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In tactical training, the men are working as infantry on squad levels, with each squad made up of seven or eight men. It involves constant maneuvering with loaded weapons. Thus, safety is emphasized at all times. And although safety is paramount in all phases of SEAL training, it is extremely critical during land warfare training.

The training cadre constantly remind the men to treat their weapons as if they were loaded with live ammo ("goin' hot") at all times. All weapons are kept on safe during troop movements and are not switched to the firing mode until "enemy" contact is made. Once "enemy" contact is broken or during maneuvers to break off that contact, weapons are always put back on safe. It is a well known fact of infantry life that men have accidently killed their comrades through disregard of weapons safety.

The land warfare skills are taught in progressive stages. Each particular subject is first introduced in the classroom "In training, there is always the pressure to improve upon everything you've learned" and is then followed by practical walk-through or hands-on experience in the field under the watchful eye of the training cadre. Following each walk-through the men are critiqued on their performance and given guidance and suggestions for improvement. Then, when the men feel confident with the evolution, they are allowed to practice the skill as a unit on their own against a simulated enemy force, first without ammo, then with blanks and finally with live rounds.

Although there is constant repetition during training, there is still a low boredom factor. After having spent a particularly long, hot afternoon repeatedly working on a single maneuver, one member of a team training at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, remarked, "It's hot & I'm sweaty, dirty and I smell nasty, but I still stay pumped up. When you're in the middle of weapons tactical training and you're 'goin' hot' and everyone is laying down a base of fire, it becomes a real 'rush.' It's so noisy you can't hear yourself talk or scream for that matter & it's exciting."

The training is a constant process and never lets up. It is intensive. As one SEAL pointed out, "In training, there is always the pressure to improve upon everything you've learned & the pressure to improve your accuracy, timing and teamwork. Our opposition is doing the same thing and that's something you always have to be aware of." He added emphatically that survival is a matter of good training.

The troops train night and day in every conceivable terrain and every type of weather. Each training evolution, every maneuver, is practiced and rehearsed over and over until it is done right and becomes second nature and can be performed with acrobatic precision. It is a continual, grinding round of patrols, combat maneuvers, immediate action drills and weapons firing. It's learning how to set up a skirmish line and lay down an effective base of fire. It's learning how to get out of an enemy ambush in one piece and setting up a counter-ambush of your own. It's learning how to move through a danger area with just hand signals for communication. It's knowing where to be, when to be there and what to do when you arrive.

But, more importantly, it's learning to work as a team. It is this reciprocal reliance and trust between the individuals that make up the team that provide that all-important cutting edge in combat. It makes the SEALs as formidable on land as they are in the water.

 - Story by J02 Mike McKinley : ALL HANDS

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