Step 1: Go to a recruiter's office. Choose a Spec Ops/Spec War Source Rating
You will have to sign up for a regular Navy Source Rating (designator - like GM gunners mate or OS operations specialist) to join the Delayed Entry Program. Ask your local recruiter about the Navy Special Warfare / Special Operations Mentor in your area. These former SEAL, EOD, Divers are mentors for recruits and their duties are to help recruits prepare for training by giving regularly scheduled PSTs. You have to pass the PST with your mentor in order to change your rate to SO. SO, or Special Operator, will be your new designation. However, you have to pass the ELEVATED standards of the Navy SEAL Physical Screening Test (PST), before you will get the opportunity to attend boot camp then BUDS.
Below are the minimum and recommended standards for the PST:
| PST Event | Minimum Standards | Recommended Standards |
|---|---|---|
| 500 yd swim | 12:30 | 8-9 minutes |
| Pushups | 42 | 80-100 |
| Sit-ups | 50 | 80-100 |
| 80-100 | 6 | 15-20 |
| 1.5 mile timed run | 11:30 in boots | 9-10 minutes |
As of 2011, Navy Special Warfare has instituted a "draft" similar to the NFL draft process - where the best candidates get selected first. The better your PST scores determines how soon you get to go to boot camp then BUDS, so achieving above (or beyond) the recommended standard is critical to your acceptance to go to SEAL training.
Step 2: Boot Camp Training
All recruits will report to Great Lakes Illinois to attend basic military training. During Boot Camp, you will be required to take and pass the Special Warfare / Operations PST again. If you pass at Boot Camp you are officially in the pre-training community - meaning you will get orders to attend BUDS.
Step 3: Pre-Training Phase (post Boot Camp and Pre-BUD/s Training)
After Boot Camp, you will workout for a living and still live in Great Lakes. Your job is to learn about the Special Warfare Communities as well start an extensive physical training program for 6-8 weeks. The Pre-training program is to help candidates get into better shape as Boot Camp does not properly prepare a BUD/S student for their advanced training programs they will see in Coronado.
The Pre-training instructors are not interested in weeding anyone out at this point. The goal of this training is to teach candidates that they will not survive the next phase of training if they strive for the minimum standards in the PST.
Option #2: Enlist and Serve in the Navy then Try Out for BUD/S
This is a longer route to BUD/S and applies to enlisted as well as officers in the Navy who want to attend BUD/S. It is also the same route a former BUD/S student who did not graduate will have to do IF he wants to try to attend BUD/S again.
Imagine yourself at your regular Navy command, working the day then adding in extra workouts at night to prepare for the BUD/s PST. This will be your life for a year or two or MORE. The ability to get above average PST scores is possible but it requires lots of extra effort on your part. It has been done before by many great enlisted and officers SEALs but it is a challenge and demonstrates your desire to go to BUD/S if you can get the recommended elevated scores on the PST while on active duty - especially if stationed on a ship.
You have to route a special request chit up your chain of command and have to wait until you time at your present command is completed before leaving for BUD/S. Many have arranged a deal to re-enlist in the Navy IF they can attend BUD/S at the time of the end of their first enlistment. Of course you still have to meet all of the elevated standards.Navy SEAL and SWCC official site for more information.
For the Fleet future BUD/S students there is a Pre-BUDS program as well. It is called the Fleet Transition Program where students get TAD orders to attend prior to attending BUD/S.
If you are in another service branch, you have to join the Navy to go to BUD/s. There is no such thing as joining the Marine Corp then going to BUD/S program. You can join the Marines - BUT you have to get out of the Marines and join the Navy to go to BUD/S. See the Navy SEAL and SWCC official site for more information.
Options #3: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: US Naval Academy
USNA to SEAL: First you have to get into the Naval Academy - Annapolis MD - USNA. See link for all the details of that long process. Once at the Academy, you should start training with like minded classmates as well as get to know the older students who are training every day for BUD/S. There are active duty SEALs to help with your training programs and will start the screening process your junior year. You will take many PSTs as well as have to endure BUD/S Screening - which is a 36 hour long event that mixes in some of the worst events at BUD/s into a long weekend at the Academy.
Usually by your senior year, the hundred or more classmates who thought they wanted to be SEALs has dwindled down to 40-60, but they are all highly qualified and only 20-30 slots each year. Your grades, leadership jobs, sports / athletic events completed, foreign languages, and even community service hours come into play into selection. You will be finally judged by a group of SEAL officers and senior enlisted in a personal interview. The SEAL Officer Community Manager / Detailor selects you with the recommendations of the USNA SEALs who pre-screened you.
