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| Secret SEAL Standards Revealed |
| 2004-12-06 |
| December 6, 2004: No one really noticed, but the pass rate of those in training to be U.S. Navy SEAL commandos has gone way up. But the navy isn't worried about the quality slipping. One of the rarely discussed, or even mentioned, aspects of the SEAL training was that the number passing in each class depended more on how many SEALs the navy needed, than on the quality of the candidates. The final cut was not made randomly. Increasingly difficult (like sitting in the cold California surf at night until enough people passed out) tasks would be assigned to the students until enough failed to leave the magic number of candidates the navy had jobs for. One could say that this was simply a way to get the best of the best, or grading on the curve. And many SEALs accepted it as a reasonable way to train elite fighters. But the fact remains that many qualified trainees were flunked. Now, everyone that qualifies, gets to be a SEAL. The navy is expanding the SEAL force and needs all the qualified people it can get. It's doubtful that there will be any noticeable decline in the quality of SEAL commandos. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 a lot of people qualify to be Marines to, doesn't mean they get to be Marines or should be Marines, just that they qualify. What Jarhead meant to say was: There's an upper level of "qualification" and a "lower" level. When the need is greatest....ALL "qualified" personnel are accepted for training, and MAY, after successfully completing training...graduate. When the need is reduced...only the BEST qualified are accepted for training, but they still have to graduate before the "bear the title Marine", or SEAL, if that's their wont. |
| Posted by: Thraing Ulolurong1664 2004-12-06 8:39:03 PM |
| #7 Lex, the article says "Now, everyone that qualifies, gets to be a SEAL." a lot of people qualify to be Marines to, doesn't mean they get to be Marines or should be Marines, just that they qualify. Take it from someone whose been through some grueling military ran schools, that's a big difference. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-12-06 8:21:16 PM |
| #6 Only 40 per year? Is it really the case that the quality of #s 51-100 is significantly lower than for #s 1-40? To use the NFL analogy, that would be like saying the NFL's capable of filling out only one Pro Bowl squad. Doubt it. It's a big country, I'm sure we can come up with another 100 or so standouts for the SEALS program. We're fighting a global war on dozens of fronts across Africa, middle east, south and central and east Asia. We need all the talent we can get. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-06 6:35:13 PM |
| #5 Well, Dreadnought, maybe this means that your embittered sailors will get another shot and if they pass again, be confirmed? :) |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-12-06 5:46:30 PM |
| #4 Frankly the Navy has flushed a lot of high quality folks out of BUDS for the very reason the article states: Navy needs 40 SEALs that year and they aren't going to graduate 41. The unfortunate thing for the Navy is that you can't disperse BUDS graduates throughout the fleet, like the Army does with Rangers. A SEAL is of little use in an engineroom. I met guys in the surface Navy who had the misfortune of spraining an ankle two days before Hell Week. Can't run, can't graduate, and the Surface Navy gets another batch of embittered sailors. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2004-12-06 3:02:25 PM |
| #3 I don't know, but the bad thing - whether or not StrategyPage is right - is that any degradation will be noticed mainly at the cost of SEALs' lives :-( |
| Posted by: Angeper Crineger7335 2004-12-06 1:06:10 PM |
| #2 Heh.Just the Navy building their budget base.Next the Army will want the Marine Corps and the Air Force will want the Marine Air Wings. |
| Posted by: crazyhorse 2004-12-06 10:30:33 AM |
| #1 "It’s doubtful that there will be any noticeable decline in the quality of SEAL commandos." -yeah, bullshit. There's a reason why 5'7" white boys who run a 5.4 40 yard dash don't play in the NFL (disclaimer for punters/place kickers). |
| Posted by: Phiter Glolung1555 (aka Jarhead) 2004-12-06 10:14:37 AM |