Didn't get the Seal Challenge Contract

[globalchaos]

I'm in the DEP for the Navy. I ended up getting HM but my detailer told me there weren't any Seal Challenge Contracts for my job and ship date available. She explained it to me but it didn't make any sense to me. So I want to know whats the difference between me and someone who got the contract? My recruiter was upset and said he would try to get me the contract but I don't know if its just talk. He told me I came to him to be a Seal so he'd try and get me the contract. Just nervous about not getting the contract, I've been working hard and don't want it to go to waste. I appreciate any of your knowledge on this topic.

[elpaninaro]

Global- sorry to hear you are having a rough time with this. I do not know your recruiter, so cannot comment there. Sure recruiters often lead on people on to get them to sign up, but they are human beings too- so it is quite possible that your recruiter is doing all she can.

The real issue is whether she has the ability to make it happen for you, no matter how good her intentions or how hard she tries.

I would suggest you contact the SEAL Detailer's office in Washington DC to see what information and assistance you can get on this matter. I do not have the # handy, and would not post it here anyway if I did, but if you call information and ask for the Department of the Navy in DC, then when you get the main switchboard ask for SPECWAR/SPECOPS and they can guide you from there. I have made this call a couple of times and it takes a while and a few phone transfers LOL- so be patient- it is worth the wait.

While you are at it, check this site, the Navy site and any regulation handbooks you can get ahold of and read through and try to understand all the complex rules involved in your situation. Knowing all the red tape will be a huge asset for you and believe me- most people never bother to go there. I know from personal experience that many recruiters do not even know the basic requirements to enter BUDs. This is something you need to learn all you can about on your own. It is a pain and takes a lot of reading, but knowing all the regulations that apply in your situation will give you the power of knowing who can help you, who cannot help you, and what you need to do to get the help you need.

Otherwise hoping that some of the board sages will come along with more info and more help.

Whatever happens- NEVER GIVE UP! As famous as the SEALs are, getting to BUDs is a pretty major step in and of itself. I do not imagine it is an easy cut and dry process for anyone- not even in getting the SEAL Challenge Contract.

Good luck to you dude! Please keep everyone posted!

[tfwmissions]

YOU KNOW WHEN A RECRUITER IS LYING WHEN HE OPENS HIS MOUTH!!!!!! DUDE, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO THIS, Say you will NOT join the Navy if they do not give you a SEAL challenge contract. No matter what other job they say that they can give you DON'T TAKE IT!!! YOU'LL REGRET IT BADLY!!!! Even if they say taht you can choose an MOS and te later on apply for SEAL and go in that way, DON'T BELIEVE THEM!!!
THEY ARE LYING!!!! Say that the ONLY ONLY ONLY way that you will join is if they give you what YOU want and NOT what they want you to have!!! TRUSTME!!! GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!!!

[stratmn5105571]

YOU KNOW WHEN A RECRUITER IS LYING WHEN HE OPENS HIS MOUTH!!!!!!


I know exactly what you mean. I've talked to a few myself. I want to know why the hell they do that though. Do they have quotas for certain job positions or what? It's like you're talking to a salesmen sometimes.

[profexxoer]

SEAL challenge contract isnt that good of a deal anyways. I DEP in Nov and im not on one but have every intention on being a SEAL.

SEAL contracts requires you to re-enlist for another year prior to BUD's entrance. You also only get 3 chances at the pre-test as opposed to unlimited without the contract

.... and if you were interested in it for the 5k you get upon BUD's graduation then motivation for being a SEAL is likely faulty. (personal opinion)

About the Recruiter: It does surprise me to hear they are giving no SEAL challenge contracts since I enlisted this summer and they were widley available. I am told that BUD's has a lengthy delay right now b/c high interest in the advancement to be a SEAL and for that reason they aren't accepting waviers for a SEAL contract for any reason.

[Doug]

I d suggest contacting one of the SEAL recruiters for more specific information, but from what I understand, you do not NEED the SEAL Challenge Contract to go for BUD/S. That contract guarentees you a chance to apply for BUD/S. You can apply without it. Id definately push hard to get it to be safe, but I am pretty sure, you can go forward with your goal without it, but like I said, give one of the SEAL recruiters a call with your question and ask if they have any suggestions for you on how to rectify your situation if it presents a problem....

