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How the Seals were tempered

(CFP)
Updated: 2009-04-21 16:17

It was US Navy Seal snipers who killed three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain in a surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas April 12, 2009.

A Seal candidate struggles to lift a log over his head while an instructor stares at him from behind. [CFP]

Every year the Naval Special Warfare Center receives 350 applications for its Navy Seals training program, known as BUD/S.

Out of that pool, only 50 candidates will be chosen for what's come to be known as some of the most grueling military training in the world.

For 30 weeks, candidates will be expected to: run 806 miles, swim 77 miles, navigate an obstacle course 29 times, complete 126 hours of physical training, lift and roll logs for 8 hours, paddle boats for 19 hours, practice underwater diving for 35 hours and shoot over 3,000 rounds of live ammunition.

The course begins with 5 weeks of rigorous conditioning known as the Indoctrination Course. In the weeks to come, any candidate expecting to become a Seal will complete 4 weeks of First Phase training during which the intensity of physical training increases exponentially, a five day period of nearly constant work, Second Phase training which is devoted to teaching candidates combat tactics and advanced diving techniques, and, finally, Third Phase training in which the candidates will put all of the skills they've developed into practice.

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