Task Force Falcon Soldiers Engage in Survival Swimming

Sixty-Five Soldiers from Charger Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) participated in Survival Gate 3, one of the four survival swim tests as part of the PE320-322 Survival Swimming curriculum. Cadets at West Point primarily take PE320-322 during their second year. The Department of Physical Education  at USMA led 65 Soldiers from Charger Company, part of Task Force Falcon, through several periods of instruction on inflating their uniform to use as a life vest, swimming techniques and proper entry into the water while in uniform. This survival swimming test included stepping off the 6.5-meter tower, staying subsurface and swimming through a series of submerged hoops, a 50-meter swim and a uniform inflation. Upon completion, Soldiers eagerly grasped the opportunity to step off the 10-meter tower. The Charger Company commander, Captain Charles Christensen '12, described the training as valuable and applicable to the real world. Read More