Ask a Naval Aircrewman

[Haasino]

Originally Posted by jplyles12

Hey, thanks for all you do on these forums. Your knowledge helps tons for a lot of people including myself. I was just wondering, what did you do to prepare for your ASVAB in order to qualify for Aircrew rate?
Also, how did you train for the physical demands (especially the swimming aspects) required in NACCS and RSS?
Did you already have a swimming background prior to enlisting? Thanks.

In order to prepare for the ASVAB and see what areas I needed improvement in, I used the full-length Practice ASVAB that is available on the Military.com website... from that, I was able to see that my vocab and reading/writing proficiency was max, but my arithmetic and electronics knowledge was lacking. Using that knowledge, I bought a Kaplan ASVAB study guide that taught each subject and allowed me to focus only on the areas I needed improvement on. I was able to score a 96 AFQT and qualify for every rating through my line scores.

As far as the physical demands, I just made sure to work out at least 3-5 times a week in the months leading up to RTC, and made sure I could pass my PFA well above the Good category, since that's the requirement for Aircrew. Make sure you can do proper-form pushups and situps, and that you can run at least 3 miles at a sub 10min/mi pace without injury, and you should be fine... the more in-shape you are, the better, but they will push you and improve you at NACCS... you just can't show up at the regular Navy standards or you will get injured. Most of the candidates who were dropped were due to injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, or broken bones due to improper running form.

When it comes to swimming, you don't have to be a competition swimmer to get through Water Survival training at NACCS... but you absolutely have to be comfortable in the water. I never did lap swims... but I've spent my entire life in and near the ocean. I used to play in the waves in Malibu as a child and let the waves drag me underwater and toss me around... I was SCUBA certified at 12, which was the youngest legal age back in the '90s... and I just generally felt comfortable being underwater and having water in my nose, eyes, etc. NACCS can and will teach you how to do the proper survival swim strokes, provided you have a basic understanding of American Crawl, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Sidestroke... they cannot teach you how to remain calm and slow your heart-rate when you transition from treading to floating and you have a flightsuit, boots, Airsave vest, gloves, and a flight helmet dragging you down. A lot of candidates freaked out because they weren't comfortable sinking and didn't realize the buoyancy of your body will hold you near the surface. A few candidates from my class even got rolled out of class because they were afraid to jump off the 15ft platform into the pool! I spend an entire afternoon jumping off the platform at USS Indianapolis pool at RTC just because it was fun as hell!

Now, RSS is another beast entirely that I can't really give much details on because I'm a fixed-wing guy... but I know you will be expected to do 2,000m swims with up to 25m underwater at times. NACCS is all about teaching you to survive indefinitely in the ocean with no flotation device... RSS is actual swimming.

[jplyles12]

Thanks for the information! I'll make sure to practice, and also look more into RSS.

[coopdeville]

As a air rescue swimmer (AIRR) what civilian jobs are available based on the skills you learn?

[KACren]

If you fail the Flight Physical, are you able to reclassify into another rating or are you sent undesignated?

[Haasino]

Originally Posted by coopdeville

As a air rescue swimmer (AIRR) what civilian jobs are available based on the skills you learn?

A few I can think of off the top of my head are:

- Helicopter mechanic
- Customs and Border Protection Air Interdiction Agent
- Civilian SAR
- Police helo observer/spotter

Originally Posted by KACren

If you fail the Flight Physical, are you able to reclassify into another rating or are you sent undesignated?

You'll be given the opportunity to re-rate based on needs of the Navy and what's available. The only time you will likely be given A-PACT is if you DOR (Drop on Request... aka, quit).