SEAL training begins at Great Lakes

• Reprints

Matthew Shorrock of New York performs pushups while training in the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School Team at Naval Station Great Lakes. The school was established as a course of instruction prior to commencing Basic Underwater

Updated: June 4, 2011 12:25AM

Members of the elite counterterrorist team that killed Osama bin Laden likely began their training at Naval Station Great Lakes.

The first step for becoming a Navy SEAL starts here in Lake County.

The Navy’s elite forces get their first taste of what it will take to become part of the special group at the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School, which opened in November 2007.

“This program is all about preparing the student mentally and physically,” said Special Operations Mate Chief Paul Tharp when the program was announced in February 2008.

Candidates must complete a series of timed challenges that include swimming 1,000 yards, running four miles and doing a set amount of pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups. The recruits have eight weeks to meet the challenge.

From Great Lakes, they go to the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif., south of San Diego, for six months of training including the notorious “Hell Week” called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL.

Only about 26 percent of the candidates successfully complete the course. That percentage jumped to 31 percent in 2008. One of the reasons for the preparatory school was to increase that percentage.

In the past, only Navy personnel could try to join the elite special operations group, but it was opened to civilian candidates when the preparatory school was opened. The school builds up the candidates physically and boosts their confidence.

At the California school, instructors act as “rattlesnakes,” trying to tear down the candidates physically and mentally to find out who has the spirit to be a Navy SEAL, said Darek Laviolette, who was assistant director of the Great Lakes prep school when it opened.

The special operations group that took part in the raid to kill Osama bin Laden is a special group of SEALs referred to as SEAL Team 6, a tier-one counterterrorism and special missions unit formed by the United States Navy.

The SEAL Team 6 classification is top secret, and missions are generally not made known to the general public, according to Navy officials.