Coast Guardsmen are 1st to ever graduate BUD/S - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Coast Guardsmen are 1st to ever graduate BUD/S

Two Coast Guardsmen became the first in their service to graduate from the Navy’s Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs training Thursday.

The graduates, whose names have not been released, have been training since January. They still must go through another six months of training before they officially become SEALs, said Lt. Fred Martin, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Center at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif. Up next: parachute training, the Junior Officer Training Course and the final SEAL qualification training, which includes cold-weather training in Kodiak, Alaska.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen wrote proudly about the graduates in his blog.

“Two Guardians made history today,” he said. “While they still have an intensive training program to complete before pinning on their Tridents in the spring, this is an impressive accomplishment, and we should all be very proud of our shipmates and their performance representing the U.S. Coast Guard amongst the elite Navy SEALs.”

One of the Coast Guardsman graduated as the class officer in charge —the senior ranking member of the class, Martin said.

“They still have a ways to go, but they have handled themselves very well,” Martin said.

The Coast Guard originally sent four service members to training, but one dropped out and another was injured before the dreaded Hell Week began. He has since recovered and will start training with a new class next week, Martin said.

The Coast Guard received 16 applications this year from service members who want to join a SEAL class, Allen wrote. The applications will be reviewed, and if the candidates meet the Navy admission guidelines, they will be sent for training next year.