the entire US military.

SEALs, short for Sea, Air and Land Teams, can expertly operate across every type of terrain and are assigned only the most difficult missions, including capturing high value targets or gathering intelligence behind enemy lines.

Over 90% of candidates drop out during the merciless, year long SEAL initial training program, with 75% dropping out during the notorious ‘Hell Week’, which occurs only four weeks into the program.

A six day gauntlet of severe physical and mental exercise, Hell week is the toughest training in the U.S. Military. The week includes 130 hours of non stop, extreme physical activity, much of which takes place in and around the cold, unforgiving water of the sea, with the only rest allowed during meals and extremely rare 20 minute sleep sessions.

Navy Seals Buds Class - Hell Week Training by The U.S Military

The supreme discipline of the elite soldiers that make it through SEAL selection is proven by the achievements and unyielding determination of SEALs. Former Navy SEAL David Goggin's, for instance, went through not one but three Hell Weeks in a year after pneumonia and injuries forced him to drop out of the first two.

Not only that but David continued to accomplish unbelievable feats of endurance and discipline even after his 20 year military career. David has won numerous ultramarathons, and achieved the 2013 world record for pull ups 4,030 across 17 hours. Those achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible sense of self discipline championed by the Navy SEALs.

India

While once famous for charging into battle atop gigantic war elephants nowadays, the Indian Armed Forces are even more proficient without elephant assistance. The Indian Army boasts many of the modern world’s most skilled and experienced light infantrymen, including the Maratha and Sikh Light Infantry Regiments.

Those famous units of lightly equipped but highly mobile soldiers specialize in using their great fitness, agility, and stealth to overpower enemies. That especially dangerous task requires supreme confidence and self discipline and there’s certainly no shortage of that among the celebrated Maratha and Sikh warriors.

Those fearsome groups have fought in nearly every major conflict across Europe, the Middle East and China in the past century. In fact, those seasoned soldiers have even helped the Indian Army develop a reputation as the best in the world at high altitude mountain warfare, thanks to their significant contributions to the Siachen conflict.

The Siachen Glacier, is known as the world’s highest battleground at over 20,000 feet above sea level, and it’s where India and its neighboring rival Pakistan have been fighting for control since 1984.

The Indian soldiers deployed there are drilled at the renowned High Altitude Warfare School, in the Jammu and Kashmir region of India. With temperatures frequently dipping below minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit, soldiers are forced to learn the discipline to survive and operate within one of the planet’s most inhospitable and hazardous environments.

Indian Army - High Altitude Warfare School ( HAWS) by IndiaDefence

Their rigorous training includes snow cliff climbing and regular 20 mile long mountain treks. But that’s not all. There’s also exercises where soldiers learn to ski down 80 degree angle slopes with 44 pound weights on their backs, and week long mountain survival training, where soldiers make their own igloos, dig snow trenches, and rescue comrades from avalanches.

The High Altitude Warfare School is even frequented by the special forces of the USA, UK, and Germany, who often visit to train in the harsh conditions as well as learning from the Indian military ethos.

Indian soldiers are taught that discipline is equal to strong patriotism and the ability to show courage under all circumstances. It's almost like they’re living through the plot of a thrilling Bollywood action movie.

British SAS

The British Armed Forces have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the most well respected soldiers in the world. But some of the most impressive can be found in the renowned SAS. Created during World War II to parachute troops behind enemy lines, the Special Air Service are the world’s longest standing special operations unit.

The SAS is widely known for its secrecy due to the nature of the missions they undertake which include hostage rescue and covert reconnaissance. For that reason, the inner workings of the SAS are a closely guarded secret, and its members often don’t tell anyone except close family that they even part of it.

What we do know is that the regiment has a wide range of responsibilities, which each require a huge amount of specialist training and discipline. The SAS only accepts the cream of the crop into their ranks, and only existing military personnel are eligible to sign up.

To thin out the herd of already experienced soldiers, the SAS holds one of the most rigorous selection processes in modern special operations. Candidates are first dropped into the perilous Brecon Beacons Mountain range of South Wales, where they complete three weeks of continual 12 to 50 mile forced marches, while carrying up to 66 pounds of gear.

