Are you thinking of joining the United States Navy SEAL? You might probably want to know what the BUD/S is all about.
The BUD/S is a six-month Navy SEAL training course held at the United States Naval Special Warfare Training Center in Coronado, California. This training usually starts with five weeks of pre-training and indoctrination Navy SEAL Class, and terminates with the three phases of the BUD/S.
The first phase of the BUD/S is the hardest. It consists of eight weeks of Basic Conditioning that crests with a hard segment called “Hell Week”. In this phase, you will be tested to your limits. Hell Week is a test of mental tenacity, body endurance, and true teamwork. Physical or body distress and pain will cause many to leave. Miserable wet-cold, sleep deprivation, and sheer fatigue will cause others to question their motivations, core values, limits, and everything they are made of and stand for.
Those who grit it out to the finish will proceed to eight weeks of diving (Second Phase), and nine weeks of Land Warfare (Third Phase). Most aspiring SEALs who have succeeded in Hell Week make it through these phases. If not, it’s usually due to academic issues in the Dive Phase, or weapons and demolition safety/competency issues in the Land Warfare Phase. At the end of BUD/S, aspiring SEALs go through three weeks of Basic Parachute Training.
At this stage, training shifts from testing trainees’ reactions in a high-stress gut check environment to making them competent in their core tasks. They go through a final eight-week training focused on SEAL Qualification Training in mission planning, tactic, operations, techniques, and procedures. Upon completion, aspiring SEALs are authorized to wear the coveted Navy SEAL Trident insignia.
Navy SEAL training usually ends with a formal BUD/S Class Graduation. Here, the proud and honored few in their Navy uniforms are endorsed for their achievement in the presence of Senior SEAL leaders and family members. As newest teammates, they are reminded of the special group they have entered, to be worthy of the sacrifices of the courageous Frogmen who came before them, and the great honor it is to serve as a United States Navy SEAL.