Divers Ready? Published May 22, 2008 By Airman 1st Class Kali L. Gradishar 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- "Divers Ready?" An echoing voice bellows in response. The modular egress training system, shaped similar to the body of an aircraft, splurges into the water. Passengers are crouched into the crash position preparing for what could be, in reality, a fatal descent. The aircraft body rolls, demonstrating the common movement of a submerged airframe in shifting waters. Below the water's surface and upside down, one might think the passengers' minds would be racing. But there is no time to think, only to act. The steps they need to take to safely egress the METS are clear. There are two options in this situation. One - place both hands on top of your head, signaling to the trained divers and survival instructors you need assistance. Two - perform, step by step, the actions needed to exit the airframe as you would in a real emergency. But before this training begins, the instructors of the underwater egress training, or SV-84, must take a very important step. The instructors must gain the trust of the students. This allows students the comfort of knowing all that is needed to place two hands on top of their head to get to the surface via trained diver. In a real emergency, however, the instructors will not be there when a passenger calls, "time out." For this reason, it's imperative "for these people to have confidence - to know if they go down in the water in an aircraft they can get out and survive," said Senior Airman David Spring, survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist, as well as assistant dive non-commissioned officer. "When in that situation people need to think, 'Alright. I'm going to get out of this.'" The egress training begins with two swimming exercises. Donning a flight suit, shoes, a life-preserving unit and a vest, students plunge into the pool, tredding water for one minute. Next, they again leap into the water and swim the short length of the pool in one breath. "The reason we do this is to flag the students we need to keep an eye on during training," said Airman Spring. "It's more of a custom-fit training" for those with varying swimming abilities, as well as for those who are supplied with different types of helicopter emergency egress devices or are on an aircraft with other types of windows and seatbelts. Though the training caters to the specific levels of students, the standards to which they must all perform never falter. "We don't ever drop our standards," said Airman 1st Class Ethan Jago, also a SERE specialist and trained diver. "We set our standards high because if people are in a serious emergency, we want to know they'll be able to survive and not be a hazard to other people." The next course task involves a shallow-water egress training chair, designed with a frame, seat, buckle and removable window. the student is flung upside down into the water five times, taking a crawl-walk-run approach to the final task. The student must exit the SWET chair with blacked-out goggles by calmly breathing with the helicopter emergency egress device system, finding a point of reference, releasing the seatbelt and removing the mock window to swim to the surface. In this second portion of training, the instructors begin to utilize that custom-fit training, so when a student doesn't make it through a portion of training and has to signal to the instructors for help to the surface, the instructors take that student to the wall of the pool and explain again the steps they would need to take to safely egress the METS in the pool. And why is this training so important? Take it from a man with 24 years of experience in SERE. "I believe training here can mean life or death to an aircrew member. There's no doubt they increase their survivability by taking this course," said Master Sgt. Paul Mikolajczyk, water survival flight chief. "The question isn't if you're going to crash - it's when. If you're in the flying business, it's inevitable." Even if you aren't aircrew, crashing in an airplane over any type of body of water is possible, he added. The training can also come in handy in other ways. For example, someone can lose control of their car and flip upside down in a large ditch. In this instance, what is learned in the water egress training can also kick in. The final portion of training brings the big test - egressing the METS in the deep end of the pool. Two divers bearing a scuba tank, buoyancy compensator, regulators, a diver recall system and other essential gear, Airmen Spring and Jago, stand by watching instructors and students as they run through this portion of the course. Again, the students take the crawl-walk-run approach. They are dropped straight into the water for the first time and must exit the mock aircraft. For each subsequent drop, the helicopter is turned upside down in the water, and passengers are required to effectively remove the window, unclasp the seatbelts and exit through the window in order to pass the course. Then for the final drop, that same process is carried out with the blacked-out goggles. Throughout the training other instructors play a huge role, as well. From the swim exercises to the SWET chair to the final tasks in the METS, each instructor continuously ensures the safety of the students in the course, as well as providing tips on how to improve their egress skills. And what are the results of this course? In comparison to years past when water survival was not as available "survival rates have gone through the roof," said Airman Spring.