the navy believes they are the best of the best. meet the men who hope to prove they have what it takes. to join the navy seals. then ride along with the seals unit training along the afghanistan border. when a tanker ship is seized by

somali pirates, the navy seals move in. good evening, this is a second look. the navy seal team six completed their mission in 40 minutes then melted back into the shadows. every member of the team began their training near san diego where less than half of those hoping to become navy seals actually make it through the six month basic training. that's where bob mckinzie watched recruits who hope to join the navy's best of the best in 1993. >> to hang with your elbows up in the air until you feel you may black out, until you are sure you can't stand it another second then to keep on doing it, well that's just how these

young men start the day. >> if you can't keep up to a simple speed, that's still way down to do then we're going to pull you to the back and we're going to start our secondary little group of pt for individuals that can't hang with the rest of the men. do you guys understand that? >> sit up, three. >> reporter: in high school or college they were the top jocks, triathletes, here they are just young men. people can do 100 sit ups, but how about hundreds of sit ups in a row. we checked in with them later on in the day. those who can keep going longer than the others in what is

acknowledged as the toughest physical training regimen in the world will become navy seal, it's that simple. when the body cries out to quit, you are reminded that navy seals do not quit. if you try to get a second's rest, that's all you will get. a trainer will suggest you do the bear crawl. >> get back there. bear crawl. >> bear crawl. >> go do bear crawl. >> the bear crawl. >> reporter: the bear crawl is exhausting and ridiculous and humiliating and designed to remind you if you do not shape up you will be shipped out. a seal candidate may get something more relating to do later on in the day. the feet are tied together and the hands are tieing behind the back. the idea is to go to the surface, get a breath of air, go back to the bottom, expel the air, and back up.

if you can do this for an hour, it's thought you can do it indefinitely.. this is designed when the navy seals are in hostile waters. these men are not advised to go to sleep in class. one man fell asleep in this class, so the whole group was told to run down to the ocean, throw themselves in it to wake up then run back to class. the man who fell asleep probably won't do that again. >> as far as being physically tough, yes it is true. they can push themselves but they're going to push themselves past the limit and that's when the mental thing comes into play.

>> reporter: why did you want to do this? >> to be with the best. the only place to go in the navy. >> reporter: what are you trying to prove to yourself? that you're tough. >> to see if i have the will power to do what i really set my mind to do no matter what the obstacle. >> if you're going to have a military force it makes sense to have the best one. navy seals believe they are the best of the best. and if they can get through this they are probably right. still to come on second look, what happens when a recruit decides he can't take it anymore? we'll show you more of the grueling training to test the endurance both mentally and physical of potential navy

seals. and later, how navy seals train along the border with pakistan.

in you want to become a navy seal you might want to become a water polo player first. the navy did a survey and it ranked athletes more likely to complete training and water polo players came in first. the navy said they would now try to recruit high school water polo players. here's the conclusion now of this report. >> come on shultz, dig down deep. do it shultz. you don't have to make those ugly faces just do it. >> reporter: most military men consider it the toughest physical training course in the world. the young men going through it want to become navy seals, the legendary underwater demolition experts. fewer than half of these men will make the grade.

despite the fact that all of them are superb athletes in peak condition. >> get up there. i want to see it come from your gut. >> reporter: physical stress is only part of it, all of these men will have volunteered for this course and have passed a series of tests to get here. to get this far and fail could be very hard to take. >> do a little bit of gut check here. the training has two purposes, one to take the trainees into realms of physical accomplishment beyond what they knew they were capable of. two to break anyone who may break in combat. >> get up there, up, get up get up. >> reporter: when a man can't take any more physical or

mental stress he has a way out. he can stand in this spot and ring the bell three times. he'll then be mustered out of the unit. during our filming, two men rang the bell. because this is considered a disgrace, we did not film the ringing of the bell. they'll have enough trouble forgetting that moment. they do this exercise over and over in any kind of weather including storms that raise 6- foot waves. >> we have one down, one down. in a two foot wave, unbelievable.

>> looks like they beat you half to death, is the idea to get you to be discouraged. >> to make you a harder individual when the time comes, this is what's going to happen in the future. when we get in a team, just to make you more fair when it happens, so you'll be mentally aware of it. >> reporter: are you a naturally behave guy. >> yes, sir, i would like to think so. >> reporter: you know some of these guys aren't going to make it. are you going to be one of them. >> i try not to think of it. i take one step at a time, day by day. sometimes it might be hour by hour. >> reporter: after an hour of physical activity, a man might like to have a nap before lunch, what you will get here instead is a four mile run before lunch. >> get up here, get up here.

get with the class. get up there. >> make a hole on each side, split it. watch where you're running, take a hole. do it, do it. >> though the seals now operate in desert and jungle their natural habitat is water. they are still frog man. a diver helps a buddy to get to the surface. it's a rule that a man is never left behind, dead or alive,

never. once the seals finish several obstacles, they take to the sea water to do the same. >> they live the kind of life i want to live. >> reporter: the korean war often has been like the movie, although the danger and sometimes death are real. when we come back, after they complete their six months in coronado, navy seals complete their training. see how they prepare in afghanistan. and later, how the seals performed a daring rescue of a captain held by somali pirates.

navy seals fighting the taliban along the border of afghanistan and pakistan must train for several scenarios. here is a video to show exactly how they prepare.

