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Some quick NIFE take-aways

JTS11

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Lol, did you have alot of ppl struggle or not pass? trying to gouge how bad it is lol
I honestly can't remember anyone not completing the mile swim. I just knew that I sucked at swimming...and would gladly take up the allotted time.
 
Lol, did you have alot of ppl struggle or not pass? trying to gouge how bad it is lol
I finished the course last month, and it wasn't horrible. Small percentage of people, myself included, roll to remedial swim after day 1 to learn how to better perform the basic strokes well enough to pass the rest of the course. No big deal there. Doesn't equate to a pink sheet anymore, just extra pool time. Another couple of people will probably struggle with the tread and floats. These freak people out a little, especially with gear on. But none of this is that hard overall. That sounds jaded, because sure a VERY small amount of people do genuinely struggle with some of these things, but the VAST majority of people pass. I'm talking like 99% and up.

This is all IME at least, maybe someone with more insight can correct me.
 

Riker99

Member
I finished the course last month, and it wasn't horrible. Small percentage of people, myself included, roll to remedial swim after day 1 to learn how to better perform the basic strokes well enough to pass the rest of the course. No big deal there. Doesn't equate to a pink sheet anymore, just extra pool time. Another couple of people will probably struggle with the tread and floats. These freak people out a little, especially with gear on. But none of this is that hard overall. That sounds jaded, because sure a VERY small amount of people do genuinely struggle with some of these things, but the VAST majority of people pass. I'm talking like 99% and up.

This is all IME at least, maybe someone with more insight can correct me.
Thanks man, that sounds more realistic. Say you dont do remedial day 1, pink sheet if you do after that? Also, how long are you expecting to wait for phase II?
 
Thanks man, that sounds more realistic. Say you dont do remedial day 1, pink sheet if you do after that? Also, how long are you expecting to wait for phase II?
Pink sheets for swim aren't really a thing anymore. I know a couple guys that have gone back to remedial at least twice, maybe more since I've finished, and haven't been given a pink sheet.

Technically, A-pool is phase 0 and academics is phase 1, but blah blah naming conventions. No one really knows what wait times are like, it's all over the place. Currently, they class people up based on who's available to start (pre-req complete) and who commissioned first. When I checked in, stucon was telling us 1-2 months for SNFOs and 3-5 for SNAs. But I've been here for 3 months, and it's looking like it could be a few more months even. It's not worth trying to predict IMO.
 

Riker99

Member
Pink sheets for swim aren't really a thing anymore. I know a couple guys that have gone back to remedial at least twice, maybe more since I've finished, and haven't been given a pink sheet.

Technically, A-pool is phase 0 and academics is phase 1, but blah blah naming conventions. No one really knows what wait times are like, it's all over the place. Currently, they class people up based on who's available to start (pre-req complete) and who commissioned first. When I checked in, stucon was telling us 1-2 months for SNFOs and 3-5 for SNAs. But I've been here for 3 months, and it's looking like it could be a few more months even. It's not worth trying to predict IMO.
Ah i gotcha, I was still thinking they did pink sheets if you didnt do remedial and failed something.
I understand that. So does that equal to a bunch of free time for you? Or do you have to report in the mornings/thru the day? (say if you dont have a stash job)
 
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Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Say you dont do remedial day 1, pink sheet if you do after that?

Pink sheets for swim aren't really a thing anymore. I know a couple guys that have gone back to remedial at least twice, maybe more since I've finished, and haven't been given a pink sheet.

I was still thinking they did pink sheets if you didnt do remedial and failed something.

I don't know this for sure, but I have a sneaky suspicion they can't really give you a Pink Sheet for swims now because they do it all at once rather than spreading it out over 4 weeks. In the previous API model, you worked up to the mile swim/jump-and-swim/tread-and-inhale-water tests by doing swim workouts over a longer period of time. This would build up your stamina and comfort level.

As I understand the current program, they do the entire swim qual process in an accelerated window now(someone please correct me if I'm wrong), so identifying problem areas before a graded event and addressing them may not be possible in the existing time frame. So rolling someone to remedial without a Pink Sheet benefits everyone.

I will add that when I went through API many moons ago, failing a graded event was extremely rare. If someone did, they usually would get another chance the next morning to retest before the regular class started. I don't remember loosing anyone for swim-related issues.
 
Ah i gotcha, I was still thinking they did pink sheets if you didnt do remedial and failed something.
I understand that. So does that equal to a bunch of free time for you? Or do you have to report in the mornings/thru the day? (say if you dont have a stash job)
SNFOs generally aren't given stash jobs, due to our alleged shorter wait times to class up, and will just stand one or two simple watches each week. SNA's pretty much all get stashed as far as I can tell.

In general, if you're not on watch or at your stash job, your free time is yours.
 

Mouselovr

Well-Known Member
Contributor
Lol, did you have alot of ppl struggle or not pass? trying to gouge how bad it is lol
https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...ool-life-air-water-survival-gouge-2022.49132/
My gouge is a little old but still applies.
I've also got a lengthy comment somewhere on the forum about how I would recommend poor swimmers can prep for the survival course if worried. It was my stash in A pool so I saw a lot of people go through.

Generally, no. Most people are fine. If you do struggle, they'll pull you out early and work with you until you're ready to pass. It was rare to see people get pulled after day 1 bc the instructors were good at their jobs and could tell when someone was likely to fail the later days when they added gear/stress.

As of ~18 months ago when I was in Apool, swim "pink sheets" were absolutely a thing... however, not all pink sheets are created equal...You arent going to get attrited/go to a board bc you failed swim then struggled later on.... you get sent to a board bc you failed tests/flights in NIFE/primary onward....

If you're still worried, little known fact, there's a "beyond" remediation swim called psych swim where you work with a psychologist to figure out the mental blocks of why you're not getting swim.... point being, survival swim isn't where the navy is interested in penalizing/attriting you.
 
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