Platoon Training
Most SEALs say that this training is a great learning experience and superb conditioning for combat. It provides the platoon with the foundation from which to conduct the remaining year and a half (or so) of training. Some other training highlights are Jungle Warfare Training in Central America. In Navy SEAL lore, these jungles are said to be a living nightmare. The Army lost a man training there a couple of years ago - just flat out disappeared. Man-eating crocodiles and poisonous sea snakes are just two of your bedfellows as you patrol through the rivers and streams deep within the dense jungle foliage. The platoon learns the value of a pump action shotgun to clear foliage when contacted – especially if you can't see your target and he may be only a few feet from the platoon.
Jungle hammocks are mandatory - ask anyone who has attempted to sleep on the jungle floor - yikes! Patrolling one klick (one thousand yards) can take hours, as the point man cuts his way through the bamboo and vines - humidity of 100 percent will probably send a constant stream of sweat down your back. This training emulates, in many ways, the environment of the Vietnam era that SEALs endured and thrived in. Operators from SEAL Team FOUR have also found this very valuable in their efforts fighting alongside the DEA and foreign nationals in the war against drugs.
SEAL Teams TWO and FIVE are responsible for regions of the world that are often blanketed in snow – so their platoons conduct extreme cold weather training and winter warfare training.
Usually conducted in Alaska, Montana, Upstate New York and Norway, the training covers cross country skiing, snowshoeing, winter orienteering and mountain warfare tactics, building snow caves and fire and maneuver tactics on skis and snow shoes. Winter survival and escape and evasion are particularly arduous skills to master, and the winter warfare platoons become quite adept at this unique form of warfare. The remaining Teams that do not require a winter warfare background still attend cold weather training and cold weather maritime operations in Alaska. This Naval Special Warfare Detachment has a seasoned training cadre. The cadre's sole purpose is to train each platoon in the requirements of conducting commando missions in a mountainous environment, where the platoon needs to rope in and traverse steep cliffs and ravines in cold weather.
