In a remote corner of the world twelve dark figures plummet through the night time sky,
opening their parachutes just two thousand feet above the ground so as not to give themselves
away to the terrorist grouped below.
Thousands of miles away a cruel dictator sends his forces to crush rebels fighting to create
a democratic government.
A single laser beam, invisible to the naked eye, paints the lead tank and moments later
a barrage of hellfire missiles devastate the entire formation.
In the South China Sea one nation's bullying has alarmed its smaller neighbors, and a hundred
feet beneath the waves a diver delicately cuts into a communications cable and inserts
a remote tap, giving US forces access to classified intelligence.
These men are all members of one of the most elite group of special forces in the world,
and today you're going to find out if you’ve got what it takes to join their ranks.
Could you survive Navy SEAL training?
Special operations forces have existed in virtually every military.
While not formally recognized as an actual military unit until after World War II, special
operations forces have historically been tasked with missions too risky or delicate for normal
troops to conduct.
An operator is a cut above a normal soldier, typically more intelligent, better trained,
and far better equipped.
In modern times special forces are asked to take on a variety of missions, and some are
sent on operations so risky yet so vital for national security, that they are forbidden
from wearing any rank or insignia, or from carrying any personal identification.
If caught they will not be rescued by their government, who use their shadowy status to
gain plausible deniability and avoid international repercussions.
Special ops forces come in a variety of types, each typically specialized or renowned for
certain types of operations.
Some, like the US Army's Rangers, are well known for operating behind enemy lines and
recruiting and training partisan forces.
Others such as Germany's GSG 9 are world famous for counter-terrorism operations, and if you're
an evil terrorist there's nobody you want knocking on your front door less than Germany's
most elite cops.
Yet out of all the formidable special operations units throughout the world, few have the reputation,
or are as feared, as the US Navy's SEALs.
These elite warriors have a specialization that few others can match, as they are trained
to operate from the sea, air, or land- hence the name SEAL- and sometimes operate in all
three realms simultaneously with a drop from an aircraft over water then requiring a swim
to shore and a trek to the enemy.
Specializing in everything from reconnaissance to direct action missions- or in special forces
parlance, killing the enemy and breaking his shit- Navy SEALs have seen action around the
world, and few soldiers present or past are as skilled as these elite operators.
But what is their training like, and do you really have what it takes to join the ranks
of the SEALs?
SEALs operate in the most dangerous and remote parts of the world, and thus their training
program is meant to produce sailors who can handle any sort of situation without panicking.
Unique amongst the other special operations units of the US military, SEALs on average
lose more personnel in training than they do in actual combat, although the classified
nature of some of their engagements might be keeping accurate combat casualties out
of the public eye.
Blacking out under water or suffering heat strokes are common, and drowning leads the
way in SEAL training fatalities- hardly surprising given the fact that SEALs must be expert swimmers.
Injuries in SEAL training are common place, and expected by the instructors who always
have medical personnel on standby.
SEAL training is widely regarded as the most difficult in the world, and it takes over
thirty months for a candidate to complete his training and be ready for his first real
deployment.
During that time they will go through various evolutions, or events in the training schedule,
with each one designed to push candidates past their physical and mental limits.
Of all who enter training to become a SEAL, only 1% will ever complete their training-
the rest either quitting or being forced out due to injury.
In fact instructors constantly encourage trainees to quit, known as 'ringing the bell' for the
iconic silver bell that can be rung in some events to indicate that you finally quit.
Becoming a SEAL is a completely voluntary process, and anyone can volunteer as long
as they qualify.
In order to qualify you must be an active-duty member of the US Navy, be male, be 28 or younger,
have at least 40/20 vision in one eye and 70/20 in the other- although corrective surgery
is possible.
You must also be a US citizen, pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, and
pass an initial physical examination that includes swimming 500 yards in 12.5 minutes
or less, rest for ten minutes, then do 42 push-ups in under two minutes, rest for two
minutes, do 50 sit-ups in under two minutes, rest again for two minutes, do six pull-ups,
rest for ten minutes, and then run 1.5 miles in boots and long pants in less than 11.5
minutes.
If you qualify then you're accepted into SEAL training, which starts with Basic Underwater
Demolition/SEAL, or BUDS, training, which is itself divided up into four phases: Indoctrination,
Basic Conditioning, SCUBA training, and Land-warfare Training.
