JJ BPK - I really appreciated your post by the way. That's excellent information to have.

I've worked with many West Point graduates and, in my experience, their performance typically falls within the same range as everyone else. No better and no worse. As others have already said, character trumps education and fitness and that has to come from within. Neither CDQC nor SFAS will be interested in developing that for you. Good luck whatever you choose.

I realize I haven't demonstrated the character you are describing, so I guess that developing it needs to go at the top of my list before I even consider putting in the application packet for Dive school. Thank you for the earnest advice.

Well, my comment was in general terms and not directed at you. I think what most have said is that concluding cadets have advantages over 18Xs is unfair and based on several uninformed assumptions. I'll add that my last BC was an Academy graduate and was the best commander I've ever had. He wasn't dive or MFF qualified and the USMA wasn't the primary source of his success. That said, my advice is take the slot if it's offered to you but don't go into it with any presumptions. You might not like the outcome.

I'll have to keep that in mind, with this and with anything else I might do in the military.
If I may try to clear up one more thing: I'm no SEAL wannabe, and I am not of the belief that CDQC makes you any better of a soldier; it's a tool of your trade like any other, and that is the one bit of information I have been able to glean about it from past threads. The reason I am interested in it is because it is the single largest opportunity for me (and me in particular!) to see first-hand how the men of SOF think and operate, and evolve a little bit while doing so. I'm not a "badge chaser" or anything like that either.

Kar, I advise read more post less.

A reply is not needed or appreciated.

WD:

Where are these "very good" swimmers you speak of in the Army? I can say without a doubt that the best swimmers I have encountered in the Army are merely proficient compared to the good swimmers I encountered in the Navy. (This based on my previous experience as a USN rescue swimmer & diver/dive supervisor and my current role as a SF diver/dive supervisor.)

As for preparing for CDQC, either you can sack it up or you cannot. Most guys quit on themselves in the water because they are uncomfortable. Diving in the military sucks. That is just the nature of the beast and why nobody wants to do it.

x/S

Youtube it
 

Youtube. Great resource with a great PJ cadre givin you tips. Mike Maroney is the username. Total Immersion is also a good resource for surface swimming. Never use restraints while you're training and always have a buddy who knows how to pull you out of the deep end. Hypoxic training can't be taken lightly. Few things to search: Egg Beat kick, keyhole stroke, 10 ups, Combat Side Stroke, bobbing, flooded mask. You'll be able to bounce around the common videos and get tons of information from other people trying to not drown and people who have succesfully not drown and graduated indoc. To my knowledge, PJ indoc has prescuba built into their selection type smoke sessions for the beginning of their pipeline

How do you know? Have you been to CDQC?

I didn't go through MFF when I was in. I would never have the balls to get on that thread and tell people how to prepare for it.


Feels like your selling something.


LHC

You really need to slow down, stop posting, and read the rules.

TR

What is the view from those who have been to CDQC as it pertains to having previous diving experience?

I've put a few guys looking at going to CDQC through a discover SCUBA class I teach. And have heard a few others completed the open water course taught at JBLM's NAC.

Would previous experience at the recreation level help, or do the techniques taught by the civilian side seem to interfer?

I don't want to waste people's money if they're just doing it to get an edge at CDQC and it isn't helping them.

What does my response to the kid who stepped on his crank have to do with your experience in the Navy or as a CDQC Q'd guy?? apparently you took my comment personal. Believe it or not there are guys in the Army who grew up in the surf playing water polo into college , competitive swimming and diving that absolutely hate the egomaniacal image driven CDQC types they have seen.

I'll give you the short answer, assuming your question is not as stupid as it sounds..

Discover Scuba Class???

NO.

One can verify they are not claustrophobic in the pool, and will get a cursory education on diving physiology. That's it..

There isn't any comparison to the physical, mental, & academic requirements needed to complete CDQC.

If you took every course PADI teaches, you would still be short of CDQC..

True. A bad day on a recreational civilian dive equals an aborted dive. Not so much on a military dive.


Also true. I'm one of the very few SF Divers I know who holds/held civilian instructor certs. Most of the guys will only dive when they're required to.

If you want to prep for CDQC there are training plans available both here and elsewhere on the net to assist with physical conditioning and swimming skills (just another form of physical conditioning). So long as you have an adequate physical prep, everything else you need to know will be taught during training. There's a reason PADI courses are taught in a weekend and CDQC takes weeks that include 16-18 hour days.

WD:

Nothing personal at all. My response is a mix of sarcasm and a personal pet peeve. I hate going to a pool and not being able to train properly because guys who should not be allowed near water are hogging lanes. As for over inflated combat diver ego, I hear you loud and clear, to me it is just another tool in the tool bag and more pay in the check.

x/S