navymom24
05-11-2009, 10:11 AM
I'm gonna break down Aircrew Candidate School by day according to what my daughter is telling me as she's going thru it...
First, the rating info sheet is wrong...its only 3 weeks long not 5. There are 9 different swim test and some other fun stuff that needs to be passed. I'll explain them as I hear about them. The purpose of Aircrew school is to learn how to survive a crash and the aftermath.
First full week is Hell Week, 2nd full week is Disney week, 3rd week is graduation week....
Everyone starts on a Thursday (you find out the night before when they post the class list). The PT listed consist of increasing amounts of running (on the street and the beach) situps, pushups, flutter kicks and lunges. Each swim test increases in time as well. The first two swim test occur when you first get to NAS P-cola...its the 2nd Class swim test...WS I & II. You should have taken it in Boot Camp, but you do it again at NAS P-cola.
Thursday Day 1
PT in morning & afternoon
Friday Day 2
PT in morning and Tread and float swim test in afternoon. 1st with just a bathing suit on then its done in Flight suit and boots. 2 minute tread, 6 minute deadmans float. 30 minute endurance swim.
HELL WEEK!!!
Monday Day 3
PT in the morning and Tread and float swim test in afternoon. Done in Flight suit, boots, vest, gloves. 2 minute tread, 7 minute deadmans float.
30 minute endurance swim.
Tuesday Day 4
PT in the morning, which consisted of stress sets totalling: 110 sit ups... 120 pushups...200 flutter kicks....30 lunges(in the sand).....3 mile beach run. Tread and float swim test in the afternoon. Done in Flight suit, boots, vest, gloves and helmet. 2 minute tread, 7 minute deadmans float. 30 minute endurance swim.
Wednesday Day 5
PT in the morning - increase in numbers from yesterday. 2 Swim test in the afternoon. Jump and submersion swim test (jump from 15 ft tower, stay submerged and swim 15 yards underwater). This is done in the flightsuit and boots. Get out of pool, take flight suit off, in bathing suit swim 100 yards in breast stroke. Next swim test taken right after....Swim 75 yards breast stroke in full gear, show four different ways of making a floatation device out of your pants.
(normally the second test is done the next day on thursday, my daughters class just got accelerated because the base was off on friday)
Thursday Day 6
PT in the morning. 1 mile swim in flightsuit in the afternoon. You have 80 minutes to complete it. (normally this is done on friday)
***Heres some advice from Lauren. The swim test are only hard because you have to transistion from treading water to deadmans float while wearing increasing amounts of gear. The key to help yourself before you get there is to learn this transition. Once you switch from treading to deadmans float...your heart rate is pretty high from the exertion of treading. You have to WILL your heartbeat down. This is as much mental as physical. A lot of them panicked the first couple of times because you feel like you cant breath...especially when you do it with a helmet on. Practice this at home!! You may have a long wait inbetween practicing it and actually using it at ACCS, but you will remember it and probably not panic. Remember, all this is done in the afternoon after you've been beat all morning.
DISNEY WEEK!!!!
Monday Day 7
CPR Certification Course. Easy dayyyyyy!
Tuesday Day 8
If your not slated to go Rescue Swimmer you will do the Low Pressure Chamber ...lots of learning about how your body reacts without oxygen and how to identify the signs and save yourself and your CREW!
Heres a video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmSWIJ4ZYpM
If you are slated to go Rescue Swimmer, you will go to the Spin and Puke instead. Basically a spinning centrifuge, kind of like Mission:SPACE at Epcot in Disney.
Wednesday Day 9
Survival First Aid class in the morning. Afternoon - classroom briefing on the Helo Dunker and the parachute drag.
Thursday Day 10
Helo Dunker! First thing you learn is how to pull out the windows in a chopper on dry land. Then its in the water with ya. You have 3 mods to complete and 6 chances total or you fail. Your assigned a seat number for each mod. Basically your strapped into a different seats of a chopper fuselage, dropped into the water and spun around upside down. Your taught to find a reference point, grab it and dont let go, get your window pulled out and get out of the submerged chopper. Lauren said it is the freakiest, thing she's ever done in her life. It wasnt nearly as "fun" as she thought it would be. Just plain wierd feeling. This is all done in full flight gear, helmet included. The last mod is done with black out goggles added on. Even more fun. :shock:
Helo Dunker videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrGET-zwPms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROVP1mBUANc
In the afternoon you do the parachute drag. Basically they send you down a zipline into the pool with a parachute on, and drag you until you unhook yourself. Then your put into the pool and have a parachute thrown over you to learn how to get out from under it.
Friday Day 11
In the morning you will do PLS, Parachute Landing Simulation. Your taken to a big graveled area and put on a zipline and taught how to release your chute and drop, tuck and roll 4 different ways. Expect bruises.
Afterwards you'll do your PFT-Out. Its the final PFT of Aircrew and the times have to be lower than your initial incoming PFT.
At this point if you've passed everything your good to go. There are no failable evolutions left....
GRADUATION WEEK!!!
