Navy recruiters issue special operations physical fitness challenge
By Mike Bottoms
USSOCOM Public Affairs

Naval Special Warfare Command and Navy Recruiting Command joined forces in January to begin the first of several national recruiting initiatives designed to bolster Naval Special Warfare recruiting.

In one such initiative, a Naval Special Warfare/Special Operations representative will be placed at each Navy Recruiting District. SEAL Petty Officer Second Class Kory Knowles is the NSW/NSO representative for NRD Miami. He helped to put together a Special Operations Challenge Fitness Assessment event held at National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Fla., Feb. 11. More than 100 candidates from Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and Gainesville, Fla., took the qualifyingphysical fitness test to become a SEAL, Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman or a diver.

"I have been training over a dozen potential special operators with the physical conditioning they will need to get through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training," Knowles said. "Additionally, I have been giving them insight on the mental toughness they will need to become a teammate in the operator community." "This Special Operations Challenge Fitness Assessment event was the first of its kind. The feedback I've gotten is pretty positive," said Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Almon, commanding officer, Naval Reserve Recruiting Area Southeast.

A key to the success of the SEAL challenge held in Fort Pierce was the help and encouragement of retired SEALs. "It's my belief that one of the unique qualities about the SEAL community is the level of dedication of retirees as demonstrated by their willingness to help with this kind of event," Almon said. "I
think there's the potential to do similar events involving retired SEALs across the Nation."

With the Global War on Terrorism still the Navy's most important mission, more qualified
candidates are needed to fill NSWC. "The reason we are focusing so many resources toward the prospective candidate is because Special Operations Forces are required to combat terrorism," said SEAL Master Chief Petty Officer Victor Licause, NSW program manager at Commander Navy Recruiting Command. "Operations focused to combat terrorism are not routine deployments. We are going where we can make a difference."

There are financial incentives as well. A $40,000 entry bonus has been enacted for SEAL applicants entering under the SEAL Challenge program. There are certain milestones along the way (like successfully completing the physical screening test) allowing them to access some of this bonus prior to completing BUD/S. Additionally, if the applicant enters the Navy under the SEAL Challenge, he will automatically be promoted to E-4 upon completion of BUD/S.

About half of the candidates taking the SEAL Challenge at Fort Pierce passed the physical screening test. A ceremony was held where those passing the physical screening test were given SEAL T-shirts and awards from retired SEAL Master Chief Petty Officer Rudy Boesch of the original SEAL Team Two and who also appeared on the television show "Survivor."

Visit www.navyseals.com for an extensive archive on Special Operations related article and stories.

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