Why aren't there more Navy SEALS?

I think you actually hit it on the nose. It's mostly influenced by Zero Dark Thirty, SEAL Team Six, COD, Medal of Honor, and so on. Many of those who "say" they want to "JOIN" the SEALs have no concept of what is involved. They don't know about doing "sugar cookie" drills in the cold surf...don't know about having your hands tied behind your back and being thrown into a swimming pool for an hour of hands free treading...don't know about going through SERE training. I'll bet most have never run further than their mom's refrigerator. They definitely don't realize that more people are drafted into the NFL every year than will earn a SEAL Trident.

The vast majority of those who say this will never even try because they've discovered something else that they want to do. (I know that for myself, between the age of 7 and 16 I "wanted" to be 20 different things). Hell, I even changed my major 3 times in college after I got out of the Navy.

I had the knowledge of myself, back when I joined, to know that I wasn't cut out to be a SEAL, a SF Operator, or even a Marine. I knew my limitations.

Because the pipeline requires a lot more mental toughness, high attention to detail, and teamwork than the physical toughness. Many people that come on here saying "I can do 100 push ups, 100 sit ups ect...;" I am sure many of them have what it takes just to pass the PST for the SEAL Challenge Contract, but lack the real motivation & determination to take on a very long and brutal pipeline. Furthermore, the Navy only gives the SEAL Challenge Contract to the top performers; barely passing the PST will not earn them a contract.

And one last thing, I don't think many of the "askers" that come on here asking about Navy SEAL will even step a foot into a Navy Recruiting Station in the first place.

i asked a similar question. Dont trust yahoo answers, most of the people who claim that they want to become Navy SEALS, never actually become one. IT Is exactly as you explained "these kids aren't just getting inflated heads because they saw Zero Dark Thirty last night or went on a 20 kill streak in Call of Duty". Some do join because of COD mentality, then the reality of military life sets in, and they become depressed and miserable, because there is not enough shooting and killing for them. Most qualified candidates dont make it through BUD/S, dropout rate is about 75-90%, for people, some ppl have tried it more than once too. SEALS is a very small force in the Navy. MASS media has over hyped and is giving undesired attention to the SEALS. There are potential SEAL candidates trying every BUD/S most dont make it thats why you dont see so many Navy SEALS. Besides finishing BUD/S does not make you a SEAL, you still will have to do more advanced training before you can recieve your trident.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic...

It's because thousands of kids play Call of Duty and say "Hey I want to do that!" Then they go get some Air Soft guns think it's actual military grade weapons and then they enlist thinking they're going to be the next Chris Kyle or something.

If you ever read the questions, they're all "Hi, I'm 15 years old and I want to be a sniper" Clearly they don't know what they're getting into. But, the good thing is that the military will always have plenty of chefs and other crap jobs.

Actually, the Navy Seals are Tier 2. And Seal Team Six is so more elite that they are Tier 1, an entire league apart from the rest of the SEALs.

- Only the Navy's very best attend SEAL training. It's possible that it might include a couple of golden children on Y!A.

- The attrition rate stands at 80% (give or take). Iron man champions and people drafted into the NFL have quit training, not failed QUIT for a reason.

The Navy only needs so many, so that means they will not allow some people to graduate, or they might not let others even try. Other times these really determined people on y.answers suddenly realize how undetermined they actually were and quite or not don't even go through with the enlistment.

only about 5% of them are strong enough mentally and physically to complete training, the rest quit

Its a movie.. Contact www.us.mil.gov for further REAL info.