Leaving Soon

[Destro]

Hey everyone... I'm sure you've heard this a million times before, But It's been my dream since I was a small child to be a SEAL... Now that I've graduated, I'm joining the Navy...

I'm going to go SAR swimmer, I believe, and I'll volunteer for BUD/s...
A question I had... Once through BUD/s etc.. Is it going to be extremely hard to have a Family? I mean, I have a fiance`... And I'm willing to sacrafice everything for my career, but I'd rather not lose this one ;)

Assuming you're married, you do get to see your wife some right? I mean, I'm used to her living 800 miles away from me, as we were growing up... So Deployments aren't going to be a problem...

I've met a few SEALs... Master Cheif Hoffman... Cheif Rob Roy, and a couple others, while visiting Coronado... I've watched the movies, read the books, and done little Hell Week Simulations... But I'm sure I'm not prepared for the hell I'm about to step into..

I suppose it's all just hypothetical anyway, It's a statistical certainty that I'm very unlikely to make it through BUD/s

I'm in the process of entering the Navy.. I graduated from a Christian Academy not recognised by the Navy as an accredited high school (Which shouldn't be that way, we were held to very high academic standards)..

Not too sure what to ask, but I'm up for any advice... I've taken my ASVAB and am in the process of getting 3 references...
Not too sure what to expect from this SAR thing eaither..

Anyway, I apologise for the lenghty post.. It's nonsensical I know, but I have a lot of nervousness entering this program... It's a HUGE step, but I'm confident that it's in the right direction... I just need a bit of guidence I believe... And I need to make sure I exceed physical standards before leaving... From what I've learned, I just need to put out, stay aggressive, and not give up...

[AllAmerican75]

Best of luck to you.

[CLEARED HOT]

If you're serious about BUD/S........... why wait? Just go straight to BUD/S and forget the SAR deal. That'll just make your wait more gruesome in the fleet. But, if you don't believe me just go to the fleet as a SAR for a few years and see for yourself. I'm sure there are some fleet guys on this forum that will atttest to this and the difficulty of getting to BUD/S from the fleet.

[Destro]

My recruiter said I can get shore duty as SAR.. Is this wrong?

Also.. I'm going to try for BUD/s when they ask me in Basic...
I'm not too sure I'm going to be physically ready, thats my worry...

[Ex-PH]

My recruiter said I can get shore duty as SAR.. Is this wrong?

Also.. I'm going to try for BUD/s when they ask me in Basic...
I'm not too sure I'm going to be physically ready, thats my worry...
Well, your recruiter was half right; you can get shore duty, just not as a Search and Rescue Swimmer. If you're a Surface Swimmer, you can count on being on a ship, if you're aircrew, you can expect to be attached to a helo squadron (no guarantees, though).
If you have SAR in your contract, you'll pretty much be SOL getting a shot at BUD/s in Boot Camp unless they let you change rates. The Navy doesn't like to send people to specialty schools like Aircrew and/or Rescue Swimmer and then not get the chance to utilize that person's new skills.

[CLEARED HOT]

Please fill out your profile. Good luck on the shore duty........ I think your recruiter is having some fun with you. Yes, it is possible to get a shore billet as a SAR, but you'll eventually be deployed with a Carrier Group to sea (ouch, he didn't tell you about that huh?). If you're looking for shore duty the Teams is the wrong place for you. In your first 4-5 years in the Teams you'll be gone well................. let's just say you'll be away more than you are at home.

[OTTER]

Destro, are you from Louisville?

For some reason Christian Academy sounds familiar to me.

[Phil306]

Pardon the intrustion Seal's, however, I am going to throw a few cents in here, from someone who, unfortunately, has BTDT. In regards to the "fiance" wife thing.

Destro,

If the girl your talking about is truly the one, think twice before giving her up: FOR ANYTHING. You see, being a cool assed Seal, Marine, etc is just that: Cool. You will be a bad ass, have a high CDI factor, be marketable after your time, etc.

HOWEVER, when all is said and done, when your in your chair, with knees which barely move, from humping the boonies (that I can say I've BTDT), shoulder pain, lower back pain, psychological issues, etc who is going to be there for you? Yes, your buddies will be; to a certain point. However, that woman who is on your arm will be. IF you treat her right.

If she isn't the one for you, then by all means, boot her ass to the curb and pursue your dreams. If she is, think twice before losing her. I lost the best woman I will everf meet, see, etc to my job. A decision and action I will regret for the rest of my life. A LONG life to come. THAT is my two cents and only MY two cents. Others may have different viewpoints.

Again, I apologize if I have intruded.

[CLEARED HOT]

Phil,

No apologies necessary. I agree, good women are hard to come by these days, if you find one you should do everything in your power to keep her.

[Destro]

We started going out as Freshmen in High School, She moved to Michigan (800 miles away from me) about 1.5 years after that... I graduated last year...

So we've done the Long Distance thing for years.. Although, it has become tiring... How can I live my life knowing I never tried to achieve the goals I had set since I was a kid though?

I don't know... Decisions suck sometimes.

[akrock2001]

Remember, when you go to the fleet as a SAR swimmer, it's a secondary job; meaning that you could be pulling mess duty for three months or repainting the hangar bay all day. You become the ship's SAR swimmer when some tool decides he's had enough of sweeping, swabbing, and listening to his 3rd class, so now he's going to go and throw himself off the flight deck.(This actually happened and was the only time that I saw our SAR swimmer leave his shop to do a rescue) Expect to do this for a minimum of 2yrs, but could be more depending on your ship and chain of command.

[Jules]

BTDT and dumped her before grad. There is a radio talk show host named Tom Leykis who gives advice on how to pick up more poon for less money. Tom says and I agree with this that a man should never marry until he is successful in his career of choice. For most this will be sometime in his late 20’s to 30’s and in the Teams it doesn’t just mean graduating BUD/s or SQT. Decide what you want in life and go get it. The world is full of women and as much as you think this girl is the greatest thing in the world chances are at your age you will meet many in life that you feel the same about. Statistically speaking 50% of all marriages end in divorce and that rate climbs exponentially in the teams. My advice figure out what you want in life and go get it because you’re way too young to get married! Or you can do like most of the quitters and use her as your excuse in Hell Week when the going gets tough so you can tell your friends that your marriage was just too important for you to be a SEAL :rolleyes:
I've met a few SEALs... Master Cheif *******... Cheif ******, and a couple others, while visiting Coronado... I've watched the movies, read the books, and done little Hell Week Simulations... But I'm sure I'm not prepared for the hell I'm about to step into..

I suppose it's all just hypothetical anyway, It's a statistical certainty that I'm very unlikely to make it through BUD/s
Very positive attitude! BUD/s is mostly mental and IMO you're mental preparation needs serious work! When you're cold wet and tired your reasoning behind wanting to be a SEAL will have to outweigh the sensibility of just quitting so all of the cold and pain just go away!

Now enough of the marriage and personal counseling and onto the real stuff as the others all mentioned if you want to go to BUD/s figure out the standards and make sure you can pass the test at boot. This test is not that hard and you’ll be wasting years if you go into the Navy not prepared to pass! With all of the information on this board, and the net you should be going in with a contract, a rate, and guarantee. IMO those are the things that a man thinking about his future should be worried about not some dime a dozen, small town girl that you think you love... Just my two cents!

Jules

[CLEARED HOT]

Or you can do like most of the quitters and use her as your excuse in Hell Week when the going gets tough so you can tell your friends that your marriage was just too important for you to be a SEAL :rolleyes:


I've heard that so many times (it's gotta be in the thousands). Classic BUD/S cut away excuse. It's so true though.