Third Phase (Land Warfare)
Third Phase is the final seven-week block of BUD/S, and it is the land warfare phase. MILPERSMAN 1306-1016 lists what candidates train in there: hydrographic reconnaissance, combat swimmer or diver work, land navigation, demolition, and weapons skills.
What the Phase Covers
MILPERSMAN 1306-1016 (10 December 2024) lists hydrographic reconnaissance, combat swimmer or diver, land navigation, demolition, and weapons skills for this phase, all in preparation for the SEAL Qualification Training pipeline. The water skills of the first two phases are not left behind at this point; they are how a team gets to the objective. Third Phase adds the rest of the job on land, from reading ground and navigating to handling explosives and weapons as a working unit.
How BUD/S Ends
Third Phase closes a 21-week course. From there a candidate moves on to SEAL Qualification Training, which the same investigation times at 19 weeks and follows with 12 weeks of advanced training courses. Attrition is at its lowest here, about 3% across the seven weeks, against 66% in First Phase and 5% in Second.
What It Asks of Your Preparation
Third Phase asks for the least exotic preparation of the three. It wants run volume over mixed ground, legs and hips that survive working under load, and a core that holds posture while a load shifts. A candidate can train all three in a park or on a beach, which is what the plan's long slow distance runs, lower body sessions and core work are for. The specific skills are taught at the schoolhouse, and no preparation plan pretends otherwise.
Spend the last weeks of preparation on long days under load: a run over sand or trail, then strength work. Land warfare days are long before they are hard.
Related Terms
Second Phase is the seven-week diving block of BUD/S, where selected candidates train on open-circuit and closed-circuit diving gear. The instruction for the programme lists physical training, distance running, swimming and the obstacle course alongside the diving itself.
First Phase is the seven-week opening block of BUD/S, the phase that selects and prepares candidates physically and psychologically for the rest of the pipeline. It holds Hell Week, and it is where most of a BUD/S class is lost.
Lower body strength training in the NSW preparation program builds the leg and posterior chain strength needed for running, swimming kicks, load carriage, and the high-volume physical demands of BUD/S. These sessions target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves through compound movements.
Core exercises in the NSW preparation program target the trunk stabilizers (abdominals, obliques, lower back, and hip muscles) through a progressive rotation of planks, bridges, bird dogs, supermans, and side planks. These exercises build the trunk stability that supports every movement in BUD/S, from running to swimming to log PT.
Ready to start training?
The NSW PT Guide has everything you need for BUD/S. ZeroPhase makes it easier: today's workout, brackets from your PST, every rep logged.
Get After ItNot ready to start? Take the standards with you.
Get the PST standards and week 1 of the plan by email. Occasional training emails after that, nothing weekly, one-click unsubscribe.