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Options to Become a Navy SEAL:  How to get to BUD/S

Navy SEAL eBooks or Books

All roads to becoming a Navy SEAL, end at BUD/S - Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL Training.  There are many routes to get to sunny Coronado California where BUD/S is located, but the only way to become a Navy SEAL is you have to finish BUD/S first.  Below are the several options SEAL wanna-be's struggle with and definitely should know before signing any paperwork with the Navy:

First Option - Join the Navy by Enlisting

This is the route that will give you the best chance of attending SEAL training as there are ten times more enlisted SEALs than there are officers that attend SEAL training.  The need for enlisted SEALs will therefore always be higher than the need for officers in the Teams.  That is why the SEAL officer route is more competitive.  Here is the way to join the Navy and get to BUDS the quickest.  Many candidates attend BUD/s with college degrees  as enlisted with the hopes of going to Officer Candidate School (OCS) later in their career.

Step 1: Go to the Navy Recruiter 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:  How to Ace the PST

PST Event	Minimum Standards	Recommended Standards
500 yd swim	12:30	8-9 minutes
Pushups	50	80-100
Sit-ups	50	80-100
Pull-ups	10	15-20
1.5 mile timed run	10:30 in boots	9-10 minutes

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OFFICER SELECTION PROGRAM (SUMMER 2014)

Starting the Summer 2014, ALL officer candidates (USNA, ROTC, OCS) will get the opportunity to test themselves at BUDS.  What used to be called mini-BUDS has been changed to an actual BUD/S Selection Program.  Mini-BUDS was more of a summer camp compared to BUD/S Selection program as this program is not just a Midshipman Summer Cruise - it is a selection and screening course.  USNA and Navy ROTC Midshipmen, qualified USAFA, or USMA cadets, and highly qualified OCS candidates all train together and are constantly screened by BUD/S instructors.  The details of this program are limited and all candidates are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.  Just know that you will be tested in running, rucking, swimming, water skills, PT, log PT, small boat drills, and many more events.  You will be graded at just about everything you do from push-ups to leadership skills.  Interviews, psychological evaluations, and the two weeks of daily challenges will expose your personality, strengths, and weaknesses.  The BUD/S recruiters and Officer Community Manager will determine who attends BUDS in the following months and candidates will learn later in the Fall the same year. To qualify for the new SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS) you will be required to ace the PST, pass an interview, be medically cleared to join the Navy, have competitive grades in college, and any other skills will help (college athletics, leadership, team captain, community service, work experience, letters of recommendation, foreign language, etc).  See your officer recruiter if you are considering the OCS route.  If USNA and ROTC, you will have a process to go through and will attend SOAS the summer before your senior year.  See below for more details of the USNA, ROTC, OCS routes.

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.  This will determine your selection to the new SOAS program (above).

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. 

Go to Step 4 below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.

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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.  You will be required to take the PST and interview in the Spring of your junior year and be selected to go to SOAS.

https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/

Go to Step 4 below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.

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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 Officer Assessment and Selection training by a board of SEAL officers - then to OCS if they want you to attend BUDS in the future. See more info at

http://www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/NavySEALOCSProgram.htm

Go to Step 4 below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.

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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, carrying logs, 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. 

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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.**

Make sure you THOROUGHLY study the Navy SEAL Website if this is a future occupation for you.  Do your homework.

Stew Smith CSCS  -  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at stew@stewsmith.com.