Bravo Company met by the pool today and conducted Water Survival Training. This
is one of my favorite labs because I love the water, and today we got wet. I'm
told that I am part fish. I was certified as an open water scuba diver when I
was twelve years old, and today I am a certified advanced open water scuba
diver. Anyway, back to the lab. The lab was spread out along the pool area into
4 stations, 5 if you count the torture, um, I mean the high speed motivational
station.
The first station was located by the diving boards. The purpose of this exercise
is to practice taking off our equipment under water after falling into a body of
water and being disoriented (hood on our heads). We had to climb up the diving
board and put on an L.C.E. Next, we were handed a practice M16 (sometimes called
the rubber duck) and then we had a hood placed over our head. The instructor
would then walk us out to the edge and push us in. Splash! Here's were it became
fun. While underwater, you had to drop the M16, remove the hood from your head,
take off the L.C.E. and then make your way back to the surface. Sounds easy
right? It is, once you overcome the natural urge to panic.
The next station was the same as the diving boards, only without the diving boards.
or hood. The purpose of this exercise is to practice taking off our equipment
under water after jumping into a body of water. We stood on the edge of the pool
and did the same thing as the first station, minus the hood. Once we were all
geared up, we jumped in. Of course, this station was much easier than the first
station because we were not disoriented and we did not sink down as far into the
water.
The third station was the swim station. The purpose of this exercise is to
practice swimming 50 meters while keeping our M16 dry and above the water. Sounds
easy right? Think again. I think that only half of the cadets managed to keep
their M16 out of the water. We started out by grabbing an M16 and then enter the
pool. Next we took one arm and held the M16 into the air just above the surface
of the water. It is best to hold the M16 in where the receiver and the barrel
(hand) guard meet. This is known as the balance point of the weapon. We would
then proceed to swim across the pool and back using the side stroke. Once
completed, we would hand the M16 off to another cadet so they could do the same
thing.
Ah, the 4th and final station. The purpose of this exercise is to practice taking
off our pants in the water after falling/jumping into the water and using them as
a flotation device. First, we had to button up our blouse all the way. We held the
top of the blouse tightly and the bottom we held away from out chest (to ensure
that air fills the blouse as we jump in). Then we jumped in. If everything went
according to plan. We would now be floating on top of the water with our blouse
full of air. If we started to loose air, we could simply blow into the top of the
blouse. Next we had to demonstrate that we could use our trousers as a flotation
device. We took off our pants (we had shorts on underneath) and buttoned them up.
Next, we tied off the ends of each leg. Then we took the open end of the trousers
and pulled them from behind our head, up and over. This action should fill the
pants with air. The two pant legs pop up out of the water and it makes a "V"
shape. Your trousers have now become a flotation device. If air starts to come
out, you can simply blow into the open end or you can splash water into the open
end. It works, trust me.
Well, that's it. You have just learned Water Survival Training 101. Oh, just as
a quick reference, the High Speed Motivational station was the 5th and final
station. This is where cadets were sent if they we goofing around or horse
playing. It was a purely physical station. You know, jumping jacks, butterfly
kicks, push-ups, and whatever else the instructor wanted the cadets to do.
Once the training was complete, we still had some time remaining until the end
of the lab. We decided to have a belly flop competition. Well, it wasn't so much
a competition, rather it was a chance for the cadets to have a little fun.
However, if your jump was not that good, you would have to do push-ups. This gave
us a little extra incentive to try harder. Not wanting to brag or anything, but I
did a pretty good belly flop. I was told that there was a picture taken of me in
mid air. As soon as I get a copy, I will post it on this page. Well that about
sums it up. See you next week.
