To day this day it stands true that there are no women in the Navy SEALs. This has been debated by many “equal rights” groups who claim that this is a sexist law. However, there has never been a woman who could pass the strenuous physical aspects of Navy SEAL training. In fact, there has never been a woman who has qualified to even be considered to enter BUD/S Training.
Though this is true of the United States Navy, it’s not true where film is concerned. Specifically for the 1997 Ridley Scott film G.I. Jane, wherein, Demi Moore plays a woman who is training to become the very first female Navy SEAL. The film portrays Demi Moore’s character as a very driven women who wants to make a bold statement that “women can do everything that a man can do”. This film was considered by many associated with the Navy SEALs to be very controversial.
Regardless of whether you support female Navy SEALs or not, the film G.I. Jane is an intriguing action/drama that comes off more like a political statement in the end. Even G.I. Jane herself begins to question her motives and whether or not she could successfully carry out missions just as well as the other physically fit men around her.
For now, female Navy SEALs are just a work of Hollywood magic and it is believed that in the near future there will be no female Navy SEALs. However, many are hopeful that this could change in the many years to come.
October 2nd, 2009 - 8:29 pm
If women want to become SEALs, I say let them, but they’re not getting any special treatment. They bunk with the guys, train with the guys, eat with the guys, and shower with the guys if they want to fight alongside the guys.
The enemy doesn’t give handicaps because you’re a woman. If you want to be a SEAL, you are a SEAL, not a male SEAL, not a female SEAL, and you will be expected to act like a SEAL.
There’s no silver medal in a life-or-death fight – only the winner and the corpse.
October 2nd, 2009 - 11:51 pm
Never gonna happen. This isn’t some politically correct cookie cutter organization we’re talking about. This is the Navy SEAL’s. And there is no place in the Navy SEAL’s for people (in this case, women) who can’t actually perform the job, because including them would not only endanger their lives, but the lives of the other members of the SEAL team, and possibly more beyond, depending on what the repercussions of the mission failure are.
That there are people pushing for this solely based on politics, with no regard whatsoever for the real world implications, is absolutely disgraceful. They should give a thought as to the lives they’d be putting in peril, rather than the supposed “unfairness” of women being unable to serve in the SEAL’s. This is America, after all, where you’re supposed to achieve something because you EARN it, and not because some busybody somewhere believes we need to fill gender/racial/ethnic quotas.
October 8th, 2009 - 4:57 am
[...] of time. Another arm of the military that is yet to see integration is the Navy SEALs – having a G.I. Jane, until now, remains to be possible only in [...]
October 22nd, 2009 - 7:55 pm
I say that if a woman can pass all the tests and show just as much promise as a man, yes let them in. But this all depends on if they can make it. No special treatment, and if they’re incompitent they can’t join.
October 26th, 2009 - 10:37 am
“However, there has never been a woman who could pass the strenuous physical aspects of Navy SEAL training. In fact, there has never been a woman who has qualified to even be considered to enter BUD/S Training.”
How could this statement even be true if women aren’t allowed to try? It’s not like the Navy could let them.
There are women out there who can – and have – passed the qual test.
In the BUD/S prep school in Annapolis, there are female instructors who pt the BUD/S students every day who can pass the BUD/S prep test with their eyes closed.
There are also female Olympians who have been invited to the Nval Special Warfare Center who have put many men to shame with their times.
Women at the SEAL Fitness Challenge have also passed with excellent times. You shouldn’t want to take away from any of their accomplishments.
Please don’t make it sound like the training is so hard, only a man could ever do it. The training is meant to be tough, that’s why there are so few SEALs. But it’s tough – not impossible.
Yes it is true women cannot be SEAL/S. What is NOT true is the reason they can’t is becuase they aren’t capable.
November 9th, 2009 - 10:34 pm
if a woman can pass the test then let her in. there have been arguments that if women were allowed to join the navy seals that it would slow down the program. this includes hygen issues, sexual tension.. etc. also men are afraid that if women where excepted in the program that men will take risks saving a woman then a man. hygen issues; women still wish for seperate showers and latrines. i believe that if women wish to be in the program they have to act like a seal… so pretty much become a guy and suck it up. sexual tension, there have been arguments that if women were in the program that it would cause sexual tension between the men and the women. but i’m sure that if they are well focused and motivated enough to complete the training then sex would be last on their minds. but yea, if women can pass the test,and have the physically and mentally strenth then let them in.
November 10th, 2009 - 7:42 am
if a girl can pass the test then let her in. there have been arguments based on hygien issues and sexual tension. on hygien issues, women wish for seperate showers and toliets. but if you want to become a navy seal you have act like one! also there have been arguments based on sexual tension. im sure that the men and women who are motivated enough sex would be last thing on their minds.