[elpaninaro]

YOU KNOW WHEN A RECRUITER IS LYING WHEN HE OPENS HIS MOUTH!!!!!!


I know exactly what you mean. I've talked to a few myself. I want to know why the hell they do that though. Do they have quotas for certain job positions or what? It's like you're talking to a salesmen sometimes.


They do have quotas according to the ones I know who have been brutally honest about it. Some people like to recruit, but for many it is not their chosen profession- so take that into consideration too. If you miss quota, life is not good. And if you exceed quota, you can get some pretty nice bonuses.

It stinks, but you know what now that I am out of college and in the real world running the financial side of a new company, I have learned that this is the way the world works. If you are in sales, you have to meet quota to feed your kids. If you run finance, you have to collect on bad debt- sometimes being a bit of a jerk about it- to pay your house note.

Everyone in any paid position of responsibility with future potential for advancement has to meet some sort of benchmark. Everyone.

The real key comes down to how you do it. Are you being honest or deceptive? This can be a fine line to walk indeed, and when you are dealing with a military recruiter you are making decisions that will affect your life for several years.

I have met and talked with many recruiters- and I have yet to find one that will outright lie. Many are not very well informed, sure, but outright deception is not something I have been witness too. I am sure it exists, but I am willing to bet most recruiters are honest people trying to achieve in their jobs.

SEALs is a lot like modeling or acting or any other glamorous profession at the recruiting stage. A LOT of the people looking to get in just want to hear that it is possible, and they will sign their lives away thinking they are getting a guarantee. A recruiter is not lying to tell you that you can go to BUDs- just about anyone who can enlist in the Navy CAN get there if certain things happen, but I think many who enlist wanting to be a SEAL will interpret any sort of positive statement from a recruiter as a guarantee that does not exist.

It is estimated that there are over 120,000 "actors" in LA who cannot get steady work. Most of them have invested, or will invest, thousands of dollars each in modeling and acting classes. If you think of these classes as "recruiting efforts"- then the analogy becomes clear. These people have signed on to a career where they want to be in the top 1%- yet most will never make it. Whether they are happy with what they get depends a lot on their motives and true desires. If you are a good actor and have a true love of it, a lifetime of bit parts and regular jobs can be quite satisfying. If you are in it for the money and fame, and let other people do the thinking for you, then you are not likely to come out happy- in no small part because you lack the love of the profession that is needed to be in that top 1%, along with a lot of luck.

I think much the same can be said for kids who enlist wanting to be SEALs and who never really give thought to what they are doing. One Navy recruiter once told me that about 70% of the males who came to his office expressed some level of interest in the Teams. That should tell you how many people are in love with the idea of being a SEAL versus how many have a true desire to BE a SEAL.

So as with all other aspects of life, success comes from a person knowing the facts and acting accordingly without allowing any emotion appeal of recruiters or recruiting videos to affect them. The other night on a local TV station I was surfing and came across a half hour Navy infomercial. I caught about 20 minutes of it, and I would say 80% of that time was devoted to interviews and clips about SEALs and Navy pilots. I did not see any interviews with guys who have spent 6 years on a submarine LOL.

So it is up to the recruit to be informed and realistic. A recruiter is going to glamourize a military career- it is their job. It is how everything works in this world- especially in the recruitment of people for high profile professions.

Global- none of this is intended to knock you- just offering a general comment based on what I have quoted above and not making any reference to what you have encountered. I think you are doing your homework and asking good questions, something many people never do. The time you have spent training and the comments you make on this board tell me you are one with a true love for this. So keep on trying dude- you can make it happen.

[globalchaos]

Elpaninaro I thank you for your post. Of all the people I have ever talked to about the Seals has never put it the way you put it. But now looking at some of the people I have talked to who were going to Bud/s and you can see that some aren't there for the love of the business just the noteriety that comes with saying they are a Seal. And I will contnue to bust my ***.