Phillips - Essentials of Military Water Confidence: Strategies for Water Based Selection Vol 1

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ESSENTIALS OF MILITARY WATER CONFIDENCE

Strategies for Water Based Selection

Dr. Allan Phillips

Copyright 2020 Allan Phillips

All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America

To "The Abyss," MSgt (Ret.) Mike Maroney

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this entry are those of the author alone and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the US Government.

Contents

Prologue

I owe this book to a few loose ceiling tiles. Seriously

Several years ago, my lunch routine at work included occasional trips to a local university to use their pristine aquatic center, which offered public memberships with discounts for military/police/fire. We actually had a 50m pool on post but traditionally it had only been open during the summer months (Memorial Day through Labor Day). Other than for a sprint triathlon, I dont think I had ever been there.

The main fitness facility on post also had an indoor pool, which was open year-round and which I used a handful of times. But if you can imagine the most dank, stale, hot, overchlorinated aquatic cesspool, youd be looking at this place...

At some point one winter, the indoor pool shut down due to some loose ceiling tiles (which thankfully didnt fall on anyone). It was a good excuse to drive the extra few minutes off post to utilize the university pool. The military eventually opened the outdoor pool in February, which according to rumor, was at the demand of a two-star general who wanted a place to swim.

As a creature of habit, I still enjoyed the university natatorium, despite the outdoor pool opening. I was comfortable there and it was a really fast pool, with some good vibes from a successful swim buildup before a previous triathlon. But one beautiful February day, I decided it was too nice to train indoors at lunch and headed to the outdoor pool on post.

I dont remember what I was doing for my workout but I do remember getting changed in the locker room, getting ready to go back to the office and I saw who I thought was legendary Pararescue instructor, former PJ Mike Maroney walk through. The Abyss himself. I'd watched many of his videos countless times. I summoned up the courage to go out to the pool deck and introduce myself. Very quickly, I learned that Mike will help anyone willing to put in the work, so we met at the pool the following day. Thus began this deep journey down the water confidence rabbit hole.

If I didnt make it to the outdoor pool that day, I can almost guarantee the events leading to this book would never have happened. Something tells me this book was destined to be written...

Who is this book for?

Its for candidates seeking to make a career as a special operator, combat diver, rescue swimmer, rescue diver, law enforcement diver or really anyone needing to pass through a gauntlet of water-based events to continue on their chosen path. My job is not to teach you how to do these jobs. Your instructors who are members of those career fields will teach you how to do the jobs at advanced schools.

You will likely notice a leaning toward AFSPECWAR (Air Force Special Warfare) events and terminology based on my own personal experiences. While other services and agencies may conduct different events, the foundational skills to thrive subsurface in the water are universal. I believe the skills covered here transfer the most toward more advanced and specialized skills.

If you're a competitive athlete, you've seen books that teach you about your sport and you've also seen books that teach you about general physical abilities such as running, jumping and lifting. This book is like the latter, but for the universe of water confidence.

Alright that's enough intro, lets head to the pool

SAFETY BRIEF

"Hooyah Sergeant, I feel fine"

Heres your safety brief. Water confidence training can be dangerous stuff. Candidates have died practicing on their own. Candidates have also died at selection. And it's not just candidates to perishseasoned operators too. Shallow water blackouts (SWB) are no joke, and although they were once seen as commitment and willingness to die before failing the mission, modern thinking has evolved. Now its your responsibility to exercise situational awareness and safely head to the surface before blacking out.

An SWB could also expose an underlying medical condition. You can follow all safety standards and things can still go wrong. If you experience an episode in the water, you rely on someone else to save you. In a training course, you have instructors and a team of medics/corpsmen to rescue you if you experience an SWB. At home, you have lifeguards. But more importantly, on a real mission, if you ignore the warning signs of blackout (such as heat exhaustion or altitude sickness) and fail to take appropriate action, you become a liability instead of an asset to your team.

In sum.Be smart. Never practice alone. Always have a buddy and/or a lifeguard present. Underwater swimming is often uncomfortable but in training NEVER push yourself beyond the blackout threshold.

If you need to hyperventilate to complete a task in training, you probably should not be attempting it. Many cases of SWB involving healthy, athletic individuals involved hyperventilation before the fatal event. You should feel challenged with your training but always remain in control. Dont use safety as an excuse to bolt to the surface at the onset of discomfort but do have the awareness to know your body and exercise good judgment.

Another reason for vigilance in the water is you dont have to do hypoxic training to be at risk. Every year, triathlon experiences swim deaths, mainly due to undetected cardiac events where the victim can't reach out for help. These unexpected drownings by seemingly healthy people are not only limited to open water, where it can be difficult to spot someone in distress amidst a swell of flailing bodies in the swim leg of a triathlon. Several years ago, a gentleman swimming a distance event in the pool at the US Masters Swimming National Championships died in the water after experiencing a sudden cardiac event. The water is a very unforgiving medium and can claim the lives of healthy, high level athletes who have taken appropriate safety precautions.

We also have safety rules to keep us vigilant. One rule is that your mask either stays on your face, goes around your neck or you take it off when resting. A mask on your forehead is a universal sign of panic. It may seem harmless in the moment, but if everyone starts doing it, the sign loses its meaning and people will ignore the sign when someone is in actual panic.

Another water safety rule is take all cues from the dive sup ("supervisor"). Thats the instructor who runs the pool deck. He or she will give the command for you to enter the water and will authorize you to go subsurface. This wont apply when training at your local pool but situational awareness is always good practice.

One thing you can practice on your own is how to enter the water. Sitting on the edge of the pool, with your knees and hips bent, place your right hand at your mouth to simulate securing the regulator so it doesn't fall out when you hit the water. Then trace the manifold down your left side and secure it at your waist. Then look right, look left, look down, look out to scan the area to ensure youre not dumping yourself into immediate danger.

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