February 11th, 2010 - 8:12 pm
Yes, women can do a lot of things, even survive some weeks of BUDs but even if the comment does not sound too good to fellow women advocates, I have spent 24 hours in a Navy Seal Challenge accepting civilians and future SOF recruits just to see how it feels withut watering down the evolutions and my experience -that was very good, although strenous- showed me that no matter the mental fitness and the resilience, even the will to go along them as one more with no privileges sharing the barracks, the showers and the toilets, it comes to a point that the crude carreer of a SOF is a man´s thing. I advocate to the first phase of BUDs as a prime character builder where even civilians of both sexes can benefit greatly from it, but that is one thing and other to place a young woman 18 to 30 in a career of dealing with the very worst in the world on daily basis. Having a taste of that environment and enjoying the military atmosphere I still think is not a good idea. Would be wasting her. Men emotionally can overcome and survive better than women under mayhem conditions. GI Jane and G Force are enjoyable, but fiction.
April 24th, 2010 - 7:26 am
I can’t believe in the 21st century that there are still women who believe that women aren’t equal to men. Both genders have their weak and strong. We have proven many times in history that we are up to whatever challenge we are up against. I agree that women should be given no special treatment, but she should be allowed to try. I am in the military and I could honestly say I have met men who I would not want to be next to on the front line. We have to change society so people are blind to race, religion, and gender.
May 3rd, 2010 - 5:56 am
What you guys are talking about is great and all but.., theres still ONE thing. It was explained to me by my friend who is in the service that, since right now it’s men only in certain areas, if women were to be able in it, then they have to come up with a whole other place to isolate the men and women, different place to sleep, do overnite practice missions, showers, ect. because they don’t risk any distractions, were all human and it does happen….. but thats alot more money we’d have to cough out of our ass to be able to consider that, for what? were fine where we are, we don’t have that kind of money to spend on some bullshit right now.You can’t always get what you want, so fucking deal with it. Give an inch, take a damn mile. – And I’m a girl btw
June 30th, 2010 - 8:35 pm
Sounds like another excuse to glorify discrimination to me.
August 13th, 2010 - 8:08 pm
I believe women have the capabilities to fight as well as any man. However mixing men and women together is challenging out outbalanced. If a woman wants to be in special forces, I do believe the government should provide that right. So instead of joining the male Navy S.E.A.L.S, I believe they should form a female version. Just like sports for instance…women are physically different than men but it does not mean they cannot “play”. So give the women their own facilities, their own teams, their own standards to maintain. I am a woman and should not have to compete with a mans standards….Give me the highest women’s standards and give me my own sex to work with. It is not that men and women cannot work together, but due to physical differences, men should not be required to lower their physical standards and I should not be required to meet the standards of a sex that I am not…..
October 30th, 2010 - 4:21 pm
Dana,
Boy to you sound like one smart cookie, especially your extensive vocabulary. You obviously have a very low self-esteem by not thinking women capable of such a challenge. It takes more than just the physical, it’s more the mental, mind over matter, which you don’t seem to have. The money is readily available. If you do your research you will find that in the US there is more money allocated toward the military than anything else. And as for you men, shame on you as well. Especially the perverts who want to share a shower and latrine with a women. I bet you wouldn’t even make it into the top 10 of your gym class. You lack intelligence and respect for yourself as well as the opposite sex! Get you head out of your behind and get with the program.
December 21st, 2010 - 2:06 am
Who knows?
Until NAVSPECWARCOM decides to let the women go for it, nobody will know for sure.
That having been said, my opinion: Not really likely.
I was a USMC scout/sniper, a school that also boasts an 80% attrition rate and has no women in it. I have also done amphibious insertion training, SERE and a variety of other stuff.
These days (the last 6 years) I have been abroad kickboxing professionally (Thailand, Japan, Cambodia) and training people. I train, coach and corner for professional female fighters as well. TOUGH PEOPLE that YOU do not want to mess with on the street or in the ring….but….from what I have seen, emotionally women just break down quicker under the extended physical and mental strain of MORNING AND NIGHT, DAY IN, DAY OUT ABUSE. I don’t think women are mentally weaker than men, but the way many of them (perhaps not all ) cope (lots of tears, lots of depression, bodily functions becoming irregular, hair falling out, extreme weight loss, complete loss of appetite, extreme attraction to men in that hyper-intense physical environment) is a mechanism that just WOULD NOT work in a situation like 6 months of HELL called BUD/S.
Again- my opinion is based on several years in rough professions and rough environments with men and women. I don’t know if it is absolute, I sort of doubt it but I suspect that woman that would pull through this would be something extraordinarily rare indeed.
