BUD/S Warning Order

First Phase is nine weeks in length. Continued physical conditioning in the areas of running swimming, and calisthenics grow harder and harder as the weeks progress. Students will participate in weekly four mile timed runs in boots, timed obstacle courses, swim distances up to two miles wearing fins in the ocean, and learn small boat seamanship.

The first five weeks of First Phase prepare you for the sixth week, better known as "Hell Week." During this week, students participate in five and one half days of continuous training, with a maximum of four hours of sleep. This week is designed as the ultimate test of one's physical and mental motivation while in First Phase. Hell Week proves to those who make it that the human body can do ten times the amount of work the average man thinks possible. During Hell Week, you will learn the value of coolheadedness, perseverance, and above all, TEAMWORK. The remaining three weeks are devoted to teaching various methods of conducting hydrographic surveys and how to conduct a hydrographic chart.