SpecOps

Navy SEAL Training: Second Phase

Second Phase, the combat diving phase, lasts seven weeks. This phase introduces underwater skills that are unique to Navy SEALs. During this phase, candidates become basic combat swimmers and learn open and closed-circuit diving.

Successful Second Phase candidates demonstrate a high level of comfort in the water and the ability to perform in stressful and often uncomfortable environments. Candidates who are not completely comfortable in the water often struggle to succeed.

Emphasis is placed on long-distance underwater dives with the goal of training students to become basic combat divers, using swimming and diving techniques as a means of transportation from their launch point to their combat objective. This is what separates SEALs from all other US special operations forces.

Courtesy of Navy SEAL & SWCC Scout Team

– Drew Dwyer for SOFREP.com

Navy SEAL: Mental toughness propels me

One of the first things you see at BUD/S is a sign that says, “The only easy day was yesterday.” For a Navy SEAL like Paul Tharp, he relishes the challenge of what lies ahead.

The 42-year-old SEAL is the driving tip of the spear. “It’s a fortunate position that many will never know.” He enjoys every minute of life and is a forward-leaning force to reckon with. Tharp seeks a means to channel the energy and drive that consume him.

Whether it’s competing in an Ironman Triathlon or leading PT for the platoon, he always has the finish line in mind. “When I’m looking at an event, I control the training, I control my diet, I control as much as possible.” This gives Tharp the confidence that his mind and body are in sync and in complete control. There’s just one more thing left to do—win!

Pass this as A Trainee, and You’ve Earned Your Navy SEAL Trident

SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) is a grueling 26-week course that takes basic skills already learned and refines them through high-pace tactical training. The point of SQT is to provide the trainee with the tactical skills needed before reaching the platoon.

Advanced weapons, small-unit tactics, land navigation, SERE, static-line and free-fall parachute operations, demolitions, cold-weather training, medical skills, and maritime operations make up this hefty core curriculum.

Once the trainee has completed these requirements, they’re presented with the SEAL trident, designating them as Navy SEALs.

Courtesy of Navy SEAL & SWCC Scout Teams

– Drew Dwyer for SOFREP.com

Brutal Navy SEAL Training: First Phase

You will lug a red-oak tree around as if it were your only source of oxygen. On the command “lift,” your shoulders will burn so badly, you’ll think molten lava is being poured down your anterior deltoids. That’s just the primer.

First Phase is comprised of seven long weeks of brutal training, and will tests a man’s commitment to becoming a Navy SEAL. These seven weeks stress physical training, water competency, and mental tenacity, all while building teamwork. Due to these rigorous tasks, an average of 50 percent of students drop on request in First Phase.

Week four of training is appropriately titled Hell Week. Hell Week takes place over a five-and-a-half day stretch. Nasty sand and freezing-wet conditions will be a welcomed sign after what you’re about to be violently thrust into.

If you can sleep a total of four hours, run over 200 miles, and physically train for more than 20 hours per day, you might have a small chance of passing this evolution and shortening the road to becoming a Navy SEAL.

Courtesy of the Navy SEAL and SWCC

– Drew Dwyer for SOFREP.com

Could you pass the brutal SEAL Water Obstacle Course?

Get your mind right. If you want your forearms to burn like the 9th circle of Hell, you have got to try the water obstacle course used by Navy SEALs. Always a good time!

Courtesy of the Navy SEAL & SWCC scout team

Navy SWCC Water Rescue Test: Swim or Die

My least favorite part of Marine Corps boot camp was the swim evolution. Getting yelled at by a drill instructor while practically drowning is anything but cool.

Boat guys are the unsung heroes of the Naval Special Warfare community. Do you have what it takes to join these elite boat warriors? Find out by watching the Navy SWCC water rescue test below.

– Drew Dwyer for SOFREP.com

SEALs Strike Violently from Underwater

No, this isn’t an advertisement for the new “Call of Duty” game. Watch what keeps our enemy up at night as a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) goes underwater to insert SEALs and their equipment onto an objective.

The SDV is used for secret missions into denied-access areas. It can carry up to six combat-equipped SEALs. The SDV’s chamber is flooded, then the men utilize an internal compressed-air supply, along with their personal SCUBA equipment, to remain stealthy.

“If you got any closer, you would have to enlist”—Navy SEAL Museum

– Drew Dwyer for SOFREP.com