Retention and Recruitment Crisis

Marauder06 said:
I think there is a period of time between when someone passes BUD/S and the time they are officially a SEAL. So this guy could be a legit BUD/S grad and not have fully earned his Trident yet.

Or yeah, he could be a complete poser.
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One of our resident SEAL or SWCC guys would know best, but my understanding was that you're not a SEAL until after SQT which follows the end of BUD/S. Meaning he may have completed BUD/S, but is still a SEAL trainee.
 
Kaldak said:
One of our resident SEAL or SWCC guys would know best, but my understanding was that you're not a SEAL until after SQT which follows the end of BUD/S. Meaning he may have completed BUD/S, but is still a SEAL trainee.
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At that point, post-BUDS but before graduating SQT, is splitting hairs and I'm not sure splitting hairs makes a difference in this case. Like esteemed colleague @Ooh-Rah pointed out who knows at what point--if any--said "SEAL" was really a "SEAL" or something else.
 
Marauder06 said:
I think there is a period of time between when someone passes BUD/S and the time they are officially a SEAL. So this guy could be a legit BUD/S grad and not have fully earned his Trident yet.

Or yeah, he could be a complete poser.
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Do you remember that turd, Ben something, who did PMC work in Iraq '04-'06 timeframe? He claimed to be a SEAL, but had to walk that back when it was discovered he'd completed BUD/S, but not earned the Trident. I think back then it was something like BUD/S, maybe follow-on training, and then a probationary period with your team before you were officially a SEAL. This dude had done something egregious enough to be punted from his team and never earned the Trident.

I think he was active on various forums spouting his SEAL stuff. I can't recall what happened to him, maybe killed in Iraq or just drifted away?
 
Ooh-Rah said:
This dude?

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Kinda. Old way was each Group ran it's own post-BUDS "advanced" training; however, guys were already on a platoon, and had to appear before a board before they got a Trident. So they may or may not have received the advanced training before the board. So guys could have been on a platoon and team and deployed before going before a board.

Circling back, now the process is pretty clear, but I'm still unclear as to whether this guy was a BUDS graduate or not.
 
Devildoc said:
Circling back, now the process is pretty clear, but I'm still unclear as to whether this guy was a BUDS graduate or not.
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The original article stated he us a BUD/S graduate, but also as a SEAL trainee. I filled in the blanks on my own to surmise that meant he had yet to complete SQT. I could be wrong on that assumption.

Devildoc said:
At that point, post-BUDS but before graduating SQT, is splitting hairs and I'm not sure splitting hairs makes a difference in this case. Like esteemed colleague @Ooh-Rah pointed out who knows at what point--if any--said "SEAL" was really a "SEAL" or something else.
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I don't know that I'd call it splitting hairs. You either are a SEAL or you aren't one. I only bring this up as we as a board don't tend to allow the argument of "I'm XXX." Cool, you have your pin/beret/tab then! "Ahksuhlly I have one more training before I get my tab/pin/beret". That gets a dog pile in an instant. I just want us to be consistent on that.
 
Kaldak said:
The original article stated he us a BUD/S graduate, but also as a SEAL trainee. I filled in the blanks on my own to surmise that meant he had yet to complete SQT. I could be wrong on that assumption.



I don't know that I'd call it splitting hairs. You either are a SEAL or you aren't one. I only bring this up as we as a board don't tend to allow the argument of "I'm XXX." Cool, you have your pin/beret/tab then! "Ahksuhlly I have one more training before I get my tab/pin/beret". That gets a dog pile in an instant. I just want us to be consistent on that.
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I am not arguing the point. I AM saying that when it's a moving target in the military to get the NEC, or 18-whatever, it does lead to discussions like this where it leads to ambiguity in articles like I posted. Doesn't stop there: Ranger vs Ranger, recon Marine (0321) vs 0321s who are not jump and/or dive qualified. If it's contentious in 'our' circles, it's made worse with articles like this.

We know what we don't know: BUDS not SQT? SQT not boarded? Boarded waiting for a platoon? None of the above? BUDS roll-back? BUDS dud? Pre-BUDs? Civilian BUDS prep?
 
AWP said:
1) Wasn't CAP always seen as a recruitment tool in addition to (IMO) necessary function?

2) Reports are going around that SF Groups are bringing back "ghost teams" to fix manning shortfalls. This was a 90's thing to be sure. What's an SF company? 6 teams? Now you're down to 3-5 and maybe even those are partial teams?
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CAP as an air force auxiliary and pathway to service, yes. Cadets get exposed to a lot of service roles, including EMS, Fire, search and rescue, and other skills like flying and radios

The Ghost team reports are rumors. Some teams are undermanned, but commanders are task organizing for missions while the SF Regiment goes through a re-structuring
 
DA SWO said:
H.W. Bush ran on a 30% reduction in the military, Clinton ran on a 50% reduction.
W. Bush then closed more bases down.
Stupid on both sides of the aisle.

Fuck Rumsfeld.
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I spent some time at FT Ord, California right before it closed. The 7th ID was a great unit and that place was probably the best Army post for both training and quality of life, and H.W. gave it away.
 
Topkick said:
I spent some time at FT Ord, California right before it closed. The 7th ID was a great unit and that place was probably the best Army post for both training and quality of life, and H.W. gave it away.
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I have seen pics of it pre- and post-, and it seemed to be a beautiful base. You can google the bases that were BRAC'd, the list is stunning. And very sad.

Related, several years ago I went to Columbus AFB in Mississippi, and someone took me on a tour of the also-BRAC'd SAC alert facility, the statging facility for B-52s at the end of the runway. Two stories above ground, something like five below ground. It was very cool, but also very eerie: it looked as if someone just turned out the lights and locked the door and left. It smelled like the 50s and 60s, and everything in it was 60s-era.
 
Devildoc said:
It smelled like the 50s and 60s, and everything in it was 60s-era.
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I love seeing places like that. Right after 9/11, I was sent with a team TDY to inspect security on some old army depots, which I had no clue even existed, but quietly still served a purpose. The history was absolutely fascinating and I was able tour the entire lay of the land.
 
I mean...does she "re-enlist"?
----

Whatever social media's ills, and I don't know if they made this knowing they wouldn't re-enlist or stayed in, imagine being disgruntled and having a worldwide method of airing your complaints. Let's face it, we were brought up to "solve it in house", but what do you do if that isn't working? "Oh, stupid AWP, that's why we have the IG process."

Uh-huh. Anyone here seen that fail our folks before? Legit problems that took the intervention of an elected official? Blatant cases that shouldn't have gone beyond a battalion level rose to "I had to write my congress critter?"

Also, how many of the video's complaints are legit? And, where is 4-5 ADA?
https://home.army.mil/cavazos/units...tillery-brigade/4th-battalion-5th-air-defense
Cavasos used to be Fort Hood. I'm going to side with the ladies on this one. I'm thinking they aren't blowing smoke.
 

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