Navy Stories 6: One More Thing About Boot Camp
March 26th, 2009 by Ben Moreno
’)When I was in boot camp I was training hard to become a SEAL. There was a guy in my brother division that wanted to be a SEAL also. Wouldn’t you know it, his last name was Manly. This guy was a total stud. Top in his division in push-ups, sit up’s, etc. He broke up with his girl friend to join and everything. He was dedicated.
I was inspired by him so I always trained with him and talked with him and becoming a SEAL.
To become a SEAL you first have to pass an initial physical fitness test. You have to do a certain amount of push-ups and sit-ups within 2 minutes. You also have to complete a 1 1/2 mile run and a swim under a certain time to pass. Once you do then you have to go to dive school. Then I think the SEAL school (BUD’s) comes after that. I don’t know because I never got that far.
Now comes the point where I tell you about one of the biggest regrets of my life. I was training really hard to pass the initial physical fitness test and then one day I got to thinking. I thought that if I become a SEAL I will be far away from my family and would rarely see them. I had heard that SEAL’s can sometimes be gone as long as 8 months out of the year. So I decided to quit.
Why? Did I get cold feet? Was I really afraid of leaving my family for so long? Was I just flat out scared??
To this day I still don’t know why I quit.
For the longest time I really wanted to do it. I thought I was crazy enough and that I would be able to hack it. Then one day, I just didn’t want it anymore. I regret the decision because I now wish I would of at least tried. What if I did make it. 70% drop out of SEAL training within the first 2 weeks. What if I made it all the way? Would I be able to quit then? Probably not. There is so many if’s involved and that is what bothers me. I should of at least tried. Well I didn’t try and finished boot camp and went on to do my regular job.
In the next episode I will tell you about a small place I stayed before I went onto my ship.
Tags: boot camp, BUDs, dive school, Navy SEALs, navy stories 6, SEAL training
