Female Navy SEALs?

Wrestling is a primal sport. I have applicants who can get poetic about their experiences wrestling. How it taught them, humbled them, broke them, inspired them, and left them wanting more. For them and their teammates.

I have always felt that what it took to be a Special Warfare Officer had some chemistry to it. Some magic. Something that not every human has within them.

If a human can do it? I don’t care what box is checked. I just think hell yes. Props to you. And thank you.
 
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stew's stuff will get you there and it a good place to self start and build a base - it will be worth your time and trip to show up and train with him for a few mornings with his "hero's of tomorrow program" and maybe even make it to the "boat house" so you can test yourself and he can give you some guidance but frankly you will have to even be better and exceed the standard - yes there is a strength component but it is more important to be an endurance athlete physically and mentally - look at the anthropomorphic's of the SEALS- the average height , weight and build is not always what you would think it would be

If your in the new england area specifically Connecticut / Massachusetts area look into the Capt Bisset SEAL RDAC and Pugzee farms
If you feel called to serve in the water remember thats were you will be tested the most - getting to and being comfortable in cold dark water is a SEAL's safe happy place and perfecting that mind set and an efficient combat side stroke is an art that takes time.

I think that as a woman plotting such a path I would then finish with Jeff Nichols at Performance First - (little tougher love then Stew)
Dont test or even talk to a recruiter or screener untill your ready (there simply looking for a quota number to feed the pipeline (quantity) but they are not incentivized for the quality they send (as the Navy needs DOR bell ringers to scrape and paint boats too) - so they will sign you up before your ready

If Jeff and Stew tell you are ready then your ready
 
Did you make it? Also keep ****en pushing, I'm going in for seal soon
Welcome Aboard, @smithy. The original post was from a female asking advice on how to pass BUD/S and who by the way hasn't been seen for 9ish months. Now, just to help determine which member here my internet friend @Heatherg21 and apparently a fellow grunt corpsman @USMCDOC667 are advising, what's going on with you, @smithy?

Did you make it? Also keep ****en pushing, I'm going in for seal soon
You said, "I'm going in for seal soon" which sounds like you are not currently a member of the military. Or, are you a midshipman, or college student, high school senior maybe?

I'd never ask if you are male or female or other but that was the central theme of the OP. I'm a female and want to be a SEAL and no woman has made it past day 4 and I want to know how I can do it.

Anyway @smithy good luck to you as well. As @USMC Crayons said above, there's not many men on the planet who are capable of becoming a US Navy SEAL. It will be interesting some day to hear the story of the first woman SEAL and how she did it.
 
Welcome Aboard, @smithy. The original post was from a female asking advice on how to pass BUD/S and who by the way hasn't been seen for 9ish months. Now, just to help determine which member here my internet friend @Heatherg21 and apparently a fellow grunt corpsman @USMCDOC667 are advising, what's going on with you, @smithy?


You said, "I'm going in for seal soon" which sounds like you are not currently a member of the military. Or, are you a midshipman, or college student, high school senior maybe?

I'd never ask if you are male or female or other but that was the central theme of the OP. I'm a female and want to be a SEAL and no woman has made it past day 4 and I want to know how I can do it.

Anyway @smithy good luck to you as well. As @USMC Crayons said above, there's not many men on the planet who are capable of becoming a US Navy SEAL. It will be interesting some day to hear the story of the first woman SEAL and how she did it.
And to add to this, if they still offer a SEAL contract for initial enlistment, think long and hard about taking that bait. It's just a way the Navy figured out to make their numbers on the sly. Way too many BUD/s candidates now scraping hulls or some other menial jobs for the next 4 years.

I think for awhile the Marines offered a Raider contract, but they put that on ice. You have to be a Marine for a couple of years now before you can hit the screener.
 
Are there women, somewhere on the planet, that could pass BUD/S? Almost certainly, but at what cost? God made men and women differently. Most men struggle to meet the physical demands, and a 50th percentile man is stronger than a 90th percentile woman. That's just biological reality. For a woman to pass BUD/S she would have to be 99.99th percentile.

Women that go into combat infantry roles (never mind SF) have massively higher injury rates during training, and the injuries tend to be more severe.

If you are a woman and want to go into SF, I won't say you shouldn't, but you should understand what the costs are to your body to do so. And be willing to take those risks.

Also, remember that wars are not really won by the tip of the spear, but by the supply chain that gets that spear to the front. Battles are won by soldiers. Wars are won by logistics. So while the SF folks get the glory (and wounds/death) the POGs actually bring the victory. So anyone (regardless of gender) can still be an invaluable contributor even if not on the front lines, or doing secret-squirrel stuff.
 
There are lady officers in EOD that have successfully completed training if I'm not mistaken. There will be lady officer SEALs.
 
