How to prepare for water survival for a poor swimmer?

[bakewipa]

The water survival is, by far, the thing I am most worried about for API.

I am a terrible swimmer and barely passed the third-class swim qual, luckily on my first try. Still, it was embarrassing to see how badly my swimming skills have deteriorated, and I feel like I panic when in the water. I’ve read a lot of threads on here about water survival for API, and right now, I can’t envision myself even coming close to passing it even though most people seem to think it is quite easy. I literally cannot do any of the requirements, and the helo dunker and mile swim in particular seem impossible to pass.

I probably have about a year before I get the chance to go to API, so I am going to try and train as much as I can before then. Does anyone have any advice on what sort of regimens or workouts I should be doing (should I take lessons, are there any good videos/websites detailing strokes or techniques, etc.)? Is there a specific stroke that works best for the mile swim? And for the helo dunker, is there even any way I can prepare for this? I would appreciate any general advice about water survival as well.

 

[Mos]

Not sure if this is still the case, but I vaguely recall that ASTC Pensacola had a weekly open pool day where you could come and swim and get some guidance from the instructors if they were available. I believe this was open to students in A-pool. Perhaps someone currently in the pipeline could chime in on this.

 

[sevenhelmet]

There used to be extra training available in API. I took advantage, as I grew up in the Midwest, and never properly learned to swim as a kid.

Another thing I did while I lived in Pensacola was learn how to scuba dive. It got me over a lot of my fear of the water, particularly being underwater, and it’s a beautiful spot to dive. Being calm in the water is the key to all of the Navy’s training. It’s good that you recognize this early- maybe you can take an independent class or talk to a swim coach about how to stay calm in the water?

 

[taxi1]

I am a terrible swimmer

In a year you can become a great swimmer. By that, I mean comfortable in the water and bombproof in the worst conditions. So take heart. If you have anxiety about being in the water, then overcoming that anxiety will you provide you lessons that will carry over to the cockpit.

My recommendations are to take lessons and spend a ton of time in the water. Basic pool swimming, but also snorkeling, paddle boarding, scuba maybe, all surf sports. With fins and without. Take a course or get someone to teach you kayak rolling. Stuff that has you operating in the water. Stuff that is fun. Make movement in the water second nature.

 

[Swanee]

The best time to start lessons is now.

 

[TheFireNationAttacked]

Well, if you fail the swim thing on day 1 then you don’t get a pink sheet. I am a horrible swimmer and I was dead last to finish the mile.

If you suck or don’t swim the way they want you to, they pull you out and you’ll spend a week remediating. All this means is you go from gen pop assembly line production to a more personalized swim program. They’ll get you up to speed and then toss you back into the regular class. Have a good attitude about it and they will get you through, I promise.

Back in the day it would have been more stressful because swim was concurrent with API and you didn’t want to get rolled. Nowadays they do it while you’re in A-pool so there’s really no harm in needing remedial. The swim portions of flight school exist to make sure you at least have a fighting chance at survival should you ever need to ditch, it’s not to stress you out or test you.

Best thing that helped me were breathing exercises in the water to get comfortable. Stand in the shallow end and take a deep breath, go under the surface, slowly breathe out, repeat. Water still makes me panic so I use this method to warm up and get relaxed beforehand if possible to get my heart rate down.

 

[robav8r]

Being calm in the water is the key . . .

This ☝️☝️☝️

Then, find someone to evaluate your techniques: crawl, breast, side, back. Then, just practice like every other sport. Endurance will come, but being "comfortable" in the water is everything . . .

 

[TyKing]

I struggled in the swim survival course, I grew up in the Midwest. Now I swim almost every week and I’m a pretty decent swimmer. I enjoy it now.

My advice is to get some lessons at the Local Y. Practice every stroke; you’ll do front crawl, side stroke, back stoke, and breaststroke. Breaststroke will be key during the mile swim.

Lastly I can’t stress this enough, learn how to tread and float well. Honestly I thought the tread and float portion of the course was the hardest thing, I sank like a rock at first. It’s all technique, you will be doing the frog kick method for treading water. If you can get to the point where you can tread water with the frog kick method without your arms, you’ll crush the course. Once I got to that point the tread and float with flight suit and boots and survival gear was a breeze, praise the Lord.

