Army Swim Training

Learning how to perform advanced underwater operations

U.S. Army soldiers need to be competent and capable enough to be able to manage in every condition and perform their expected duties. As they progress, Army soldiers may elect to specialize in roles requiring considerable expertise with certain underwater tasks such as assault, search and rescue and reconnaissance. To this end, Army swim training programs are provided to help such soldiers learn how to perform these advanced underwater operations.

Prerequisite Training

The prerequisite for any advanced swimming and diving training is Basic Combat Training (BCT), where basic soldiering skills necessary for Army soldiers are taught. This training phase lasts nine weeks and includes both physical and mental training sessions to prepare soldiers for the rigors of combat by building physical fitness and mental discipline.

Combat Diver

The U.S. Army Combat Diver Qualification Course is one of the special diving-competency programs offered to Army soldiers. This is a six-week course in which students are taught key basic techniques such as underwater navigation for both day and night situations. Open-circuit training is provided, including scuba-diving techniques, submarine lock-in and lock-out methods, overwater infiltration, and underwater search and recovery (SAR). The use of closed-circuit rebreathers is also taught.

Combat Supervisor

The Combat Dive Supervisor's Course is the next step up from the initial Combat Diver Qualification course. This course lasts for three weeks. In it, experienced combat divers who have successfully taken the Combat Diver Qualification Course are brought to a higher level of expertise. They are taught how to plan and supervise every aspect of a dive, maintain and inspect equipment, use special hyperbaric equipment, and administer emergency medical treatment if necessary.

Diving Technician

The Diving Medical Technician's Course is another three-week course in which special operations medics are taught a wide range of subjects that confer the ability to properly assess and treat illnesses and injuries swimmers and divers may suffer from. Students are taught lifesaving methods using scuba apparatuses, accident management including the use of helicopters to rescue injured people, and detailed usage of hyperbaric equipment for illnesses relating to deep-sea diving.

Engineer Diver

U.S. Army engineer divers are tasked to conduct such key operations as conducting waterway reconnaissance to determine any underwater threats, dealing with underwater obstacles, and taking accurate depth soundings of bodies of water that must be forded. The program aims to provide students with an academic foundation in such subjects as diving medicine, dive charting and underwater physics. Key underwater skills such as shallow-water snorkel diving and deep-water diving and maneuverability are also taught.

References

• The United States Army Homepage: Management of Army Divers

Resources

• United States Army Special Operations Command: Special Forces Underwater Operations
• US Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Ft Leonard Wood: Diver Home