Swim training revamped to address safety concerns

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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (March 30, 2006) -- Following the past year’s fatal accidents with Marine Corps swim training, the head of Training and Education Command is planning to improve the safety and effectiveness of all Marine Corps swim training, starting with entry-level swim training.

Within the past year, the Corps has experienced two tragedies in its water survival training program.

The Marine Corps has looked at the program and decided to make some changes, starting with entry-level swim training at The Basic School and both Marine Corps recruit depots.

“The loss of any Marine is tragic for the Marine Corps and for the (Marine’s) family,” said Maj. General Keith J. Stalder, commanding general of TECOM. “It breaks your heart to see it happen.”

Some 35,000 Marines are trained Corpswide in swimming and water survival annually.

“We’ve done this for dec-ades,” Stalder said during an interview March 23 at Quan-tico. “It’s always been done relatively safely.”

There is a matter of realism involved in any training. Someone not being injured or losing his life during training can never be guaranteed, the general said. “The best the Marine Corps can do is give the commanders what is needed to keep training safe.”

TBS swim instructors will implement the new changes when they receive them. For now, each instructor follows the safety protocol already in use to keep TBS safe.

“I think swim qualification training is very safe,” said Cpl. Anthony Pagliei, a combat water safety swimmer at TBS.

Pagliei said the instructors have to be aware of the safety concerns and make sure each Marine understands the instructions they need to accomplish the training.

Stalder said the inspector general of the Marine Corps has studied the entry-level swim training, and many useful recommendations have come from the study.

The Marine Corps began a “best practices review” for their entry-level training when the inspector general’s report was received in early January. Experts came together in February from TBS and the Marine Corps recruit depots to determine what was learned and what best practices should be implemented into the new training program.

The development of a Center of Excellence for Swim Training is also underway. The purpose of this organization is to assist in implementing the changes the Marine Corps anticipates will come from the training reviews.

Stalder said the entity “will be my voice, my eyes and ears in not only ensuring we made the changes, but the community that teaches swim training stays on track and does not stray from keeping with the practices put in place.”

In the Marine Corps’ water survival training there are several qualification levels, combat water survival fourth-class (CWS-4) standard being the lowest, and CWS-1 being the highest.

The Marine Corps has decided to divert some of the effort put toward getting Marines qualified for CWS-1 and focusing more on helping Marines with lesser swim capabilities.

The pool deck areas at both recruit depots and TBS have since been officially designated as “low-stress zones.”

“In the case of swim training,” Stalder said, “we recognize there is some inherent stress involved with swimming in itself, and we don’t want to add anything else.”

The low-stress zone is anticipated to make the environment more conducive to training. The focus is shifted from making it a lesson in discipline to making it a learning experience.

All drill instructors, except for the recruits’ senior drill instructor, are prohibited from being on the pool deck.

The environment at TBS is already considered a low-stress zone, and the instructors make the effort to keep it that way.

“At this pool, we talk to the Marines to keep them calm,” Pagliei said of swim training at TBS. “Our job is to get Marines qualified, not to yell at them.”

Other changes from the review have been implemented at Parris Island, S.C. A company grade officer will be posted on the pool deck as the pool officer-in-charge to oversee safety. The number of recruits on the tower where they learn to jump has been lowered to allow instructors to better watch for safety. Extra swim instructors have also been posted in and out of the water where recruits jump to allow a better view of the recruits under the water.

Each recruit who has not qualified is now supervised during the 25-meter swim by two instructors, one in the water and one walking alongside the pool deck.

“The biggest concern for us is not the training in the water,” Pagliei said. “It is when the Marines jump off the tower. If they don’t follow instructions, they could easily get a head injury. We are especially watchful when they’re on the tower.”

Swim instructors at TBS post themselves in and out of the water to watch the Marines training. Each looks for signs that a Marine is in trouble or distressed.

“If you watch their eyes, you can tell right away if they’re scared or in trouble,” Pagliei said. “We always have to be prepared for something bad to happen. We always practice for different drowning scenarios to be ready just in case.”

Marine Corps swim instructors are required to be recertified every three years. They are not only recertified in Marine Corps qualifications, but also in American Red Cross cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid annually.

The Marine Corps has tried to learn as much as it can from the recent tragedies involved in swim training.

“I don’t know if any of the changes would have been the ‘silver bullet’ that would have prevented those tragic losses,” Stalder said. “But we owe it to the country and to the Marine Corps that if we see something that can be done better, we need to do that. If there is a problem with instructor training, we’ll find it and fix it."