January 20th, 2011 - 4:07 pm
we arnt talking some type of social study this is a job where national security is at risk. i was marine force recon for 5 years (we are like seals except we dont swim as much) while there are many women who can compete with the top 5 percent of men, but there is likely less then 5 who can compete with the top 10 percent of the top 1 percent. besides that there are biological issues women do not have the ability to produce muscle, women are very prone to urinary infection wich is very easy to get when your crawling around in mud and wont take a shower for two weeks, for one week a month during menstration a woman goes through a lot the bleeding and strng scent make them easily detected by dogs there heat signature rises wich can lead to detection from thermal imaging not to mention blood attracts sharks, women also have far far less bone density my pack weighed around 100 pounds when i was in iraq on the first day is doing this really worth not being able to stand with out pain by the time your thirty, i was shot in my thigh i weigh 200 pounds plus all my gar theres not many men who can carry me but they can pull me remember you have to carry your 100 pound pack to, i no women can make fantastic warriors look at all the swat members
March 17th, 2011 - 2:52 pm
I’m a female, and I’m training as if I were preparing for BUDS. I intend to enlist in the Navy upon completion of my Bachelors and fight for a shot at the SEALs. I understand the arguments against female SEALs, about hygene and sexual tension, but I want no preferential treatment. I am completely willing to shave my hair to regulation, bunk, shower, and use the bathroom with the men. A SEAL is a SEAL no matter their gender. If I can pass the same physical tests and ASVAB there is no legitimate reason I should be denied my chance at SEAL training. If men choose to be preferential towards protecting me in combat that is their decision, and miscalculation. I deserve to be looked at as any other man.
May 2nd, 2011 - 6:40 am
Responding to this appointment of Devan Nicole:
“A SEAL is a SEAL no matter their gender. If I can pass the same physical tests and ASVAB there is no legitimate reason I should be denied my chance at SEAL training. If men choose to be preferential towards protecting me in combat that is their decision, and miscalculation. I deserve to be looked at as any other man”.
Precisely what would happen is that they commit that “miscalculation”.
The important thing is to avoid these (and other) possibilities exist. Not whether it is fair or not women have the right to test.
This is real life. Not a fairy tale with full justice.
May 3rd, 2011 - 1:22 pm
Look guys. Im a 27 year old female marine , top of my class physically and mentally. I have patrolled with infantry units on the streeys of iraq and carried their gear as well as my own after they fell from the heat (dumb) I can’t say that I could pass all the tests and become a seal only because I not even allowed to try. Pretty damn sexist.the real reason woman aren’t even allowed to try is that eventually one woman would pass (me) and that would be the end to one of the last remaining old boy clubs.By the way, the shower, sleeping, and sex Argument is just a strawman. I couldn’t care less about having separate crap or the sex, and if seals are the professionalls the claim to be none of that would be an issue. Pure sexism, and cowardice, not even letting a woman try.
May 11th, 2011 - 4:52 pm
There are many more aspects to it than the physical. Do you know how many guys died attempting a HALO? Great, you can pass the physical to become a SEAL. The main question that you should ask yourself is, why would I want to become a SEAL? Just to say that you can? Come on girls, lay off the Testosterone, and think this through.
May 30th, 2011 - 7:19 am
This is a joke. Women always want the same thing as men. I give credit to nocturnal. They need to ask themselves why do they want to be seals.They need to ask themselves would they feel comfortable sharing showers with a bunch of swinging (you know what),digging your own hole to take a crap,listen to the men talk about women.Im sorry ladies but if I ever share a shower with a woman I WILL LOOK.IM A MAN THATS WHAT MEN DO.AND IF YOU WANT TO KEEP UP WITH THE FELLAS YOU GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. How can a woman possibly think she can deal with not taking a shower for weeks or deal with cramps and mood swings,and menstrual cycles.Oh by the way during menstruation tampons should be changed atleast twice a day to avoid yeast infection.Oh so you want to be seal? Well there’s no part of a seal handbook that says “lets wait for Suzy” or bettet yet “Jane to change her tampons while we’re under fire.” “Oh no shes cramping up today she cant workout today with the rest of the male seals” I could go on forever but its pointless. Theres more to being a seal than just going through hell week. Thats why its not easy being one in the first place. Believe me I have the utmost respect for women but somethings are meant to be for men for a reason.
June 3rd, 2011 - 1:52 pm
you people are funny. how much do you want to bet that females would be able to cover guys asses on the front line. its funny because i know for a fact that if women were given a reason to fight we could fight and win. somebody put these sexist thoughts in your heads about how woman cannot live up to a males physical standards and let me root them out now by telling you something. up until world war II women were expected to stay home sew and take care of the kids. during the second world war we, the WOMEN, were the ones who made the weaponry while the men were fighting, because physically capable men were needed to fight, all of them. so if women hadn’t worked the factories would the men have had much ammo to keep fighting for our country? i don’t think so. men got credit for all the success and women were standing in the background hoping to be acknowledged for the deeds that they had done. so who says women cant step up and fight in the front line. men. even after all women had been doing men are still in control. funny how this country values themselves as the country of the free and they don’t give women there own freedom.
