Today's SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) teams trace their history to the first group of volunteers selected from the Naval Construction Battalions (SeaBees) in the spring of 1943. These volunteers were organized into special teams called Navy Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs). The units were tasked with reconnoitering and clearing beach obstacles for troops going ashore during amphibious landings, (such as on D-day, June 6th, 1944) and evolved into Combat Swimmer Reconnaissance Units.

The NCDUs distinguished themselves during World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. In 1947, the Navy organized its first underwater offensive strike units. During the Korean Conflict, these Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) took part in the landing at Inchon as well as other missions including demolition raids on bridges and tunnels accessible from the water. They also conducted limited minesweeping operations in harbors and rivers.

During the 1960s, each branch of the armed forces formed its own counterinsurgency force. The Navy utilized UDT personnel to form separate units called SEAL teams. January 1962 marked the commissioning of SEAL Team ONE in the Pacific Fleet and SEAL Team TWO in the Atlantic Fleet. These teams were developed to conduct unconventional warfare, counter-guerilla warfare and clandestine operations in both blue and brown water environments.

Concurrently, Naval Operations Support Groups were formed to aid UDTs, SEALs, and two other unique units — Boat Support and Beach Jumpers — in administration, planning, research, and development. During the Vietnam War, UDTs performed reconnaissance missions and SEALs carried out numerous offensive operations. In 1967, the Naval Operations Support Groups were renamed Naval Special Warfare Groups (NSWGs) as involvement increased in limited conflicts and special operations.

In 1983, existing UDTs were redesignated as SEAL teams and/or SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams and the requirement for hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater demolition became SEAL missions.

The Naval Special Warfare Command was commissioned April 16, 1987, at the Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, Calif. Its mission is to prepare Naval Special Warfare forces to carry out their assigned missions and to develop special operations strategy, doctrine, and tactics.

If you think the Marines are tough, SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) teams go through the toughest military training in the free world.  Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUD/S) training is conducted at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado. Trainees encounter obstacles that develop and test their stamina, leadership and ability to work as a team.

For an in-depth look into Navy SEAL training, read the book, "The Warrior Elite" by Dick Couch (review can be found on this site, listed under "Book Reviews").  Something else I highly recommend is a documentary/movie called "Navy SEALs: The Untold Stories" which we got on DVD from The Military Book Club.  It is an excellent film documenting three fairly recent, actual SEAL missions - in Somalia, Panama, and Grenada.

Hell Week

Hell Week is just that.

Of all the battles a SEAL must fight, none is more important than their first – the battle of mind over body.  Surviving Hell Week, not to mention all of SEAL training, not easy, but it is very simple:  those who would literally rather die than quit survive, and those who don't, quit.  It is not a matter of physical superiority, but rather a mental battle.

Basic Underwater Demolitions and SEAL (BUD/S) instructors know the human machine is capable of amazing endurance even in the harshest of conditions and environments, but they also know the mind must be made to ignore the pleading of the body.

As their name suggests, SEALs are trained to conduct operations in any arena, and successful candidates spend 18 to 24 months in training before being assigned to teams.  Every step is a challenge, and each test is progressively more difficult.  On average, 70 percent of candidates never make it past Phase One.  And keep in mind that those who attempt it in the first place are well above average in their mental and physical capabilities.

For most, the greatest challenge lies in Week 4 of Phase One.  A grueling 5.5 days, the continuous training ultimately determines who has the ability and mindset to endure.

“Welcome to Hell Week.”

Trainees are constantly in motion; constantly cold, hungry and wet.  Mud is everywhere–it covers uniforms, hands and faces. Sand burns eyes and chafes raw skin.  Medical personnel stand by for emergencies and then monitor the exhausted trainees, whose body temperatures are allowed to plunge dangerously low before being restored to not normal, but at least acceptable, in hot water... and then - you guessed it - they're sent right back to get wet and sandy and cold again.  Sleep is fleeting–a mere three to four hours granted near the conclusion of the week.  The trainees consume up to 7,000 calories a day and still lose weight.  The suffering trainees endure cannot be even remotely compared to the basic training of any other branch of the military.

Throughout Hell Week, BUD/S instructors continually remind candidates that they can “Drop-On-Request” (DOR) any time they feel they can’t go on by simply ringing a shiny brass bell that hangs prominently within the camp for all to see.

“The belief that BUD/S is about physical strength is a common misconception. Actually, it’s 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,” said a BUD/S instructor at the San Diego facility. “(Students) just decide that they are too cold, too sandy, too sore or too wet to go on.  It’s their minds that give up on them, not their bodies.”     

Through the long days and nights of Hell Week, candidates learn to rely on one another to keep awake and stay motivated.  They learn to silence that inner voice urging them to give in and ring that hideous, beautiful bell.  The body often lies to the mind, and being susceptible to muscular exclamations of pain and exhaustion, the mind begins to believe in its fragility and give up.  It is a fierce fight that many candidates never win, but for those who go on to become Navy SEALs, learning to push the boundaries of their physical limitations is the foundation for all subsequent training and operations.

For those who make it through the infamous 132-hours of Hell Week comes the inner knowledge that their bodies can go far beyond their previous expectations.

The concept of mind over matter is reflected in an oft-chanted phrase during Hell Week: “If you don’t mind, it don't matter.”

Once Hell Week and Phase One of basic SEAL conditioning is finished, the candidates move on to new challenges, knowing they have it within themselves to stay the course.