Army pilot training stresses water-survival.

In an effort to expand pilots' skills in joint-service operations, the U.S. Army is opening its own water-survival training facilities.

Previously, Army pilots trained on U.S. Navy facilities, but now aircraft ditching skills have become mandatory for each candidate planning to enter the Army's Flight School XXI at Fort Rucker, Ala., according to a service spokesman.

The move is not only a response to the Army aviators' continuously expanding missions, but also an attempt to select the most qualified individuals, before they actually join the flight school, said Lt. Col. Robert Bullinger.

The Army opened its first Dunker Heed Aircraft Underwater Egress training facility in Fort Rucker at the end of last year. The training and equipment at the facility are provided by Survival Systems. Army instructors oversee the program.

The Heed facility consists of an aircraft dunker, where pilots learn how to swim out of sinking aircraft. The main dunker, called the modular egress training system, comes in three configurations. It can simulate an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk and a CH-47 Chinook. The seating, console, flight control and exits are built to the exact specifications of each aircraft model, according to Survival Systems.

Dunker training is a two-day course, designed to teach 20 students in an eight-hour day. Each day begins with academics in the morning, followed by practical exercises in the dunker tank in the afternoon, said Lt. Col. Jimmy Meacham, commander of the 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment, which is responsible for student training.

"Exercises get progressively more difficult as the training progresses, but so does the student's confidence," he told National Defense.

Students are given a brief history of over-water accidents, what causes them and how they can be avoided. Before they dunk, pilots learn about the hazards and the physics of compressed air breathing, ditching history, safety and survival equipment, hypothermia mitigation and emergency exits, said Chad Copeland, director of business development at Survival Systems.

Once the students jump in the pool for hands-on training, they first learn basic water maneuvers. Later in the program, they are dropped in the pool while in the simulator. During their exercises, pilots use the Sea MK II auxiliary breathing device. SEA MK II is a small bottle of air, which aircrews use in situations when they cannot hold their breath, according to Karen Roberts, the assistant director for training support. Such situations occur when pilots are trapped in their seats, the exits are blocked or confusion prevails, said Roberts, a contractor with Lear Siegler Services.

When crashing into water, keeping calm is the most important consideration, said Meacham. Pilots need to learn how to allow the aircraft to stabilize following the impact with water, he explained.

Pilots learn how to locate their breathing device, clear the water out of the mouthpiece and begin breathing normally, he said. They also have to know their position in relation to the airframe and exits, ensuring they know which way is out, and have a firm grip on a reference point, release their seatbelts, move to and open the door or window, and exit the aircraft.

Pilots usually fly very close to the surface, and if they get into an accident, "it is going to happen quickly and very likely at night," said Meacham. "Your life will undoubtedly hinge on your planning, training and preparation for such an incident. That is die heart of this course."

Working with pilots is fairly easy, because they already are used to facing danger, said Copeland, a former Army pilot. "We give them the opportunity and the training to get into a situation that would incur panic," he said.

For every 100,000 flying hours, there are two over-water ditchings, according to Copeland. "We had about 36 students who had these accidents and walked away."

This is the first time the Army set up its own training facility. "In the past, the Army relied on the Navy or commercial facilities to train aviators and crewmembers, he said. "We now have our organic capability--facility and equipment.

"The Army, as a rule, did not have serious over-water missions, but with the missions being expanded and with joint forces, you just do not know anymore," Copeland said.

All the pilots currently going through flight school art required to go through the dunker training, said Copeland. A growing number of active-duty pilots have started asking for this training.

The Army has another Heed facility at Camp Humphreys, in South Korea that only simulates the Apache helicopter. Survival Systems is about to send a larger simulator for the CH-47 and UH-60 on July 15, said Copeland.

"For $3 million to $4 million, you can build and staff all these facilities, and the results are that you train 1,000 people a year," he said. Helicopter crewmembers also need to receive this kind of training, he said.

Special operations aviators have expressed interest in opening their own facility at Fort Campbell, said Copeland. Initially, the Nightstalkers were training with the Navy at Pensacola, Fla., but the shortage of slots in the Navy's training schedule prompted them to seek their own facility. That site would open in 18 months to two years, said Copeland.

The National Guard Bureau is considering installing dunkers at two main training sites in Arizona and Pennsylvania, according to Copeland.

In the Marine Corps, Survival Systems has trained upwards of 10,000 Marines in the past two years, he said. The Marine Corps initiated this kind of training a few years ago when one helicopter crashed near the coast of Burma, drowning the entire crew. They did not die from impact wounds, but because they did know how to escape, Copeland said. In 2002, Survival Systems began providing training services to Camp Hensen in Hawaii, and Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Camp Lejeune, N.C., is scheduled to receive the modular egress training system next year, said Copeland, and the Cherry Point Marine air base also is in line for one. The Marine Corps also performs this training on its base in Okinawa, Japan.

The Navy and the Air Force possess training equipment, but they staff their own facilities, according to Copeland.