June 3rd, 2011 - 2:23 pm
oh and Will M. to answer your question. i wouldnt give a shit about dangling bits. digging a hole to do your business is exactly what people have to do in third world countries and sorry to tell ya BUDDY women have to do it too. no one has to wait for suzy to change her tampon. guys have mood swings too. most of the guys i have seen seem to always have their “manly menstruation cycle” like they have some kind of stick up their ass. yes that includes those wonderful men who can do every thing from fight front line to fight behind enemy lines so don’t start with all that manly self righteous bull about how women wouldn’t be able to take the heat of being a SEAL. how do you know that women aren’t physically able to be a navy SEAL if we aren’t given a chance?
Sincerely Future FEMALE Navy SEAL, N.A.H.
July 12th, 2011 - 5:10 am
b*tches piss off and stop saying that men are sexist you women have femenist and theres no such thing as malist cause we are too superior
July 24th, 2011 - 9:34 pm
The only way to know is to try it! I am not military and don’t wish to be. But, I have been in an air force auxiliary program where I dug my own whole to do my business and menstrual cycles where not even brought up, you just dealt with it! I believe there are many women that are very capable of navy seals training and combat. But we will never know until they are given a shot at it(with no special treatment) If you can’t pass get out! I’m sure not many women would even want to, I know I wouldn’t, but there are some that would and would do extremely well.
August 18th, 2011 - 7:17 am
@N.A.H “Sincerely Future FEMALE Navy SEAL, N.A.H.” I’ll believe it when I see it, and to you saying that “no one will have to wait for Suzy to change her tampon” yeah we f*cking will. You know damn well what will happen if Suzy doesn’t change it. Yeast infection, urinary infection, etc.. Also, just copy and pasting here, but the guy who wrote this has a point.
————–
There has always been the women are as strong as men argument, yet if we took away the segragation just in sports alone and no longer had men’s/woman’s track, Basketball, baseball, tennis, and so on.
There wouldnt be a woman in the record books. There wouldnt be women in sports.
Why is it OK for women to have a gym that only allows women to join, but women always want to crash an all male program stating discrimination?
Women dont want equal rights they want special rights. I bet if you polled the women around the country and asked if they would be willing to be drafted so a few women could try out for the seals it would get a resounding no.
————-
I hope that humbled you a bit. I have no problem with women and am far from sexist. What I do have a problem with are the women that prefer getting justice rather than thinking about the consequences of getting this justice.
January 14th, 2012 - 1:48 pm
Hey idiots flapping their jaws about menstrual cycles. On my aircraft carrier I was given depo shots. These shots typically eliminate periods for months. Women volunteer for this. In the military we get many options presented and they are all for free. Trust me. We want our cycle even less than you want to hear about it.
Guys you go to work with women. Probably have female friends and family members. You have girls ALL around you EVERY SINGLE DAY. how often did you know that a girl was having their period??????? Women adapt to take care of their shit. We don’t stop the fucking world for our cycle or draw attention to it. We take care of it and move on. Holy shit…our period does not define us. You probably get random hard ons in the field. Does this fail the mission?? You guys act like we live in the cave man days. There are so many new medical break throughs that women are currently using! A pad is not the standard and only option we have.
On my air craft carrier I worked 7 days a week, 8 months straight. I crawled around in dirt, oil and grime. I worked with fuel and dragged seventy pound hoses around the deck all day long. You guys act like a little bit of dirt is an instant UTI. I never got one of those once while in the shit. I also never once turned to my team mates curing cycle ops and told them – “Yeah. We can’t fuel this bird right now. I need to change my tampon.” Duty was my first obligation. I would have bled to death before I prevented that jet leaving the deck to provide air support. When you are in the shit, your normal way of looking at things goes out the window. I remember taking my end of the shift shower and watching layers of black jet exhaust just rain off of me into the drain.
As far as sexual tension. Vast majority of the girls couldn’t give a shit less about getting it on. Your so damn tired at the end of your shift, and have so little free time to yourself that you just crash out in your rack. Real talk. Don’t flatter yourself either guys. Most of you are these scrawny pipsqueak types that intensely lack anything remotely arousing. Join the military and tell me how often you get laid? Most men find themselves buying hookers in port because they are not getting it from the girls they roll with on deployment. No, we are not bulldog looking dykes. We are hard working, dedicated, and attractive women…who are often in the best shape of their lives due having to keep up with our military schedule.
To the guy that stated that dogs can smell women on their periods. Not any where as bad as they can smell men. Guys kick up powerful endorphines when they are in extreme situations that dogs are especially put off by in a confrontation, and male sweat gland odor are packaged at most sporting goods stores to intentionally attract bears and deer. Read the package. It never states: “Product made of Period blood or female reproductive organs”