.*** Looking for advice (swimming and tattoos)

atc722

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Apr 25, 2019
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Hey guys, a few things have changed since my introductory post. At the end of July, I enlisted in the Navy and planned on picking up a SO contract. I had never really swam before, especially competitively/laps for time. So, I've been doing CSS for right at two months, and my times on my last PST were: swim-12:42, pushups-66, situps-64, pullups-11, run-10:30. I know these aren't competitive numbers, and my swim still isn't fast enough for a contract yet, but I've still got plenty of improvement ahead of me. Anyways, my mentor/scout called me yesterday asking if I was interested in SWCC or EOD, which I am as well. The reason he asked is because he said out of every 10 guys that had been trying out in the Raleigh recruiting district, 6-7 were wanting to go SO. As a result, the SO contracts are filled until April or so, while there are plenty of EOD and SB contracts up for grabs. My mentor originally went SO, washed out, became an EOD and loved his job. He also mentioned if I keep working for SO numbers, I'll set myself up for better success in one of the other pipelines. SEAL would be my definite goal, but I feel like I can be just as passionate about SWCC. I know the basics about SWCC from the website, but I'm looking for any advice you guys have to offer and any additional information on the SWCC pipeline from someone who has gone down that route.
 
Recentish washout from the BUD/s pipeline, got perf dropped for run failures on Tuesday of week two of phase. Definitely keep an open mind about other jobs in the Navy and don't get sucked into the "I'll only go SO and wont settle for anything else" bs. Look into EOD, it's the best kept secret in the Navy. I was not lucky enough to get reclassed as EOD after I was dropped but a number of my close friends did and they all love it and say they're gonna do 20 without a doubt. Conversely, all my boys that secured BUD/s and made it to a team all say they might do a single reenlistment for the $90K SRB and then they're gonna pull chocks and get out.
 
Army denied the hand tattoos. Looks like navy it is. Just looking for some ideas. (23m)




Get your times to:
CSS Swim: 9:00
Push-ups: 80
Sit-ups: 80
Pull-ups: 15
Run: 9:30

What do you want to know about SWCC, my man?

Also, change your name. People don’t take kindly to calling yourself a Tadpole. Get through hell week before you can call yourself a tadpole.
Yessir, I didn't think of that when creating my username - it's a childhood nickname. I picked up my EOD contract two days after I originally posted this thread. I still haven't been able to break 11:00 on my swim though. Any advice?

@Tadpole722 - request a new username here: Available forms
When I click on the link, it says I do not meet the criteria.
 
When I click on the link, it says I do not meet the criteria.
That happens sometimes. Go to the top of your screen, or the left hand drop down if you are on a phone and find Vetting and Requests. Name change is under there.
 
Recentish washout from the BUD/s pipeline, got perf dropped for run failures on Tuesday of week two of phase. Definitely keep an open mind about other jobs in the Navy and don't get sucked into the "I'll only go SO and wont settle for anything else" bs. Look into EOD, it's the best kept secret in the Navy. I was not lucky enough to get reclassed as EOD after I was dropped but a number of my close friends did and they all love it and say they're gonna do 20 without a doubt. Conversely, all my boys that secured BUD/s and made it to a team all say they might do a single reenlistment for the $90K SRB and then they're gonna pull chocks and get out.
Thanks for the advice. My mentor told me pretty much the same thing. He said the reason there was such a high demand for SO is because guys were getting out so quickly, whereas the other jobs seem to have a pretty solid retention rate.
 
So what are your thoughts on someone who cannot swim more than 4 laps but can run under 7:30 for 1.5?
I really struggle with swimming.
 
So what are your thoughts on someone who cannot swim more than 4 laps but can run under 7:30 for 1.5?
I really struggle with swimming.
You’ve just got to constantly work at it. Get to the pool as much as you can; try for 4-5 days a week. In July I couldn’t even swim 1/3 of a 25m pool, and I now swim 10:30-11:00 on 500m.
 
But a pair of jammers (can’t stress this enough), watch every technique video of CSS on YouTube and practice those movements in your sleep and go to the pool every single day for a month. It’s that simple. I went from unable to complete a 500 without stopping to an 8 minute flat in two months. You won’t be breaking any 500 records, but you will be solidly in the 9 minute range which is as fast as you need to be, trust me, swimming is such a laughabley insignificant part of training (assuming you’re talking about BUD/s). Don’t lose your core competency with running, it’s literally the only thing that matters out on the silver strand and that 7:30 time is solid gold.
 
@atc722 @Aimlessfakedrifter @Zulio6

Preparing for A&S without a pool

I also briefly touch on egg beater if treading earlier in this thread.

Keep the questions coming to me if you guys need more info than I have given. It’s hard to give general advice when I can’t see what you are doing wrong but I think the two threads that I posted links to cover the major issues.
 
laughabley insignificant part of training (assuming you’re talking about BUD/s)

I don’t agree with this. I know many SEAL and SWCC who were dropped for their open ocean swims. It is true that you will only do Timed swims with fins on, however finless Combat Swimmer Side Stroke(CSS) is the only thing you can do when you are performing water rescue on the instructors. Many many people get dropped for water rescue.
I am not shy to say that the water rescue test is harder for SWCC than SEAL because we have boots on and our full kit.

