The pros and cons of being a SEAL?

[wheels16]

Hi, agian, I forgot to put this in my other letter so I'll just put it in this one. I just wanted to know what the pros and cons are about serving your country and being one of the most elite fighters in the world.

[GettinThere]

The pros are that there aren't any cons.

[Chickenhawk]

Cons:
-deployed or in schools the majority of your career. Deployed platoons are the place to be, since they are the ones on the hook for missions. The price you pay is being away from home often.
-working a lot of late hours and weekends. Most of the time, you train to do missions at night. The only way to get good is to practice at night, so there you go. We usually fly out and return on weekends, to maximize the training week.
-hard work. The only way to stay on top is to put time in, and 100% effort. We work in the most extreme elements, train in some of the harshest environments, and carry a lot of gear. Operating in an amphibious arena takes its toll on your equipment, too, so we haul around a lot of spare parts, and spend a lot of time cleaning and fixing our gear.
-hazardous duty. There is a chance you will be shot, fall off something high, injured in an explosion, fall out of the back of a truck, run over by a boat, drowned, embolized, or any number of other traumas to the body. You get paid several extra pays to compensate for this, but you'll agree that they are not enough at times. There is also a better than even chance you will retire with some sort of injury or disability due to your career choice.

Pros:
-people. You will work with some of the best people in your life. You'll become closer with these people than anyone else you come across, even the ones you don't particularly like. These guys minimize all the cons I listed above, and will more than make it all worthwhile.
-excitement. Guaranteed to have plenty of that. With so many different mission sets on the plate, you will have a lot to do in a lot of different places. You'll become addicted to it, and nothing will ever be quite the same again when you get back off the train.
-job satisfaction. There is nothing more satisfying than doing missions no one else can do, or doing them better than anyone else. We also do a lot of the same things other guys do, but there is more than enough work to go around, and not enough of us (Special Operations Forces in general) to do it. After you've been doing the job awhile, you'll spend some time in Operations or Training, where you'll be working to support or train the guys who are going in harm's way. You'll derive a whole different sense of satisfaction watching your guys go in and make things right, knowing that you contributed to their success.
-toys. You'll play with the best toys available to grown men, hands down. Parachutes, explosives, dive gear, guns, knives, vehicles, boats, SDVs, cameras, and whiz bang electronics. The best thing is: you don't have to buy them--the government provides them. As long as you don't lose them, you're good to go.
-fitness. Where else are you required to work out 2 hours a day? We take fitness seriously, since our job involves hauling gear onto and off the target. There's no easy way around it, so we have to stay in shape. It becomes a way of life, that carries on even after we leave the Teams.

I'm sure the other Frogs on here can add to this.

[Future_Warrior]

Great post Chickenhawk! That was one of the most motivational posts I've read on here for a while:)

[haydon21]

That was definately one of the best posts I have ever read. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Tim

[Wetwash]

"people. You will work with some of the best people in your life. You'll become closer with these people than anyone else you come across, even the ones you don't particularly like. These guys minimize all the cons I listed above, and will more than make it all worthwhile"



Ch pretty well said it.. But i will add one thing . Once you are in this fraternity you are there for life.. More than Any other Service unit that I know of. I am in DAILY contact with other SEALs all over the world. Example.. we have a SEAL Private Mailing List... we argue .. ***** and slap each others backs over jokes every day. We have three reunions EVERY year all are well attended.. There is no such thing as an Ex SEAL.. There are Active Duty and, inactive and retired...But we are all Brothers.. and all of us are deeply honored to be allowed to be a part of the brotherhood.

[reign]

Well, there goes just about any doubt I had about leaving a paidfor college education to join the Navy & become a SEAL. Thanks, I needed that Ch & Wet.

reign

[wheels16]

Chickenhawk, are you, or were, with the teams at one point?

[Chickenhawk]

I have been in the Teams since January 1986. Still serving :-)

[childofgod]

Chickenhawk was it January 16th?

[DoorkickerWannabe]

To anybody:
When people ask me what I want to do for a living when I grow up I say I want to be a SEAL. They tell me I'm crazy and I'll never make it. Why do so many people think SEALs are insane? Are maybe some just an adrenaline junkie like me or what? Or are those people just *****s? Can't understand why anybody WOULDN'T want to be a SEAL except for maybe they need to keep a family. I guess it might be motivational drive? Guess I just answered my own question there but could somebody help me out?

DKW

[Bluedude7012]

Chickenhawk, out of curiousity. What is the standard answer when someone you don't know, asks what you do for a living?

[Chickenhawk]

I just say I'm in the Navy. Depending on who they are, or why they're asking, I may tell them I'm a SEAL. It's not classified, but I don't throw it around to strangers.

[Bluedude7012]

Fair enough. I also posted a pistol question, would you care to check it out? Its on another posting...

[wheels16]

chickenhawk is your email at navyseals.com chickenhawk@navyseals.com? i have some questions for you and would love to talk more about becoming a seal, and what the opportunities are.

-"wheels"

[naoscaire]

"people. You will work with some of the best people in your life. You'll become closer with these people than anyone else you come across, even the ones you don't particularly like. These guys minimize all the cons I listed above, and will more than make it all worthwhile"



Ch pretty well said it.. But i will add one thing . Once you are in this fraternity you are there for life.. More than Any other Service unit that I know of. I am in DAILY contact with other SEALs all over the world. Example.. we have a SEAL Private Mailing List... we argue .. ***** and slap each others backs over jokes every day. We have three reunions EVERY year all are well attended.. There is no such thing as an Ex SEAL.. There are Active Duty and, inactive and retired...But we are all Brothers.. and all of us are deeply honored to be allowed to be a part of the brotherhood.



Bumped for those in need....................... try takeing the hint please