New recruits learn unique flotation techniques during RSP training

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- For the new recruits of Company E, the training they underwent at their most recent drill could be filed under the category "you never know."

The roughly 100 new Citizen-Soldiers learned how to make their Army combat uniform trousers work as flotation devices -- a skill that they admitted was more difficult than they initially thought, but one that could prove life-saving in the right circumstances.

"It was pretty hard," said Pvt. Chris Smith, 20, of Valley Mines, Mo. "I really wasn't used to treading water that long. Your natural urge is to panic, but I tried to keep my focus. I can swim, but I can't swim for that long, so making a flotation device out of what I'm wearing could really come in handy."

Some of the trainees descended upon the pool at HealthPoint Plaza in Cape Girardeau on July 25, where they were instructed how to transform their Army pants into a flotation device by knotting the trouser legs at the bottom. Others from Company E learned the technique at Wappapello Training Site.

The first thing they had to do was learn how to remove their pants, which is not as easy as it sounds, considering that they had to do so while treading water at depths over their head. They then had to grasp the waistband of their trousers and swing them in the air to trap air in each leg.

Then they had to press the sides of the waistband together and pull the pants under the water so that the air could not escape. If it was done correctly, they were left with water wings that would keep them afloat.

Sgt. 1st Class Steve Rhodes is a recruiter who also serves as platoon sergeant of the Recruit Sustainment Program's Company E, which is based in Cape Girardeau. The program is made up of new recruits who have yet to go to basic combat training to get them better prepared for military life.

The flotation training teaches the new recruits a skill, but also helped the Soldiers work together as a team, he said.

"It gets them out of the armory, but it's also good for them to learn team-building exercises," Rhodes said. "But this could prove invaluable at some point: If they're deployed and end up on one side of a creek, at least they'll have a flotation device in case they need it to get to the other side. You really never know when a skill like this could be useful."

The exercise also helped the trainees become better familiar with their new uniforms, he said.

"They come to realize that the uniform has more purposes than just for wearing," he said.

Pfc. Ron Roper said he saw the training as a "good exercise" that taught him a neat technique.

"I really felt like I learned something new," said Roper, a 25-year-old trainee from Farmington, Mo. "You don't really think about it, but this could keep me alive if I was ever in a water situation like this. You never know."

The Recruit Sustainment Program aims to help new Citizen Soldiers build a strong foundation of training. The new recruits meet once a month in a weekend drill atmosphere, just as they will after they attend basic training.

The program is also intended to reduce training losses by introducing newly enlisted trainees to the military environment and to ease them into military life before they attend basic and advanced military training. The program also gives the recruits an idea of what the rigors of military training are like.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.