Navy Seals: Long hair, beard, jeans, etc.

[JohnH1963]

I always see the Navy SEALs wear a variety of getups in any photos that are out there on the internet. For example, jeans. In every photo, every SEAL always is unshaven with long hair.

Im wondering what is the purpose behind these outfits? Is there a tactical purpose or is it more of a historic SEAL thing to go against the grain?

[ilbob]

disguise

[csmsss]

SEAL missions frequently involve going "undercover", as it were, in order to obtain the best and most reliable information about their target(s). In many places they will be going, the locals favor long hair and beards. Hence, long hair and beards. Last I heard, this hasn't prevented the SEALs from fighting effectively and getting their missions accomplished.

[BurkGlocker]

Well, SEALs are supposed to fit in, be hidden, especially with them being over in the Middle East, where beards and long hair are the norm, not clean shaven and crew cuts. Appearance is the first camouflage in my opinion.

[Doyle]

Go read the book "Rogue Warrier" by Richard Marchinco. He was the founder and first Commanding Officer of Seal Team 6.

[NWPilgrim]

Spit and polish stand out like a neon sign. Go to Germany around Ramstein AFB. You can pick out all of the military guys in a crowd in Heidelberg, Frankfurt, tour boats, etc. Same around any US base.

If you are trying to infiltrate around the world you can more easily blend in with long hair and beards which can be combed/pulled back to look like hip business man or shaggy are dirty like a street bum. You can hide hair, but a clean shaven face and high and tight haircut really stand out.

Same for clothing. Jeans are ubiquitous. I am sure whatever pictures we see present a small fraction of their mission costume/attire.

[Recon7]

I sometimes wonder how long hair and a beard can help a 6'2'' muscular American blend in in Afghanistan where the norm seemed to be somewhere around 5'6 120lbs.

Sometimes I would see those guys and just think, they just do it because they can and it lets regular guys like me know that they're special.

[guntotin_fool]

most of the special forces, recon, seals, et al that I have met are not monster muscle men, but rather built more along the lines of a competitive swimmer, or mid range track guy. Compare them to rock climbers, x bikers, etc and you see the similarities.

As for the hair and beards, its easy to get shave and hair cut if your next assignment turns into EP or Metropolis anti terror. but its hard to grow it over a weekend if you are getting sent to a lot of places where personal hygiene standards are a lot lower.

Take a 6 foot 1, 180 pound or so rock hard guy with long hair, scruffy beard and throw some baggie clothes and maybe a little gear under some local dress, let him slouch and act submissive and its easy to see that blending in where they go. Same guy with a high and tight, with a ramrod up his ass, is going to get owned in a minute.

What did St Ambrose say? When in rome, do as the romans? seems to fit in.

[Hkmp5sd]

Im wondering what is the purpose behind these outfits? Is there a tactical purpose or is it more of a historic SEAL thing to go against the grain?

Regarding attire, SEALs have always had the option to wear whatever they want in combat. It was up to the individual to determine what is both comfortable and practical for the given task. Many SEALs in Vietnam wore jeans. Some would go barefoot or wear "Ho Chi Minh" sandals. None wore helmets.

[heyduke]

SEALs have always had the option to wear whatever they want in combat

You learn something new everyday.

[gdeal]

but its hard to grow it over a weekend if you are getting sent to a lot of places where personal hygiene standards are a lot lower.

I'm glad I'm not a SEAL. I would rather be around people who take showers and use deoderant. God Bless them though.

[nemoaz]

I sometimes wonder how long hair and a beard can help a 6'2'' muscular American blend in in Afghanistan where the norm seemed to be somewhere around 5'6 120lbs.

The Rambo thing isn't the norm, at least years ago. The SF guys were more likely to be 5'7" 150 or so. Small & light with plenty of endurance. Runners, mostly. Musclebuilders were not the norm. At 6" 175-180, I was the second or third largest guy in the company. It was about the same when I was at SWC as a student.

That being said, from a distance, it's not always easy to tell if someone is taller than 5'6" or so.

My experience with SEALS, limited to be sure, is that they are also not muscleheads either. Swimmers are generally lean and those guys swim and run A LOT.

[Stevie-Ray]

I'm real impressed with undercover teams, today. Even at home here, I talked with one of the detectives at a drug bust along with 2 kids that were unkempt, baggy jeans, hands in pockets, real drop-out types. I thought they were getting off with a lighter charge by giving the detective info; in reality they were 2 of his partners.

[KLRANGL]

I saw a picture of my dads Delta buddy in Afganistan... Beard down to his chest. Not a buff guy either... you would never know he was military just by looking at him. 10% brawn, 90% brains... and the mental ability to pull a trigger...

[PBinWA]

Originally Posted by guntotin_fool

As for the hair and beards, its easy to get shave and hair cut if your next assignment turns into EP or Metropolis anti terror. but its hard to grow it over a weekend if you are getting sent to a lot of places where personal hygiene standards are a lot lower.

