Failed Swim
 

My brother is currently in boot camp. He has tried the swim qual severally without success. The best he got was 4minutes and some seconds. Now he is fed up and doesn't want to continue. How can he leave? The whole family is worried about him and can't wait to have him back. My question is how long will they have you in there if you don't want to continue?

From my understanding and research on this forum, he will do extra physical fitness in the morning everyday. The last PFA is the one you have to pass in order to graduate.

In my opinion, I have not gone through boot camp and I don't ship until April, but if he wanted to be a Sailor why is he going to quit because of a simple swim test? Work your ass off, do the best you can, and don't quit. What if shit gets tough on the fleet? Is he just going to quit then? If it was my brother I'd tell him to buck up and work your ass off for that final PFA, and when shit gets tough for me in boot next year, I'll tell myself the exact same thing because I want to be a Sailor.

Someone will swoop in and tell you what is exactly true but that is just my two cents.

Is your brother still with his division or in FIT? If he wants to give up, all he has to do is tell his RDCs and they'll send him to SEPS, but generally it takes longer to get sent home from SEPS than it does to graduate. He might be waiting a few months for all the legal issues and whatnot to get sorted.

So, can you back up a little bit and explain a little bit more thoroughly?

Unless they changed the rules since I was there last year, there is not really a time limit for swimming down the pool. You cannot dawdle, certainly, but you can use whatever method you want to get from one end of the pool to the other. Do you mean that he is not making it through the prone float portion? That is the only segment of the swim that is timed, and all you have to do is float.

As for leaving, he would be put into a holding unit to just twiddle his thumbs all day for anywhere from a week or two to several months. Jzhaun is right, it would be faster for him to actually finish boot camp.

Most importantly though, the fleet and life in the Navy will be absolutely nothing like boot camp. Boot camp is to teach you the basic knowledge and how to act while you are learning your job. I would advise that he try to accept that it will be tough, and stick it out. It really is not that long and if he puts forth everything he can, he will be a much better person for it.

I had people in my division who went all the way to the last chance to pass their swim qual before they did. The method is tried and true, he just has to trust that it will work if he does exactly what they say.

I had to go to FIT and spend an extra week at RTC because I didn't pass my prone on time. If your brother is in FIT, he has 21 days from the day he got to FIT, to pass. Otherwise, he gets sent to SEPS. Weekends are included. If he has made it to 4 minutes, he can make the extra 60 seconds. The prone float is really a mind thing. If he keeps a positive attitude and is willing to fight, he'll pass. Tell him to stop stressing himself, and relax his mind. Trust me, it goes a long way.

Like it was mentioned above, it's a lot easier to just pass and get out than it is to go to SEPS.

The trick to the prone float is to only put your face under when they look at you. There will be about 9 or so other people in the pool with him. The instructors will have to keep an eye on everyone. What I did was watch the instructor and when she looked at me I stuck my face in the water. So it's basically about treading water.

This may be a "trick" but it isn't the intent of the test. You should only bring your face out of the water to breathe. It's a survival technique; if you have to abandon ship, you don't want debris raining down on your face or saltwater splashing into your airway.

I'm guessing you mean the prone float as well because that's the only 'timed' portion of the test. You start out with like 2 minutes to see if you can do it, then if you do well you continue. For me it was all about trying to stay calm, the minute you freak out you will get pulled out of the pool. It's nerve racking but he can do it. Also, remove yourself from other individuals in the area if you can. I went to the back left hand side of the pool so I didn't have others pulling on me---my question is, is the want him to come home more important than what he went in to do? I completely understand missing him, I left my two daughters behind when I went to RTC. He can do it, I would just stress it and that you guys support him no matter what his decision is...