Hell Week is the defining event of BUD/S training. It is held early on – in the 3rd week of First Phase – before the Navy makes an expensive investment in SEAL operational training. Hell Week consists of 5 1/2 days of cold, wet, brutally difficult operational training on fewer than four hours of sleep. Hell Week tests physical endurance, mental toughness, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude, and your ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, and sleep deprivation. Above all, it tests determination and desire. On average, only 25% of SEAL candidates make it through Hell Week, the toughest training in the U.S. Military. It is often the greatest achievement of their lives, and with it comes the realization that they can do 20X more than they ever thought possible. It is a defining moment that they reach back to when in combat. They know that they will never, ever quit, or let a teammate down.
Over the years, research has been done to determine a common trait in those individuals who make it through Hell Week, without definitive answer. They are not necessarily the largest or strongest men, nor the fastest swimmers, but those with burning desire to be SEALs. BUD/S Instructors have observed only one true predictor of which candidates will ultimately succeed – it’s those who want it the most — you can see it in their EYES!
Trainees are constantly in motion; running, swimming, paddling, carrying boats on their heads, doing log PT, sit-ups, push-ups, rolling in the sand, slogging through mud, paddling boats and doing surf passage. Being still can be just as challenging, when you’re standing interminably in formation, soaking wet on the beach, or up to your waist in the water, with the cold ocean wind cutting through you. Mud covers uniforms, hands, faces – everything but the eyes. The sand chafes raw skin and the salt water makes cuts burn. Students perform evolutions that require them to think, lead, make sound decisions, and functionally operate when they are extremely sleep-deprived, approaching hypothermia, and even hallucinating. While trainees get plenty to eat, some are so fatigued that they fall asleep in their food. Others fall asleep while paddling boats and have to be pulled out of the water by teammates. Teamwork and camaraderie are essential as trainees alternately help and encourage each other, to hang in there and not quit.
Safety is always adhered to. Medical personnel are on hand during all evolutions to take care of emergencies and monitor the exhausted trainees. Throughout Hell Week, Instructors with bull-horns entice trainees to quit, mimicking the inner voice that tells you to give in to your physical pain. The Instructors make it easy, even honorable, for students to come out of the cold: simply ring the bell that signals defeat, and enjoy doughnuts and coffee in front of your suffering former classmates. Because the SEAL community is so small, the Instructors know that they will likely serve in future combat operations with those trainees who pass. Therefore they rigorously test and critically assess which trainees have the SEAL Ethos, physical ability and character to save their and other teammates’ lives.
SEAL candidates commonly have the mistaken belief that Hell Week and BUD/S are all about physical strength. Actually, it’s as much mental as it is physical. Trainees just decide that they are too cold, too sandy, too sore or too tired to go on. It’s their minds that give up on them, not their bodies. While Instructors could get anyone to quit if they wanted to, that’s not what they’re after. They apply great physical and mental stress, sow the seeds of doubt, and give tempting invitations for trainees to quit. It’s up to the individual student to either turn it into increased resolve, or decide on his own to quit. The majority of the students who make it through Hell Week go on to graduate BUD/S and become SEALs. Having survived that severe trial, they feel literally unstoppable — that they can do anything. They have earned a place as one of the elite Navy SEALs the United States sends to do the “impossible” during times of war.
Read the Hell Week chapter from the Jeff Kraus’ book, “You Want Me To Do What?”
FAQs
On average, only 25% of SEAL candidates make it through Hell Week, the toughest training in the U.S. Military. It is often the greatest achievement of their lives, and with it comes the realization that they can do 20X more than they ever thought possible.
How hard is Hell Week for Navy SEALs? ›
Prepare to run over 200 miles in the five and a half days you are participating in Hell Week. Combined with the other rigorous physical training you'll be enduring, as well as sleep deprivation, it's fair to say that these will be the hardest 200 miles that you'll run in your entire life.
What is the hardest part of Hell Week? ›
The worst part is sleep deprivation. First phase is called first phase, and that's the gut check. Then there's a week early on in first phase called Hell Week, where you sleep for a total of four hours broken up into little naps over the span of five and a half days. Oh my gosh.
