Spring Break
Student Profile - Doug Moorehead (OB)
Navy Seal Finds Challenge in Iraq Before HBS
Nikki Brewer (Partner OB), Harbus Intern
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News
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Doug's grandfather was an officer in the Navy and fought in WWII, and his father was a pilot in Vietnam. While Doug felt like the military was always an option, he never felt pressured to join. When it came time to look at colleges, his parents showed him all of his options and let him choose. He chose the Naval Academy.
Doug has always been motivated by challenges. "If I knew I could do it, I didn't want to do it. I just wanted the challenge of it."
He spent the summer between his junior and senior year at the Naval Academy doing internships in the fields that he wanted to pursue upon graduation. Doug thought that medicine would be challenging, but he also heard about a small part of the military called the Navy SEALs.
"I quickly learned that it wasn't a bunch of lunatics but it was actually a very disciplined group of guys...It was challenging, it was interesting. I didn't know if I could handle all of the cold exposure but it turned out to be a very interesting experience."
Doug interviewed for the Navy Seals during the Thanksgiving of his senior year. He took a physical readiness test and went through an interview to see if he could be a SEAL. The Navy brought SEALs down from East Coast SEAL Teams, and they asked some situational questions to see if he would pick the easy way out.
Doug attributes the ease with which he was able to answer those questions to his upbringing and to 4 years at the Naval Academy. They wanted to see his personality type, his character, and his takes on leadership; they were looking for a disqualifier. They did not find one, and after Christmas he found out that he had made the SEAL team.
After graduation, Doug left for a 6-month Seal training program in Coronado, San Diego. The training is in three phases. The first 6 months they are trying to weed you out. This is all the movie stuff:
"Laying in the water, carrying the log, carrying the boats, running in the sand dunes, ocean swims, drown proofing with your hands tied behind your back."
The hardest thing for Doug was the cold water. The temperatures they trained in were 45-50 degrees, but Doug said it was the duration of time they had to spend in the water that was the worst part.
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