Reduction of cost of the Naval Special Warfare Basic Underwater Demolition

Abstract

Down-sizing of the military means reduction in operating budgets of most commands. Currently, the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training program has one of the highest attrition rates of any military school. Because of this high attrition rate there is potentially a great deal of monetary waste that could be saved in this program, both in students that do not successfully complete the program as well as those that graduate. The purpose of this study is to analyze in detail the BUD/S program, identify inefficiencies and associated potential savings and recommend future studies to expand on these savings. Topics discussed in this paper are: determination of attrition rates and distributions for each dis-enrollment category; arrival date and its effect on graduation rate; class convening date and its effect on graduation rate; graduation potential given a student has been 'rolled-back', profile of a successful student based on service record data; recommendations for future study. It should be noted that this paper is only an initial look at the cost associated with the BUD/S attrition problem. Certain conclusions derived from the database are based on a relatively small sample that may have been affected by other factors not reflected in the database. Caution should be exercised when using the models based on small sample size.