A Former SEAL Team 6 Member on How the Unit Selects

In a video from JackCarrUSA, a former Navy SEAL sits down to talk through the process of getting selected for SEAL Team 6, from his early days watching the unit's operators at SEAL Team 2 to his own eight years at the command, including the lead-up to Somalia.

Key points

• Selection isn't just paperwork: candidates need multiple deployments and enough time in service, then need permission from their chain of command before their name even goes to the team, which then votes on whether to accept them.
• The interview matters: he describes sitting in front of the CO, XO, Command Master Chief and command psychologist, calling it more intimidating than anything else in his Navy career up to that point.
• Training is about mindset, not basics: Green Team isn't there to teach SEAL skills or make anyone quit, it's about learning the unit's specialized approach to close-quarters battle and hostage rescue.
• Old-school gear: he recalls training and deploying with Smith & Wesson 686 revolvers before the unit transitioned to Berettas and later Sigs, noting the limited capacity made reloads a real skill to master.
• Somalia wasn't sudden: he explains the crisis built for months before an attack on Pakistani forces guarding food shipments triggered the U.S. response, and his team happened to be the one on standby.

Quick take

This is a firsthand look at how an elite unit actually vets people, reminding viewers that being technically qualified on paper means nothing if your teammates don't vouch for you. The detail on gear evolution and the real timeline behind a major historical deployment adds useful context beyond the usual highlight-reel war stories.

Watch the full video: JackCarrUSA