SEAL Platoon Training Course  

SEAL Platoons have a training cycle which includes 18 months of training work-up, then  a six month deployment overseas in an operational "combat ready" ststus at a Naval Spec War Unit or Detachment. These platoons are superbly trained and can accomplish most, if not all, of the tasks thrown at them. The training that must be accomplished during the year-plus training cycle is based upon several factors:

1. Advanced individual and platoon level skills necessary for the conduct of all Special Operations/Paramilitary Operations (SO/PM);

2. The methods of delivery, insertion/extraction most likely to be utilized while on deployment (for example, submarine lock-out/lock-in (LO/LI), dry deck shelter mass swimmer lock-out/lock-in (DDS MSLO/LI), submarine launched SDV missions); and

3. The geographic Area of Operation (AO) of the SEAL Team (The West Coast Teams [1, 3, and 5 = odd numbers] are responsible for the Pacific Rim, Far East, Africa/Middle East, and Eastern Block regions; while the East Coast Teams [2, 4, 6, and 8 = even numbers] are responsible for South and Central America, Mediterranean/Carribean Areas, Europe, and Russia).

The first three months of the training cycle is usually back to the basics. Hydrographic reconnaissance is covered once again - often in Puerto Rico - combined with underwater demolition of submerged obstacles. Air training lasts three weeks and builds upon STT skills, including several "Duck" drops of different aircraft, both day and night combat equipment parachute jumps, fastroping, rappelling, and SPIE rig techniques. Mission Planning in a classroom environment is followed by intelligence gathering and reporting. During the intel week, the platoon will reconnoiter a local utilities facility, gathering photographic, visual, and sketch data and compiling a comprehensive report on the strengths/weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the facility.

Once the training mentioned above is completed, the class moves on to a combat swimmer course. It takes several years before a SEAL becomes an "expert" combat diver. (expert is a relative term here, because compared to 99 percent of all the divers in the world, a BUD/S student is an expert after the Second Phase of BUD/S). Combat swimmer training in the platoon is a very arduous and intense training block. The platoon will conduct over 30 dives during three weeks, including a Full Mission Profile where they are inserted by aircraft or surface vessel for a 30 mile "over the horizon" transit in the CRRC, followed by a demanding turtleback (kicking on the surface toward the dive point in full dive gear), then a four hour multi-leg dive into the enemy harbor to emplace limpet mines on the hulls of the target ships, and finally extracting after evading the anti-swimmer measures put in place by the training cadre.

Land warfare training occurs again at Niland or Camp A.P. (sometimes at a different location, for example, Camp Roberts in California). Again they start with the basics in small unit tactics and build to Full Mission Profiles conducted in a simulated combat environments.

The training is a close to a 24 hour a day work schedule that you can get. Training begins immediately after breakfast at 0600 and continues until about 0100 the next morning. There are breaks for lunch and dinner - and if it gets above 105 degrees during the day, the platoon will seek shelter in the classroom for some academic classes on mundane topics of land warfare such as: Explosive Methods of Entry; patrolling; multi-platoon tactics; advanced ambush techniques; tracking/ counter-tracking techniques; advanced land navigation; stalking; guerrilla warfare tactics; and improvised booby trap building. The platoon will shoot thousands and thousands (in excess of 3,000 rounds) of .556, .762, and 9mm rounds during this training and will blow up more demolition's than you could possibly fathom. Immediate Action Drills are again a favorite of the SEALs and are the most intense portion of the training. IAD's are classified tactics due to their sensitive nature and to protect our troops, suffice to say that SEAL IAD's are unique and can mislead an enemy force into believing that they are up against a whole company (100 men) of Marines.

Particular attention is given to the use of small arms, from pistols to sniper rifles, and centers such as: Cooper/Shaw shooting school, H and K, and Gunsite frequently play host to SEALs. Shooting skills such as: close quarters battle, sniping, and countersniping are all considered vital skills and are emphasized. Another important area of training is advanced automobile handling. SEALs learn how to drive virtually any type of vehicle in all types of environments, including at night with or without NODs, in adverse weather, as well as how to drive the car as a weapon, should the need ever arise. These skills, and related techniques, are known collectively as TVC and are learned at both SEAL platoon training and by G8: Training Division.

SEALs are further trained in advanced individual land warfare skills which include, but are not limited to, the following: intelligence gathering; structure penetration; long range reconnaissance and patrolling; close quarters battle; sniper/counter-sniper employment; evasive/high-speed/emergency driving; edged weapons; hand-to-hand combat; extreme environmental survival; field medicine; explosives; US Government doctrines of small unit tactics; infiltration/exfiltration techniques; snatch and grab techniques; and prisoner handling.

