All roads to becoming a Navy SEAL, end at BUD/S - Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL Training. There are many routes to get to sunny Coronado, California where BUD/S is located, but the only way to become a Navy SEAL is you have to finish BUD/S first. You have to get TO BUDS in order to get THROUGH BUDS - learn the difference.
Below are the several options SEAL wanna-be's struggle with and definitely should know before signing any paperwork with the Navy:
First Option - Join the Navy by Enlisting...
This is the route that will give you the best chance of attending SEAL training as there are ten times more enlisted SEALs than there are officers that attend SEAL training each year. The need for enlisted SEALs will therefore always be higher than the need for officers in the Teams. That is why the SEAL officer route is more competitive. Here is the fastest way to join the Navy and attend BUDS. Many candidates attend BUD/s with college degrees, enlisted with the hopes of attending Officer Candidate School (OCS) later in their careers. It is also wise to check the official SEAL site, as changes occur regularly with the admissions process and programs.
Step 1: Be able to CRUSH THE PST, then go to a recruiter’s office. Choose a Spec Ops/Spec War Source Rating
Be ready to visit a recruiter (see recommendations to know when you are READY). You will have to sign up for a regular Navy Source Rating (designator - like GM gunner's mate or OS operations specialist) to join the Delayed Entry Program. Ask your local recruiter about the Navy Special Warfare / Special Operations Scout Team in your area. The SEAL Scout Team Program will test you in the PST. The SCOUT Team is a trained recruiter that tests recruits for training by conducting regularly scheduled Physical Strength Tests (PSTs). You have to pass the PST before Boot camp to change your rate to SO, or Special Operator, to be your new designation. However, you have to pass the ELEVATED standards of the Navy SEAL Physical Screening Test (PST) to receive your contract to attend BUDS after graduation from Boot Camp.
Below are the minimum and recommended standards for the PST: How to Ace the PST
| PST Event | Minimum Standards | Recommended Standards |
| 500 yd swim | 12:30 | 8-9 minutes |
| Pushups | 50 | 80-100 |
| Sit-ups | 50 | 80-100 |
| Pull-ups | 10 | 15-20 |
| 1.5 mile timed run | 10:30 | 9-10 minutes |
Today, Navy Special Warfare has instituted a "draft" similar to the NFL draft process, where the best candidates get selected first. The better your PST, ASVAB, and CSORT scores, the sooner you get to go to boot camp, rather than BUDS, so achieving above (or beyond) the recommended standard is critical to your acceptance to go to SEAL training.
Step 2: Boot Camp Training
All recruits will report to Great Lakes, Illinois, to attend basic military training. During Boot Camp, be prepared to take the PST, as you may take it there, or you may not take it until BUDS Prep after completing Boot Camp. Just be prepared, because if you fail the PST, you will be removed from the program at any stage beyond Boot Camp training.
Step 3: BUD/S Prep - Pre-Training Phase (post Boot Camp and Pre-BUD/s Training)
After Boot Camp, you will work out for a living and be in sunny Coronado, CA. BUDS Prep is on the BUDS compound now. Your job is to learn about the Special Warfare Communities as well as start an extensive physical training program for 6-8 weeks. The Pre-training program is designed to help candidates get into better shape, as Boot Camp does not adequately prepare a BUD/S student for the advanced training programs they will encounter in Coronado. You should still be ready for BUDS before attending Boot Camp.
The Pre-training instructors are not interested in weeding anyone out at this point; however, people still quit or fail to pass the PST, as it is not an easy task. The goal of this training is to teach candidates that they will not succeed in the next phase of training if they strive only for the minimum standards in the PST. You will have to pass a BUDS Prep fitness test: (Read About All The Ways to Fail Before You Even Start Your Special Ops Journey - Don't Be Stupid)
| The BUDS Prep ends with a modified Physical Screening Test (PST): |
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1000-meter swim - with fins (22 minutes or faster) |
Continue to Step 3b of this article to see remaining training pipeline as it is the same for everyone after this point.
Option #2: Enlist and Serve in the Navy then Try Out for BUD/S
NOTE - This is a tough road. Many things have to work in your favor. The manning of the Teams in your year group (the year you joined) has to be open to you. Your current rate should allow you to leave that community and attend BUDS to obtain the SO Special Operator rating.