Tests of mental and physical discipline continue with candidates moving onto tackling six weeks of strategic jungle training in Belize, Brunei or Malaysia which is reported to involve live ammunition. Those live rounds are typically fired at the ground by soldiers feet by those conducting the exercises, but there’s a definite risk and very real sense of danger that’s intended to really put the pressure onto the recruits.

British SAS Selection and Training | Foreign Special Ops by American Heroes Channel

While cross country marches and treks through jungles would test the upper limits of most people’s athletic ability, for SAS troops, it’s a minimum requirement. Those who make it through the physical tests face their final brutal trials of mental discipline via escape and evasion tactic training and simulated interrogation.

As part of that, candidates are subject to intense tactical questioning, to test how well they can withhold classified information under extreme conditions. After days of standing in stress positions, while being blasted by disorienting white noise for hours at a time, only the most supremely self disciplined among them resist breaking down.

More than 85% of candidates won’t finish the selection course and by the end of the course, an initial batch of around 200 candidates will have dwindled to roughly 25 to 30. Those who make it to the end are rewarded with an official SAS badge marking the beginning of their service which dons a winged knife with the motto ‘who dares wins’ overlaid.

The SAS have provided specialist aid in numerous global conflicts, including the Afghanistan war, in which they were heavily involved in highly tactical missions against the Taliban between 2001 and 2014, as well as the Operation Ellamy intervention in Libya in 2011.

We all know that with age comes wisdom, and as the oldest modern special forces unit on Earth, the British SAS personnel have dared and won enough times to hold the title as some of the most disciplined soldiers around.

Turkey

Across the Middle Eastern nation of Turkey, there’s a popular proverb that says “every Turk is born a soldier” and it certainly makes sense when you look at the country’s rich military history.

Turkey emerged from the Ottoman Empire, which ruled a vast portion of the Middle East and Eastern Europe between 1299 and 1923. The empire’s expansive growth was owed to the harsh discipline imposed on its Turkish soldiers, who were mostly rural peasants used to accepting great hardship.

While the Turkish warriors bested numerous fierce opponents like the Mongols and European crusaders throughout history, they weren’t afraid to adopt the disciplinary tactics of other nations too.

For much of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, Ottoman Turks employed the notoriously ruthless military doctrine of the former German state of Prussia, in which troops underwent such brutal drills that they’re said to have been more afraid of their own commanders than their enemies on the battlefield.

The Turkish Land Forces we see today trace their origins back to those battle hardened Ottomans. But while they’re still among the most well trained and disciplined soldiers worldwide, they no longer serve to conquer new lands like their imperial forefathers once did. Rather, they’re now primarily focused on combating Kurdish insurgents, both internally and across Turkey’s bordering nations of Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Military service in Turkey is regarded as a sacred and honorable duty, deeply rooted in the nation’s culture, so a 6 month long military conscription is enforced for all able bodied men between 20 and 41 years of age. Those conscripts are drilled by ironfisted commanders, who are strictly against any softness being displayed throughout their 12 month compulsory service.

Some of the toughest training regimes are experienced by Turkey’s amphibious Underwater Offense Unit, whose 52 week intensive course includes heart stopping feats like high altitude free fall parachuting and 1.5 mile sniping practice. Needless to say, only the steadiest of hands and minds can succeed in such tasks.

In recent decades, those highly disciplined soldiers have gone on to play key roles in volatile NATO peacekeeping operations across Lebanon, Libya and Somalia, providing a very intimidating presence indeed.

Nepalese Gurkhas

When an army lives by the motto “better to die than be a coward”, you know they don’t take their military duties too lightly. That motto belongs to the Gurkhas: a group of warriors originating from the mountainous Gorkha District of Nepal, considered by some to be the toughest, bravest, and most fearsome soldiers on Earth.

Tales of their legendary battle prowess date back to 1814 when the British East India Company invaded Nepal, only to suffer massive casualties by the terrifying, knife wielding Gurkhas, who soon forced a peace treaty to be signed.

In memoirs of the invasion, one British soldier even noted: “I never saw more steadiness or bravery exhibited in my life. Run they would not, and of death they seemed to have no fear.” The British Army, so taken with the Nepali soldiers’ skills, have been recruiting them into their own ranks ever since!

