Where's BK? Your post made me realize he hasn't posted in a while.
When I check his profile, last login shows as Apr 5, 19 at 15:56 so ~6 weeks ago
Maybe another sabbatical?

@Kid

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that he had been quiet and wondered if he was on a self-imposed exile or a forced one.

When I went to Navy basic training they just asked who wants to be a Seal?
You then went to the pool and took a fitness test. I guess after that the test just kept getting harder, I dont know. They wouldn't let me test because I was in the reserves.

#1. Yes. Theses days, 80% of seal candidates come off the street ( new recruits). There is a waiting list for seal candidates, last I heard, it was about 18 month wait. They will have to pass the medical exam and meet the minimum physical requirements prior to getting on that list. They will have to maintain those physical standards during the wait if they want to succeed.
#2. Enlist to a be seal, SO rating. If a recruit signs up as a non-designator, they will most likely be designated a seaman, attend basic seamanship course, then get assigned to a ship. It will be a good 3 to 4 years before they would be able to get into dive, eod or seal training.
3. Don’t have to be bigger, faster, stronger. Mental sharpness, sure. Mental strength is key. Have to be able to suffer physically and mentally. Staying healthy is key for buds students. Academics is also challenging in all the above courses. Be prepared to be physically beaten down and at the same time maintaining a pretty heavy academic load.
Safety is a huge aspect of training for diver, eod and seal. At anytime, if any of the instructors deem you to be a safety risk to yourself or others, you will get dropped.



If the youngsters these days want to be a seal, diver, or eod tech, the first thing the recruiter should be doing is having the prospective diver, eod, frog candidate contact that regions seal/diver/eod motivator.

The candidate is working with a motivator; will participating in an open water swim at a triathlon be helpful so he gets comfortable in the water? I don't know what his swimming ability is.

Disclaimer: I've never been in the military, but work with the special operations community a bit in my day job.

Not being comfortable in the water has tripped up plenty of people. Open water swimming and triathlon are certainly a great way of gaining that skill. Not so much for gaining pure speed, but just learning not to panic if you get your head jammed under water, and learning that methodical pacing rather than mad churning is the best approach.

From my observations, you don't necessarily need to excel at any one thing, but need to be pretty good at most things, and gracefully handle weaknesses. Including mental things like sleep and food deprivation. The sleep thing would trip me up. Trail needs his nappy naps.

I'm not a military guy, but, if confidence in the water is what you need (especially confidence when under stress) I would suggest the candidate Join a water polo team.

You get the absolute shit kicked out of you (in a fun way) and get used to being held under far longer then is comfortable, at times you least expect/want to be held under. It will also help a lot with physical conditioning.

On a whim, a friend and I joined a drop in water polo league in town. After a few months of that, triathlon swims seemed like literal child's play.

---

Long Chile was a silly place.

Go talk to a recruiter. Take the ASVAB, be clear with what you want.

Very few SEALs/SWC guys come from the fleet. Most are direct on their contracts.

SF is a bit more different, but you can directly enlist as an 18X and go direct in the pipeline. Only SMUs cannot be joined directly.

---

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Yes, any and all swimming will help. Have to be confidant and comfortable in the water.

Learning the Side stroke and combat swimmers stroke will help.

You must be old (like me). They don't do it that way anymore.

https://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Navy-SEAL

https://www.navy.com/careers/navy-seal

---

"...the street finds its own uses for things"