BUD/S

Amid the ongoing social distancing measures affecting the country and the military, the Navy SEAL community just received its newest operators. SEAL Qualification Training Class 336 graduated on April 15 and its members received the coveted SEAL Trident. Last month, Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command decided to suspend some SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft […]

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced Special Operations units to improvise when it comes to their training and selection programs. The Naval Special Warfare Command (WARCOM) has suspended a number of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) and Basic Crewman Training (BCT) classes; the former course is the first major hurdle to those aspiring to become Navy SEALs, […]

Editor’s note. This article was written by our dear friend Alex Hollings for and published at Sandboxx. SOFREP old-timers will find another familiar face in the piece. When it comes to motivation, Navy SEALs have plenty to spare, but we know one guy that could even make some SEALs look lazy. Earning your place among […]

Naval Special Warfare Center at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, has suspended training for three of the 11 current SEAL and SWCC classes. The decision was made on March 16 and will last for eight consecutive weeks. The classes that were temporarily suspended were those that were in the earlier phases of training. The First Phase […]

Drinking water and remaining hydrated is essential for the human body to survive. I remember during Marine Corps boot camp drinking upwards of 12 canteens of water each day depending on the training evolution. We would take water breaks and have to drink a canteen until it was empty, then hold it upside down over […]

We’ve written a ton of different Selection preparation articles and, being creatures of habit, stuck with the tried and true methods that got us from point A to point B. And truth be told, there is no substitute for learning to navigate and carrying a rucksack. Because when a candidate is in his Selection course, […]

When training Special Ops candidates or qualified operators, there are many, many tests I have them perform to determine where their strengths and weaknesses lie. A SOF soldier needs to have a solid base of strength in the following: upper body pushing and pulling, single and double leg, and core; he also needs to have […]

Members of the San Diego State University baseball team learn about the teamwork utilized by successful Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) boat crews as part of their visit to Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., Jan. 15. The team’s visit was an opportunity for its NCAA Division I athletes to learn from the Naval […]

Becoming a Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC) is no easy task. The SWCC selection pipeline is designed to weed out the weak and to create a training environment that simulates the stressful conditions that are experienced in real-world situations. If an individual is not physically and mentally prepared, they have very little chance to […]

A female officer has completed the rigorous initial selection process necessary to become a Navy SEAL officer — the first female to accomplish such a feat. Although the female officer successfully completed the SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS) program, she wasn’t chosen by the board because she hadn’t picked the SEAL career field as […]

SOF operators are renowned for their superb physical condition. The physical requirements of the profession are often equated with those found in professional sports. After 9/11, SOF units became the go-to option for policymakers. This highligthed the need for a larger, more effective force. Thus, SOF units began implementing techniques from professional sports teams to […]

A member of SEAL Qualification Training Class 334 receives his special warfare (SEAL) device, known as a “trident,” during a graduation ceremony at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., Nov. 22. The class graduated following a strenuous, 65-week training program. NSW Basic Training Command falls under NSW Center, which provides initial and advanced […]