I suspect this is the most accurate answer.

[JohnH1963]

Let me debunk the myth of brawn. I was never in the special forces when I was in the military, but I was in the Army in the early 90s.

The military is more about cardio, speed and endurance then true brawn and muscle. At both Air Assault and Airborne schools, if you were muscular or had any extra weight on you, then that was to your disadvantage. Every day that I was in the military they were always closely focused on repetitive exercises like push-ups, road marches and endurance runs. There was one exercise for those Infantry soldiers in Germany called "catch the rabbit" where someone ran ahead of the pack and it was the goal of everyone else to catch him.

Brawn and muscle is more for police officers and SWAT teams as they are more likely to handle characters from a more intimate distance and not going to carry loads of weight over long distances.

Here is a good link which demonstrates exactly what I mean. No one in this huge crowd of paratroopers is brawny, but they all sure can run. By the way, all those older looking guys up front in white shirts are the cadre as the officers lead from the front in the airborne...

http://acraftphoto.blogspot.com/2008...ision-run.html

My original question was about long beards and other odd camo. I dont see the green beret special forces ever running around with same odd assortment of uniforms and looks.

[Recon7]

So I exaggerated a bit. This ain't infiltrating the mob type undercover, A guy with a beard 100 meters out of town walking across the ridge will attract less attention than a clean shaven guy with a high and tight. I just think we are over analyzing the issue.

[IZinterrogator]

I had to work undercover overseas once back in 2001. Took me forever to grow my hair out long enough to not scream military. Of course, just as it was getting long enough to look like I was a civilian, I redeployed back to the States and my usual high and tight.

[El Paso Joe]

It has been a few years but my memory (I was in the unit that drove the boats for SEALs in country) is that the tagline was "No names, no pictures, no kidding..." The SEALs that I remember were lean and rangy. The thing that I remember most was the level of hard resolve that they had. And in country they usually wore what worked on the op they were on. In CONUS they were pretty spit and polish. But there were no names, no pictures, and really no kidding. So I wonder what the story is around pictures of them identifying them as SEALs

[Striker071]

Well to say a SEAL isnt muscular is wrong. IN order to do operations like VBSS - Vessel-Board-Search&Seizure.. you may be climbing up a rope ladder or a climbing hook and you better be strong enough to do it quickly and efficiently. You have to be able to blend in on many levels. What amazes me is if a SEAL team doesnt want to be seen.... it is almost spooky. A lot of the Spec-Ops guys in Afghanistan grow the hair and the beard to fit in on a cutural level as well. But if you are trying to deal with a local tribal lord and you look more like him ..out of respect and you show it you can get more information potentially out of them. All the Spec-ops guys are professional from Rangers.. to Marine Recon.. Seals...Delta..(they are a whole different story). One of the Seals I worked with while in the Navy told me they are amazed by a group of Air Force guys... Para-Jump-rescue.. PJ's. They secure Airfields and get injured pilots outta harms way behind enemy lines.. usually in very small numbers. For a SEAL to say someone is outta their mind ... they have to be hardcore

[hoytinak]

One of the worst (or best depending on how you look at it) parts of blending in in a country like Afghanistan is having to eat nothing but local food for a couple weeks so your body sweats/smells like their's, man the first 2 weeks is rough till your body gets used to it....so I've heard.

[Kline605]

To be honest, I think it is a little of both. Because they can, and because it makes sense.

Didn't work a lot with the seals, more so with other groups, and they tended to be as varied as any other unit, some big, some average, one small, but all with endurance.

I just recently went through training with a retired seal that works for another federal group, and I would never have guessed it. That was until he began speaking and teaching.

[STLRN]

I worked with some of the JSOC and SOCOM forces in both AFG and IZ. The ones conducting FID (Foreign internal defense) and other white/green type mission at least use the logic of they have to grow beards in order to build rapport in with Arab and Pustun societies; however, the non SF trainers don't and are able to do the same thing as the SF ones.

The ones working on the "black side" mission will claim, they are attempting to not look like US Spec Ops from JSOC units, instead they believe they look more like contractors. However, when they run around in things like Marines MCCUUS or FROGS with beards and white afros, everyone knows who they are.

I found it humorous that they wanted the LNOs and attachments from non-SOCOM units to go native for the period of time we worked with them. In most cases it was decided it was better to stay within regs to fit in on the base.

[Chui]

"One of the worst (or best depending on how you look at it) parts of blending in in a country like Afghanistan is having to eat nothing but local food for a couple weeks so your body sweats/smells like their's..."

Then send me to the Middle East; I'd love to eat Paki/Indian food. Hell, I'd probably not come back.

[scottycoyote]

check out my new tactical beard......oh man this might be a whole can of worms we wish had never been opened lol