Is Jesse Ventura a Navy Seal?

Answer 1

Technically no.

Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura was a member of Underwater Demolition Team 12, and he left the Navy 8 years before UDT teams were re-designated as SEAL or SDV Teams. Though he was in Vietnam and has received the Vietnam Service Medal, he has personally admitted that he never saw combat as all SEAL's of that era did. Also, during the Vietnam era, SEAL and UDT teams were separate units under the Special Operations banner.

SEAL training is also separate from BUD/S training. Passing BUD/S only guarantees that you will move on to Parachutist and SEAL qualification training, not that you will pass it. There were also separate NEC (Naval Enlisted Classification Codes, or job codes) for both SEAL's and UDT members.

While some feel that both UDT and SEAL terms are interchangeable, most real SEAL's laugh at the very thought. However, the real key is the SEAL NEC code; many NEC's have separate codes for basic and advanced training, and the UDT/SEAL's were no different. Ventura's claim that he was a SEAL rests solely on the civilian belief that the terms are interchangeable, when in fact they're not, and the fact that most civilians don't often understand the Navy training pipeline system. The UDT NEC designation is 5321/2; the enlisted SEAL NEC is 5326. The 2 separate and distinct NEC's denote separate training courses and qualifications.

As another example, as a Submarine Sonarman, I had several NEC's, 2 for basic sonar operation, and 2 for advanced sonar systems' maintenance and repair. The UDT NEC would be the equivalent of basic operator - the SEAL NEC would be for passing basic (BUD/S) and completing advanced training.

As the link to the attached article (Jesse's Dangerous Game) shows, when confronted by a real former SEAL commander of his era, his spokesman referred only to the fact that he feels the 2 terms are interchangeable, not that he was in fact a former SEAL.

Of course, as the author has also stated, all he needs to do to prove it is to make public his DD-214 (discharge); all NEC's, Awards, and other pertinent information are included on the form. To date he has not done so.