The applicant chose to exit the program on August 2 — a week and three days after the course began on July 24. The three-week long program is designed to give all applicants a taste of what SEAL life will be like if they decide they want to continue.
The woman was the first to qualify for training since the Department of Defense lifted the restriction on women in special operations roles in December 2015.
Enrolled in the Navy SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection Program, had the applicant stayed, she would’ve then been assessed by a review board and, if approved, gone on to the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL program. The final program is a rigorous six-month training course for elite special operators.
While there is a second female candidate making her way toward become a Navy Special Warfare Combat Crewman, reports indicate her course is somewhat less intense than the failed candidate’s SEAL program.
"The SWCC training program is easier to complete than the SEAL training program," Josh Cotton, a former Navy psychologist, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. "But both are very difficult to complete and have high dropout rates."
Approximately 1,000 service members sign up for Navy SEAL training each year; only 25 percent actually succeed.
"People try and fail on their own merits, and we respect the individual for the risk," Cotton told Task & Purpose. "And whatever happens, they’re doing it to serve and protect their country."