Once you can tread and float well and swim well, with an emphasis on the breaststroke and front crawl and side stroke, you’ll crush the swim survival course and helo dunker. I thought the helo dunker was easy and fun, once I actually knew how to swim and tread and float.

 

[HuggyU2]

Has the Navy's focus on swimming abilities for its Aircrew become antiquated?
Is it that important to ensuring a quality candidate?

Yes... I realize y'all spend a lot of time on boats.

Just curious what those of you in a Dept of the Navy flying career think... so no need to break out the pitchforks.

 

[sevenhelmet]

Has the Navy's focus on swimming abilities for its Aircrew become antiquated?
Is it that important to ensuring a quality candidate?

Yes... I realize y'all spend a lot of time on boats.

Just curious what those of you in a Dept of the Navy flying career think... so no need to break out the pitchforks.

I found the Navy’s scope and frequency of water survival training to be adequate and appropriate, particularly in the context of shipboard flight operations.

Even if I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

 

[jointhelocalizer]

I would head to remedials on Day 1 of Intermediate Water Survival (IWS). There is no shame and there is no pink sheet if you go on Day 1. They will work with you specifically on the skills necessary to pass the course. The second part of water survival (helo dunker, etc.) is easier than IWS. The crawl, walk, run training they do is very good and most people get through the three rides the first time.

On the water survival aspect @HuggyU2 is alluding to, I do not think it is antiquated. Dealing with the possibility of surviving at sea is something that every flyer faces. Does the USN, USMC, and USCG face that more than other services? Yes. I do appreciate that recurrent is based on platform specifics (e.g. Big wing isn't getting ejection seat training), though. I will say, while I personally will probably never need to use it (land-based aircraft), it is good to know in general if you find yourself out at sea.

I don't think the Navy is attriting people for swimming too. Sure, they might get a pink sheet, but I have never heard of someone not making it through the swim portion of NIFE. Swim is to make sure you have enough ability and confidence to survive. They aren't trying to make a swim team or provide SPECWAR level water confidence. I think it would be a disservice to servicemembers, their loved ones, and the taxpayer if we send aircrew to the flightline without providing survival training and a means to evaluate the effectiveness of said training.

 

[cfam]

Second the above. Plus, once you get to the fleet it’s only once every four years, so it’s not like they constantly beat us over the head with it.

 

[Swanee]

Has the Navy's focus on swimming abilities for its Aircrew become antiquated?
Is it that important to ensuring a quality candidate?

Yes... I realize y'all spend a lot of time on boats.

Just curious what those of you in a Dept of the Navy flying career think... so no need to break out the pitchforks.

No pitchforks! It's an honest thing to think about. But they're not training aircrew to be rescue swimmers, just to be able to self rescue for long enough to be rescued by those rescue swimmers when they show up.

There are many SIRs within the last 20 years that have proven that in a mishap over water the likelihood of survival was directly related to folks involved in the mishap's ability to stay calm and swim their way out of the wreckage.

It's not only important for aircrew, but also for anyone else who rides in the back of helicopters and Ospreys (such as Marines).

Surviving the crash, but drowning because you couldn't swim well enough to get out of your heavy gear (if you're a combat loaded Marine) and make your way to the surface is just unacceptable.

But I do think that the Navy (and Marine Corps) do a pretty good job of teaching rocks how to float, and they (the swimming instructors) will spend the time with anyone who wants it.

 

[HuggyU2]

Great inputs. Thanks for the replies.

 

[zipmartin]

Things have changed significantly since I went through AOCS in '76, so what I say may be completely irrelevant now. I too grew up in the midwest and was a poor swimmer when I showed up in P-Cola. I ended up being on what was then called sub-swim for my entire tenure there. Twice a week, those of us on sub-swim would march smartly to the swim tank after evening chow for extra sessions. I passed the mile swim with just 10 seconds to spare. On the final day of regular swim class, I still had 3 swim tests to pass, all of them involving the under-water aspect of the program. Passed the first 2, and on the third, I felt I didn't have the lung capacity to go the last third of the length of the pool under water. I was about to give up when I heard all kinds of noise. I looked sideways while under water, and saw that all my classmates had jumped in the water and were swimming alongside, yelling at me to not give up. I persevered, passed, and was able to complete with my glass and get commissioned on schedule.