25th CAB plunges into water survival training

Photo By Staff Sgt. Bryanna Poulin | Aviators and crewmembers with 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade learn breathing techniques and the necessary skills to survive underwater with the use of the Short Term Air Supply System. The Soldiers took part in the three day course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, which is taught by Survival Systems USA, Inc.  

UNITED STATES

04.04.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Bryanna Poulin 

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

By Sgt. Bryanna Poulin
25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Hawaii - Many aviators and crewmembers spent countless hours flying across the dreadful desert of Iraq, having the opportunity fly in Hawaii, is a refreshing change of pace.

Although the terrain has changed, the training and flight hours remain the same; as a result pilots and crewmembers must stay proficient in reacting to any situation.

Beginning March 17, a select group of Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade took part in a three-day DUNKER course held at Marine Corp Base Hawaii that prepares Soldiers on survival skills in the unlikely event that an aircraft crashes at sea.

Taught by Survival Systems USA, the course provides aviators and crewmembers traveling over water with the knowledge and skills necessary to react to an aircraft-ditching emergency; endure survival situation and participate in their own rescue.

"This course is the best training we can get," Chief Warrant Officer 3 Bobby Remington, aviator with 2-25 AVN said during the class. "It's also one of the scariest."

Identifying hazards and overcoming fear is the two most important aspects of the class explained Mike Davis, former United States Marine and instructor for Survival Systems USA. Soldiers learn the necessary skills, if an aircraft goes underwater.

The familiarization in water begins when Soldiers, dressed in Army Combat Uniform, helmet, and boots; are buckled in the Shallow Water Egress Trainer chair.

While strapped in the chair, students must keep composure and simulate pre-ditching procedures and considerations, Davis said. The students are turned upside down in the water, removing themselves from the seat to swim to the surface.

The next part of the training is the most advanced underwater escape training simulator available in the world today according to Survival Systems USA. The Modular Egress Training Simulator, also known as the DUNKER, demonstrates real-time immersion and inversion that features exit specific technology replicating more than a dozen types of rotary aircraft.

"Flying is relatively safe, but there is always that chance of an accident," Capt. Bradford Peterson, aviator with 2-25 AVN said. "Sometimes we are flying for an hour over open water, so this type of training is very needed here in Hawaii."

Hung on a crane like device, the simulator is lowered into the water, spinning the students causing disorientation ... giving a more realistic training scenario.

"Swimming out of the dunker is difficult enough ... I was holding my breath and a little dizzy from being spun upside down," Peterson said after his turn in the DUNKER. "But being fully dressed with all this gear ... makes it extremely hard."

Following the DUNKER; students continue to learn proper breathing techniques and the necessary skills using the Short Term Air Supply System (STASS). The compact, lightweight supply system provides aircrew with compressed air to breathe if submerged in an underwater accident.

"The STASS gives pilots and crewmembers that extra breath of air they might need to swim to the surface," Davis said.

Everything taught in this training gives us the tools on how to react and survive in an underwater crash Peterson concluded. It's even more beneficial for us (25th CAB Soldiers) because we are located on an island that's surrounded by water.

• Date Taken: 04.04.2008
• Date Posted: 04.04.2008 23:33
• Story ID: 18100
• Location: US