page_title: Marine Commandos
section_title: Navy SEALs selection and training
hierarchical_section_title: Marine Commandos / Selection and training / Navy SEALs selection and training
caption_attribution_description: English: Lebanese Navy SEALs boarding a UH-1H in a maneuver performed during Security Middle East Show in BIEL, Beirut - Lebanon.
context_page_description: The Marine Commandos are an elite unit of the Lebanese Armed Forces. They are part of the Lebanese Special Operations Command.
  Established with assistance from the United States Navy SEALs and the British Royal Marines, they are tasked with conducting a variety of missions, particularly in a maritime environment, which include: sabotage, raids, beach landings and maritime counter-terrorism. The Marine Commandos were established in 1997, then got their administrative independence in July 2001.
context_section_description: Graduates from the Special Forces School, in addition other candidates, can join the Marine Commandos. The selection of those who are not graduates from the Special Forces School follows a strict guideline: a candidate, preferably below 21, must be fit, have physical strength, and have mental clarity in order to pass the early stages which include calisthenics in addition to physiological pressure assessments. Passing those tests allow the candidate to continue and follow the "naval commando" training. Once the candidate passes this training, he can join the Marine Commandos.
  The selection and training process for the Marine Commandos is extremely demanding and rigorous and lasts around six to seven months. Candidates, other than graduates of the Special Forces School, are eligible to join from all of Lebanon’s armed forces. Barely 15 per cent make the grade.
  The course of the Marine Commandos is split into phases similar to that of the U.S. Navy SEALs 'BUD/S':
  Fundamental
  Complementary
  Specialized
  Fundamental training
  The fundamental training is the basic course that a Marine Commando undergoes directly after graduating from the school of Special Forces and joining the regiment. This training lasts for eight weeks and includes lessons on swimming, abseiling, handling of small boats, orienting, landing on the beach using RHIBs, in addition to lessons and maneuvers with the Navy.
  This stage includes "Week of Hell" course, which is a whole week of arduous and strenuous training that includes a lot of physical pain and oppression. The soldiers push themselves to the limits to apply what is requested during a training that lasts more than 20 hours per day duringwhich they only sleep for two hours.
  The goal behind this week is to fortify the capabilities and strengths of the soldiers to endure more and to sustain in front of the severe conditions which they might face during their future operations. It emphasizes on the candidates' physical aptitude and abilities.
  Complementary training
  At the end of the fundamental training, the members are distributed to the different platoons of the regiment in which they follow complementary training according to their specialization. Among the training:
  Basic diving course, followed at the Navy School.
  Landing and dealing with helicopters course, through which the soldiers learn how to deal with the helicopters and board them to reach their mission location, in addition to landing from the helicopters using ropes and firing from inside them.
  Sniping course, spans over six weeks, prepares capable snipers to snipe over various distances.
  Urban Warfare course or Close Quarter Battle, performed in an urban set training area specialized for such training and a constructed beach side tire house. At the beginning blank bullets are used, then they start training with real ammunition. The goal of this course is to train the soldiers for storming buildings and houses in populated areas without putting the civilians at danger.
  In addition to those courses, the complementary training includes different technical courses such as explosives expert course, which is followed at the Engineering Regiment, driving and mechanical maintenance course, followed at the Logistics Brigade, that's in addition to map-reading, orienting, and radio courses.
  Specialized training
  An advanced stage of the training in each member specializes in a specific military field, such as:
  Diving
  Combat
  Storming
  Airborne operations
  Explosives and ammunition
  Hostage-rescue in the sea
  Combat diving
  The peak of the training courses at the Marine Commandos is the combat diving course, which is only followed by a small number of highly capable and efficient members. An entrance examination is required.  This examination involves 9 km of swimming, 52 meters of underwater crossing, in addition to running, push ups, and sit ups. This course lasts for 18 months, and it is intended to prepare professional fighters capable of using the sea as a way to infiltrate onto the shores and conduct naval special operations and special operations behi
caption: Lebanese Marine Commandos on board of a UH-1H
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