SEAL Teams Two and Five are responsible for regions of the world that are often blanketed in snow - so their platoons conduct extreme cold weather training and winter warfare training. Usually conducted in Alaska, Montana, New York, Norway, and Canada. The training covers the following skills: mountaineering skills; free climbing; mountain patrolling and raiding; arctic survival; arctic navigation; high altitude mountaineering; camouflage, concealment, and cover techniques; fire and maneuver tactics on skis and snow shoes; winter orienteering; cross country skiing; evasion and escape; extreme cold water diving; snow-shoeing; building snow caves; winter survival; heavy weapons; and avalanche training. The remainder of the Teams that do not require a winter warfare background still attend cold weather training and winter warfare training.

Close Quarters Battle- this skill is a fovorite and one in which Team guys take great pride in. Taking down a house room by room, an airplane or bus in a hostage rescue situation, securing a vessel space by space after boarding from sea or air - all require an incredible amount of training, experience, and nerves. Explosive Methods of Entry (MOE) (for example, blowing holes in doors or blowing a door off its hinges; without injuring the platoon waiting five feet away) is a specialized skill taught in CQB training and other advanced courses. The focus is on room entry techniques utilizing MP-5 SMGs, side arms, and Car-15; mostly at night with MP-5 flashlight attachments and flash bangs (to stun any occupants). Recognition and reaction skills are drilled over and over until the platoon can identify the hostages versus the terrorists in a mili-second. Technically the regular Teams do not emphasis target recognition in a room entry situation - everyone is expected to be a bad guy. ST-6 (DevGru), however, trains almost exclusively for the anti-and counter-terrorist mission and has target recognition down to the science. SEALS also learn the CQB system of marksmanship and unarmed self-defense (which consists of pressure point control tactics, disarming techniques, weapon retention, control and compliance techniques, anti-knife techniques, and hand-to-hand killing techniques [86 different ways])

Some other highlights are jungle warfare training on Pineros Island in Puerto Rico and the jungles of Panama. SEAL Teams One and Four are responsible for regions of the world that are covered with jungles and swamps - so their platoons are thus fully trained in jungle and swamp warfare. The remainder of the Teams that do not require a jungle warfare background still attend jungle and swamp warfare training.

Submarine Lock-Out/Lock-In (LO/LI) and Dry Deck Shelter Mass Swimmer Lock-Out/Lock-In (DDS MSLO/LI) are another insertion skill practiced by the SEAL platoons during training work-up. Imagine being on a fast attack submarine at 100 feet below the surface of the ocean. You enter the escape trunk for a "Lock-Out" cycle with a 35HP motor and some other SEAL gear. It's cold, it's dark, and the escape trunk hatch closes while you "flood the trunk" with water. With just your nose above the surface, you then pressurize the trunk to a depth until the outer door cracks open. You take a deep breath and submerge to push the door all the way open to reveal the dark and vast ocean depths. Returning to the trunk, you signal that you are ready to send the motor and gear to the surface on the tethered line set up by two SEALs who went out before you. The gear goes up - then so do you - to the surface to prepare for a long, cold CRRC transit to your unknown fate on the enemy shore. This is a small taste of what working off a submarine is like - and SEALs do a ton of it.

Mission Specific Training - Naval Special Warfare forces have five primary missions. These include: Unconventional Warfare (UW) - which is basically the interrelated fields of guerrilla warfare, evasion and escape, subversion, sabotage, and other operations of a low visibility, covert or clandestine nature; Direct Action (DA) - which includes any mission that a SEAL element may undergo against an enemy target that include the use or potential use of force - these missions include ambushes, raids, recovery of hostile individuals "snatches", hostage rescue, recovery of friendly personnel or material, and others; Foreign Internal Defense (FID) - which includes the training of friendly foreign nationals and relationship building during peacetime; Combating Terrorism (CBT) - offensive actions taken to deter, prevent, and preempt terrorist incidents; and Special Reconnaissance (SR) - which includes hydrographic reconnaissance and SDV beach feasibility studies, point and area reconnaissance, indications and warning missions, and any other overt, covert or clandestine mission whose primary purpose is to gather info.

Most SEAL platoon work-up time is spent training to hone skills which are utilized regardless of the mission category such as: shooting, demolition, and insertion/extraction methods (diving, parachuting, SDV, patrolling, DPV, skiing, etc). However, there are even more specialized skills that must be learned in order to effectively conduct the broad range of missions that fall under the five categories mentioned above. Therefore, SEALs attend most or all of the advanced individual training courses offered by Naval Spec War and other Special Operations Forces. Some of these specialized schools and courses include:

Naval Special Warfare School and Center - a school that offers 25 advanced individual training courses to SEALs and currently has courses under development. Some of these include:

* combat diving supervisor course

* dive medical technician course

* explosive ordnance disposal course

* maritime operations course

* high altitude parachute course

* static line parachute jumpmaster course

* diving maintenance course

* SDV electronic maintenance course

* SDV operator course

* MK 16 UBA course

* range operations safety course

* BUD/S selection course (physical and mental toughening, land warfare, diving)

* close quarters defense course

* advanced applied explosives course

* SEAL tactical training course (air skills, land warfare, field medicine, diving, etc.)

