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Training to become a Navy SEAL is known for being arduous, difficult and designed to find the best of the best - but for one member, a particular assignment sticks out as the worst.
'It was the most physically and mentally challenging thing I've ever done in my life,' Navy SEAL Remi Adeleke said about the entire program on the Anything Goes With James English podcast.
But, it was a task in the water that stands out as, well, torture.
'They do this evolution called surf torture where they lay you down,' he said.
'Even though SEAL training is in southern California, the Pacific Ocean is freezing cold... They lay you down the Pacific, and they just laid there until people quit.'
Although the average core temperature for a human is 97.1 degrees, Adeleke's dropped down to 88.7 degrees while completing the exercise.
Navy SEAL Remi Adeleke described training as 'most physically and mentally challenging' part of his life. But there was one part that stuck out the most
The surf torture tasks is when officials lay a SEAL down in the Pacific Ocean and make them face the battering and cold waves
Surf torture involves the trainees lying on their backs, with their arms linked along the surf. The SEALs heads are in the water, but they can't see the waves coming towards them.
The test is designed to stretch the SEALs mental toughness as every next wave could be the one that drowns them.
After being in the water, cadets can then be ordered to complete other drills while soaking wet and cold.
The water torture is just one aspect SEALs face in the grueling training.
One aspect of the program that has been in the news, is 'Hell Week.' Adeleke said that program involves numerous activities - many while cold and wet - that involve 'torture.'.
'There’s a week in Seal training called Hell Week. It starts on Sunday night and it ends on Friday morning,' he said on the podcast.
'You stay awake for that time. You get two hours of sleep on Wednesday and two hours of sleep on Thursday, but other than that you’re up.'
Adeleke remembered the events of hell week - a 5 1/2 day operational session each SEAL must complete during training
Hell week requires the trainees to do tasks such as swim in cold water, run in the sand and lift heavy objects with hardly any rest
Only 25 percent of SEAL recruits make it through the operation, and trainees have died during or after completing Hell Week.
Doctors are always around for all evolutions just in case an emergency arises with a trainee, but the death of Kyle Mullen, 24, on February 4, 2022, after Hell Week made the Navy enforce new requirements.
A report released in October by Naval Special Warfare Command concluded that Mullen, 24, from Manalapan, New Jersey, died 'in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct.'
The training program for Navy SEALs is plagued by widespread failures in medical care, poor oversight and the use of performance-enhancing drugs that have increased the risk of injury and death to those seeking to become elite commandos, according to an investigation triggered by the death of a sailor last year.
The highly critical report said flaws in the medical program 'likely had the most direct impact on the health and well being' of the SEAL candidates and 'specifically' on Mullen.
It said if the shortcomings had been addressed, his death may have been preventable.
The investigation also dug deep into the longstanding problem of sailors using steroids and similar banned drugs as they try to pass the SEAL qualification course.
The Navy tested over 1,000 personnel after Mullen's death and found that 30 people were using performance enhancing drugs.
The events resulted in the Navy's decision to enforce steroid testing for all SEALS this month.
'They keep you cold and wet the entire time to the point where towards the end of hell week, you're hydrophobic,' Adelke said of hell week
Created by John F. Kennedy in 1962, the responsibility of a Navy SEAL is to provide immediate military relief worldwide.
SEALs conduct and complete special warfare or operations missions, conduct missions against military targets, and capture high value enemy personnel.
One of the Navy SEAL missions that gained global attention was the 2012 killing of Osama Bin Laden - the Al-Queda leader responsible for the September 11 attacks.
In order to become a SEAL, one complete basic underwater demolition school, parachute jumping school, SEAL qualification training and complete 18 months of pre-deployment training.
There are currently 2,450 active duty active Navy SEALS, which makes up only 1 percent of all members of the Navy. Seal training typically happens in San Diego.
A breakdown of 'Hell Week' and the other stages of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training
Hell Week
Hell Week is the fourth week in Phase 1 - which takes place in Stage 3 - and is a brutal week of physical activity and very little sleep.
'Hell Week is the defining event of BUD/S training,' the Navy says.
Hell Week consists of five-and-a-half days of cold, wet, brutally difficult operational training on fewer than four hours of sleep. It tests 'physical endurance, mental toughness, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude, and your ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, and sleep deprivation.'
It starts on a Sunday and runs to Friday.
Trainees are constantly in motion. They are running, swimming, paddling, carrying boats on their heads, doing log PT, sit-ups, push-ups, rolling in the sand, slogging through mud, paddling boats and doing surf passage, the Navy said.
On average, only 25 percent of candidates make it through Hell Week, which is the toughest training offered in the military.
Throughout the week, there will be medical personnel on site to help exhausted or injured candidates.
Candidates will also experience brutal nagging, enticing them to quit and mimicking their inner voices, highlighting their pain.
The Other Stages
Stage 1: Prep School
Trainees start in Illinois for two months to prepare for BUD/S.
Candidates will go through a modified physical fitness test to prepare them for the rigorous activity they will endure during BUD/S.
The test includes:
- 1000-meter swim – with fins (20 minutes or under)
- Push-ups: at least 70 (Two-minute time limit)
- Pull-ups: at least 10 (No time limit)
- Sit-ups: at least 60 (Two-minute time limit)
- Four-mile run – with shoes + pants (31 minutes or under)
Candidates who do not pass will be moved to different jobs of the Navy.
Stage 2: Basic Orientation
Basic orientation lasts for three weeks and takes place in Coronado, California, at the Naval Special Warfare Center.
Candidates will be introduced to 'BUD/S physical training, the obstacle course and other unique training aspects' in this stage.
Stage 3: First Phase (includes Hell Week)
This phase - which includes Hell Week at Week 4 - lasts seven weeks.
It is used to further develop 'physical training, water competency and mental tenacity while continuing to build teamwork.'
Each week, trainees will experience harder conditions, such as longer runs, swims, and workouts.
They will also learn how to conduct hydrographic survey operations.
This phase sees a significant drop in candidates.
Stage 4: Phase Two - Combat Diving
This phase also lasts seven weeks and introduces underwater skills that are unique to Navy SEALs.
Trainees become 'basic combat swimmers and learn open and closed-circuit diving.'
Candidates need to feel comfortable in the water and demonstrate a high level of comfort there.
Stage 5: Land Warfare Training
The final stage last seven weeks and develops skills in 'basic weapons, demolitions, land navigation, patrolling, rappelling, marksmanship and small-unit tactics.'
Half of this training will take place on San Clemente Island - roughly 60 miles from base and they will practice the skills they learned in Stage 3.
Source: Navy
English (US)