Cam Newton hasn’t officially retired from the NFL, but it’s been a while since he last felt the thrill of playing quarterback. That was when he felt most alive, and he’s still chasing that feeling—still trying to fill the void that football left in his life. So when the opportunity came to compete in the third season of FOX’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test earlier this year, he didn’t hesitate.
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On the latest episode of the Funky Friday podcast, Cam Newton sat face-to-face with Navy SEAL Jovon Quarles—the man who pushed him to his limits on the show. During their fascinating conversation, Quarles shared insights into how Navy SEALs receive their assignments and who truly oversees their global special operations.
According to him, a highly classified group based in Washington, D.C.—SEAL Team Six—is responsible for planning these elite missions. This billion-dollar unit not only designs specialized operations but also provides cutting-edge training and access to exclusive technology and weaponry unavailable to anyone else.
According to Quarles, every SEAL aspires to join SEAL Team Six, going through rigorous selection and training to distinguish themselves—much like college football players at the NFL Combine or training camp, competing for a spot in the starting lineup.
“In D.C, we have Seal Team Six, which is to us is a development group. They train for specific things like they have a department that is good at sea, good at combat warfare, etc. We all train to that, but the department of Seal Team Six, they are like the expert. We would try to work out for them kind of like the Combine and training camp.”
Seal Team Six represents the United States Navy in the Joint Special Operations Command. The U.S. military officially names them DEVGRU. Along with Delta Force, the Intelligence Support Activity, the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Regimental Reconnaissance Company, and the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, they serve as the military’s primary Tier 1 special mission units. These elite groups take on the most complex, classified, and dangerous missions.
Among them, the military typically prefers SEAL Team Six and Delta Force for Special Ops. While it is hard to distinguish these two outfits, the major difference is water training, which the Seals get and Delta doesn’t.
