Navy Admiral Says SEALs Won’t Change Standards for Women, but Navy Has a Plan

By Zachary Stieber
December 21, 2015 Last Updated: December 21, 2015
In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

A Navy admiral says the legendary requirements for SEALs will not be changed for women.

The disclosure comes just months before the Navy has to roll out integration plans, with an April 1 deadline set.

Vice Adm. Bill Moran told the Military Times that he recently submitted his piece of the plan, but emphasized that there’s a more long-term outlook as opposed to pushing women into combat right away by lowering standards. 

“For young women that want to be in that community, we’ve got to give them time to get ready,” he said of the SEALs training, which is so hard that nearly three-quarters of men drop out. “So I’m not in a rush to push the first one through and get at it that way.”

Moran said Navy officials reviewed the standards and decided that they needed to stay the same.

MORE: Men Say They Don’t Want Women in US Military’s Elite Forces

American Navy Seals land on the main beach in Monrovia, Liberia in this Aug. 18, 2003 file photo. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)
American Navy Seals land on the main beach in Monrovia, Liberia in this Aug. 18, 2003 file photo. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)

 

A SEAL trainee must complete a 500-yard swim in under 12 minutes, 30 seconds; but preferably in 9 minutes. They must also run 1.5 miles in under 10 minutes, 30 seconds; but preferably in 9 minutes, 30 seconds.

They must also complete in two minutes or less, at least 50 push-ups (preferably 90); at least 50 curl-ups (preferably 85); and at least 10 pull-ups (preferably 18).

But even meeting these requirements doesn’t guarantee that the person becomes a SEAL. Of the hundreds of thousands who apply, less than 700 will be cleared for training, said NSW recruiting directorate commanding officer Capt. Duncan Smith last year.

Moran concluded that they’re not against women SEALs, but they need whoever becomes a SEAL to meet the standards.

“We are less interested in headlines and a lot more interested in success,” he said. “Success may take a lot more time than people want to write a headline about.”