A MATTER OF SURVIVAL

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joe Davidson
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  About 40 aircrew members from March participated in a one-day Water and Combat Survival Course held at the Dryson Sports Center at Loma Linda University. 

Members from the 336th Air Refueling Squadron and the 729th Airlift Squadron got more than a chance to get their feet wet as they spent half a day jumping into swimming pools, climbing into large waterborne rafts and slithering under waterlogged parachute canopies. 

While one group did all that, another group discovered ways to collect water in a secluded forest environment as part of a Basic Combat Survival Course. They were also taught what and what not to eat in the wilderness, if they were ever to survive a downed aircraft. 

And still another group dressed in "Floppy Suits" and parachute harnesses spent part of the morning being dragged across a swimming pool. This exercise was used to teach them how to disengage their parachutes after a simulated splash down. 

Aircrew members are often dragged by the wind and risk being drowned after splashing down in real-world water survival situations, according to survival instructors. 

"Whenever the crews need their training, this is why we do it here at Loma Linda," said Tech Sgt. Lawrence Hill, 452 OSS. "It's more realistic. We get them in the water, we let them splash around. We figure the planet is two thirds water and there's a good chance that this could happen" 

Despite getting totally submerged in their studies, the trainees appeared to get a lot out of the training and saw a definite need for attending. 

"The training is important because it helps us prepare for possibilities in survival situations. Without this training, if we did encounter a real-world survival situation we would be less likely to know what to do," said Lt. Col. Wyman Yee, a flight surgeon with the 752nd Medical Squadron. "With this training, we would be more prepared and thereby increase our chances for survival." 

Aircrew members are required to complete the course every three years as part of their block training. The use of the swimming pool at the Dryson Center came through an agreement with the university that ended on Tuesday.