- Joined
- Dec 4, 2018
- Messages
- 286
The same as men. You have to meet the same qualifications.
Don’t quit?
Sand. The sand will get everywhere, especially 1st phase. No matter if it is having a bad barracks inspection at BEQ 618 and being sent to get wet and sandy, laying in the surf while the waves shove it up your pants, hydrographic recon, or getting rolled in surf passage. People prepare for a lot of things, most don’t expect the sand. You will be uncomfortable, every day. Understand that and put your best foot forward. The rest is out there on the web and pretty common to find. Good luck and research well.
I wanted to say this is good word, however could you please post an introduction for yourself so that we can understand what your experiences are within the Navy?
My advice honestly is to convince yourself mentally that you are a man and that you will not be treated any better than your brothers suffering next to you. I only say this because your post specifically asks what advice we have for women.
I applaud a woman with the ambition to go for it. I would say the biggest hurdle “as a woman” you have is mentally releasing society’s social norm and prepare to be treated like the boys.
Otherwise, as a generic BUD/S candidate, just like every other man or woman hopeful, I invite you to check out my posts which would be extremely relevant to you.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 1
Honestly, I would say the best thing you could do is to go into it understanding that you WILL be targeted...but fairly. One of the concerns with implementing the addition of female candidates to special operations election courses is that they would receive unequal pressure in an attempt to get rid of them. However, I think it would be fair to assume that, being one of the first females through BUD/S, or BCT for that matter, there will be an army of formal observers throughout every step of the training.
But the biggest thing to realize and accept is that you will be targeted, the same as every single other candidate in your class. That is the entire purpose of the instructors' jobs: to watch, analyze, and assess for weakness, and then jam their fingers into the cut (figuratively, of course). EVERYONE gets targeted. It's just part of the game. I think one of the single most damaging things a female candidate could do to their cause would be blaming their disqualification on sexism or misogyny. Accept that they will test your weaknesses, because women are generally weaker than men in upper body strength. The same way I trailed the back of the goon squad on every run surrounded by instructors telling me to DOR while the pickup truck nipping at my heels blasted Enya over the megaphone. Just come to terms with your eventual limelight of misery but don't use it as an excuse.
Inanna
Unverified
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2020
- Messages
- 11
Thank you all so much for your advice and input. Sorry I didn’t respond right away, I got busy then when I came back this forum was shut down and I thought it disappeared forever.
I’ve spoken to a SEAL recruiter but I won’t go to BUD/S until I can pass the SEAL PST + the BUD/S Prep Exit PST with competitive scores, run 4 miles in 27 minutes on soft sand, swim 2 miles in 70 minutes in Scuba Pro Jet Fins, tread water with no hands for 10 minutes using the egg beater kick, and until I’m running 40 miles per week with 30% of that mileage on unstable ground such as sand.
According to what some BUD/S dropouts told me, one female SEAL candidate broke her legs in Basic Orientation (BO) which is the first three weeks of BUD/S, another female SEAL candidate broke her legs in BUD/S Prep and a third female SEAL candidate got rolled back in BO for stress fractures. None of them made it.
In November 2021, a woman made it to first phase of BUD/S for the first time in history but she quit on day one after the first hour.
A woman passed BRC a few years ago. It isn’t impossible.
Tread with weights in your hands out of the water for 10 minutes. 10 minutes with just your hands out of the water is not enough.
2 miles in 70 minutes is not enough.
27 minute sand 4 mile is not enough.
Those might be the standard, but by the time you get there, your body is not going to work very well. You are going to be in a lot of pain and your muscles will be exhausted. You have to aim much higher than the standard, so that you can meet the standard on your worst day.
2 miles in 70 minutes is not enough.
27 minute sand 4 mile is not enough.
Those might be the standard, but by the time you get there, your body is not going to work very well. You are going to be in a lot of pain and your muscles will be exhausted. You have to aim much higher than the standard, so that you can meet the standard on your worst day.
Inanna
Unverified
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2020
- Messages
- 11
Thank you for the advice. So I should aim for a 4 mile run in 20 minutes on sand and a 2 mile swim in 60 minutes in Scuba fins?