BUDS will last for seven of the most grueling months of your life, though it starts out
with the five week Indoctrination course where you learn what is expected of you as a SEAL
and their ways.
It also gives you a chance to prepare for the grueling challenges ahead of you.
After the luxury that is Indoctrination is over, eight weeks of Basic Conditioning begin,
and this is where you will be pushed to your physical limits and most drop-outs happen.
Each day you will engage in running, swimming for one to two miles in the open ocean, calisthenics,
and learning how to operate small rafts.
Each of these events are timed and your scores must improve continuously or you will be discharged.
One of the most important, and dangerous, aspects of basic conditioning is known as
drown-proofing, during which you will learn how to swim with both your hands and your
feet bound together.
To pass this evolution you must complete a course where you bob for five minutes, float
for five minutes, swim 100 meters, bob for two minutes, do some forward and backward
flips, swim to the bottom of the pool and retrieve an object with your teeth, and return
to the surface and bob for five more minutes.
Yet another evolution meant to condition you mentally is known as surf torture, or cold
water conditioning.
Here you must do calisthenics in the surf, which is a chilly 65 degrees (18 C), and run
a mile and a half down the beach in wet clothes and boots.
Then you're ordered to hop back down into the surf and do it all over again.
If you've made it this far, congratulations, because before you leave this phase of training
you'll have to go through the infamous Hell Week.
This is an evolution where you'll train non-stop for five days and five nights, with a grand
total of four hours of sleep.
You'll begin at sundown on Sunday and end at sundown on the next Friday, and during
that time you will train nonstop.
You will spend Hell Week carrying your inflatable rubber Zodiac raft over your head as you run
from event to event, taking part in timed exercises, crawling through mud flats that
are freezing cold, and diving into the chilly ocean for swims.
You may not get much sleep, but you'll at least get four hot meals a day- a luxury when
for most of your training you've been eating cold MREs.
The hot food is meant to be a psychological boost and comfort, as you'll be freezing solid
the entire time.
This may seem excessive, but the extreme training is critical as on a mission you and your team's
lives may depend on ignoring sub-zero temperatures and your discomfort.
SEALs don't just need tough candidates though, they need intelligent ones.
Throughout Hell Week you'll be expected to listen very closely to orders, as once more
in combat hearing an order properly no matter how mentally and physically exhausted you
may be will be critical.
For those trainees paying attention, it might even lead to a reward- for instance an instructor
may leave out part of an order to see who's actually listening.
If conducting exercises with a 300 pound (136 kg) log, the instructor may purposefully leave
out mention of the log from one of the orders, and a sharp-eared trainee will catch this
and be rewarded with his team doing the task without the added burden.
They may even be rewarded by being allowed to stand by a fire and rest, or sit and sleep
for a few precious minutes.
While you're catching a few quick Z's, other teams who weren't paying attention will be
lugging their heavy log around with them, only to discover at the end, much to their
dismay, that doing so was completely unnecessary.
If you've made it past the conditioning phase, now you're going to enter your SCUBA training.
For eight weeks you'll train in a variety of SCUBA devices- many of them classified-
and train in operations such as deploying from a submarine, or conducting an airborne
insertion into the ocean.
After the eight week SCUBA phase, you'll enter your final phase: Land Warfare.
Here is where you'll learn things such as intelligence-gathering, reconnaissance, patrolling,
and close-quarters battle.
You'll learn how to execute assaults into enemy-held structures, and how to use edged
weapons such as knives to defend yourself.
You'll also learn how to react to and neutralize enemy snipers, and learn how to operate any
vehicle while executing high-speed and evasive driving techniques.
You'll be trained in small unit tactics and how to handle explosives, how to infiltrate
enemy lines, snatch-and-grab techniques, and proper handling of prisoners and high-value
friendly VIPs.
You'll also learn how to survive in any environment and provide medical treatment if needed.
If you've made it this far, then congratulations- the hard part is mostly over.
From here you'll head over to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Army Airborne School where you'll
learn how to parachute from an airplane.
After three weeks of airborne school, you'll then head to Seal Qualification Training,
your final phase of training.
Here you'll undergo fifteen weeks of additional training which will improve basic skills and
teach you new tactics and techniques required for your assignment to an active SEAL platoon.
At this point you can clap yourself on the back, because you've done what 99% couldn't
do- you've received your SEAL Trident pin and are officially a Navy SEAL, one of the
most elite warriors the world has ever known.