European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Mind games and mockery by Nora Zamichow los Angeles times Rich Cleveland first tried to get through hell week to become a Navy Seal in january. He got hypothermia and passed out. The second time in March he broke his leg. Cleveland a third try several weeks ago did not begin badly. For 24 hours he and the rest of class 172 tossed 250-Pound logs and then kicked them up Sand berms rowed and then shoulder pressed inflated rubber rafts Over their Heads. They Lay in the surf while Waves pounded them swam relay races climbed Walls and ropes and raced in the deep Sand of Coronado a beaches. And they did not sleep. On the second night Cleveland a Navy airman apprentice and the others were ordered into san Diego Bay. Cleveland 22, remembered the hypothermia and panicked. For almost 20 minutes the fully clothed men swam. As instructed they removed their boots and socks in the water and tied them around their necks. They were ordered Back to the steel pier where they Lay on the cold Metal. An instructor hosed the men Down with Bay water As they did push ups. A keeps them from overheating Quot the instructor said sarcastically. Kenneth Graham a Navy Petty officer second class confessed that he had lost one of his boots in the Bay. The group returned to the water diving until they found hell week for Navy seals it. Cleveland a face was pinched in fear. A it was the cold Quot the Oklahoma native said later. A and the night. The dark has a Way of taking things away. I was  for the Chance to belong to the military a most elite special operation Force Cleveland and 57 others were going through what is widely regarded As the toughest military training in the United states. The program is so strenuous that Only half of those who enrol will graduate and become seals sea air land commandos. The most intense part of the 25-week training is hell week a name that evolved Over 47 years from its original name motivation week. During hell week the recruits Are almost constantly wet and cold. They lose their toenails and rub raw huge patches of skin. Their joints swell up like melons. Afraid they will be unable to put their boots Back on they rarely take them off. In the course of the week the men faint vomit and hallucinate. A Quot i just had to suck up pain Quot said William  Whitted 28, a Virginia Beach resident who went through hell week with a stress fracture in each leg. Quot if you go through hell week you feel a sense of superiority. You have done something few people could  As class 172 went through hell week Navy officials allowed the los Angeles times unprecedented Access to the exercises and the men involved. Their Only request was that instructors eligible to go on Clandestine missions remain Anonymous. Officials say hell week which occurs during the sixth week of the 25-week training is a hazing ritual that separates the determined from the doubtful. It is the ultimate Quot rite of passage to be a Warrior Quot in the armed forces said cmdr. Larry Simmons executive officer of the naval special warfare Center at Coronado where All Seal training is conducted. For those who succeed it is not Only a physical feat. They also suffer through mind games and mockery. Through the six Days of hell week the men Are allowed no More than three hours of sleep total. Several men in class 172 fell asleep during the 15-mile paddles waking up Only after tumbling into the water. Quot hell week is to see How a Young Man operates under extreme stress. You try to simulate combat within super tolerant margins of safety. They look like they got out of Auschwitz when its Over Quot said rear adm. George r. Worthington commander of the naval special warfare command. Quot nobody really Dies during hell  but they do get injured. Class 172 started with 79 continued on Page 14 monday novembers 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13