Inside the Record Books: What the Evidence Shows About Women in Naval Special Warfare

An essential feature on Inside the Record Books: What the Evidence Shows About Women in Naval Special Warfare, including in-depth facts.

While public attention fixates almost exclusively on the SEAL Trident, Naval Special Warfare Command encompasses a second, equally lethal Tier-2 special operations component: Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen. SWCC operators pilot high-speed, state-of-the-art combat craft such as the Combatant Craft Medium (CCM) and Combatant Craft Heavy (CCH). They conduct covert insertion and extraction of SEALs and other special operations personnel, coastal patrol interdiction, and direct-action support in hostile littoral waters.

On July 15, 2021, an unnamed female sailor graduated alongside 16 male teammates in SWCC Class 115. Her graduation represented a monumental, documented milestone: she became the first woman to earn a Naval Special Warfare pin.

Her identity remains classified under standard Naval Special Warfare security protocols, which safeguard the names and likenesses of enlisted operators deployed in sensitive counterterrorism and intelligence operations. To earn her pin, she endured Crewman Foundation Training and Crewman Qualification Training (CQT), a 37-week ordeal that features "The Tour."

The Tour serves as the SWCC equivalent of Hell Week: 72 continuous hours of brutal physical labor, ocean navigation, boat handling, and sleep deprivation in the cold waters off Silver Strand. Out of 17 women who attempted the SWCC or SEAL training tracks between 2016 and 2021, she was the sole candidate to complete the pipeline.