One of my favorite stories about SEAL training was from Mike Ritland. He explained that he had purchased Dick Marcinko’s book, Rogue Warrior (highly recommend) and waiting hours in line on base for Dick to sign his book in the scorching Camp Pendleton summer heat. When he finally reached Marcinko, Mike enthusiastically said something like, “I’ve got orders to SEAL training.” Which Dick replied with a big laugh as he pointed to Mike. “Look at this guy, thinks he’s going to make it, good luck turd!”

I guess the words of encouragement helped because Mike made it through with me in class 215.

So you wanna be a Frog Man…

Buckle up, cupcake. You’re not reading this because you’re looking for a warm hug and a participation trophy. You clicked because somewhere deep down, buried between TikTok scrolls and protein shakes, you’ve decided you want to trade comfort for chaos and join the most elite maritime commandos in the damn world.

You’re either a hard-charger with grit… or someone who got drunk watching Lone Survivor and thinks pushups alone will cut it. Either way, I’m gonna show you how to apply to become a Navy SEAL or Special Boat Team operator—and maybe, just maybe, make it out the other side.

Let’s crack this pig wide open.

The SEAL Path: More Than Just Bud Light and Bench Press

Becoming a Navy SEAL isn’t about being the toughest guy in your CrossFit box. It’s about being mentally strong and physically savage. We’re talking about carrying a boat on your head until your spine wants to file a restraining order. The kind of pain that makes your soul scream, “uncle.” Then there’s the cold. If you think Hell is a warm place, you haven’t experienced real cold.

To even get in the line to try out, you’ll need to enlist in the Navy and request to join the SEAL or Special Boat Team pipeline. Then, if the stars align and your balls don’t retract inside your body, you’ll head to Boot Camp followed by the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School (aka SEAL Disneyland for masochists).

💀 BUD/S TRAINING PHASES

Total Duration: ~24 Weeks (plus prep & post-phase training)
Location: Naval Special Warfare Center, Coronado, California

1. Indoctrination Phase (“Indoc”) – 3 Weeks

• Think of this as your “Welcome to Hell” orientation.

• You get “introduced” to the instructors, the beach, the surf, and the log you’ll soon be spooning like a desperate Tinder date.

• Purpose: Prepare for the soul-crushing nightmare that is First Phase. The meanest instructors aspire to First Phase for a reason.

2. First Phase: Physical Conditioning – 7 Weeks

• Hell Week happens here (Week 4):
  5.5 days, minimal sleep, 200+ miles of running, surf torture, and endless cold.

• This phase filters out the weak faster than swiping left on a Friday night.

• You’ll run, swim, push up, pull up, sit up, and carry logs and boats until your body mutinies.

• Mental toughness is the true test—this is where most ring the bell.

3. Second Phase: Combat Diving – 7 Weeks

• Welcome to the underwater mind game.

• Learn SCUBA, closed-circuit (Draeger) rebreather systems, and how to stay calm while your body screams for oxygen.

• Fail dive physics or panic underwater? You’re out. No second chances.

4. Third Phase: Land Warfare – 7 Weeks

• Guns, demolitions, tactics, and patrolling—finally, you get to play with some cool toys.

• You’ll learn the basics of how to shoot, move, and communicate as a team.

• Expect long nights, live fire ranges, and the glorious smell of C4 on San Clemente Island.

Post-BUD/S Training: SQT (SEAL Qualification Training) – 26 Weeks

• Not technically part of BUD/S, but this is where boys become men. A few fail this portion because they can’t put it all together.

• Skydiving, advanced tactics, land navigation, cold or hot-weather warfare, harbor diving with zero visibility, and more.

• Graduate this, and you earn the Trident.

SEAL vs. Special Boat Team: Choose Your Flavor of Pain

SEAL Teams: You’re the tip of the spear. Door-kickers, divers, snipers, frogmen. If you want to blow through a door in the Hindu Kush at 3 a.m. wearing night vision and a smile, this is you.

