flickr: Foam Cut Shrink

Everyone knows about pressure and that one famous guy’s law about how the deeper you go in water, the more pressure there is right? At 200 feet below the surface, these foam cups don’t stand a chance. As you can see a regular cup on the right side and a cup that took a trip to the murky deep on the left. For me, this is just a little exhibition for our little helicopter crash survival course.

The course is part of a required training we must do for the unit I am in. See, along time ago, there was no training for helicopter crashes. So when one happened out near Camp Pendleton, California and six Marines and one Sailor died, the Marine Corps decided to institute this training as a requirement for anyone going aboard a ship or anyone with the possibility of boarding a helicopter. I’m in the course right now and it’s wicked.

After a few drills to warm you up to the MAET, which is basically what the inside of a helicopter looks like. They put you in there and then submerge it and flip it. Using the training and skills you learned, you apply them and escape the helicopter.

Today, my class went through and I think I did pretty well for a person who can’t swim well. I only had problems when it came to breathing through a compressed air tank we use incase we run out of air underwater. Don’t get me wrong, as a Marine afraid of water, I was frightened, but your mind sets itself on one thing and that’s passing it no matter what. I’m glad I am doing this training for the fact that its another check in the box for ‘things I’ve done in my life’ because lets be honest, would you do this any other time in your life?

Tomorrow I plan on taking a video so I can show you guys, so let’s hope I don’t forget my camera.