Posted on Sep 27, 2015

Who enjoyed part or all of Water Survival Training?

5.36K

I went through water survival training at West Point while I was a cadet in the 1970's. It was in the winter in an indoor pool and we were wearing the green fatigues and black combat boots as we learned how to walk off 10 meter boards simulating exiting a troop ship, learning how to drop to the base of a river and propel yourself forward to cross bodies of water deeper than you could walk through, learning how to remove your trousers and inflate them to serve as a flotation device, and other techniques to help us survive in water.
Thanks for SSG Raymond Whitener for letting me know the course title is now "Combat Water Survival Training"
The following summer we had outdoor water training which was more like a confidence course but included thy slide for life which was fun after walking the long beam while soaking wet and trying not to look down :-)

Posted in these groups:

Humor

Training

Water Survival School Water sports logo

Water Sports A98c666b

Naval/Maritime History

Edited >1 y ago

Posted 9 y ago

Follow this discussion

I enjoyed some of things I was subjected to in water survival training

I enjoyed all of the things I was subjected to in water survival training

I have never had any water survival training

I am terrified of water, people avoid me because of the smell :-)

Other

See Results

Responses: 16

Sgt David G Duchesneau

Edited 9 y ago

Posted 9 y ago

What I couldn't figure out is that I was headed to Vietnam and I had no idea that Charlie had pools? I mean, WTF-Over, And I'd be damn if I was going to take off my fatigues while in the bush! Shit, I even keep my fatigues on when I washed. It was the only way those bastards were going to get clean. Hell, we were lucky to find a bomb crater full of water anyway. Can you imagine what was in that freaking water and we could care less?

(2)

Comment

(0)

LTC Stephen F.

9 y

Sgt David G Duchesneau
I expect you concur that pools w/out leaches, punji stakes and poisonous water snakes are much better than those with one or more :-)

(0)

Sgt David G Duchesneau

Posted 9 y ago

You have to be kidding me? Ya, I had so much fun going through this little exercise, much like the one you described above with all these raging nuts yelling at us during the entire training and if you didn't do it the way they wanted, they would jump in and show you what you were doing wrong. Hell, I felt like a droned rat by the time they got done with me. One thing I can say, luckily I knew how to swim. The poor bastards that didn't really caught hell. Most Marines don't even mention that part of our boot camp training. That and the other nice little exercise in the "gas chamber." Great time! What a cluster f-ck!

(2)

Comment

(0)

CPT Pedro Meza

9 y

Gas Chamber was fun too cause I was a good swimmer I could hold my breath, until the DI discovered that so I end up doing jumping jacks in the gas chamber.

(1)

(0)

Sgt David G Duchesneau

9 y

I know what you mean Capt, I had the same problem. The DIs knew all of our tricks! Bastards!

(2)

(0)

SN Greg Wright

9 y

CPT Pedro Meza Sgt David G Duchesneau - Well they left us in there long enough for 80 recruits to recite name and serial number lol. So if you could hold your breath that long you'd've earned it, I say! The CC's didn't agree, so then we had to do some singing, but hey! In a perfect world...lol

(2)

(0)

CPT Pedro Meza

9 y

SN Greg Wright - I took a deep breath before the gas then waited and exhale as I said name and rank and SSN. But when I left the chamber the other DI noticed that I was the only one not crying or barfing, so back I go in to the end of the line and jumping jack before name.

(1)

(0)