Prep for Combat Diving (NAUI vs PADI)

[ScubaWithTurk]

I saw a figure posted a while back on a veteran site I frequent (US Navy veteran) and they said of all those that go into boot meeting the min PST requirements I posted above, 6% of them would actually make it through BUD/S.

Also I believe the overall washout rate for BUD/S is closer to 70%

"As of 2014 BUD/S attrition rate of first phase is close to 50%, class size ranging from 150 – 175. Come Hell Week breakout the class size is down to 75 or less. 20% on average complete First Phase. " -U.S. Navy

 

[oldschoolto]

It's all about mental toughness... The brain is a wonderful tool if used... The body follows the brain, If your tough enough...

Jim..

 

[Bob DBF]

So if you are going in with a contract for this, think a little about what else the contract says.

I'll bet it says you do the hitch if you wash out, they need people that are determined, smart and tough in a lot of other positions besides SEALs. Subs for instance.


Bob

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Old School diving is highly reliant upon swimming using the flutter kick. The flutter kick is the fastest, most powerful and athletic kick in diving. Military divers do lots of flutter kicks as part of PT meant to build stamina for the most basic propulsion technique in scuba diving. In the 6 GUE classes I did, you do not even do a flutter kick. GUE's version of a flutter kick is a modified flutter kick for cave diving or other anti-silt/anti-damage application. The propulsion skills I learned consisted of frog kicks, modified frog kicks, modified flutter kicks, helicopter turns, and backward kicks. These are almost necessary for cave diving, should be a requirement for tech diving, and are nice to have for sport diving, but will negatively impact the way the military wants you to dive.

Ultimately, military divers are expected to have endurance with fast swim speeds over long distances. Recreational divers often just putz around a dive site, technical divers often dive around wrecks, and while cave divers may swim long distances the need for speed does not really exist unless exiting with a teammate who is out of gas or experiencing some other emergency. Military divers may need to swim hard, fast, and long to accomplish a mission, infiltrate and reach a target destination on time, "run/swim for their lives," or reach an extraction point on time. They may even have to do this while carrying wounded.

Rather than the finesse needed to swim through irreplaceable cave formations, military divers need "beast mode" which doesn't have to be pretty but has to get the job done.

 

[KevinNM]

Yes. I love GUE but the Navy has been teaching combat swimmers how to dive their way for almost 80 years. What the Navy wants in training is for you to do it the Navy way. I know there are opportunities to get washed out of SEAL training all along the whole program, but I don't think the dive training phase is particularly known for washing people out. People do, I think some of the academics are hard, but phase1 is a monster. Prepare more for phase 1 and worry less about phase 2 is my suggestion.

But i certainly have never been there myself. I could be all wrong.

Your recruiter probably has lots of resources on how to be successful to offer you, make use of them. If you can find someone who has been there and done it you should (note there are a lot of phony Navy seals out there - so be careful). You said you were in the San Diego area, have you seen if you can visit and talk to someone at Coronado?

 

[sealark]

Nothing you can do in civilian life except stay in shape. Military is much different than Civilian Diving. Don't go into Military training saying you are civilian trained. You will get laughed at. Good luck it's one hell of a ride. Listen and learn.

 

[archer1960]

I attended a briefing for potential Navy divers last year, and was told that having a civilian diving cert would likely make the course harder, not easier, because you will have to unlearn some skills and habits. The real priority has to be your physical fitness and mental toughness. Nothing else matters nearly as much as those two factors, though having strong swimming skills and comfort in the water are important too.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Gee, thanks, people, for reinforcing the myth that GUE has some resemblance to military-style training.

 

[sealark]

I went through 1st class dv school in 1966 washington Navy yard. I retired in 1980. You know there's more than combat Diving in the Navy. I never was in combat. Just a first class working diver. Make sure you understand what you want to do before singing up. Dv school is now in Panama City Florida. You are in Atlanta take a couple days and visit dive school in PC. Call and ask them what you have to do to get an interview. I have no idea if it's even possible.

 

[KevinNM]

Gee, thanks, people, for reinforcing the myth that GUE has some resemblance to military-style training.

Mer looking very sad when I screwed up was just like my drill sergeant having our platoon stop, do a half right face and hold out m16s extended at arms length for 10 minutes while he discussed our many failings and how disappointed he was. He was still holding an M16 extended at the end looking like he was carved out of granite, the rest of us not so much.