Combat Control VS Navy SEALs ( How momentum made me decide)

 I had no regrets of walking out on the Navy before I'd even turned 20.

I wasn't ready.

I did what everyone else did after high school, and my parents said, " I needed to get something going". So I signed up for college.  

There were a few people I knew joining the military right after high school, but they were not known for being popular or "cool".  They already spoke to recruiters about their jobs and were ready to ship off after graduation.

All I could think about were the SEALs, what they were doing, and what type of guys were going through BUD/s while I finished up my Senior year of high school.

I went to MTSU about 45 minutes away from my home in Lebanon, Tennessee, to see what college life was like away from the micro management of my parents, but I still lived at home and commuted.  

I was unsure about being on my own and never really thought for myself, but I was desperate to get away

I began to realize being at home around my father was not going to work anymore.  I felt like going to school was his idea, and I still felt under his thumb around the house.

I eventually moved out.  I struggled through my first couple of years of the basic courses, and I still had no clue what I'd pick as a major.  I put off deciding, but eventually I picked what everyone else I knew was doing.  I decided on business administration.

 While school was not for me, I told myself a business major would help me go into business for myself.  I could not see myself working in an office after college, but I did not think too far ahead.  My focus was on partying, trying to meet girls, and being myself away from the strict rules of my parents.

Once I moved out on my own, my grades went from bad to worse.  I was working for FED EX loading trailers about 4 hours every night; my commute was 45 minutes each way.  The job was physically exhausting and was miserable, but they offered tuition assistance and medical benefits. At least that help me feel more independent.

I continued working out, and around the beginning of my fourth year, I saw the writing on the wall.

Business finance, statistics, and business calculus, made my grades plummet.  Like in high school, I fell behind and never caught up, but I showed up everyday hoping to meet girls and scared to look at my situation.  I continued to put my head in the sand about my future, and eventually I was put on academic probation.

I continued working at FED EX, and began drinking heavily.  It started as drinking almost the entire weekend, waking up from wicked hangovers only to do it again the next night. Then I began to drink just about everyday, and I was getting out of shape.  Becoming a Navy SEAL looked only like a fantasy, but I continued to be fascinated by the culture and job of a SEAL.

I must have had the desire to be a Combat Controller somewhere inside my being I told my roommates, friends, and anybody else who would listen, I was gonna join the military and be a special operator.

I am not sure what took me so long to pull the trigger, but I'm glad I waited a while.  I needed time to mature, time to grow up.

I refused to return home.  I did whatever I could to stay in Murfreesboro and live independent from my parents.  I had been placed on academic probation, and the next semester, my grades were even worse.

I went to a review board to beg them not to kick me out.  It was pathetic.




I knew I was going nowhere.  I knew I needed to begin a challenge I could be passionate about.  Not just doing what everyone thought I should be doing.

Combat Control is virtually unknown by anyone outside of the Air Force.  I overlooked this elite unit because it gets very little public attention.  You can find out exactly what the SEALs and BUD/s is all about with little effort.  I knew what was involved, why some people failed, and knew what to expect.  Because I spent years immersed in the information on the SEALs, everything else seemed unworthy.

I think knowing how hard BUD/s was, kept me from committing.

The more I researched SEAL training, the more I realized a high chance of failing.  The thought of failing scared me.  Telling my parents I failed and hearing, " I told you son", made me stay away from joining.

I felt stuck.

I looked at the Rangers, Army special forces, Marine Recon,  combat control, and even Pararescue, but they seemed soft compared to the " toughest military training in the world", conducted in the freezing waters of the Pacific ocean. I stayed focused on the SEALs as I got into the best shape of my life.

I was in a book store a few years back and found a book that changed my life.  It was called The complete guide to Navy SEAL fitness written by Stew Smith.  Inside the book was information about what to expect in BUD/s and had an intense 12 week workout in the back.  It was so intense, I never did the workout the first two years I owned it.  There was a picture of the guys that graduated in his class, BUD/s class 182.  They were standing on the beach with their UDT shorts on and shirts off.  They all looked the same, ripped muscles and confident faces.

I wanted to be in the photo.  I wanted to have the confidence of completing something that hard.

There was a line in the book that caught my eye.  Stew was explaining who had completed the program in his book.  He was in charge of getting men ready for BUD/s at the Naval Academy.

Every man who completed his workout made it through BUD/s.  

This was an incredible accomplishment, because I knew how hard the training was and the failure rate.  This was my confidence boost.  It was what I needed to create another spark, another kick in the ass to attempt the program.

I followed the workout religiously, not missing a single day.  I turned down trips with friends and cut back my drinking to ensure I could complete the grueling workouts.

My momentum was unstoppable.  I was doing four mile runs, one mile swims, and then quickly ran another 3 miles to match the first run.  I did up to 600 push ups and sit ups in a single workout.  When I did 150 pull ups in a single workout, I felt like a SEAL.

I finished the 12 week workout, but I didn't sign up for the Navy yet.  The way the Navy handled getting into BUD/s still did not sit well with me.

I decided to walk into the Air Force recruiting office to find out more about their special ops forces.   I started another 12 week workout while I researched the best options.  I'm not gonna lie, I thought the Air Force special forces had to be easier than the SEAL program, but I could still save face with my family by following through with my goals.


When I asked the recruiters about what the Air Force options were, they showed me the brochures.  One was Combat Control, and the other Pararescue.  I'd heard of Pararescue, but I wanted nothing to do with the medical portion of training.  I did not like academics ( or so I thought at the time) so I focused on Combat Control.

Combat Control looked like the perfect fit, with one line standing out, certified FAA air traffic controllers, was part of the job description. That looked like a great job when I left the military.

The brochure also explained the almost two year training pipeline including Airborne, HALO, dive school, and survival training.  The best part was, it looked easier than BUD/s because I knew nothing about it.

The recruiters sized me up.  They could tell I was in shape and serious about joining some sort of special ops program.  I remember what they told me.  " Some SEALs don't make it through this training.  They see the wizard in the pool training."  

Seeing the wizard is a term used in Air Force special ops, meaning shallow water blackout.

Seeing the wizard seemed like a stupid rumor.  Again, I knew nothing about Combat Control culture.  The thought of a pool seemed like a joke to me.  The SEALs trained in the Pacific ocean. 

At that moment, I made my decision.  I was gonna join the Air Force.  When the recruiter told me there is only about 400 Combat Controllers, I thought it was because nobody even knew about it.  I was not intimidated.

The best part of all, I could sign up and walk into the training, not do another job first, like the Navy.

A week later I signed up for the Air Force.  I did another 12 week workout before I shipped off.  If I could do the SEAL workout, I could make it through Combat Control training.

I continued working at FED EX and did my workouts.  This was my life the last weeks of my life in Tennessee. I ran in my UDT shorts, and my roommates thought I'd lost my mind.

I had a way out, with a new chapter of my life coming in the next year.  I did not regret choosing the Air Force, but I hoped Combat Control was going to be close to being a SEAL.

A big factor I considered between Combat Control and the Navy SEALs was job skills available after the military.  As a Combat Controller, you become an FAA certified air traffic controller ( which I am now).  I didn't see a lot of options with the SEALs, not that there isn't any.  I just focused on air traffic as a long term goal. 

I plan on doing an article on air traffic control, hiring, and job prospects in the near future. 

Another factor was I knew very little about Combat Control, but a lot of the suffering I'd go through as a BUD's trainee.  As I found out later, the pipeline was incredibly difficult, but what you don't know  can't hurt you...right?