taken from NAVYSEALS.com
It occurs the sixth week of First Phase, after about 30% of the
class has already rung out. Hell Week is the real make or break
test during first phase - and a defining moment in the lives and
careers of most SEALs. Five days and five nights of non-stop
training - with a total cumulative sleep time of about 2 hours! The
class is broken into boat crews, which run everywhere with their
IBS (Inflatable Boat-Small) on their heads.
Hell Week starts with "break out" on Sunday night - which is a
simulated combat experience with absolute chaos reigning.(with
instructors carrying m240 shooting blanks everywhere.)
After break out, the boat crews begin a series of
well-choreographed training events that pit boat crew against boat
crew, student against student and the individual against himself.
The true enemy becomes the cold. Students are kept wet and sandy
and cold and exhausted every minute of each day - the only respite
coming in the warmth of the chow hall where about 5000 calories are
consumed during breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight
rations.
he cold makes the weak quit and the determined seek strength
through teamwork and helping their fellow students. Hell Week is a
defining moment in the life of every SEAL because it makes them
confident that they can endure and accomplish twenty times what
they had previously thought possible. But it isn't easy.By the end
of the week, the average BUD/S class is down to about 25 to 35
students - from well over 100 at the start. Some of the exciting
adventures during the week include night rock portage on the rocks
in front of the Hotel Del Coronado; an around-the-Coronado-Island
boat paddle after three nights without sleep (15 miles); timed runs
and swims; obstacle course running with the IBS and a trip down the
strand (running with boats on heads) to a fun filled afternoon of
low crawling through the famous mud flats, the demo pits, steel
piers and many other exciting and tortuous games refined through
the years by many a "creative" BUD/S instructors. Finally, on
Friday afternoon a bleary eyed, torn, blistered, sunburned and
scabby headed class- a fraction of the original size- is secured
from Hell Week for a weekend of rest before resuming training on
Monday for the Hydrographic reconnaissance training.
http://www.navyseals.com/community/navyseals/training_buds.cfm
