SPECIAL FORCES COMBAT DIVER QUALIFICATION COURSE

Prerequisites --CDQC-specific physical with Special Warfare Center stamp --Diploma/certificate from JFKSWCS-recognized Pre-SCUBA course --Air Force personnel not in the 1T2 or 1C2 AFSCs must have a SWC waiver Course description Zero Week (4 Days) This week is for completing prerequisites for beginning the actual course. The trainee is evaluated on the APFT, 25m underwater swim, 2 min treading water, 20-lb clump retrieval, 50m underwater swim, Oxygen tolerance, and 50 ft free ascent tower. Basic academics are also begun, including introduction to Dive Physics. The week ends with introduction to Open Curcuit SCUBA equipment, and "Introduction to Pool," which is where the candidates are introduced to "500,000 gallons of pure, chlorine-filled HATE." Trainees will conduct a rigorous PT session in the pool, including crossovers and "10-ups," where crossovers are conducted in between sets of pushups and flutter kicks. This is followed by jock-up drills, where proper donning of Open Circuit gear is taught. Week One (5 Days)--POOL WEEK Each morning during pool week begins at 0530 with PT. Monday and Wednesday three or four mile formation runs are accomplished at a 6:30 to 7 minute pace per mile. Tuesday and Thursday are fast formation run days: two miles at a 5:30-6 minute pace, followed by ten 100m sprints. Friday, the "long slow distance" day, is three miles at a 7 minute pace per mile. The run is followed by rigorous calisthenics in the sand PT pit. Verbal and physical abuse from instructors is common during this time. PT is followed by the morning pool session. Every pool session begins with "remediation exercises"--calisthenics on the pool deck, including pushups, flutter kicks, lunges, squats, and 8count bodybuilders while wearing full open circuit gear. All pool sessions also include drown proofing and a seven minute weight belt swim with 16 lbs. Monday and Tuesday are instruction days in the pool, where the basics of Open Circuit Diving are taught. Wednesday trainees are evaluated on underwater knot tying, equipment recovery, and proper ditching and donning of open circuit equipment. These events are not physically difficult, but students are graded on correct procedure and time. Thursday students are evaluated on the One Man Confidence Swim, or "One Man Comp." This requires a trainee to solve deficiencies put into his equipment by an instructor, to include tampering with or removal of his air source, while the instructor also simulates rough surf, making it more difficult to correct these problems. This task last twenty minutes, is conducted with the student wearing a blacked-out mask, and ends when the instructor puts the "whammy not" in the student's air hose, thus creating an unrecoverable air source. At this time, the student correctly ditches his open circuit gear, and the event is completed. Friday, One Man Comp reevaluations are conducted, as is the Two Man Confidence Swim evaluation. This is a buddy breathing exercise with harassment. Two instructors continuously disrupt the movement of each two-man team by placing deficiencies in, and taking away, equipment. This evaluation is timed at twenty minutes, and ends when the only gear the students have remaining is one set of open circuit tanks, which they must continue to buddy breathe from until informed that the exercise has ended. Afternoons during pool week are spent conducting open water surface swims. Students wear full battle dress uniform, UDT vest, fins and mask. Monday is the 1000m buddy selection swim, where swim buddies for the rest of the course are determined based on finishing times. All other activities during this course will be done with that buddy. Tuesday and Wednesday are 1500 meter timed swims, with a maximum passing time of 42 minutes. Thursday is a 2000m swim with a maximum time of 60 minutes. The final evaluation is conducted Friday, and is a 3000m swim in 90 minutes. Point scores are awarded to each student based on finishing time, with a score of 74 or below constituting a failure if that swim. The student must have a total surface swim average of 75 points or better and pass the 3000m swim to graduate this portion of pool week. 3000m swim

reevaluations are conducted on Saturday morning, and are immediately followed by Two Man Comp reevaluations. Week Two (5 Days)OPEN CIRCUIT WEEK Each day except for Wednesday begins at 0530 with PT. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday the runs are the same distance as week one, but the pace per mile is 15 to 30 seconds faster. Friday the long slow distance run is five miles at a 7 minute pace per mile. Calisthenics follow each run. Monday and Tuesday day and night open circuit navigation dives are completed. Students take turns manning the compass board as they navigate 1000m day and night, followed by 1500m day and night. Scores are awarded based on time of dive and accuracy of navigation. A score of 74 or below constitutes failure of that navigation dive; students must finish the navigation portion of the week with an average score of 75 or better to continue. Wednesday is dedicated to the 130ft deep dive qualification. This takes place in the open water of the Atlantic Ocean. Thursday morning is ocean bed search and recovery training. This is followed by day and night deep-water search and ship bottom search practical exercises in the Key West Coast Guard harbor. This is the last open circuit activity of the course. Friday is the Introduction to Closed Circuit (Lar V Draeger) class, followed by hands on Closed Circuit training in the pool. This week is the first of three day and night work weeks. Students should expect to get between two and four hours of sleep each night. At least four hours are spent in the classroom each day this week, with Dive Physics, Dive Tables, Dangerous Marine Life, and History of SCUBA being among the topics covered. The Midterm exam is taken at the end of week two, with a minimum passing score of 75. Week Three (5 Days)CLOSED CIRCUIT WEEK PT is conducted each morning at 0530. Monday through Thursday are standard-distance runs, with the pace per mile 15 to 30 seconds faster than in week two. At least one of these runs may be conducted while wearing a weight belt or carrying weights. Fridays long slow distance is seven miles at a 7 to 7:30 pace per mile. Calisthenics are conducted as usual. Monday through Thursday students conduct day and night Closed Circuit navigation dives. These begin at 1000m and increase to 2000m, with the same grading criteria as the Open Circuit navigation evaluations. Friday students are introduced to Special Warfare tactics and techniques, including scout swimming and subsurface infiltration. The afternoon is spent conducting practical exercises in the ocean. Depth control training is conducted at Key West Harbor, and Submarine lock in/lock out simulation is done in the free ascent tower. Every afternoon is spent in the classroom, studying Submarine lockout procedures, History of the Rebreather, Special Warfare tactics, and other subjects. The final, comprehensive academic exam is conducted at the end of this week, with a minimum score of 75 required to pass. Week Four (4 Days)SPECWAR OPS PT Monday morning is a two mile run/1000m swim/1000m run/35 foot rope climb competition. This is followed by an infiltration exercise rehearsal in Key West Harbor. The actual infiltration exercise is carried out Monday night. This consists of insertion into the AO by dive boat, turtle backing 500m to the Harbor sea wall, and subsurface infiltration of Key West Harbor. Upon arriving at their destination, students must clear the beach, pull security in six man teams around a designated building, and retrieve pre-selected Precious Cargo. This exercise concludes with overland movement to another beach and exfiltration by Zodiac. This is the final dive of the course. The final event of the course is the nine mile formation graduation run. This is conducted Wednesday morning and is done at a seven to eight minute per mile pace. This is a must-pass event to graduate the Combat Diver course. Failure to remain and finish with the formation will constitute automatic failure of this school.

Packing list: --10 brown t-shirts with last name stenciled on front and back in black 1" block letters --three pairs of UDT shorts with OD green name tape on front of left leg --dive booties --four sets woodland BDUs --two pair of running shoes --ten pair of white athletic socks --five pair of black running shorts --one pair of combat boots --two pair of black issue wool socks --two towels --laundry detergent --two white paint markers --sunglasses --enough cash for 35 days (limited check cashing facilities)