Originally posted by kwlee:
oh and so what is a hell week....

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