Of all the battles a SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) must
fight, none is more important than their first–
the battle of mind over body.
Basic Underwater Demolitions and SEAL (BUD/S)
instructors know the human machine is capable of
amazing endurance even in the harshest of
conditions and environments, but they also know
the mind must be made to ignore the pleading of
the body.
As their name suggests, SEALs are trained to
conduct operations in any arena, and successful
candidates spend 18 to 24 months in training
before being assigned to teams. Every step is a
challenge, and each test is progressively more
difficult. On average, 70 percent of candidates
never make it past Phase One.
For most, the greatest challenge lies in Week
4 of Phase One. A gruelling 5.5 days, the
continuous training ultimately determines who
has the ability and mindset to endure.
“Welcome to Hell Week.”
Trainees are constantly in motion; constantly
cold, hungry and wet. Mud is everywhere–it
covers uniforms, hands and faces. Sand burns
eyes and chafes raw skin. Medical personnel
stand by for emergencies and then monitor the
exhausted trainees. Sleep is fleeting–a mere
three to four hours granted near the conclusion
of the week. The trainees consume up to 7,000
calories a day and still lose weight.
Throughout Hell Week, BUD/S instructors
continually remind candidates that they can
“Drop-On-Request” (DOR) any time they feel they
can’t go on by simply ringing a shiny brass bell
that hangs prominently within the camp for all
to see. It is not the physical trials of Hell
Week that are difficult so much as its duration:
a continual 132 hours of physical labour.
Through the long days and nights of Hell
Week, candidates learn to rely on one another to
keep awake and stay motivated. They tap one
another on the shoulder or thigh periodically
and wait for a reassuring pat in response that
says, “I’m still hangin’ in there, how ‘bout
you?” They cheer loudly when they notice a mate
struggling to complete his mission and use the
same as fuel when they themselves feel drained.
They learn to silence that inner voice urging
them to give in and ring that hideous, beautiful
bell.
The body often lies to the mind, and being
susceptible to muscular exclamations of pain and exhaustion, the
mind begins to believe in its fragility and give up. It is a
fierce fight that many candidates never win, but for those who
go on to become Navy SEALs, learning to push the boundaries of
their physical limitations is the foundation for all subsequent
training and operations.
For those who make it through the infamous
132-hours of Hell Week comes the inner knowledge
that their bodies can go far beyond their
previous expectations.
The concept of mind over matter is reflected
in an oft-chanted phrase during Hell Week: “If
you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”
Once Hell Week and Phase One of basic SEAL
conditioning is finished, the candidates move on
to new challenges, knowing they have it within
themselves to stay the course.
But training is far from over. Before
candidates earn the right to wear the coveted
trident badges that identify them as members of
the Naval Special Warfare community, they face
training far beyond the fence lines of Naval
Amphibious Base, Coronado, Calif.
Underwater in San Diego for scuba and
“drown-proofing;” in the mountains of Southern
California for rappelling, mountain climbing,
explosives, small-unit movements and tactics;
and San Clemente Island, Calif., where they take
a final land-warfare exercise in a real-time
environment.
This means graduation from BUD/S. After
graduation, it’s on to Fort Benning, Ga., to
learn the basics of static-line parachuting,
followed by 15 weeks of SEAL Qualification
Training (SQT) before a final three weeks of
Extreme Cold-Weather Survival.
The frigid, mountainous environment of
Kodiak, Alaska, now is the final testing ground.
Similar to the extreme conditions encountered in
Afghanistan, candidates spend three weeks
surviving these near-arctic conditions. They
plunge into the coastal waters from small boats.
Bulky dry-suits shelter them from the chill of
the water as they make their way to shore
carrying everything they need to climb cliffs,
traverse gorges, rappel mountain faces and sleep
in the snow.
Candidates must break through ice-encrusted
waters, jump in without the protection of their
dry-suit, tread water for three to four minutes,
pull themselves out of the water, then dry their
clothes and gear off.
While some might question the necessity of
being inducted into this “Polar Bear Club,” SEAL
candidates once again silence inner doubts and
follow instructions as given. Even in the later
phases of SQT, candidates call upon their mental
determination to pull them through.
After the completion of Cold-weather Survival
Training, they are awarded their trident badge
and Navy Enlisted Classification code at Naval
Special Warfare Centre, Coronado, Calif.
With terrorist threats on the rise around the
world, SEALs are needed more than ever. Yet,
even with a pressing need for more such men,
training of candidates remains as tough as it
has ever been.
The 24-month training process will continue
to separate the determined candidates from the
undecided.
As Navy SEALs put their lives on the line
defending America, each member of that team must
know without a doubt that the man fighting next
to him will not give in or punk out when things
start to get rough.
