Reserve SEAL units?

[Snake]

Whats the story on the Reserve SEAL units?
Do they recruit from civvies, or must one be a prior-SEAL?


Snake
25th ID(L)

[trident86]

You have to be a SEAL prior to entering the reserve SEAL teams, unless you work in a support role (ie: comms, supply, admin, armory, etc.)

[Snake]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that they have personnel shortages? I know the Guard SF units have shortages, and they recruit from civvy-street. There a reason for that policy?

Snake II

[Double Tap]

After you finish ROTC you have the option of commissioning on a reserve status or as an active status...do you have the same option with OCS?

If so can you, after completing OCS, enter a reserve commission as a SEAL and enter BUD/S and then after the completion of BUD/S, Airborne, and the 6 month probationary period, be assigned to a Reserve SEAL unit?

Thanks,

-Double Tap

[WS-G]

Double Tap: only service academy (USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA and USMMA) graduates and a very limited number of ROTC/NROTC/AFROTC graduates (typically scholarship recipients) receive Regular commissions when they graduate.

A Regular commission means that one holds a commission as a member of the Regular component of his respective service and can normally expect to remain on active duty throughout his entire career.

All others (non-scholarship ROTC, OCS) receive Reserve commissions, and while they will normally serve an initial tour on active duty (i.e.: full-time, depending upon career field chosen may last anywhere from 3 to 8 years), they are still not members of the Regular component.

All Navy OCS graduates who attend BUD/S hold their commissions in the Naval Reserve, rather than the Regular Navy, but are in EAD (Extended Active Duty) status for the duration of BUD/S, STT and the initial 5-year sea tour with an active-duty SEAL Team. Some remain on active duty afterwards, while some move on to part-time billets.

As far as getting a part-time billet with a Naval Reserve SEAL Team as an "E" (enlisted), a similar situation applies: one must be on active duty at the time he applies for BUD/S, and must serve 5 years on active duty with a SEAL Team before he can be allowed into a part-time billet as a SEAL.

On the other hand, it is possible to enter the NavSpecWar community directly from civilian life to the Naval Reserve as an operator, but the only route available is to attend the SWCC (Special Warfare Combat Crewman) Basic Course and serve with an SBU (Special Boat Unit) afterwards.

[This message has been edited by William M Salter (edited 11-04-1999).]

[pn]

Are you sure this is the most current information? I was recently told all new commissions(into the Navy)are reserve. Supposedly it has something to do with the brass wanting the option to get rid of JOs early in their careers(as opposed to allowing a bad, but not horrible, O stay in for 10 years or so).

[Razor]

Unless things have changed again in the last year or so, academy grads (from USMA, at least) no longer receive Regular Army commissions upon graduation. Every officer is commissioned as AUS (Army of the United States), which is reserve. This has no bearing at all on which component they enter (Regular, Guard, or Reserve). The only effect the type of commission has is on when you must retire, and immunity from a RIF. RA allows you to retire at 30+, while a reserve commission requires retirement at 20 years. In the past, O-4s could have their AUS status changed to RA if they were selected. Now, I believe, the change from AUS to RA occurs after a 5 year probationary period after commissioning. I understand this change in commissioning status was caused by a desire to make everyone "equal"; 2LT=2LT. This is the same logic that espouses the following formula: 2.0 = 2LT; 4.0 = 2LT, therefore 2.0 = 4.0, so why try so hard?

[Mike]

To William:
USMA, USNA, and USAFA do receive regular commission, but USCGA also get the Naval Rserve commisison, asw ell as active Coast Guard commission. As for USMMA, they have a choice: Naval Reserve; Coast Guard or even USMC commission for the MPP (the one where the ships are pre-positioning) program.
Most of the commissioning officers are from the ROTC (the largrst group are VMI, Citadel, Texas A&M and Norwich in no order. Look at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/dollars/howtopay/dsrotc.htm for some ROTC sources.

[pn]

About the last part of that message..

I don't get it. Are you saying that Academy grads *are* better(in that vague sense)than Joe OCS/ROTC?

I assume 2.0 and 4.0 refer to GPAs.

[Jack Ryan]

This is just a little piece of trivia for Academy grads being thought of as better than ROTC programs. VMI currently has more active duty Generals than all the academy's combined. And VMI only graduates 175 cadets a year (on average) compared to the academies graduating 1200 per year (on average). All in all both have great programs, but when it comes down to it, it really depends on the person and how much he puts outs.

Jack Ryan

[WS-G]

Mike, pn and Razor:

Thanks for the corrections; most of my info's a bit "dated" to say the least (been a few years *G*).