Monday Day 12
BayOps
Some of todays activities are dependant on the weather. You'll be taken out to the bay with your class and taught how to flip an 8 person raft alone and get into it. Then you'll do the 20 person raft and everyone will get in it. After this, Weather permitting, you'll jump in the water and await your turn to be hoisted up by the HS-60 Helicopter. Lauren said its the MOST fun of anything she's done so far. She said she went first today, so she's waiting in the water and then sees a helicopter coming at her....getting bigger and bigger. Then its over top of her and maybe 50ft abover her. She said they lower a line with a clip on it and the spray and wash from the rotors is much more powerful than she thought it would be. Once the clip hits the water you grab it, hook up and check to make sure your not entagled in the line, then give the thumbs up. She said they lift you about 6ft or so above the water. While she was being lifted she said she looked up and the helicopter is gigantic right above you. They lower you back down, you unclip and the chopper takes off for the next person waiting. The boat comes to pick you up and your done for the day. I could hear the smile in her voice when she was telling me. She said she'd do it everyday if allowed. She really enjoyed this part.
Tuesday Day 13
Today they put together their service file. They'll keep all their certificates and paperwork in here and it goes on their person wherever they go. They also keep all their quals paperwork thats gonna get signed off on in here. They recieved their new flightsuits too. Two flightsuits - one green, one desert kahki. One pair of big ol' boots. Two flight jackets, one leather bomber and a green one thats fireproof. Also, a flight bag.
Wednesday Day 14
Today was an easy day. Reshoot the 9mm's and you can up your qual. They did some PT and team sports ... their instructors played with them. It was a fun day.
Thursday Day 15
Well, its graduation day...and just so you dont feel like they dont love you, you'll do a nice little five (5) mile run on the beach in the morning before your graduation. Graduation 10:00am. During the graduation you'll be told what your rate is going to be for your A School. Then you'll immediately move over to the other side of the base to await your A school or you'll stay and get ready to start Rescue Swimmer.
Lauren is bottom left...
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/deveghp/aircrew.jpg
I'm going to end this by saying that I can guarantee your Aircrew experience will be a little different than this. You are your own person and I'm quite sure Lauren told me the parts that were important to her. I'm betting she left some things out. Whatever you do, believe you can do it! In the end Lauren said it really wasnt that hard. Being in shape helps immensly.
I read (I think it was on military.com) what a previous Aircrewman/RSS said about completing the Aircrew/RSS program: "Nothing is as hard as someone who's completed it, wants you to think it is."
This is just the beginning of your LONG quest for those coveted AC Wings.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to give you an answer or find the answer for you. =)
Oh yeah, one more thing........ FLY NAVY! HOOYAH!
First, the rating info sheet is wrong...its only 3 weeks long not 5. There are 9 different swim test and some other fun stuff that needs to be passed. I'll explain them as I hear about them. The purpose of Aircrew school is to learn how to survive a crash and the aftermath.
First full week is Hell Week, 2nd full week is Disney week, 3rd week is graduation week....
Everyone starts on a Thursday (you find out the night before when they post the class list). The PT listed consist of increasing amounts of running (on the street and the beach) situps, pushups, flutter kicks and lunges. Each swim test increases in time as well. The first two swim test occur when you first get to NAS P-cola...its the 2nd Class swim test...WS I & II. You should have taken it in Boot Camp, but you do it again at NAS P-cola.
Thursday Day 1
PT in morning & afternoon
Friday Day 2
PT in morning and Tread and float swim test in afternoon. 1st with just a bathing suit on then its done in Flight suit and boots. 2 minute tread, 6 minute deadmans float. 30 minute endurance swim.
HELL WEEK!!!
Monday Day 3
PT in the morning and Tread and float swim test in afternoon. Done in Flight suit, boots, vest, gloves. 2 minute tread, 7 minute deadmans float.
30 minute endurance swim.
Tuesday Day 4
PT in the morning, which consisted of stress sets totalling: 110 sit ups... 120 pushups...200 flutter kicks....30 lunges(in the sand).....3 mile beach run. Tread and float swim test in the afternoon. Done in Flight suit, boots, vest, gloves and helmet. 2 minute tread, 7 minute deadmans float. 30 minute endurance swim.
Wednesday Day 5
PT in the morning - increase in numbers from yesterday. 2 Swim test in the afternoon. Jump and submersion swim test (jump from 15 ft tower, stay submerged and swim 15 yards underwater). This is done in the flightsuit and boots. Get out of pool, take flight suit off, in bathing suit swim 100 yards in breast stroke. Next swim test taken right after....Swim 75 yards breast stroke in full gear, show four different ways of making a floatation device out of your pants.
(normally the second test is done the next day on thursday, my daughters class just got accelerated because the base was off on friday)
Thursday Day 6
PT in the morning. 1 mile swim in flightsuit in the afternoon. You have 80 minutes to complete it. (normally this is done on friday)
***Heres some advice from Lauren. The swim test are only hard because you have to transistion from treading water to deadmans float while wearing increasing amounts of gear. The key to help yourself before you get there is to learn this transition. Once you switch from treading to deadmans float...your heart rate is pretty high from the exertion of treading. You have to WILL your heartbeat down. This is as much mental as physical. A lot of them panicked the first couple of times because you feel like you cant breath...especially when you do it with a helmet on. Practice this at home!! You may have a long wait inbetween practicing it and actually using it at ACCS, but you will remember it and probably not panic. Remember, all this is done in the afternoon after you've been beat all morning.
