It's "Swim Week!" Jeremiah likes to swim, so he should do okay at this. It's also the last week in Phase 1, something he was looking forward to.
Today was the swim qualification. I watched a video about it (posted on the right side of the blog) and wondered how anyone can swim in those boots! For the past three or four years, though, Jeremiah has worn boots virtually everywhere. He's definitely used to boots.
Some of the recruits seemed to be "set aside" during the video, faced the wall with hands on their heads...like they were being arrested or something. After reading a bit online, it seems that the swim qualification day is also known as "Iron Duck" day. That means that those recruits that can't swim are given extra instruction on swimming and floating.
The platform looks high, treading water exhausting, and I was astonished to see the "doggy paddle" from recruits. Who knows...maybe they were told to. Turns out the recruits are given swim uniforms for this week so their normal uniforms and boots don't get ruined by the chlorine. These uniforms can actually be used as flotation devices! How cool is that! Supposedly it's not easy to use them as such, but it is possible.
From an article I found, there was a new qualification system for "combat water survival" implemented in November, 2010 and coincides with new combat and battlefield needs. They train recruits to survive in water while wearing their combat gear which includes the rifle, helmet, flak jacket, and pack. They used on only train while wearing their camouflage uniform.
The recruits are required to qualify at the basic level (teaches full combat gear shedding), but could choose to qualify at the intermediate or advanced levels. I wonder if Jeremiah will push himself to qualify at one of the higher levels. He seems to be setting high standards for himself, so it wouldn't surprise me if he does.
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