Winter BUDS

[haydon21]

I saw a post in the general topic lounge that asked about how the current winter class was doing and it brought up an interesting question in my mind. During the winter months or anytime there is a storm and waves exceed 20+ feet and seas are rough, do the intructors have different standards for surf passage? I would think they would keep the students safety in mind first. Thanks

[Chickenhawk]

Student safety is ALWAYS paramount, although it never seems that way while you are the student. The thing the BUD/S instructors fear the most is having to lower the standards in training. Whenever a guy is hurt or killed, training is suspended while an investigation is conducted, and new safety measures put in place to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident. The question always comes up: is training too tough? The obvious answer is "no", and the instructors do their utmost to ensure that attrition occurs from voluntary, medical, or legal drops, not through training deaths or sever injuries. The only way to protect our high standards is to make high-risk training as safe as possible, to give the Navy and SOCOM their warm and fuzzy feeling. Maybe some BUD/S instructors reading this forum will chime in with their wisdom and personal experience.

[Wazz]

Trainee safety is at an even level with graduating a SEAL trainee. If the Instructors belieive a training phase is too risky under given conditions then the phase is altereed. Instructors have performed live operations and have been schooled in Training Safety. Although, accidents do happen.

A fresh assignee to my Class got entangled in a 1/4" buoy line while doing lung training at Coronado. His swim partner took his eyes off his partner too long and could not locate him in time upon a return search. The man entangled in the buoy line paniced and tore his rubber breathing tube and drown under surface approx 100 yards from the beach with 30 or so expereined personnel nearby.

[tfwmissions]

Wazz, why did he tear his rubber hose? Did he think that he could possibly get untangled by doing this? Oh, and by the way, Winter, cold, ice, icy water, and to top it all off instructors who never miss a beat, SUUUUUCKS!!!

[Wazz]

Panic - A level of reaction not able to be measured until a panic experience is encountered. Each person has their own panic level. The correct thing for the deceased swimmer would have been to relax, think, and untangle the bouy line. However, .... and in this case the swimmer being under ocean water could not be viewed by the other Team members on the beach. All members concerned were Class graduates and Team members whose emergency reactions to given situations were expected to be performed in a trained, qualified manner. In this case the panic level of the swimmer, who happened to be a Southern Calif. surf board enthusiast, rose to the occassion where a cooler head would have prevailed. This was not a Trainee-Instructor situation.

Of course no one knows why the swimmer tore his breathing hose instead of just relaxing. Panic is a difficult thing to measure without some form of panic encourgement and viewing by trained personnel.

Today's BUDS Training has the panic encouraged trainng built into it with trained instructors within eye sight of the trainees.

[Wetwash]

Even after Training in the Teams..IN UDT 12 we had a CO for a while that was a weather watcher.. When the Surf was UP, in lieu of PT we did rubber boat surf drill, th ehigher the surf the better..That CO scared the heck out of us at times.. But he was always out there in one of the rubber boats.

[kar]

Wazz, have you seen the BUD/s documentires on Discovery Channel, i think there are five diffrent one hour episodes, i have seen four and im going to watch the last one tom at 2:00 am. Well, if you have seen it, do you think the training was portrayed accurately and how it is like on the average for most classes.

[A62]

But he was always out there in one of the rubber boats.

WW,
Can't ***** if the man is out there with ya, can ya? LOL.
A62 out

[Wazz]

Kar
I belieive the training reflected in the 5 segments of the training of Class 234 is a good introduction to what a BUDS trainee can expect. Of course, full disclosure was not appropriate becasue BUDS training is a man's world under full masculine conditions without the watchfull eye or hearing of the meek.

[childofgod]

What is lung training and how does it work?

[Wazz]

ChildofGod
I should of said Aqua Lung, vice lung. Aqua Lung is the device strapped to one's back with an attqched Regulator (air dispensing device) and hoses cominging from the Regualtor going to the swimmers mouth. The current day's model of brething devices may be known under a different name.

So lung training is really Aqua Lung training while swimming underwater performing various phisical tasks.

[childofgod]

Thanks Wazz