LCDR Mark D. Divine
is a Navy SEAL currently serving a one year
recall in support of Operation Noble Eagle
and the War on Terror. Divine was Honor graduate
of SEAL training class 170, and has served
for 14 years with the SEALs - 7 & 1/2 of which
were on active duty at SEAL Team THREE, SEAL
Delivery Vehicle Team ONE and Naval Special
Warfare Group ONE. Most recently he was Executive
Officer at Reserve SEAL Team ONE. After leaving
Active Duty Mark started NavySEALs.com, which
has become a leader on the web for Special
Operations news and intelligence.
You
Want Me to Do What? - Ever wondered
what it would REALLY be like to go through
Special Forces training? Get a comprehensive,
humorous look at the process through the eyes
of Jeff Kraus, the only man to succeed at
all three elite U.S. Military Special Operations
qualifications schools.
February 19, 2004
By Mark Divine
It's the age-old debate - quality versus quantity - and the future
of Navy SEALs may be at stake.
The SEALs' top leader, Admiral Calland, recently discussed the mandate
to add 200 SEALs to the Naval Special Warfare force. 200 SEALs is
2 SEAL Teams. The interesting point he made, one not noticed by many
in the media, is that he did not state that we would be adding 2 new
SEAL Teams, rather, we would fully staff the SEAL teams we already
have.
Hmmm - now that kind of makes sense to me. I wouldn't open a new factory
until I had maxed out my capacity at my current factory. Why add new
Teams if we can't staff the ones we have? The SEALs have a manning
challenge which stems from a scarcity of qualified recruits, and an
enormous demand for SEALs in operational roles spread all around the
world. Adding two new SEAL teams would gloss over the problem. Filling
the holes to strengthen our current force posture is the right call.
This is one of many "good calls" I have witnessed from the head shed
recently. On the issue of the numbers game - the pressure is enormous
to push more students through Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL training.
The basic paradigm is that somehow 120 recruits show up who are supposed
to be qualified to begin SEAL training. Then, roughly 4 to 6 weeks
into the training, about 45 remain. At week 27, about 24 graduate
(these are just estimates for the purpose of discussion - the numbers
work out to between 70% and 80% of those who start BUD/s, do not finish
for various reasons). However, the BUD/s CO, with the support of the
brass, have not succumbed to the pressure to get the numbers up by
reducing standards.
Good call.
Reducing standards would destroy the fabric of what makes the SEALs
unique. The intense and arduous training regimin, punctuated by Hell
Week (the one week session of round the clock training in a simulated
combat environment) is the foundation of the SEAL's formidable and
collective spirit. The collective spirit that shouts "FAILURE IS NOT
AN OPTION". Water down the foundation, then the butterfly effect of
the results would be felt for years to come.
Thus the question is - how do you increase the force by 200 people,
if you can not get more people in the front door, and refuse to reduce
the standards so that you get more through the program? With only
5 BUD/s classes a year, which average 30 graduates each - that is
150 new students a year. This pool replaces the 150 or so that leave
the force every year. Where do we get the new 200 SEALs? Good question.
The obvious answer is to bring more recruits in the front door.
Well - that brings me to another issue. Many recruits who show up
for SEAL training are not prepared to be SEAL trainees. Some come
from the fleet to get out of a bad situation. Others are on a flight
of fancy, having read one too many Dick Marcinko books. Still others
do not even want to be there, or they show up and get hurt on the
first day. Truly, there has been a disconnect between what the SEALs
do for Navy recruiting, and what they get in return.
Fortunately there are also some good calls being made to try to rectify
this problem from within the SEALs. Rather than wait for recruiters
to send recruits who will fail BUD/s, the SEALs developed a team called
the SEAL Motivators who reach out and work with recruiters to identify
the most-likely-to-succeed candidates. They are to be found via the
local swim coach, on the wresting mat, in the boxing gym, at the local
community colleges. They are not walking off the street into recruiters
offices in the numbers needed to meet the goals. If the SEALs can
increase the QUALITY of students who show up at the front end, they
will increase the QUANTITY of graduates at the back end ... without
reducing standards and watering down the force.
Good call Admiral. The challenge will be in the execution.