This is a longer route to BUD/S that applies to both enlisted personnel and officers in the Navy who wish to attend BUD/S. It is also the same route a former BUD/S student who did not graduate will have to do IF he wants to try to attend BUD/S again. Imagine yourself at your regular Navy command, working the day, then adding in extra workouts at night to prepare for the BUD/s PST. This will be your life for a year or two or MORE. The ability to get above-average PST scores is possible, but it requires lots of extra effort on your part. It has been done before by many great enlisted and officers SEALs. Still, it is a challenge and demonstrates your desire to attend BUD/S if you can achieve the recommended elevated scores on the PST while on active duty, particularly if stationed on a ship. This is not the easy route.
You must route a special request chit up your chain of command and wait until your time at your present command is completed before leaving for BUD/S. Many have arranged a deal to re-enlist in the Navy IF they can attend BUD/S at the end of their first enlistment. Of course, you still have to meet all of the elevated standards.
The issues you have to deal with are that your current rating (job) may be understaffed and not let you go, OR your year group is full of all the SEALs they need. The Year-Group is the year you joined the Navy.
Another option to BUDS that is tough as well:
If you are in another service branch, you have to join the Navy to go to BUD/s. There is no such thing as joining the Marine Corps and then immediately enrolling in the BUD/S program. You can join the Marines, but you have to get out of the Marines and join the Navy to attend BUD/S. Then you have year group issues that could prevent you from attending BUDS. If the year group of active SEALs in the Teams is at capacity, you will not get the chance to go to BUDS. Marines (not other services) also have issues with year groups.
**In recent years, it has not been easy to get to BUDS using this method. Most people arrive at BUDS from the street, not the Fleet.
Go to Step 3b below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.
Officer options to get to BUDS - All Officer Candidates MUST Attend SOAS - SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (read link)
Options #3: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: US Naval Academy
USNA to SEAL: First you have to get into the Naval Academy - Annapolis MD - USNA. See the link for all the details of that long process. Once at the Academy, you should start training with like-minded classmates and also get to know the older students who are training every day for BUD/S. There are active duty SEALs to help with your training programs, and they will start the screening process in your junior year. You will take many PSTs as well as have to endure BUD/S Screening, which is a 36-hour-long event that mixes in some of the worst events at BUD/s into a long weekend at the Academy. Usually by your senior year, the hundred or more classmates who thought they wanted to be SEALs have dwindled down to about 60, but they are all highly qualified and only 30-35 slots each year. Your grades, leadership jobs, sports / athletic events completed, foreign languages, and even community service hours come into play in the selection. You will be finally judged by a group of SEAL officers and senior enlisted in a personal interview. The SEAL Officer Community Manager / Detailor, through the SOAS Process, selects you. Go to Step 4 below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.
Option #4: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: Reserve Officer Training Corps
Enrolling in a Navy ROTC program while attending college is another route to BUD/s. Navy ROTC graduates have the opportunity to attend BUD/S after graduation. ROTC typically gets 15-25 officer slots a year for SEAL training. These are nationwide competitions among ALL ROTC programs in the nation. To say these are competitive is an understatement. If you are an excellent / above average candidate, you have a great chance at going to BUD/S. However, ROTC students compete for officer billets alongside USNA and OCS candidates as well as SOAS. (see SOAS link)
Your requirements are similar to those of USNA and OCS, as your grades, sports, leadership roles, and PST scores will all play a part in your acceptance. See the Official ROTC website for what colleges offer Navy ROTC.
Go to Step 3b below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.
Options #5: Navy SEAL Officer Programs: Officer Candidate School - OCS
You need to have a college degree before applying to the OCS board. There are numerous opportunities in the military for young college graduates seeking to lead. However, officer slots for any of the Special Forces units are few and hard to come by. The latest numbers for SEAL officer candidates indicate that approximately 1 in 8 are accepted to attend SEAL training after completing Officer Candidate School (OCS). OCS candidates seeking to attend BUDS after OCS will attend SOAS as well as a civilian before OCS.