* tactical communications course (covert radios, infrared, microwave transmitters, etc.)

* hand-to-hand combat fighting course (both unarmed and with knives)   

* counter revolutionary warfare course

John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Center, a school with 30 advanced individual training courses and is the finest special operations training school in the world. Some of these include:

* survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) course

* target interdiction course

* military freefall course

* military freefall jumpmaster course

* survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE Level-C) course

* operations and intelligence course

* hand-to-hand combat fighting course (both unarmed and with knives)

* emergency medical technician course

* counter revoluntionary warfare qualification course

* underwater operations course

* strategic reconnaissance course

* special forces (SF) common combat skills training course

* combat diving course

* individual terrorism awareness course

* terrorism in low-intensity conflict course

* long range surveillance leaders course

SEALs also attend even more specialized schools to better learn the skills required of him when he will conduct his missions and these schools include:

pathfinder school

air assault school

army ranger school

sniper school

stinger weapon school 

hand-to-hand combat fighting school (SAFTA)

SCARS institute of combat science (CQB, sniping, surveillance, unarmed combat, etc.)

intelligence photography school

target analysis

parachute rigger

breacher, assaulter, and military leadership

applied explosive techniques (popular with the Teams)

40 hour operator and 300 hour instructor courses

naval gunfire support

basic airborne school

navy and department of defense foreign language training institutes

SEAL probationary training period

Vehicle training

An important part of SEAL training includes the operation of motor vehicles in all types of permissive and non-permissive environments. The basic course is called CTTC (Countering Terrorist Tactics Course) or in SEAL slang as the "crash and bang" course. This is the basic course required of every SEAL to attend, because SEALs are sent to potentially hostile areas on operations. This course qualifies the trainee in the use of the browning 9mm, .38 special, and Winchester 1200 12-gauge shotgun. It also introduces the SEAL to counterterror driving techniques and counterterror awareness/counter surveillance techniques. For highly trained Navy SEALs, however, such techniques are elementary, however they are required to attend the course.

SEAL vehicle training is broken down into several categories:

TVC (Tactical Vehicle Commandeering), which you know is a course designed for individuals who may have to escape from hostile territory by quickly acquiring a vehicle. The training focuses on vehicle types and selection, improving tools, overcoming security devices, and driving away. This course is followed by the more advanced Tactical Vehicle Interception (TVI) course, which teaches car-to-car gun fighting, how to stop a moving auto using one, two or more vehicles or firearms.

EDM (Evasive Driving Module), which is for operators who might come under attack while operating a motor vehicle. Whether the attacker be an attempted carjacking, kidnapping or terrorist assassination, the response is the same, to get out of the situation quickly. The goal is to train SEALs how to use his vehicle as a means of escape or weapon for survival. SEALs will learn what a car is capable of and most importantly, his own limits. He will be shown how hard it is to stop a moving vehicle, and will conduct exercises where he will actually try to run the driver off the road. SEALs will be taught evasive maneuvers such as forward and reverse spins and ramming. Training is brought together through realistic situational exercises where the SEAL comes under different types of attack and is challenged to react. Training covers the following topics:

* ramming through a car that is blocking your path both forward and in reverse. Driving off the road as a means of escape and not losing control;

* forward and reverse 180-degree turns in limited space and curved road scenarios. Guerrilla driving techniques such as: j-turns, bootlegs, 90-degree turns, etc;

* SEALs learn the Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) which is the most efficient and safest way to stop a fleeing vehicle. SEALs are also shown how to defend against this technique; and

* SEALs learn the importance of being mentally prepared in order to execute an escape maneuver.

Advanced Driver Training (ADT) which actually is the cornerstone of all advanced driving courses. It is the module by which all courses are built upon and a stand-alone course itself. This training teaches SEALs how to be a better, more confident driver. The laws of Vehicle Dynamics determine how and why a vehicle reacts as it does when in motion. The training covers the topics:

* Understanding the driver/vehicle relationship, vehicle language, driving form, weight transfer, ocular driving, threshold braking, and off-road recoveries;

* Skid control and spin recovery, understanding oversteer and understeer, and how they are controlled. How tire pressure affects performance and how to prevent blowouts;

* Understanding multiple dynamics, braking, braking in curves, advanced threshold braking, swerving-to-avoid obstacles, and driving at night; and

* The laws of vehicle dynamics are applied to allow vehicle control at above highway speeds. Techniques of stress management are discussed.

They are among the most secret military units within the United States Armed Forces, a classified special operations para-commando group with a brutally similar strategy: destroy the enemy and remain undetected. For over 55 years US Navy SEALs have earned a fearsome reputation for their aggressiveness in war; theirs' is a tradition of single-minded dedication to victory. SEALs specialize in SEa, Air, Land intelligence gathering missions requiring a strict emotional and mental control unimaginable to most people.

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