"Let me at 'em!"

[Sweetbriar]

I remember when I read Cdr Douglas Fane's book, Naked Warriors, how struck I was that the young NCDU and UDT recruits of those years were not looking so much to do neat stuff as much as they wanted a better shot at "killing Japs". (No offense meant to Asians, it's just that the Japanese and North Koreans were our enemies at the time.) There was an intense, personal sense throughout the book that the young men wanted to close with and kill the enemy and win, and the sooner they got their chance to do that, the better. There was no sense of desiring to play with cool weapons or be the best - all that was a side effect, not a purpose, of joining UDT.

The reason I was so struck by that attitude was after reading the young men's comments here and elsewhere, and looking at other popular books, I had thought the primary reason they were joining up today was to play with cool stuff and be elite. No where had I encountered much in the way of a personal sense of patriotism or any corporate identification with the rest of the armed services. They all wanted to be part of a team, provided it was only the SEAL Team, and not the rest of the Navy, too.

Of course, I do not put much stock in the opinions of teenagers and this was all pre-9/11. Since that day, patriotism has certainly risen, but it still isn't quite to the level we knew in WWII, and probably never will be again.

So, about that "Lemme at 'em" attitude I began with - was/is that a primary motivator for anyone? What if you knew you couldn't be a SEAL, would you be just as happy if you knew you could deal some heavy blows to the enemy by some other contribution you could make in the Navy (or armed service of your choice)? What's your bottom line: be a SEAL or kick butt and win the war any way you can?

beachmaster? Wazz? wetwash? kevin? young gonnabes?

Edit: In reading this over again, I think I've asked it before (can't remember when), and I don't think I've ever gotten much of an answer. I suppose it's one of those things we all know the "right" answer to, but if the honest answer is something else then it is better left unsaid. However, I can't help but think if the horse is put before the cart before you join up, it might make for some happier sailors on down the line.

[Sweetbriar]

Being bloodthirsty was never part of the question. See paragraph 4.

[Wetwash]

For me it wasn't "being a SEAL or Frogman" It was working with the best. And knowing that if you had to go to war .. you would do something really worthwhile for your country. UDT was responsible for millions of troopers coming home alive in WW2 and KOrea.. and we carried that over with UDT/SEAL in Nam.

[Wazz]

Sweetbrair
Having come from the CDR Fane era, and even known him (as a Seaman would a Commander) I am able to advise that the young men of my day joined the military as a matter of tradition. It was just a thing that was in front of you that you wanted or expected to do. The partriotism was just there. What you were going to do in the military was not a question.

Then after joining the military you were herded around like sheep being given assignments that the young enlistee knew hardly anything about or realized he had any input into the process. Communication such as Notices, Announcements, Group Advisories were little known in those days. So what specialty avenues that were available was not common knowledge.

In my case I entered UDT while in transiet awaiting a general Fleet assignement. As luck would have it a Coronado UDT Training Officer gave a Recruiting speech to approx 300 of us transiets. There was no Hazardous Duty pay in those days so to counter the risk and cold experience the Officer had little to offer, except he did say legislation was in the works to pay UDT personnel $50.00 extra per month. From that group of 300 the Officer got 16 volunteers for something us 16 hardly knew anything about. But the $50.00 was 1/3 of my pay. And off I went across the Bay to the warm shores of Coronado.

[BigBear08]

I'm a young man, wannabe/gonnabe, don't know what the difference is, and I began looking into joining the Navy before I even knew about the SEALs. I see it as a good jumping off point, a good place to start my life. I figuure I'll get a chance to see the world, get some good training, and military service looks damn good on a resume. Later, when I found out about the SEALs I thought it would be a challenge and something I might want to make a career of. Of course I want to serve my country but I also want to have as much of an adventure as possable while doing it. Ask any young guy if he wants to play with big guns and high tech equitment, get the chance to kill a couple terrorists, and be looked up to and respected, what do you think he'll say. That is part of it but there's also the desire to give back to your country and make a good life for yourself. In the end I'll be almost as happy to just be in the Navy as I would be if I were a SEAL. Well thats how I feel about it anyway.

[Future_Warrior]

Not a SEAL, but a gonnabe. I guess that ever since I was a kid, I just knew that I was born to be a warrior. I knew that I didn't want to be in any regular units where you just dig foxholes and wear helmets or sit in the rear and do KP duty, I wanted to be in the bush with a floppy hat on, and actually get into combat, where I can fight for a just reason, and help the world overall. I am not trying to put down any regular units here, just my thoughts when I was a little kid. When I started learning about Special Forces, I thought that would be perfect. Not only is it a huge challenge to get into, but they are the ones who are actually working as small teams, taking care of business behind enemy lines. I then had to really think about which unit to head for. The Green Berets and the Navy SEALs were my only choices, so I decided on the SEALs because I love the water, they have extremely tough training, and my dad was in the Navy so I kinda want to follow his path, but go further than he did.
I understand that some people join because of the adventure and the high risk activities and all that, and that's part of my reasons too, but I kind of think that my main reason is to actually be a modern warrior, that my role in this life is to help the greater good by taking out the bad.
Well, that's enough of my late night ramblings,
Goodluck to all those wannabe's out there, and keep your motivation up!

[Moose335]

I am also not a SEAL but i figured since you asked for the wannabe's replies too i would put in my 2 cents. I have been looking to join the military ever since i was little. However i didnt know which branch i wanted to be in. I am also following my father, excepet he told me to go into the Navy instead of being a Marine so i took his advise. I got into the Navy and i am currently awaiting my ship date to Boot camp. I have been in the DEP program since last July, and i have been trying to read up on as much about the navy as possible. I have look into the SEAL time and time agian and i have decided i would love to have one of the hardest challenges and test put on me. I want to be able to test myself and see just how far i can go. Also i have heard much talk about the since of brotherhood and the ammout of teamwork that come along with being on a team, and because of that i would also love to have a chance to be in this elite group of men just to meet other great people of American and work along side of them making eachother better as we go. The fact that just a few men working in different places and different times can help to change the world for the better has made me think that all the tourture and hardship would deffinately be worth while.

So that is my reasons i think i could prolly go on but i do believe that i have spewed on enough

Moose