While Army Green Beret training is extraordinarily demanding, the overall consensus is that Navy SEAL training is the most challenging of any elite ops group in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces (Green Berets) are elite U.S. armed forces units. There is some overlap in the kinds of missions they carry out but there are important differences between the two. The Green Berets are the special forces unit of the U.S. Army while SEALs are a unit of the Navy.
There isn't any big secret about passing selection, in fact to those of us who worked out there the saying used to be, “the answer is so simple that it is hard.” It is all about you the individual. Selection is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. You don't have to look like an NFL linebacker to pass the course.
The toughest SAS fitness test in the world is the Russian Alpha Group Spetsnaz. To gain selection to the Russia's special forces unit, applicants must undergo a gruelling seven part fitness challenge that finishes with a literal fight.
The Navy SEALs do not require their candidates to have a college degree or to have previous military experience. However, the SEALs have rigid physical and mental requirements to begin training. While the route to SEALs training is more direct than for the Rangers, each training is more intensive.
Return of the Raiders
Now, an elite branch of the U.S. Marine Corps will officially be known as Raiders. The Marines will rename several special operations units as Marine Raiders at a ceremony Friday, resurrecting a moniker made famous by World War II units that carried out risky amphibious and guerrilla operations.
RASP 1 has a 53% attrition rate. RASP 2 has a 74% attrition rate. SFAS has 64% and 51% attrition rates for enlisted soldiers and officers respectively, whereas SFQC has 35% and 27% attrition rates for the same categories. CCT selection has a 50% attrition rate with a further 27% rate for the Qualification Course.
SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military.
The average age for an enlisted member is 29 and for officers, 34.
That was the PT standard, and then later on you had a swim test. That was your basic entry into Special Forces. The modern requirements for Special Forces entry are 49 push-ups in two minutes, 59 sit-ups in two minutes, a two-mile run in 15:12 or less, and six dead-hang pull-ups.
20-32 years old. Meet the Army height and weight standards.
SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the US military.
United States Navy SEALs are perhaps the finest special operations forces in the world. The competitive standard to even be considered for BUD/S training is to swim 500 yards in 10:30, 79 push-ups, 79 sit-ups, 11 pull-ups, and a 10:20 1.5 mile run.
“In the 2019 budget year, more than 3,000 soldiers showed up for the assessment phase, with 936 passing and going on to the qualification course. Of those, about 70 percent graduated and donned the Green Beret.” (Baldor, 2019).
In a sense, the 18X program skips the line. But if candidates fail at any point along the way, they are reassigned according to the needs of the Army. The 18X program has a mixed reputation in the Army Special Force community.
This, of course, fluctuates given international issues at any given time. The Army is known as the largest military branch. Therefore, they are more likely to be present in a lot of combat operations. Because of this, Army infantry will see a lot of combat.
1. Military. All military roles have their difficulties, but challenging roles such as a marine and mercenary are among the hardest in the world. These positions require soldiers to put their lives at risk on a daily basis.
SFOD-Delta has been through a few name changes over the years, and even though it likely always will be known as SFOD-Delta, it recently was renamed the Combat Applications Group (CAG) and is now known officially as Army Compartmented Elements (ACE).
1. The US Navy SEALs is arguably the top special operations force. Created in 1962, the Sea-Air-Land operators go through years of training and, especially after 9/11, endure an incredible operation tempo. Many foreign militaries base their special ops on the SEALs.