To date, more than 200,000 have served in the British Brigade of Gurkhas, across both World Wars and numerous other armed conflicts. In that time the Gurkhas have performed extremely impressive feats of heroism and self discipline.

In 1945, during the Second World War, 27 year old British Gurkha rifleman, Lachhiman Gurung, was defending a trench in Myanmar against more than 200 advancing Japanese troops. Three grenades landed at his position, and he tossed two of them back but the third exploded in his right hand. Despite suffering near fatal injuries, Gurung simply continued firing with his left hand for four more hours at his horrified opponents!

Having singlehandedly fought against overwhelming odds, driving the attack back successfully, Gurung became one of 26 Gurkha soldiers to receive a Victoria Cross the British military’s most prestigious award for bravery.

That kind of bravery comes in part from the Gurkha’s super intense training methods. Recruited at just 18 to 19 years of age, more than 10,000 of the young Gurkhas face one of the world’s most competitive fitness exams every year.

A three mile race up the steep Himalayan foothills of Nepal, while carrying 55 pound baskets of sand, is just one of the demanding challenges they face and only the strongest two to three percent are accepted into the Brigade of Gurkhas. Those who qualify as Gurkhas often serve 15 years’ service, with even some continuing on to their mid 40s.

Gurkhas are famous for their characteristic weapon: a curved, 18 inch knife known as a khukuri. It takes great physical and mental discipline to wield that iconic melee weapon effectively. While a gun causes damage with the simple pull of a trigger, khukuri wielding Gurkhas need extensive martial arts training and muscle power to master the weapon.

Kukri Training With British Army Gurkha Recruits | Forces TV by BFBS Forces News

They also need the mental strength to fight in close quarters, rather than from a safer distance. While they say you should never bring a knife to a gunfight, I’d probably grant an exception to those famously ferocious fighters.

Australia

On the global military stage, the Australian Defense Force is often overlooked, due to its relatively small size of around 90,500 personnel. However, what the Land Down Under lacks in manpower, it certainly makes up for in expertise.

The Australian Army’s Special Air Service Regiment, for instance, is an elite unit of Australian commandos that specializes in using smaller teams to conduct covert reconnaissance missions.

Only the most courageous, capable, and self disciplined soldiers can execute those highly dangerous operations, so the SASR follows closely in the footsteps of the renowned British SAS. The 21 day SASR selection course, conducted in the rugged mountains of western Australia, is known to be so physically and psychologically demanding that candidates often lose around 30 pounds of bodyweight just by participating.

Special Operations Command puts potential recruits to the test by Defence Australia

The training exercises include intentionally grueling, near impossible tasks, like working as a team to move a Jeep with its wheels removed across 3 miles within a time limit. Ironically, recruits are provided with tires to aid in the exercise, despite the Jeep having no wheels, a sign of the slightly cruel sense of humor in the SASR’s training style.

As a matter of fact, those commandos in training are, strangely, officially required to maintain a strong sense of humor throughout the excruciating procedures, or risk being disqualified, which must take a special kind of self discipline in itself. That might seem like a strange thing to care about, but Australian military officials consider humor vital for forming team bonds, and staying positive against the toughest conditions.

So, if you ever decide to try out for the Australian special forces, remember to come armed with a rock hard mindset.

Philippines Scout Rangers

When you picture an army’s special operations unit, you’ll probably imagine souped up troops in uniform with cutting edge weapons and technology. However, there are some special forces out there that prove that the real key to military success comes down to the disciplined minds and bodies of the soldiers behind those uniforms.

The First Scout Ranger Regiment of the Philippines Army is known worldwide as experts in unconventional anti-guerilla operations, particularly across challenging jungle terrains. Like many other special operations units around the world, only previously trained soldiers are eligible to become scout rangers.

But only if they can make it through the arduous selection process. Candidates are stripped of all previous ranks and subjected to the punishing Scout Ranger training course at Camp Tecson in San Miguel.

Recruits’ pain tolerance is tested from day one of selection, known as ‘reception day’, on which they are tasked with ingesting huge mouthfuls of blistering raw chili peppers after 5 hours of non stop physical challenges.