I would say
- Practice excelling physically through pain, illness and discomfort - swimming in the Coronado bay takes a toll on recruits. (Mexico dumps wastewater in it). Injuries are a daily occurrence.
- develop mental fortitude
- Focus on upper body and neck strength (think logs)
- find your why, before your instructors do
- Do not ever ring the bell!
best of luck to you!!
 
Welcome Aboard, @smithy. The original post was from a female asking advice on how to pass BUD/S and who by the way hasn't been seen for 9ish months. Now, just to help determine which member here my internet friend @Heatherg21 and apparently a fellow grunt corpsman @USMCDOC667 are advising, what's going on with you, @smithy?


You said, "I'm going in for seal soon" which sounds like you are not currently a member of the military. Or, are you a midshipman, or college student, high school senior maybe?

I'd never ask if you are male or female or other but that was the central theme of the OP. I'm a female and want to be a SEAL and no woman has made it past day 4 and I want to know how I can do it.

Anyway @smithy good luck to you as well. As @USMC Crayons said above, there's not many men on the planet who are capable of becoming a US Navy SEAL. It will be interesting some day to hear the story of the first woman SEAL and how she did it.
Theres some women who made it through Ranger School but the word is they lowered the standard for them and allowed them certain concessions to address female hygene issues. Correct me if Im wrong but isn't that putting the thumb om the scale to get them across the line?
 
Theres some women who made it through Ranger School but the word is they lowered the standard for them and allowed them certain concessions to address female hygene issues. Correct me if Im wrong but isn't that putting the thumb om the scale to get them across the line?
I’ve met at least one female Army Ranger before in real life, and from what can I tell after chatting with her, no they did NOT lower the standards just for her at Ranger school. She was one of the first women to earn her tab and even shaved her head to attend.
 
Theres some women who made it through Ranger School but the word is they lowered the standard for them and allowed them certain concessions to address female hygene issues. Correct me if Im wrong but isn't that putting the thumb om the scale to get them across the line?
I read that back then on a couple of forums but I'm not a SEAL or Ranger. My question to someone if I had the chance would be, "So you're now a member of an elite group who has lower standards than the one's who made you famous? How did you let that happen?" I would be defending my special status and applauding the women who made the cut.

I'll never claim women are less than. My wife and daughter are two of the strongest people I know. Could they have made it through BUD/s or Ranger school? Probably not, but they wouldn't quit because it was hard.

I did make it through field medical school. Twice. The first time at 20 years old and the second at thirty-five. It was hard but women made it through and a bunch of weak underweight men. The thing about Marine Corps training is they don't let you quit. I used to work out at Ramer gym on Camp Barrett and the second lieutenants who failed Infantry Officer School were allowed to spend time healing or getting stronger to pass the physical rigors of the course of instruction. When women were allowed in, they weren't given the same opportunity. They were sent on to another MOS school. That changed however and waa-laa, women started passing when given the chance to heal and get stronger. Did the Marines lower standards? Maybe. I'm also not a Marine officer so not qualified to answer that.

I was the Independent Duty Corpsman on the first combatant to have females report aboard. The USS George Washington got credit for it back then but I can produce proof otherwise. We knew they were coming but they reported aboard early. The ship moored at Rosey Roads and I got called to the pier to pick up a box with my name on it. It was full of items to treat female specific medical conditions, including hygiene issues. A group of 12 E-6 and below, a CPO, and an officer were flown in and met us there instead of Norfolk like previously scheduled. Despite popular opinion by some in the world today, there's a difference in men and women. I've seen and treated those differences. I was happy to get the box. I needed it.
 
Mental aspect is crucial.

Shannon Kent (personal hero) did know the meaning of the word quit

If OP is still around - and for those that think a woman cannot handle the physical demands - might want to take a moment and reflect on how this woman took away a lot of excuses - for men and women. And as noted, there are alternate paths for JSOC service.

Kent was a mom of two, cancer survivor, fluent in several languages, marathon runner, participated in tough mudder while 7-months pregnant.

In 2007, Kent volunteered for an Individual Augment and was deployed to Iraq on an intelligence team supporting Navy SEALs. In 2008, she underwent training for a permanent position on a SEAL support team, and she was deployed to Afghanistan to support a SEAL team in 2012

I'm pretty sure she did not go through EOD or BUDS. She did, however, train and deploy with Delta and SEALs, including ruck marches and close-quarters combat. she paved the way for a lot of women. She was a valued and respected team member in support role of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

Applied for doctorate degree (and I believe accepted) to attend Uniform Health to help veterans with PTSD. Received dq because a cancer survivor. She did not get a waiver so she successfully petitioned Congress to change the regulation. Successful, but not in time.

Some of her achievements were recognized publicly, but belatedly, at the USNA chapel in 2019. She served above and beyond until she was taken - too soon.

Section 60 Site 11741


 
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Not to diminish Senior Chief Kent's service or death, but there is a huge difference between being on a SEAL support team and being an actual SEAL. Not even close.
 
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