Photo By Bill Mesta | 220225-N-OH262-0796--FORT EUSTIS, Va. (February 25, 2022)--Newly hired Military...... read more read more
FORT EUSTIS, Va. (July 27, 2022) — Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Military Sealift Command Training Center Hampton Roads, located on Joint Base Langley-Fort Eustis. MSC’s Training Centers are responsible for providing both required Basic Training for MSC’s newly hired Civil Service Mariners (CIVMAR) as well as advanced and requalification training for CIVMARs, contracted mariners and Navy Reservists already serving in MSC’s fleet.
This article is the third, in a series, focused on the training opportunities offered at the MSC’s Training Centers.
While I was at the training center I had the opportunity to observe newly hired and veteran Civil Service Mariners take the MSC Safety and Survival Course at the Fort Eustis Aquatic Center; where the students demonstrate their ability to survive at sea after abandoning their ship.
“Survival at sea is a matter of life and death,” said Damage Controlman Andre Sutten, an MSC Safety and Survival instructor and Civil Service Mariner. “Should you find yourself in a real abandon ship situation, the skills demonstrated in this course are important because they give you an opportunity to save yourself.”
The first evolution students complete is to demonstrate their ability to don an emergent survival suit, also known as the ‘Gumby suit,’ and use the gear in the water.
“The ‘Gumby suit’ allows you to float in the water after abandoning ship,” according to Sutten. “The emergent survival suit also helps to keep your body warm while you are in the water.
“The suits are made of neoprene and can allow to survive at-sea for five to six days,” he added. “These suits are the difference between surviving in the water for multiple days as opposed to perishing at sea in a matter of minutes.”
Once the students are properly in their survival suit, they enter the pool and demonstrate their ability to use the suite both individually and as a team. This portion includes students forming a survival chain while and human raft.
The second portion of pool training is focused on using a life vest and life raft operation during a survival at sea scenario.
“The students are required to properly don a life vest, enter the water, board a life raft and navigate the life raft around the pool,” according to Sutten. “We emphasize techniques which will help students maintain their body temperature while in the water.”
The students do not use an immersion survival suit for this portion of training. Students are also required to right a capsized life boat during this portion of the course.
The last portion of the course is focused on treading water.
“Each student is required to demonstrate the ability to float independently, or tread water, for 6o seconds,” said Sutten. “If your ship is sinking and you don’t have time to don a ‘Gumby suit’ or board a lifeboat you will be forced to tread water until you are rescued.”
“If your ship sinks and you were not able to board a life boat, you need to be able to float independently for 60 seconds after the ship goes under,” he stated. “This will allow for the salt water activated life rafts, still aboard the ship, to detach and float to the surface.”
Sutten offered some advice for students at the MSC Safety and Survival Course.
“We want to you be comfortable with and in the water,” Sutten offered.
“When you are going through the evolutions, try and control your breathing and remain calm.”
“Also, it is important that you maintain good physical conditioning so you are able to perform these survival skills not only in the pool but in a real-world scenario,” he added.
“Though unlikely, the sinking of SS El Faro in 2015 demonstrated that even in modern-times, ships can sink,” Sutten concluded. “As such, MSC takes this course very seriously as we want you to survive.”
Current MSC CIVMARs interested in training and requalification opportunities should also consult with their ship’s Chief Engineer and access the following sites for more information:
CIVMAR - Training (sealiftcommand.com) (CIVMAR.SealiftCommand Training Website)
Https://navy.deps.mil/sites/msc/QMS/SMS/SMS/EX_DOCS/MSC Training and Readiness.htm (Full T&R Manual on the Portal)
For those interested in becoming a CIVMAR and joining MSC’s fleet, please check out our current opportunities at https://sealiftcommand.com. Or you can call 1-877-JOBS-MSC (562-7672), 1-757-341-4611 or e-mail civmar@sealiftcommand.com.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2022 09:39 |
| Story ID: | 425883 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, The Longest 60 Seconds: Safety and Survival at Sea, by Bill Mesta, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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