Commandos Go Through Military Training To Join Elite Ranger Crew | Special Forces | Wonder by Wonder

Reception day is designed to break as many recruits as possible until only the physically and mentally strongest go onto complete the rest of the training. Past Reception Day, the 10 long months of training to become a scout ranger at Camp Tecson in San Miguel includes daily timed 13 mile runs in full gear in temperatures up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks to their rigorous displays of determination and discipline throughout their service, those who make it through to become a part of the Philippines’ Scout Rangers are some of the most well respected soldiers out there.

Canada

While the land of Canada is often known as the home of some of the most apologetic individuals; its armed forces are unapologetically focused on producing some of the most disciplined and determined troops in the world.

As far back as the First World War, the Canadian Corps were recognized as ‘shock troops’, rigorously trained men who carried out the hardest tasks, like penetrating enemy German trenches in head on attacks.

Over a century later, the Canadian Armed Forces are still extremely well respected for their determination and disciplined mindsets. More recently, Canadian soldiers have maintained their reputation through their contributions to the War in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014.

Laden with 150 pound packs, Canadian soldiers like those from other militaries involved in the conflict, patrolled countless miles of hazardous Afghan terrain, while under constant threat of attack by enemy militants expected to endure the sweltering heat without complaint or reluctance.

But it’s the secretive Canadian special forces unit, Joint Task Force 2, that executed some of the most critical and complex operations in Afghanistan and beyond. Even US Navy SEALs have commented that JTF2 are equally capable as Navy SEALs in many areas, particularly when it comes to direct action missions and surprise strikes on enemy targets.

YouTube Video by Unknown

Claims of Joint Task Force 2’s world class military discipline is backed up by a string of achievements, including the elimination of more than 100 leaders of organizations like the Taliban and al-Qaeda. In 2004, JTF2 members were awarded an honorable Presidential Unit Citation by President George W. Bush, for their outstanding heroism and discipline in Afghanistan.

And in Iraq in 2017, an unnamed JTF2 soldier even acquired the world record for the longest successful sniper shot in history: a staggering distance of 2.2 miles. That kind of shooting doesn’t happen without an insane amount of self disciplined focus and practice. And considering the unit’s training includes high speed tactical operation of a range of vehicles and watercraft, it’s fair to say, with those guys on your back, there’s nowhere you can run to.

Taiwan

When it comes to military discipline, the armed forces of Taiwan have a very important reason to be on top of their game at all times. They face the constant threat of invasion by the People’s Republic of China, which claims to have major historical and economic reasons for unifying with the island nation.

Since 2004, the Taiwanese Armed Forces have been heavily priming themselves to protect their territory from sudden attacks by their much larger neighbor. The Taiwanese Marine Corps, for instance, is a top-tier amphibious military unit, well-known for its soldiers’ nerves of steel.

Those nerves are fully reinforced by the end of the 10 week training program which includes the infamous and ironically named ‘Road to Heaven’ drill. The drill involves recruits crawl bare chested over 328 feet of jagged coral rocks stopping every few feet to perform a different physical endurance exercise.

Inside Taiwan’s brutal navy frogmen bootcamp by Reuters

Throughout all of that, instructors pour salt water on the recruits to cleanse any wounds they’ve picked up along the way. Equipped with the pain tolerance and discipline to overcome such challenges, Taiwanese marines become far better prepared to handle any skirmish with any potential invaders.

All Taiwanese soldiers also benefit from Taiwan’s economic and military alliance with the USA. In 2023, the USA dispatched around 200 American military advisors to bases across Taiwan, to support their training with enhanced discipline and combat exercises. Taiwan’s special operations units have likewise engaged in secret, full scale military drills with the US Army’s First Special Forces Group.

The result of that multi decade armament campaign is a formidable national fighting force, which includes Taiwan’s Airborne Special Service Company.

Often distinguished by their scary looking ballistic face masks, those fighters have a reputation as Taiwan’s most elite unit. Built from a dream team of around 150 first class personnel, they’re said to have similar standards to the US Army’s Delta Force and British SAS.

If you were amazed at the most disciplined armies in the world, you might also want to check out our other military articles! Thanks for reading.