How to make it through Navy SEAL Hell Week? ›
- Prevent Chaffing at All Costs.
- Eat, Eat, and Eat Some More.
- Don't Think Too Much About Hell Week Ending.
- Help Your Buddies.
- Overcome Your Aversion to Same-Sex Snuggling.
- Embrace the Suck.
- Daydream About What You Will Do When You Finish Hell Week.
- Give It All You Have.
Eleven people, including Kyle Mullen, have died in BUD/S training since then, according to Naval Special Warfare. Each one is a tragedy, but few, if any, have had the impact of Kyle Mullen's death.
How many miles do SEALs run in Hell Week? ›
During Hell Week, candidates participate in five and a half days of continuous training. Each candidate sleeps at most four hours during the entire week, runs more than 200 miles (320 km), and does physical training for more than 20 hours per day.
How many times did David Goggins do Hell Week? ›
David Goggins' military background reads like a case of bad “stolen valor” — the retired Navy SEAL chief is believed to be the only member of the armed forces to complete the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/s) course (including going through Hell Week three times), U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as ...
Do Navy SEALs eat during Hell Week? ›
During Hell Week, trainees get four meals a day — sometimes MREs, but usually hot meals of unlimited quantities. Eating hot food is a substitute for being warm and dry. It gives a needed psychological boost to tired trainees, many of whom are nearly sleeping while they eat.
What is the failure rate for hell week? ›
The report stated that the average attrition rate and rollbacks for the entirety of BUD/S for the period studied was 68%. Average attrition and rollbacks (in which a student might finish with a later class than the one he started) during the three weeks prior to Hell Week was 45% of the beginning class strength.
Do Navy SEALs drink coffee? ›
If you're having “that kind of day”, where you're crabby and every little thing irritates you, take a coffee break. For SEALs, caffeine was a mood-improver. [This may also be a reason to give your office-mate a shot of coffee. Just saying.]
Without question, the one thing I told myself most often during BUD/S was, “They're either going to kill me or fail me, but I am not quitting.” There are lots of things that can cause someone to fail BUD/S – injury, serious medical conditions, academics in Dive Phase, the 5.5 mile timed swim, Third Phase run times, ...
Do SEALs not sleep during hell week? ›
That's what Hell Week in Navy SEAL training is like. It's not just about physical toughness but also mental resilience. With nights devoid of sleep and relentless tasks to push you beyond limits, only 25% manage to see it through.
What is the fail rate for navy SEALs? ›
BUD/S Training, the Toughest Military Training in the World, has a 75-80% attrition rate. The seven or eight out of ten men who fail or quit SEAL Training in the Navy are not just average guys walking the streets today, they're the best the Navy has.
How many times did David Goggins go through Hell Week? ›
David Goggins' military background reads like a case of bad “stolen valor” — the retired Navy SEAL chief is believed to be the only member of the armed forces to complete the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/s) course (including going through Hell Week three times), U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as ...
What percentage of navy SEALs make it through training? ›
Navy SEALs account for only about one percent of all active-duty members of the Navy, and it is estimated that only about 20-25% of all SEAL candidates complete the training needed to become a member of the SEALs, with approximately 1,000 candidates entering the training program and about 250 candidates completing ...
How much do navy SEALs sleep in hell a week? ›
In this grueling five-and-a-half day stretch, each candidate sleeps only about four total hours but runs more than 200 miles and does physical training for more than 20 hours per day. Successful completion of Hell Week truly defines those candidates who have the commitment and dedication required of a SEAL.
Hell Week is the defining event of BUD/S training. It is held early on – in the 3rd week of First Phase – before the Navy makes an expensive investment in SEAL operational training. Hell Week consists of 5 1/2 days of cold, wet, brutally difficult operational training on fewer than four hours of sleep. Hell Week tests physical endurance, mental toughness, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude, and your ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, and sleep deprivation. Above all, it tests determination and desire. On average, only 25% of SEAL candidates make it through Hell Week, the toughest training in the U.S. Military. It is often the greatest achievement of their lives, and with it comes the realization that they can do 20X more than they ever thought possible. It is a defining moment that they reach back to when in combat. They know that they will never, ever quit, or let a teammate down.