Applying to Officer Candidate School and wanting to become a Navy SEAL means you will be selected to go to BUDS immediately after you complete OCS. You will be accepted to attend SEAL training by a board of SEAL officers, and then they will send you to OCS first, with immediate follow-on training at BUD/S.
| OFFICER SELECTION PROGRAM SINCE SUMMER 2014 |
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Starting in Summer 2014, ALL officer candidates will get the opportunity to test themselves at BUDS. What used to be called mini-BUDS has been changed to an actual BUD/S Selection Program now called SOAS - SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection. Mini-BUDS was more of a summer camp compared to the BUD/S Selection program, as this program is not just a Midshipman Summer Cruise - it is a selection and screening course. USNA and Navy ROTC Midshipmen, qualified USAFA, USMA cadets, USMMA midshipmen, and highly qualified OCS candidates all train together and are constantly screened by BUD/S instructors. The details of this program are limited, and all candidates are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Just know that you will be tested in running, rucking, swimming, water skills, PT, log PT, small boat drills, and many more events. You will be graded on just about everything you do, from push-ups to leadership skills. Interviews, psychological evaluations, and the tough physical week of daily challenges will expose your personality, strengths, and weaknesses. The Navy Special Warfare Assessment Command will determine who attends BUDS in the following months and candidates will learn later in the Fall the same year. |
Go to Step 3b below for the remaining steps of the BUD/S pipeline.
Step 3b: BUDS Prep: Navy SEAL Training (BUD/S) Pre- Training and INDOC - All roads get you to BUDS Prep in Coronado.
Once you arrive at BUD/S you will join BUDS Prep. BUD/SPrep is now in Coronado as of late 2021 and is even better and challenging 6-8 week training to thoroughly test the students in all the basics from the PST (again!), swimming with fins in open water, obstacle courses, timed beach runs, as well as challenging PTs on the Grinder, and of course - surf zone training. Once you have passed the challenges of Prep and not quit after the instructors personally test your desire, you get the opportunity to advance to Phase 1.
Step 4: Phase 1,2,3 at BUD/S
Now, training begins at the First Phase. This is where most BUD/S students quit or get injured. This phase is where you will regularly face challenges, such as four-mile timed beach runs, 2-mile ocean swims, the BUD/S obstacle course, log PT, and hundreds of reps of push-ups, pull-ups, and abdominal exercises. Drown-proofing, life saving, and underwater knot tying are also challenging tests you must pass to continue training. How Bad Do You Want It?
Of course there is Hell Week, which is a 120 hour long event designed to test your desire to be a Navy SEAL. You may sleep a total of 3-4 hours in five days and log more than 200 miles of running, swimming, and paddling boats. This phase is the ultimate test of your ability to be a team player - whether you are under a log or boat, you will quickly learn who you want on your team.
Phase 2 is Dive Phase. You should have a basic understanding of SCUBA diving before attending, though it is not a requirement to be SCUBA qualified. You will be required to use algebra to solve diving math problems as well as diving physics. The most important laws to know in Navy SEAL diving are Boyle's Law and Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure. You will learn open-circuit SCUBA and closed circuit (oxygen re-breathers) in Dive Phase as well as one of the most challenging tests at BUDS - POOL COMPETENCY. This test is designed to teach and test your ability to remain calm in the event of everything going wrong underwater. You will also swim a six-mile ocean swim during this phase.
Phase 3 is Land Warfare. You will enjoy shooting, learning, and using demolitions such as C-4 as well as rucking, patrolling, shooting, moving, and land navigation. This phase is full of potential safety violations, so be careful where you point your weapon, have the weapon on safe when not in use, as well as many other possible dangers that involve demolition and marksmanship. The PT, runs, and swims do not get easier; you will be in your best shape ever during the third phase and able to run 10-15 miles, swim 3-4 miles, and ruck 20 miles when on San Clemente Island.
Congratulations - you have finished BUD/S, but your SEAL training is not over - just the basics are over.
SQT - After BUD/S graduation, you go to SQT - SEAL Qualification Training. SQT is an advanced training program that takes the individual who graduated BUD/S and forms a TEAM that is capable of operating in the water, underwater, from planes and helicopters, ropes and parachutes, boats, and on foot. You will learn and master the basic insertion methods used by SEALs and conduct training missions. There is also a mix of many hours of classroom training where you learn about intelligence gathering, designing missions, and moving together as a team from insertion to extraction of a mission.
Now, after BUD/S and SQT, you get to go to the SEAL Team that selected you and become a "new guy" and prove yourself all over again to the veteran SEALs you will be joining on combat deployments. You will continue to learn something new each day of your career, so stay in "receive mode" and listen to those who have been there and done that.
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