DISNEY WEEK!!!!
Monday Day 7
CPR Certification Course. Easy dayyyyyy!
Tuesday Day 8
If your not slated to go Rescue Swimmer you will do the Low Pressure Chamber ...lots of learning about how your body reacts without oxygen and how to identify the signs and save yourself and your CREW!
Heres a video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmSWIJ4ZYpM
If you are slated to go Rescue Swimmer, you will go to the Spin and Puke instead. Basically a spinning centrifuge, kind of like Mission:SPACE at Epcot in Disney.
Wednesday Day 9
Survival First Aid class in the morning. Afternoon - classroom briefing on the Helo Dunker and the parachute drag.
Thursday Day 10
Helo Dunker! First thing you learn is how to pull out the windows in a chopper on dry land. Then its in the water with ya. You have 3 mods to complete and 6 chances total or you fail. Your assigned a seat number for each mod. Basically your strapped into a different seats of a chopper fuselage, dropped into the water and spun around upside down. Your taught to find a reference point, grab it and dont let go, get your window pulled out and get out of the submerged chopper. Lauren said it is the freakiest, thing she's ever done in her life. It wasnt nearly as "fun" as she thought it would be. Just plain wierd feeling. This is all done in full flight gear, helmet included. The last mod is done with black out goggles added on. Even more fun. :shock:
Helo Dunker videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrGET-zwPms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROVP1mBUANc
In the afternoon you do the parachute drag. Basically they send you down a zipline into the pool with a parachute on, and drag you until you unhook yourself. Then your put into the pool and have a parachute thrown over you to learn how to get out from under it.
Friday Day 11
In the morning you will do PLS, Parachute Landing Simulation. Your taken to a big graveled area and put on a zipline and taught how to release your chute and drop, tuck and roll 4 different ways. Expect bruises.
Afterwards you'll do your PFT-Out. Its the final PFT of Aircrew and the times have to be lower than your initial incoming PFT.
At this point if you've passed everything your good to go. There are no failable evolutions left....
GRADUATION WEEK!!!
Monday Day 12
BayOps
Some of todays activities are dependant on the weather. You'll be taken out to the bay with your class and taught how to flip an 8 person raft alone and get into it. Then you'll do the 20 person raft and everyone will get in it. After this, Weather permitting, you'll jump in the water and await your turn to be hoisted up by the HS-60 Helicopter. Lauren said its the MOST fun of anything she's done so far. She said she went first today, so she's waiting in the water and then sees a helicopter coming at her....getting bigger and bigger. Then its over top of her and maybe 50ft abover her. She said they lower a line with a clip on it and the spray and wash from the rotors is much more powerful than she thought it would be. Once the clip hits the water you grab it, hook up and check to make sure your not entagled in the line, then give the thumbs up. She said they lift you about 6ft or so above the water. While she was being lifted she said she looked up and the helicopter is gigantic right above you. They lower you back down, you unclip and the chopper takes off for the next person waiting. The boat comes to pick you up and your done for the day. I could hear the smile in her voice when she was telling me. She said she'd do it everyday if allowed. She really enjoyed this part.
Tuesday Day 13
Today they put together their service file. They'll keep all their certificates and paperwork in here and it goes on their person wherever they go. They also keep all their quals paperwork thats gonna get signed off on in here. They recieved their new flightsuits too. Two flightsuits - one green, one desert kahki. One pair of big ol' boots. Two flight jackets, one leather bomber and a green one thats fireproof. Also, a flight bag.
Wednesday Day 14
Today was an easy day. Reshoot the 9mm's and you can up your qual. They did some PT and team sports ... their instructors played with them. It was a fun day.
Thursday Day 15
Well, its graduation day...and just so you dont feel like they dont love you, you'll do a nice little five (5) mile run on the beach in the morning before your graduation. Graduation 10:00am. During the graduation you'll be told what your rate is going to be for your A School. Then you'll immediately move over to the other side of the base to await your A school or you'll stay and get ready to start Rescue Swimmer.
Lauren is bottom left...
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/deveghp/aircrew.jpg
I'm going to end this by saying that I can guarantee your Aircrew experience will be a little different than this. You are your own person and I'm quite sure Lauren told me the parts that were important to her. I'm betting she left some things out. Whatever you do, believe you can do it! In the end Lauren said it really wasnt that hard. Being in shape helps immensly.
I read (I think it was on military.com) what a previous Aircrewman/RSS said about completing the Aircrew/RSS program: "Nothing is as hard as someone who's completed it, wants you to think it is."
This is just the beginning of your LONG quest for those coveted AC Wings.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to give you an answer or find the answer for you. =)
Oh yeah, one more thing........ FLY NAVY! HOOYAH!