If a young man has spent countless hours bobbing in a pool during water polo matches, he’s more likely to survive the butt-kicking training required to become a Navy SEAL.
Same goes if he rock climbs or mountain bikes. And believe it or not, if he plays chess, his odds of passing triple.
Those are some findings from a nearly $500,000 Gallup study commissioned by the Navy. The Coronado-based Naval Special Warfare Recruiting Directorate is trying to increase its ranks a goal that has proved somewhat elusive. The elite service has not met its recruiting goals for enlisted SEALs in two of the past four years.
The fighters famous for their expertise on sea, air and land created a recruiting arm in late 2005 to market themselves for the first time. It was a culture change: Prior generations of SEALs came to them, not the other way around.
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