The path to becoming a US Navy SEAL, SWCC, EOD, DIVER or AIR RESCUE is long and winding, filled with many challenging twists and turns of fate that can happen in a moment. As the Warrior Challenge Mentor for US Navy Special Operations recruiting in New England, Bill converses with Seven Days’ Ken Picard about his job while also providing a firsthand glimpse of swim training with some of his candidates, most of them SEAL wannabes.
The greatest physical and mental challenges that many candidates face revolve around water comfortability, never mind competency and extended exposure. Bill begins most assessments of candidates with the Warrior Challenge Physical Screen Test, the baseline metric of one’s viability. Those that pass or show promise are encouraged to stick around and receive additional training. Bill developed and continues to refine a more holistic approach that proved its worth, but the foundation of his program remains the water and one’s need to be comfortable, confident and competent in it. The benefits of his approach come back to him as innumerable testimonies in support of its validity.