>> reporter: a navy seals team in afghanistan on a night patrol. at daylight they move in and search an abandoned taliban encampment. this is a close look at a seal mission. more often what the navy allows us to show about the seal involves training like this. a lot of it is simulating combat conditions. team members tell us making it on to one of the navy's warfare teams could be one of the life's greatest accomplishments. >> a south bay man has been ordered but it was an honor he was not able to see. robert handa has his story. >> he always kept it like this.

>> reporter: the axleson family are proud parents and that's not going to change even though one son 21-year-old matthew is gone. donna an corkie axleson have just returned from a memorial service where matthew was honored. >> it's an honor. we are proud and pleased, we would rather have him back. but it's nice to see him and others honored for what they did. >> reporter: axleson a special forces navy seal was honored for fighting with a malitia in afghanistan that helped his teammate escape with his life. >> he was a hero before he died. but we feel that when he's recognized that they pick him out as an individual because of

something he did. but that he really represents all of the men and women in june form. >> reporter: matthew u niform. >> donna still laughs how he would remember young matthew would take orders literally. >> in hindsight you laugh about it. but he was carrying a flower pot, i didn't want him to stumble or hurt the pot and i said to him, matthew you need to put that down, so he just went. because he did exactly what i told him to do. >> his mother said the most rewarding tribute at the navy cross ceremony came to the navy seal who did not talk so much about his navy hero, but his day-to-day heroism. >> he's gone, but his memory, his character, his integrity has influenced the lives of these men that interacted with him. and you know that's what you

wish for your own life as well as your children is that, because they lived someone else is better off. >> reporter: this past week we talked with a former seal just back from afghanistan. he told us the team built a mock up of the target and practiced for two weeks. jana katsuyama got information from a retired navy seal in cupertino and here's her report. >> reporter: the faces and names of the navy seal team six who captured him remain a secret. part of an elite brotherhood that rarely comes out of the

shadows. phil svalya is an attorney and former navy seal. >> we went a total of five days with four hours sleep. and most of that you were freezing cold. >> reporter: there are an estimated 2,500 navy seals who syvalya says often operate on teams throughout the world and are on stand by for the worse missions. >> that's the black ops when people go in on particular occasion to kill someone, body snatch them or blow things up. >> reporter: navy seals in team six are the elite of the elite. they completed the mission in just 40 minutes, even though one helicopter malfunctioned and had to be destroyed. an team that reports directly to the president.

when somali pirates took control of a ship, americans cheered when navy seals rescued the crew. >> reporter: pirates approached in skifs like these carrying automatic weapon, seized the ship and took the crew hostage. the ship's second in command made a quick cell phone call to his wife. >> i said, have they tortured you or hurt you, he said they

hadn 't had any water to drink. they had been kept in a room and they weren't safe yet. >> reporter: the pirates escaped in a lifeboat taking the ship's captain hostage. a crew member explained by phone. >> we had one of their hostages, we had the pirate. we returned him but they did not return our captain. >> reporter: today is the latest pirating. no one killed so far because ship owners typically pay the pirates millions of the dollars in ransom, this time could be difference. >> they took an american ship, that's the biggest mis mistake. they took an american ship, i think they are going to regret it. >> reporter: modern piracy is a common place that schools have

had to change their curriculum. the academy now teaches its students how to avoid piracy. >> have lights on, fully around the ship so that people don't approach in the dark very readily. have crews standing by with fire houses to repel anyone trying to repeal through the rails. >> reporter: many container ships carry oil and exemployee explosives and a -- at sea could be dangerous. >> initial reports say phillips may have jumped out of the boat which allowed snipers 100 feet away a chance to fire. three pirates were killed, the fourth turned himself in and may face prosecution in the

united states. >> people are wondering why can't we just go in and do what we've done in iraq or afghanistan just go ahead and kick butt? >> reporter: jubilation about the rescue spans off the waters from somalia to the captain's hometown of vermont to the bay area. the captain has not spoken to the media but has talked to friends and family who described his rescuers as heros. the heros are the nay venn navy seals and those who brought me home, that's his quote. >> his wife says his rescue gave her quote, the best easter ever. these words from the captain himself. >> i am just a small part of this. the real heros are the u.s.

military. they are the most capable group around. we should all reach out and thank them. captain phillip's ordeal ended yesterday when navy seals staged his rescue. navy seals opened fire on the pirates when one of them was spotted holding an ak47 to the captains back. three pirates were killed, a fourth who surrendered earlier now faces charges. all four were between the ages of 16 to 19. in washington, president obama praised the u.s. military and the freighter's captain. >> i share our nation's admiration for captain phillips courage and leadership and self- less concern for his crew. >> he's america's newest reluctant hero. tonight captain richard phillips is back safely on american soil not taking credit but giving up. >> they are the superheros, they are the titans, they are they did an impossible job and

they did the superpossible with me. >> reporter: those three men he is calling heros are the navy seals. phillips was held hostage for five days. killing all three somali pirates on board. >> you know we all survived because of i our captain. >> reporter: the 19 crew members on the alabama were the first to call captain phillips the hero by giving up to pirates to save his crew. i'm frank somerville, we'll see you again next week.