In BUD/S prep you are going to swim without fins a ton, and people drop in prep a lot due to them being uncomfortable in the water.

@Luckynumber27

I don’t mean to discount your experience at BUD/S, but I notice you dropped during first phase, and a lot of the water competency stuff is done in first phase after completion of hell week. 2nd phase is also a ton of drowning.
 
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I don’t agree with this. I know many SEAL and SWCC who were dropped for their open ocean swims. It is true that you will only do Timed swims with fins on, however finless Combat Swimmer Side Stroke is the only thing you can do when you are performing water rescue on the instructors. Many many people get dropped for water rescue.
I am not shy to say that the water rescue test is harder for SWCC than SEAL because we have boots on and our full kit.
Check rog on that brother. I mean no disrespect with what I said, but I do stand by it. BUD/s life saving is considerably easier than y’alls version in BCT, make no mistake, it sucks, but it’s a nut up and get it done evolution. In addition, I would contend nothing about a 500 yard timed CSS is indicative of your success in life saving. If you’re a turd, the instructors are going to drown you, if you aren’t, the instructors will let you tow them. The 1st phase times for the 2 mile open water swim are a joke and literally no one gets dropped for them till the later phases. I say this as a guy who went through the first few weeks a couple years ago, but cardiovascular fitness and leg durability are literally the only things that matter in the SO pipeline. You think other stuff is hard until a boat gets put on your head and you take a jog down demo pit road, then you realize everything you’ve done up till that point in your life has been very easy.
 
I added some edits to my prior post that you may not have seen.


In addition, I would contend nothing about a 500 yard timed CSS is indicative of your success in life saving. If you’re a turd, the instructors are going to drown you, if you aren’t, the instructors will let you tow them.


I don’t agree. In my class they didn’t even give the SEAL candidates any water rescue practice, so they just watched us do it. You may or may not have gotten the training in prep because you were before my time, but your competency in the CSS makes a huge difference.
I saw a lot of good men get dropped for water rescue on the SEAL and SWCC side in BUD/S and Basic Crewman Selection(BCS- now the first phase of SWCC training.) A lot of VERY strong runners got dropped for lack of water competency.

The 1st phase times for the 2 mile open water swim are a joke and literally no one gets dropped for them till the later phases.

What may have been a joke for you may be someone else’s failure because they believe it would also be a joke to them.

My background was in water polo, so everything water was my strong point. I saw a lot of people that were seriously strong runners not make it through because of water related issues.

As you mentioned the time requirements do increase tremendously in later phases, and a drop in later phases due to swim failure is still a drop whether you make it through hell week or not. In fact in hurts way worse.

I say this as a guy who went through the first few weeks a couple years ago, but cardiovascular fitness and leg durability are literally the only things that matter in the SO pipeline. You think other stuff is hard until a boat gets put on your head and you take a jog down demo pit road, then you realize everything you’ve done up till that point in your life has been very easy.


I don’t disagree with you completely. SWCC run boat on head within the last year so I can legitimately say that I understand this. However I would like these guys to go in with all the ammunition they possibly can, and I cannot agree with any statement discounting the difficulty of the water evolutions.

With that being said, your earlier statement about getting your swim to a sub 9 minute 500 being enough I 100% agree with, but anything over 9 minutes needs work.
 
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Sorry, didn’t see your edit. I know the pipeline has definitely changed since my day, and I definitely tend to emphasize the parts of training i found the most difficult, probably shouldn’t do that. I did get the chance to tow instructors in prep and also at BUDs and it does suck, but that evo has been moved post hell week and is definitely not the bottle neck class culling evo it once was from the words of my original classmates that went back through in the last year.
I guess overall, being as great of a swimmer as you can be is a great idea and one I can’t deride, but I just remember writing down my thoughts after my drop and being fresh out of the pipeline and thinking anything that isn’t getting you ready for boats and logs is just a waste of time. All the guys that barely made the prep exit pst swim time but were strong as hell and good runners in my class are at teams now. Guys that literally contracted with 11 minute 500s have a bird on their chest. In contrast, all the boys like me that were strong as hell at running and swimming and marginal runners are now civilians. You get to second phase when you get there, the real trick is to still be standing on Friday of hellweek.
 
All the guys that barely made the prep exit pst swim time but were strong as hell and good runners in my class are at teams now. Guys that literally contracted with 11 minute 500s have a bird on their chest. In contrast, all the boys like me that were strong as hell at running and swimming and marginal runners are now civilians. You get to second phase when you get there, the real trick is to still be standing on Friday of hellweek.

If you’re a turd, the instructors are going to drown you, if you aren’t, the instructors will let you tow them.

The teams are full, they are giving out less contracts and they are not letting people get rolled for failures except in very few instances. People are getting dropped for anything currently, and it is extremely common for a lot of “Brown Shirts”(white shirts are worn prior to completion of Hell week and SWCC’s Tour equivalent) who make it past hell week get dropped for water related issues.

We may just be speaking about different times, but currently they will drop you with any excuse just to get the numbers down. When I was about to class up I heard the instructors say that if they didn’t give out any more contracts for the year they would still have met their quota. The CO addressed us on the last day of BUD/S Orientation and blatantly said, “we don’t need any one of you” to the SEAL candidates.
 
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