Hell Week has begun. No matter what happens later in his career, every SEAL has had to survive the rigors of Hell Week, Crawford said. The path to becoming a Navy SEAL, Army Green Beret, Army Ranger or Air Force air commando is an obstacle course meant not to train but to eliminate the unprepared. So many are being eliminated that high-ranking military officials are changing the way sailors, soldiers and airmen are trained for special operations. One-third or fewer of the soldiers and sailors who enter Army Green Beret and Navy SEAL selection programs graduate.
Minorities typically fare far worse.
Failure rates for blacks and Latinos have risen in recent years at Navy SEAL and Army Special Forces schools, military records show. The Air Force doesn' t track students' race in its air commando training. But percentages are just one measure. Often, a class will start with only one or two black trainees. With so few blacks attempting SEAL training, retired Navy SEAL Capt.