My son could NOT clear his ears and had to tap out. He gets one more chance on Monday. Failure is not an option as he will be dropped from the course.
Hello, Jason.
I think you’re getting good advice here on ear clearing so I’ll address another facet of the situation for you.
As long as your son doesn’t receive a permanent medical bar (which doesn’t sound likely), he can apply to BUD/S again. Selection for continued training is not an only-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for each Special Operations component of the Services. Some guys never dare to go back through the tough screening process (Hell Week for BUD/S, other names for other Services) but each Service allows a service member to apply and try again provided he doesn’t receive a permanent medical bar or do something really immoral. Across each of our Services, the Special Operations ranks are filled with guys who didn’t make it the first time.
That much said, I know as a young man your son will probably feel crushed and that he has failed if he is dropped.
I can assure you that Naval Special Warfare Command (NSW), the command that forms and fields SEAL units, is a diverse organization with a wide variety of opportunities for Sailors. Not every Sailor in a SEAL unit is an operator and they very much value their enablers.
If he is unable to clear and gets dropped from the course, I would encourage him to seek out his BUD/S unit’s Senior Chief Petty Officer to ask him for career advice on how he could use the specialty he is already trained in (or will be trained in) to get an assignment to NSW.
When he asks the training chain of command, the Chief Petty Officers (subordinate petty officers) might go on high alert thinking that your son intends to go complain about being dropped. He needs to look them squarely in the eye and tell them with the solid strength of his Bixby roots, “I know I’m being dropped because I couldn’t clear my ears but that doesn’t mean I can’t serve with a SEAL unit in another way. I want to serve with Special Operations and I‘d like to get the Senior Chief’s advice on how I can get assigned to Naval Special Warfare Command”.
The Senior Chief Petty Officer will have the time in service to coach him on the next set of steps. If for some reason the Senior can’t meet with your son, the chain of command will likely find someone else who will take the time to get out of ‘sugar cookie’ mode and share some advice.
I’m hoping your son can clear his ears and drive on with BUD/S training. But if he can’t, there are tons of jobs that SEAL Teams depend on to get a SEAL Platoon or Task Unit “on the X” (objective). In our very best Special Operations units, while everyone knows the operators make the final decision on the assault and its execution, the operators are humble and go out of their way to take care of their enablers. It’s very much a family environment where everybody’s efforts really, really, matter. It’s every bit of what the American taxpayer expects and what inspiring stories are formed around.
Good luck and God bless you and your family for supporting your son’s service to his Nation. I’ll check back here to see how things went.