I have a question regarding someone like Chris Kyle's enlistment. I haven't read the book but in the movie the Navy recruiter shows him the SEALs and that's what he decides he wants to do. How exactly does that work? Can you join the Navy and go directly to the next BUDs class or do you have to be in the Navy for a period of time before applying for BUDs? Also, if you're someone like Kyle and join the Navy specifically because you want to be a SEAL but you fail BUDs, do you just go back to being enlisted and serve the rest of your term of service wherever the Navy decides to post you?
Apparently you can these days, I read the autobiography of another SEAL and he says these days you can go to BUDS immediately after basic. I guess the demand was so great they dropped any requirement to serve in the fleet.
It used to be that you tried out for SEALs after you were in the Navy. You still had your Navy Rating (Job) but if you complete the BUD/S training you were a Seal. This is why Michael Monsoor was known as MA2 (SEAL) Monsoor. He was an MA2 (Master at Arms) 2nd class petty officer. And why Steven Segal's character on Under Siege was a "cook" MSC(Seal) Ryback.
Nowadays SEAL is its own Rating, SO or Special Warfare Operator.
If you qualify, you can get a contract for SO on enlistment just as you get a contract on enlistment for any other rating (though naturally an SO contract is much tougher to get) SO contracts also go through a seperate modified boot camp with greater emphasis on physical training than standard boot camp. afterwards you're off to BUD/S.
Dubyasrobotminion if he see this post can give you a much more accurate posting than I and will correct anything I get wrong. He is the one poster I know who is on IMDb who would have the factual and current knowledfe on the subject.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
Thanks for answering some of my questions. I was just curious what happens to those who really want to be SEALs but if they couldn't pass BUDS wouldn't want to be in the Navy on a ship so what do they do. It's a little different than Delta Force where most trying out for that are already likely Rangers or Green Berets so if they can't get into Delta, they're still happy to be in the Army. I was thinking about this too because "An Officer and a Gentleman" has been on cable recently and I re-watched it. In it, Worley's dad makes a comment at dinner that when he went through the officer training program to become a pilot, if you DOR'd back in his day, they transferred you to the regular Navy instead of letting you quit all together. I don't know if that was really true or just something Hollywood made up, so I was wondering if there was anything similar nowadays if someone only joined to be a SEAL.
I was just curious what happens to those who really want to be SEALs but if they couldn't pass BUDS wouldn't want to be in the Navy on a ship so what do they do. It's a little different than Delta Force where most trying out for that are already likely Rangers or Green Berets so if they can't get into Delta, they're still happy to be in the Army
Well right there you have a misconception. You cannot equate the two situations. SEALS and Delta are not equivalent.
To Try out for Delta, You must already be Army Special Forces.
It is exactly the same with the Navy's equivalent to Delta. You must already be a SEAL before you can try out for them as well. That would be DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6)
Delta is a step about Green Beret DEVGRU is a step above SEAL.
And you can't sign up to try out. You're invited to try. No invitation, no tryout.
Again, Dubyasrobotminion is THE person to get the straight dope on this from on IMDb that I know of.
You can look for him on various military film boards (including this one) and try messaging him. His posting record is often hit and miss. Not in accuracy, he is nearly always spot on, but in timing. He'll have a period where he posts a lot and then long periods where he posts nothing and does not respond at all. He is still currently active duty unlike most military posters on here such as myself who are Veterans. He is currently serving aboard a Carrier. When its out to sea, he doesn't post.
He's currently an NCC (E-7) but in his earlier Navy days as a BM, he's had some experience working with Naval Special Warfare units.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
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Thanks again. I understood the difference between DEVGRU and Delta. I knew you had to already be a SEAL before trying for DEVGRU, just like most Delta come from the Rangers or Green Berets. I've read Eric Haney's and Colonel Beckworth's books on Delta so I'm more familiar how that works than I am about the SEALS and the Navy. I ordered a couple books on the SEALs to take with me on vacation so I'm sure I'll find more answers in them. I appreciate your responses and enjoy your posts on other message boards for other military movies. I assume from your postings that you're either still on active duty or had considerable previous service, in either case, thank you for your service.
Lol No. I'm no longer active duty. I got out of the service in 1994, having served on a Missile Cruiser and then a Carrier. I retired the cruiser, the Carrier has just retired a few years ago.
Dubya joined the Navy the year after I got out. Nothing like making ya feel old as that of a snivelling recruit who joined after you, already making Chief Petty Officer.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
Gym acquaintance joined the Navy earlier this year and elected to attend as soon as basic was finished.
On a different note, what is up with all of the trolling by Chazz or similar on this particular board? Most of the film related posts have dropped off due to the political posts.
I don't even see his threads. Having that thing on ignore... I see where he responds in other threads, though I dont see the content. But his threads he creates dont even show in the list.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
If you wash out of buds you pick another rate and continue your service requirements for training in that rate. The problem is that since you are already in you won't be able to pick from anything like you can in the DEP program. You will have a smaller list of jobs that are open right then to choose from. You can also go out to the fleet undesignated but that is not recommended at all. Another option is joining first and then switching to seal. I had a few BM friends that did that. Some made it, some didn't. The ones that didn't kept their BM rate and just got new orders and moved on. Like anything in the military, you are their property to do with as they please once you join. It doesn't matter if you don't make your rate, they will just give you another one. That's the same for all rates, not just being a seal. I had another guy I was in classes with as a fire control man that had student loans that for whatever reason he refused to put any money towards. He lost his security clearance because of this and was dropped from the program and reclassified as an CS. You won't be able to just pack up and go home if the Seal thing doesn't work out.
You are wrong. Army Delta is open to members of the US military who have served for a minimum of three years and have at least three years left on their contract.
You don’t have to be “Army Special Forces” to attempt Delta selection, because Delta is Army special forces.
DEVGRU isn’t “a step above SEAL” because it is part of the SEAL Teams. That unit is a specialist counterterrorism unit comprised of the best members of the standard SEAL teams. The selection process or “Green Team” is loosely based on the British SAS selection process as is the Army Delta selection process, which mirrors SAS selection.
None of these Tier One operations (which is what they are) are a “step above” one or the other. They all offer different capabilities hence their existence in tandem. This isn’t football. They aren’t in existence to compete with each other🤦♂️
Those are the facts, regardless of what you’ve referenced from your PlayStation war games or from your favourite Steven Segel movies and novels😉
By the way, “Dubyasrobotminion” just reads books. That’s all. That where he gets his knowledge. You don’t have to Fanboy him to death with constant references.