I emailed the SEAL SWCC Scout Team, they said female SEAL candidates usually have the most trouble with load bearing.
Women have weaker bones and tendons than men, plus a study showed that women develop stress fractures 3x more often than men. The first female SWCC operator developed stress fractures in SWCC training. So I’m trying to figure out how to strengthen my bones.
I quickly wrote that, I should clarify.
For the run I would run more mileage. Probably the best thing you can do is high mileage if you are able to actually hit a 27 minute 4 mile. The mileage is going to harden your bones as long as it is not painful. You are going to be running about 16 miles a day. Some of it with a boat on your head or shoulder, and some of it with a ruck sack.
In addition to high mileage, you should be doing lots weighted lunges, squats and calf raises.
For the swim, my biggest concern is that you are doing all your mileage in a pool. I don’t condone ocean swimming by yourself, but the huge difference is that you can’t see anything in the ocean, and in the pool you have lane lines. In Coronado the water is brown and you can’t see your hand in front of your face, and you have to pick up your head periodically and look at where you are going, it’s extremely easy to veer off course. You also are swimming in pairs with a swim buddy, so you have to be able to combat swimmer side stroke on both sides. All of this is going to give you a much slower swim than you are planning for. You are also going to be wearing a wet suit that will slow you down and reduce your motion.
I don’t really want to give you times because in reality, the faster you are, the more relaxed you will be, the easier it will be, and the less chance of injury. If I gave you a time to hit I believe it will cripple you.
Last edited:
I considered that, but she also has done a lot of research. Anything I’m writing here will also help others, male or female, so I figured why the hell not.
R.Caerbannog
Verified Military
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2015
- Messages
- 2,054
You're a better man than I.
That said, any information given to these people may or may not be used against your community.
Honestly, I try to treat these people like foreign nationals. Cause at a basic level, their core beliefs are antithetical to western civilization and are an anathema to some of the core values and ideals the military, espc combat arms, tends to have.
Inanna
Unverified
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2020
- Messages
- 11
Oh ok. What do you think of the studies below?
The studies found that candidates who run 27 minutes on a 4 mile run have the highest likelihood of securing Hell week while people who ran faster than 27 minutes were more likely to get medically dropped and not make it.
They also found that candidates who could do 13 reps of 25lb pull ups had the best chance of securing Hell week while the people who did 19+ reps of 25lb pull ups were less likely to secure Hell week and more likely to get injured.
FIND OUT THE SPEEDS, REPS AND DISTANCES THAT CORRELATE TO HELL WEEK SUCCESS (Naval Special Warfare Study)
SPEEDS, REPS, AND DISTANCES THAT CORRELATE TO HELL WEEK SUCCESS
Why Running Speed Predicts Your Hell Week Success by Mike Caviston, Director of Fitness at the Naval Special Warfare Center:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200812173731/https://www.sealswcc.com/blog/physical-training-mental-toghness-and-more/post/why-running-speed-predicts-your-hell-week-success.html
According to SEALSWCC.com, the BUD/S medical staff recommends running 40 miles per week with 30% of that mileage on unstable ground before going to BUD/S.
My original goal was to run 60-80 miles per week before I go to BUD/S but I spoke to Stew Smith (former SEAL officer) in his Facebook group about this and he said that it wouldn’t be realistic because you also have to do swimming, weight lifting, rucking, calisthenics, etc. to prepare for BUD/S. In his words, he said “If you are running 60-70 miles a week you are literally running the ass off you need to lift all that of that heavy stuff…”
Just don’t hurt while you are training. At all. The only time to push through pain is when you absolutely have to during selection.
I’m inclined to believe that the idea is that people are over training and are doing damage to their bodies, but the thing that most people drop for is leg injuries due to the amount of mileage you have to run, with and without additional weight. Their bodies aren’t ready for it.
You do absolutely have to be good at everything though, so the hard part is juggling the hours of running, hours of swimming and the calisthenics on top of all of it while also stretching and taking proper care of your body to avoid getting hurt.
Similar threads
