Navy SEALS...is it worth the hype?

[oldsalt]

According to Luttrell Seals keep their own identity regardless of the overall commander. SEALS are trained like no other Military unit. Their basic training is specific for water related missions and it it is outmoded. Why go through the expense of training Sailors to paddle rubber boats while unconcious while they wash out otherwise qualified personnel who can't endure extreme hypothermia?

Did you ring the bell at BUDS?

When I was in the Marines they were still called UDT. According to Luttrell's book, a lot of good men washed out of BUDS because they couldn't take the constant hypothermia. Those men had skills which would have been valuable to SEALS but they were discarded in favor of people who might have permanent mental impairment from the abusive training. Fair enough if SEALS mission involved only constant cold water imersion but the mission that Luttrell refered to in his book failed because a SEAL recon patrol couldn't seem to navigate in the Afghanistan mountains in fog and found themselves surrounded by the enemy they were supposed to recon. The SEAL elitism caused a SEAL leader to compound the failure of the mission by jumping on a helicopter without a realistic plan and land in a Taliban ambush which killed every member of the rescue team. It took an Army Ranger patrol to rescue Luttrell.

Ok, then based on your info, there must be another reason for your obsession with outdating the SEAL program. Interservice rivalry, perhaps? Pecker envy? You tell me. Their mission success ratio necessitates their existence.

 

[blastoff]

In the mid to late 90s we made a product that was part of the equipment issued to all BUDs recruits at Coronado, CA, so as a result I was given access to their training not normally granted to civilians. This was done so I could observe first hand the environment(s) our product was subjected to during their training rather than having to rely on info second and third hand. This was so we could make improvements to our product, which took quite a beating in training. So as a result I got to spend quite a bit of time at Coronado.

Once I had been there the first days of a new BUDs class and then returned about 2-3 weeks later, by which time the class had shrunk appreciably. On that visit the Commander of BUDs invited me to have dinner with him, which gave me the opportunity to discuss the training with him. I told him at the beginning of that class I'd seen some guys who looked to be in very good physical condition, very well built and whatnot, and others who were in no way as well put together. But after noticing the class attrition that had taken place between visits I couldn't put a finger on which type of guys seemed to have been better prepared for the rigors of the training, so I asked the Commander what it took for a guy to make it through BUDs. And he had a very simple two word answer: indomitable will. And then went on to add that the physical part of the training was so demanding that no one could get through it if they couldn't handle it mentally. The first battle, he said, is in your head and the second is all the physical stuff.

 

[smith77]

You cite BUDs like it is the only training SEALs receive. After BUDs Seals receive massive amounts of training. I am convinced there is much inter service jealousy because the Navy is often considered the "sexiest" service by the general public. Other services do not have block buster movies based on them. Like "An Officer and a Gentleman" or "Top Gun".

 

[harmonica]

maybe it's been said, but there were a few more SEAL failures
Panama and drowning at Grenada

`If the mission was to take and hold the airfield, Army Rangers or Marines are better-equipped for the job,`` one SEAL said.

``If the job was to deny entry and exit to the airfield, a single team spotting for naval gunfire or using the AC-130 gunship overhead could have done the job. There were alternatives,

A Miscalculation Of Mission For The Seals In Panama?
..I worked with SEALS and Delta Force on ship
..we had a SEAL teach us scuba diving off duty
..it's always good to have forces such as Delta and SEALS available
..what's not good is using them for missions they are not designed for--per the link

 

[harmonica]

You cite BUDs like it is the only training SEALs receive. After BUDs Seals receive massive amounts of training. I am convinced there is much inter service jealousy because the Navy is often considered the "sexiest" service by the general public. Other services do not have block buster movies based on them. Like "An Officer and a Gentleman" or "Top Gun".

I've been reading military and war for over 30 years
I was in the USMC for 8 years
I never heard the Navy as the ''sexiest''...and I was stationed on a Navy base when Top Gun came out
..Top Gun was about Navy pilots--not sailors ....Officer And a Gentleman was about an officer that wanted to be a pilot.....when you think navy, you usually don't think of pilots

..there has always been inter service rivalry--long before these movies

 

[evenflow1969]

Tell you what, you have a problem with the SEALS? Go tell one of them to their face. The rest of us will simply give them the respect they deserve.

I have seen seals get their ass kicked, I have seen marines get thier ass kicked, I have seen profesional fighters get their ass kicked. I use to live four doors down from the first person who ever combined all three UFC belts. I have seen him get his ass kicked. I found that he talked about his losses way more often than his wins! The best policy I have found is that you should have respect for every one around you! You never realy know who is standing next to you! My policy is respect for all, take shit from none!

 

[Moonglow]

What a shame to waist perfectly good elite soldiers on Muslims in the ME doing occupational duty..

 

[Moonglow]

You cite BUDs like it is the only training SEALs receive. After BUDs Seals receive massive amounts of training. I am convinced there is much inter service jealousy because the Navy is often considered the "sexiest" service by the general public. Other services do not have block buster movies based on them. Like "An Officer and a Gentleman" or "Top Gun".

I've been reading military and war for over 30 years
I was in the USMC for 8 years
I never heard the Navy as the ''sexiest''...and I was stationed on a Navy base when Top Gun came out
..Top Gun was about Navy pilots--not sailors ....Officer And a Gentleman was about an officer that wanted to be a pilot.....when you think navy, you usually don't think of pilots

..there has always been inter service rivalry--long before these movies

All I can tell you is the Navy and Marines are the gayest..But not the Coast Guard cause they ain't married to another male fighting command...