FORT BLISS, Texas — Soldiers with 4th Battalion “Defender”, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, take the first steps to become Combat Water Survival Training level one qualified. This training allows the Soldiers to be prepared for any combat situation.
2LT Avery Alexander, Fires Direction Officer, A. Battery 4-1 FA
SPC Nicholas Johnson, fires support specialist, 4-1 FA
Transcript
(water splashes)
[Reporter] First or not at all, Fourth Battalion First Field Artillery take it from land to water, going through a series of tests to get certified for combat water survival training, level one.
[Soldier #1] Swimming’s important for a lot of reasons. One, it builds confidence in other areas. If you can swim, you can build confidence in other areas that you might not know that you have an interest in. Um, also if you do find yourself in a maritime environment uh and you have to swim this is a good precursor to be able to develop those skills.
[Reporter] This training is designed to be realistic and stressful so soldiers can understand how it feels to swim in full gear.
[Soldier #2] We’re going into a lot of urban areas in combat and we want to be ready for anything that we possibly could be thrown. Uh a lot of the soldiers here might not be comfortable in the water so we wanna get them comfortable enough to survive if needed.
[Reporter] This is just the beginning course for one Field Artillery will continue to train and advance to each certification. Reporting from Fort Bliss, Texas. I’m Army Sergeant, Marlon Humphrey.