Marines

 
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Recruits of Company E, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion practice water survival techniques aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego July 9. Recruits were taught how to use their camouflage utilities as a floatation tool. Recruits were put through various tests to make sure they knew basic water survival skills. Exercises included a 10 foot dive followed by a 25 meter swim and four minutes of treading water.

Photo by Cpl. Walter D. Marino II

Recruits make a splash learning water survival

11 Jul 2012 | Cpl. Walter D. Marino II Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego

            Marines are amphibious and as such they train themselves to survive in dangerous aquatic situations.

            July 9th recruits with Company E, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, went through various swimming exercises as part of a water survival course.

            Exercises included four minutes of treading water, a 10 foot dive and a timed removal of combat gear.

            In order to weed out the strong and weak swimmers, swimming instructors had the recruits swim 25 meters in shallow water. Recruits who showed signs of struggle were sectioned off to receive additional guidance on swimming form.

            After the sorting was complete, recruits lined up to begin jumping from a 10 foot concrete pillar. One by one recruits crossed their arms, looked up, then down and plummeted into the pool.

            Swimming instructors were stationed at multiple positions both inside and out of the pool for safety reasons. When proper form wasn’t utilized instructors made recruits do the exercise over.

            “This is good training; my favorite part was the jump,” said Corey A. Kilsby, Platoon 2102, Company E, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion. “I didn’t know what to expect. Some people said it was hard and some said it was easy. As long as you stay calm and control your breathing you can pass it.”

            Recruits were then asked to do other tasks such as swim 25 meters with a pack, treading water for four minutes and shedding protective gear in under 10 seconds.

            “Marines are amphibious by nature. We work with the Navy, when we go aboard ship and should something happen they should know how to save themselves. As they progress with their skills they will learn to save others as well,” said Staff Sgt. Julian L. Russell, chief swim instructor, Instructional Training Company, Support Battalion.  

            Russell explained that exercises such as the timed taking off of gear in water could simulates real life scenarios Marines have faced in Afghanistan.

            “Where ever we go to war we have our gear on. You have to know how to take that gear off,” said Russell. “The basic level is knowing how to take it off and more advance is learning to swim with it on.”

            Although not yet Marines, the consensus among the recruits was the skills they learned here were necessary and important.