MILITARY ONLY- daughter's boyfriend wants to be a Navy seal

[Bullitt207]

My daughter's boyfriend is about to graduate from college with a BS in environmental science, shrug from UCSB, but wants to be a seal. He doesn't care about using his degree necessarily. What would be the best route to take? ...or any other advice you could give him in case the seal training doesn't work out.

 

[DaveHutch]

i have x seal friends, and i have contemplated myself on going to BUDS training.

this is a very complicated answer to say the least.

how serious are they?and also, what kind of shape is he in?

trying to become a SEAL, or any other type of special operations/forces is a life decision.

If he fails out of BUDs training, he will the be IN the Navy, and that is not a bad thing, but there is no " im going to try out and then walk away if i dont make it."

its not really a "tryout" ....its a life decision.
There are ups and downs, but being a seal if he makes it all the way through is not easy on a relationship to say the least.
I am in a very serious relationship, and know very well that i feel i am not doing what i truly want to be, but also know that it will be very hard on the girl i am engaged to should i actually make a choice such as that.

as far as having a degree, tell him there are many other routes than just SEALs.
has he thought about joining as an officer in the marine corps? maybe trying the aviation program? take it from a guy who has a very small amount, but nonetheless enough to contribute some info......being a grunt and a special forces one at that, is NO easy task. I hold them in the highest respect, but many are changed forever, for loosing friends, or maybe even their own life.

having a degree and military experience is always a good thing. he has many many doors open to him right now, and he shouldn't be set on one thing. I have battled with the thought of this for the past 2 years, and until i finish my degree i will be thinking of it in the back of my mind.

Many young guys ( including myself) are looking to BE something great. They are looking for a title....a niche that stands out above all the rest. Being a SEAL would fit that title......but you dont do it for that reason. That would be a life changing move, and if he doesnt make it, he could end up on a boat for 6 months, not saving lives in Afghanistan.

Take it from me, the military is not all glory. it is real, messy, and a reality check that "hey.....its not like the movies kid".

most guys have an image in their mind, and when they get in too deep, some realize it was a mistake.

i would love to talk to the guy and give him some more advice. I have sat down with and been advised by three different X navy seals, a AF combat controller, and another close friend is also currently a PJ in the Alaska ANG.

Dave

 

[DaveHutch]

double post. AHH.....how would i ever make it through BUDS when i cant even post right.

HAHA

 

[M.P. Cobra Fan]

The military in general is a hard choice to make. IMO, too many people are in now that should not be. They just can not live the military lifestyle. Like said above, a lot of people have this glorious image of what it is like to be a soldier, marine, seal, ranger, etc. He needs to think about it long and hard. I personally feel it is a great option. Go for it, but make sure he gets a job that is going to help him in the long run if he does not make it as a seal, and decides he does not want to stay in after his first contract.

 

[DaveHutch]

^ correct.

my main point is that its not all glory, and his relationship may very well not last.

however, my deepest respect goes out to the men who do these jobs, and are gone 6- 8 months out of the year, every year for 4-6 years across the globe.

ive seen it before, but unfortunately many guys fail out, get re-classed into something they hate, and serve their term,then get out never having done what they " wanted to" in the first place.

unless he is the type to stop at nothing MENTALLY and physically, will put in 150 percent and never give up, i would advise him to join something else as an officer, have a pretty good life, and have a great stable career and great pay.

its all about what he wants, and there is no easy choice!

 

[Guy Fawkes]

It depends on how much money he wants to make, if he think he can even pass seal training, and if his heart is truely in it.

A. Seal training is considered one of THE hardest military training. Its intense. Have him watch that documentary about it, I forget the name.

B. He would be able to make WAY more $ as a civlian.

C. He will never make it, if he is not 100% commited. And I mean more committed to this than anything else he has EVER been comiited to.

 

[97formulaws6]

...

 

[DaveHutch]

^+1

nothing can prepare you for what you endure there.

the "hell week" is literally that. The recruits are up for about 8 days, performing rigorous tasks..... and this is just the one small part, of one fraction of the training.

many guys fail out on the water portion, because believe me....it is mentally a trip when you are bound by the hands and feet, and are thrown into water.

the documentary can be found on youtube( to buy it is i think 50 bucks).
i will find it.....

