Critics say Corps’ new swim quals are too easy - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Critics say Corps’ new swim quals are too easy

Some Marine Corps swim instructors are lobbing criticism at new swimming proficiency standards, saying that in certain cases that the Corps has made qualification too easy.

The Corps’ new water survival program officially takes effect March 1, dropping from six proficiency levels to three, to improve Marines’ ability to survive a mishap and cut the overall training time required to maintain minimum standards.

The goal of a simpler-but-sensible program that doesn’t overburden units instead raises questions from those who believe water-survival skills carry the same importance as other combat requirements such as marksmanship, martial arts and combat fitness.

Marine officials are expected to review the new program sometime this spring, leaving the possibility it could be adjusted to address concerns or observations made during the first few months since Training and Education Command rolled out the updated requirements.

Gunnery Sgt. Joshua Turner, an experienced instructor-trainer and safety swimmer, said he has found considerable problems with the new quals, calling them “ridiculously easy” and suggesting the program fails to ensure that Marines will learn enough to survive a life-threatening situation on the water. Since 2001, more than 70 Marines have died as a result of waterborne mishaps, according to Navy statistics. Five died last year alone.

Based on Okinawa, Japan, Turner said some commands across the Corps don’t take water survival seriously enough and don’t devote enough time to practice water survival skills, too often settling for their Marines to obtain only minimum standards.

Moreover, he said, some units hold water survival qualifications immediately after running their Marines through other requirements, such as the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

“That doesn’t help the Marine who struggles in the water,” Turner said.

And without tying the swim-qual level to a Marine’s ability to get promoted, they might barely achieve the minimum without trying to improve their skills, he said. At that lowest proficiency level, he noted, they consider themselves “good enough, because it doesn’t affect them for promotion.”

Instructors at the recruit depot here expect to see a wider gap between those with Basic and Intermediate qualifications, and a greater separation between the strong and weak swimmers, they said. That might encourage Marines to settle for only a Basic qualification if their jobs don’t require them to be Intermediate or Advanced swimmers, they said.

Most Marines should be able to pass Basic, instructors say — even those who need remediation to overcome their fear of the water. Once a Marine gets used to swimming and floating in his combat boots, “everything is much simpler because you have the aid of a waterproofed pack” for the new qual’s 25-meter swim, said Staff Sgt. Carson Clover, the depot’s chief swim instructor. That, he said, will make it easier to reach the new Basic level than the old Combat Water Survival 4 and CWS-3 levels.

Reaching Intermediate will be another story. That requires a longer swim — 250 meters — and a deep-water gear shed, events several instructors said they expect will challenge more leathernecks.

“The psychological gear shed in the deep end will be a big hang-up,” Clover said. “It will be a big dissuader for some.”

The Advanced level is similar to that of the old program, and instructors anticipate a smoother transition for those Marines holding higher qualifications.

Turner, however, said he thinks the new requirements to make Intermediate are too easy. In one of his recent classes on the new program, he said, 26 of 27 Marines reached Intermediate. “I had people who couldn’t pass CWS-2 … who passed Intermediate the first time,” he said, noting that his opinions do not reflect those held by his command. The old program, Turner said, was a better measure of a Marine’s skills.

Gear-shed debate

Instructors seem to like the inclusion of combat boots to qualify for Basic proficiency.

“In combat, you are not going to take off your boots,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Howard, an instructor-trainer and special projects team leader at the San Diego recruit depot pool. Howard, an amphibious assault vehicle crewman by training, said he likes the new rules and noted that, during the Iraq war, Marines died in rivers “because they didn’t know how to properly execute gear shed.”

“Maybe it’ll give them that mindset and that repetition. … We are not trying to make Michael Phelpses out here,” Howard said, referring to the U.S. Olympic gold-medal swimmer. “We are trying to give Marines tools they can take if they are in a combat zone and they can’t get out of a Humvee or a trac.”

Staff Sgt. Michael Clark, a drill instructor and water safety instructor here, said he believes the new program “is very relevant.” Clark was aboard a vehicle that sank during exercises several years ago in Thailand. Luckily, all the Marines aboard got out safely, he said.

“We had to shed all our gear and get out,” Clark recalled. “It would have been nice to have had something like this.”

As designed, however, the gear-strip event has received mixed reviews from instructors.

Staff Sgt. Dominic Easton said it will help teach Marines to get themselves out of Dodge, so to speak, if their vehicle rolls over into a body of water.

“You could be in danger if you kept on your flak jacket,” said Easton, a seasoned water survival instructor at the recruit depot’s swim tank.

But some note that shedding gear — in theory — runs counter to a Marine’s basic instinct: Never leave your rifle or your gear behind.

Turner, for one, said he thinks Marines should be taught to at least retain their weapon, perhaps learning to sling their rifle and get to a safe spot. “But if that’s all we teach them is to shed their gear, and never swim with it … with nothing to defend themselves, it’s poor,” Turner said.

With the Corps’ institutional refocus on amphibious operations, he said he’d like to see a return to the previous order, with the addition of the armored ballistic plates and requirements that Marines swim with their combat gear.

“We need to be able to shoot, move, communicate — and swim,” he said.

Practice and relax

Marines coming up on their quals and unsure where their skills stand should make the time to hit the swim tanks for practice, instructors say.

Too often you don’t get enough time to refresh skills or develop new ones before it’s time to re-qualify or upgrade qualification. Anyone hoping to earn a higher qualification level should note the new requirements and get familiar with the new rules, said Staff Sgt. Carson Clover, chief swim instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.

“The entire program has changed,” he said, “so it’s not what they are used to.”

Several years in the making, the new policy merges the old six qualification categories into three, with new rules for each. Time spent training will help you get comfortable in the water and afford you the opportunity to practice proper techniques.

The mental aspect of water survival training “is the biggest hang-up of any training event I’ve seen,” Clover said. “The biggest thing is to learn to relax in the water.”

New standards

The Corps’ updated water survival program requires every Marine — even recruits leaving boot camp — to attain a “WS-Basic” proficiency level, the new minimum standard. Depending on your billet and specialty, you may need one of two higher qualification levels, “Intermediate” and “Advanced.” A look at what’s new:

Recertify times. Basic qualification is good for two years, a year longer than the old minimum. Marines who attain the highest proficiency level used to get six years before they had to re-qualify. They’ll now get three.

Bare feet no more. Every Marine and recruit must jump into the pool wearing his boots and utility uniform. This, instructors say, will be a mental obstacle initially. They’ll have to use bicycle kicks — rather than egg-beater movements — to better tread water with all the extra bulk.

Full gear strip. Here, Marines enter the pool wearing their rifle, helmet and flak vest with heavy ballistic inserts — and they must remove it within 10 seconds. This happens in shallow water for the Basic qual. To reach Intermediate, Marines must do it within 20 seconds, treading in deep water.

Bulkier buddy rescues. To qualify as an Advanced swimmer, Marines must conduct two “buddy assists,” rescuing victims weighed down by a full combat load. Instructors say that’s more difficult than lifting a victim only wearing cammies.