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.
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Some quick NIFE take-aways
- Thread starter BOMR822
- Start date
Frostydevil
SNFO
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?
Frostydevil
SNFO
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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Everyone swims the "mile swim" but not everyone who swims the mile swims a whole "mile". You just keep going around the circle, slow as you want to be, just don't stop/give up
Do with that what you may
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.
Frostydevil
SNFO
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.
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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I rolled a class because the examiner said I was 'kipping' during my breaststroke. I went back the next day and took it with another instructor who passed me with no issues, much to the first one's chagrin who subsequently made sure that folks who failed had to spend a week in remedial swim before taking the exam again. All these years later I still get annoyed thinking about that stupidity.
Frostydevil
SNFO
It's pretty much still that way. At least when I was sent to remedial, the swim fundamentals instructor's would ask how long you've been in remedial before they'd let you "test out". It was 3 days for me, but I still wasn't out of remedial. They seem to keep most people for a week in total. They have you do the various tread and floats, tower to line, and 75 yard breast stroke with gear. If you pass all that, then they let you class back up.
But you still only get "credit" for passing day 1 when you finish remedial. So you get to do all that other fun stuff again lol.