 

[DaveHutch]

YouTube - NAVY SEAL BUDS TRAINING

there are the vids.

hey 97 formula Ws6 congrats!

TACp is a GREAT choice...you will love it. your going to work with the army more so than the AF, but its right up there with CCT!!!

thanks for giving man......good luck and godspeed. your going to need it!

when do you leave out?

 

[97formulaws6]

...

 

[DaveHutch]

yup. a LOT of mistakes guys make before they go, is the just LIFT all the time. thinking they need BIG muscles in order to make it.

quite the opposite.

you need to be able to sustain strength. you need to be able to hold a boat above your head for hours.......not bench XXX amount of weight.

rucking, swimming, and training the way they do in the actual school is the only way to prepare.

Eat AMAZING while you train, and train on enough sleep to repair, but slowly work your way down to 4 hours of sleep about 2 weeks before you leave.

cuse thats what your guna be getting, most of the time less! haha

 

[2L8IWON]

The No BS, No Speculation, Ground truth answer to your question

Alright, here's the deal;

Since he is about to receive his degree he is eligible to enter the Navy as an Officer. The problem is there are a million hurdles that have to be jumped and red tape that needs to be cut through to get a endorsement to join the Navy with a BUD/S guarantee as an "O". Usually one needs to acquire letters of recommendation from former or current SEAL Officers, etc. These are hard to come by unless he or you "knows" someone.

Most of the guys I worked with ENLISTED in the Navy. There are about 15:1 enlisted to Officer billets in the SEALs so there is less red tape to get the BUD/S School guarantee as an Enlisted man. Essentially if he passes the prereqs and fitness test he is in. In my opinion this is hte best route to go. Also, not to say that standards are being relaxed but there is a HUGE press on to up the numbers of SEALs now.

It is a tough road to hoe to finish the training and it will be hard on his personal life. Your daughter has to understand and be supportive of what he is about ot embark on. Gone for 7 months in harms way, back for a few and in and out for months getting ready for the next deployment.

I could go on and on but in the interest of time won't. If you have any questions feel free to PM and I can get you in touch with the right people.

Trust me, I doubt many others on this board can give you as accurate information.

 

[DaveHutch]

^ good advice.

i do speak for myself however( i may not be as well connected in the navy as you are) but i have met my fair share of guys that know what they are talking about.

i could better give advice on AF special forces such as PJ and CCT, but you are very right.

as i said in my above posts, without a contract you are talking about, many many guys end up doing something on a ship when they call it quits at BUDs.

 

[DaveHutch]

bythe way 2 l8Iwon, what do you do right now in the Navy? and is that your Vapor Gt500?

if so.....im a jealous man!

 

[WHITESVTCOBRA]

Wow the seals training to get into buds is actually easier than for cct, tacp, or pj.

 

[97formulaws6]

...

 

[Luckyeod28]

Tell him to go in enlisted, if he wants to go in as an officer just for the money then he's going for the wrong reasons and will never make it. Enlisted special operators make plenty of money, I make as more in extra pays than i do in base pay.

2L8IWON is right, his life is the job. When your home, you are still training long days and gone training alot. I guarantee you that nothing is more rewarding though.

 

[Sonic03SVTCobra]

your average team guys make up about, 1/10th of 1% of that service, It`s by far not easy, Even the best struggle through the courses, at times, they have a special breed THEY PICK, you don`t pick them, but he can always try.it`s better to of shown up and played then never to have played at all. JUST DON`T QUIT. PS if he wants to be a seal I hope he likes hairgel.

 

[Bullitt207]

Thanks for all the quick responses, guys. I should have mentioned it's not about the money for him and he defintely has the mental determination. I should mention too that he's about 5'7" or 5'8", 160 lbs. SCUBA certified and he loves hiking/ rock climbing/ sky diving.

 

[ShortThrow50]

im a navy veteran. I had several friends onboard my ship in tip top shape that tried out for buds. You should have seen these guys. Not one of them made it into the actual program. They got weeded out in the fitness test lol. Even if they did, most likely they wouldnt have graduated. one of them actually went on to be a diver and made it. the seals are the best of the best. Unless he is super human, all he can do is dream about seals. There is a reason for the extremely high failure rate. I forget what seal team was on my aircraft carrier, but i did know one guy and if you can actually become a seal, he says it is the best job on earth