Options #4: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: Reserve Officer Training Corps
Going to college under a Navy ROTC program is another route to get to BUD/s. Navy ROTC graduates have the opportunity to attend BUD/S after graduation. ROTC gets typically 15-25 officer slots a year for SEAL training. These are nationwide competitions among ALL ROTC programs in the nation. To say these are competitive is an understatement. If you are an excellent / above average candidate, you have a great chance at going to BUD/S.
Your requirements are similar to that of USNA and OCS as your grades, sports, leadership roles, and PST scores will all play a part in your acceptance. See the Official ROTC website for what colleges offer Navy ROTC
Options #5: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: Officer Candidate School - OCS
You need to have a college degree before applying to the OCS board. There are many opportunities military wide for young college grads seeking to lead in the military, however officer slots for any of the Special Forces units are few and hard to come by. In fact, latest numbers for SEAL officer candidates were about 1 in 8 get accepted to attend SEAL training after OCS.
Applying to Officer Candidate School and wanting to become a Navy SEAL means you will actually be selected to go to BUDS immediately after you complete OCS. You will be accepted to attend SEAL training by a board of SEAL officers and then they will send you to OCS first with immediate follow on training at BUD/S.
Step 4: Navy SEAL Training (BUD/S) PTRR and INDOC
Once you arrive at BUD/S you will join PTRR (Physical Training Rehabilitation and Remediation) for a few weeks until the next INDOC class forms. BUD/S Indoctrination Phase (INDOC) is a challenging 5-6 week training to thoroughly test the students in all the basics from the PST (again!), swimming with fins, obstacle courses, timed beach runs, as well as challenging PTs on the Grinder, and of course - surf zone training. Once you have passed the challenges of INDOC and not quit after the instructors personally test your desire, you get the opportunity to advance to Phase 1.
Step 5: Phase 1,2,3 at BUD/S
Now training begins at First Phase. This is where most BUD/S students quit or get injured. This phase is where you will meet challenges regularly such as four mile timed beach runs, 2 mile ocean swims, BUD/S obstacle course, log PT, hundreds of reps of pushups, pullups, and ab exercises. Drown-proofing, life saving, and underwater knot tying are also challenging tests you must pass to continue training. Of course there is Hell Week, which is a 120 hour long event designed to test your desire to be a Navy SEAL. You may sleep a total of 3-4 hours in five days and log more than 200 miles of running, swimming, and paddling boats. This phase is the ultimate test of your ability to be a team player - whether you are under a log or boat, you will quickly learn who you want on your team.
Phase 2 is Dive Phase. You should have a basic understanding of SCUBA diving prior to attending though it is not a requirement to be SCUBA qualified. You will be required to use algebra to solve diving math problems as well diving physics. The most important laws to know in Navy SEAL diving are Boyle's Law and Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure. You will learn open-circuit SCUBA and closed circuit (oxygen re-breathers) in Dive Phase as well as one of the most challenging tests at BUDS - POOL COMPETENCY. This test is designed to teach and test your ability to remain calm in the event of everything going wrong underwater. You will also swim a six mile ocean swim during this phase.
Phase 3 is Land Warfare. You will enjoy shooting, learning and using demolitions such as C-4 as well as patrolling, shooting and moving, and land navigation. This phase is full of potential safety violations so be careful where you point your weapon, have weapon on safe when not in use, as well as many other potential dangers that involve demolition and marksmanship. The PT, runs, and swims do not get easier - in fact, you will be in your best shape ever during third phase and able to run 10-15 miles, swim 3-4 miles, and ruck 20 miles when on San Clemente Island.
Congratulations - you have finished BUD/S but your SEAL training is not over - just the Basics is over.
Check out these videos and get a glimpse inside SEAL BUD/s training in San Diego.
SQT - After BUD/S graduation, you go to SQT - SEAL Qualification Training. SQT is advanced training program that takes the individual who graduated BUD/S and forms a TEAM that is capable of operating in the water, underwater, from planes and helicopters, ropes and parachutes, boats, and on foot. You will learn and master the basic insertion methods used by SEALs and conduct training missions. There is also a mix of many hours of classroom training where you learn about intelligence gathering, designing missions, and moving together as a team from insertion to extraction of a mission.
Now after BUD/S and SQT, you get to go to the SEAL Team that selected you and become a "new guy" and prove yourself all over again to the veteran SEALs you will be joining on combat deployments. You will continue to learn something new each day of your career so stay in "receive mode" and listen to those who have been there and done that.
**Many people ask about SEAL Team Six lately. You cannot try out for this team for FIVE Years as an active SEAL at a Team - so do not worry about this step until you get passed a few SEAL deployments.**
Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.
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