Since its inception in 2014, SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS) has served as an important step in screening potential candidates for Navy SEAL training.
Conducted in three classes each summer, this intense three-week course includes Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) officer candidates, Navy ROTC midshipmen, Officer Candidate School (OCS) recruits and current active-duty members.
This week’s question concerns the timeline to join the officer route and attend BUD/S training:
What is the timeline between finishing SOAS, finding out if [you are] selected and attending BUD/S for the officer candidate who successfully gets selected?
Thanks,
Neil
Depending on when you begin submitting your recruiting paperwork and where you are coming from, it usually takes six months to a year. It can take longer, though. The shorter timelines are for those active-duty officers looking to transfer laterally.
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Most of the other recruits will have to graduate from their college or service academy first, then attend OCS if they are a civilian. This route can take more than a year, depending on the number of officers in the classes in front of you.
Here is a detailed breakdown of common turnaround times for each applicant:
Service Academy and ROTC Midshipmen
The U.S. Naval Academy typically will send 30 officers, and the other service academies will, in some years, get fewer than five spots. ROTC will send 15-20 students most years.
After SOAS, midshipmen and cadets from service academies will have to wait until November to find out whether they are selected. Then, they are not eligible to attend BUD/S as ensigns until after graduation, which is late May.
Some will get to attend in June, but most members of the selected class will be split to attend BUD/S in different cohorts throughout the year. Some will not attend BUD/S until January, March or later, the year after graduation. The range of attending BUD/S for most service academies after graduation is between 11 months at the earliest and 22 months at the latest. Some ROTC candidates may graduate after the fall semester, so they could attend sooner than academy students.
Officer Candidate School (OCS)
Civilians or active-duty enlisted service members who attend SOAS will have to go to OCS for 13 weeks once they find out whether they are selected. That normally happens in late October, a few months after SOAS.
Attending OCS can occur quickly if spots become available in upcoming classes, possibly as early as November. Most attend between January and April in the following year. The range of attending BUD/S for this candidate is eight to 12 months after SOAS.
Lateral Transfer Officers
Active-duty officers are typically the fastest, depending on the service commitments at their current duty station. These are typically officers from service academies or ROTC who did not get selected and are looking to try again.
Once they find out in October after SOAS, they can be there before the year is out if everything aligns with their current assignment. However, they have been in the Navy at this point for 18 to 24 months (or more) and are seeking to get another chance to select for BUD/S.
While there is no particularly better route to BUD/S as an officer, there is one that offers both opportunities to enlist or attend as an officer. Officer candidates who attend college paid for by the military will serve their commitment as officers and will need to transfer laterally from another officer community in the Navy if they do not get selected on their first attempt.
OCS candidates, however, can choose to enlist if they do not get selected and attend BUD/S after Navy boot camp. Later in their career – as an active enlisted Navy SEAL – they can attend OCS and become a SEAL officer without going through SOAS.
As you can see, there is no single answer to your question. Just know that it is a longer journey than enlisting, attending boot camp and going straight to BUD/S. The officer route is also highly competitive. While only 70 to 80 officers will be selected a year, the number of enlisted members who will receive the opportunity to attend BUD/S is roughly 10 times higher.
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