Special Boat Teams (SWCC): Think Mad Max on water. These maniacs run high-speed boats in enemy-infested coastal zones, insert and extract SEALs, and rain lead while making love to horsepower.

Not sure which one?

Picture this: SEALs kick in the door. SWCC drives the getaway boat—at 50 knots, under fire, with a middle finger out the window.

SWCC TRAINING PHASES

(Special Boat Teams – the Navy’s High-Speed River Pirates)

Total Duration: ~22 Weeks (plus prep)
Location: Naval Special Warfare Center, Coronado, CA (same as SEALs but on the harbor side of the Amphib base)

1. Naval Special Warfare Prep School – 8 Weeks (Great Lakes)

• Same pipeline as SEALs initially. You’ll train to crush the PST (Physical Screening Test).

• Once you pass, you move to Coronado and begin the real evolution.

2. Basic Crewman Selection (BCS) – 7 Weeks

• Your personal introduction to speed, chaos, and “fast boat hell.”

• Physically brutal. You’ll be tested in the water, on land, and under boats.

• Expect buddy carries, sprints with logs, surf zone drown-proofing, and mental games.

• Purpose: weed out anyone not cut out for high-risk maritime ops.

3. Basic Crewman Training (BCT) – 7 Weeks

• Welcome to the throttle-punch world of boat driving, weapons, and navigation.

• Training in:

  • Small arms & heavy weapons

  • Navigation & seamanship

  • Engaging in firefights at 50+ knots while soaked and sunburned

• You’ll learn to insert/extract SEALs, lay down suppressive fire, and operate the Navy’s badass surface platforms (think: rigid-hulled inflatables on steroids).

4. CQT (Crewman Qualification Training) – 21 Weeks

• Advanced tactics and mission-specific training.

• Close-quarter combat, live-fire ranges, fast-roping, comms, and tactical decision-making.

• You finish as a Certified SWCC Operator, rocking the Special Warfare pin.

Bottom Line

The PT Standards: Better Start Crying Now

Let’s get one thing straight: If you can’t PT, you can’t play.

Here’s the bare-minimum Physical Screening Test (PST). That means “do this or stay home.” You need to do almost double below to be considered in good shape.

For SEAL and SWCC candidates:

• 500-yard swim: 12:30 (Combat Side Stroke preferred)

• Push-ups: At least 50 (Shoot for 100+)

• Sit-ups: At least 50 (Shoot for 100+)

• Pull-ups: At least 10 (Do 20)

• 1.5-mile run: Under 10:30 (Don’t jog it like you’re chasing your girlfriend)

Pro tip: “Bare minimum” means you’re already behind. The guys who make it are blowing these numbers out of the water. This was my mistake and luckily I made it through but I wish someone would have told me to train like you’re starving.

Mental Game: The Real Battlefield

Pain is temporary. Quitting is forever. If you can’t control the voice in your head that screams “I can’t,” then you’ll ring that bell faster than a vegan ordering tofu at a Texas BBQ.

This job isn’t about muscles. It’s about mindset. It’s about surviving Hell Week with near pneumonia, sleep deprivation, and sand in your ass crack—and still laughing like it’s happy hour.

Want to succeed? Start now:

1. Train wet, cold, and tired. Discomfort is your new best friend.

2. Visualize the suck. Then embrace it. Hell Week is five days of no sleep, ice-cold water, and instructors who’d make Satan weep.

3. Drop the ego. The team comes first. If you can’t carry your buddy, you’re a liability.

Final Thought: It’s Earned

Look, the SEAL Teams don’t want robots or glory hounds. They want warriors who can think, suffer, and fight for the guy next to them. Someone who will NEVER QUIT.

You don’t earn the Trident because you look good in camo. You earn it because you’ve been forged in the cold Pacific—and didn’t flinch when many did.

If you’re still reading, and your balls haven’t retreated into witness protection, maybe—just maybe—you’ve got a shot.

Also, read or listen to The Red Circle to get a first-hand perspective on BUD/S.

Now stop playing video games in your parents’ basement and start training.