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The Naval Aircrew Candidate School (NACCS) at Naval Air
Station Pensacola (NAS Pensacola) lays a foundation for
follow-on training in Naval and Marine Corps aviation for
enlisted aircrew personnel.
Sailors and Marines who recently graduated basic training or
fleet returnees who are transitioning into the aircrew
community have to attend NACCS to learn basic aircrew
fundamentals before they receive specialized training.
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July 14, 2016 - Seaman Apprentice Chance Ware with other Sailors
and Marines currently enrolled in the Naval Aircrew Candidate School
(NACCS) at Naval Air Station Pensacola, prepares to escape the
Multi-Place Underwater Egress Trainer (Helo Dunker) at the Aviation
Survival Training Center. The Helo Dunker is used to simulate an
emergency aircraft egress allowing students to practice escaping a
submerged fuselage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni)
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Petty Officer 1st Class Chiara Harvey, NACCS Leading Petty
Officer and instructor, explains each of the approximate
three weeks students spend here to learn what it means to be
an aircrewman.
“The first week consists of physical training in the
morning, chow in the afternoon and then we take them to the
pool to learn all their survival events like tread and
float.” Harvey continued to explain that the student's main
focus for the first week was to take a “craw, walk, run”
approach to the one-mile swim, a pass or fail evolution that
can result in remediation.
“Students start out [swimming] with just their swimsuit and
work their way up to helmets, boots and gear, like they
would as if they were flying. Basically the first week is PT
and Swim.”
Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Bellafato explained his
first week at NACCS. “I wanted to do something different;
I've been in the Navy for almost 14 years. I decided I
wanted to fly, so I chose Aircrew to become a flight
engineer,” Bellafato explained. “It's a lot of PT, and we're
in the water a lot. Some of the techniques in the water I've
never done before, so I was concerned whether I was
coordinated enough to do them. I've gotten through it, from
treading water and inflating trousers to jumping off from
the high dive into the water to swim 15 yards underwater. So
far I've done well.”
After the first week of physical conditioning, aircrew
candidates will then learn survival skills essential to
aircrewmen and pilots alike. Students are taught egress
procedures among other techniques making an eventful week
resulting in an unusual nickname for this particular segment
of training.
“The second week is what we call “Disney Week,” said Harvey.
“Monday, we teach them CPR and first aid. Tuesday we take
them to the low-pressure chamber and teach them the effects
of flying on their body. Wednesday, they practice parachute
landing both in the water and on land.”
During the second week, Harvey added that Students must
learn to effectively escape out of the Multi-Place
Underwater Egress Trainer, affectionately called the Helo
Dunker.
“Thursday is the Helo Dunker; it's a simulated helicopter
crash and the corner stone of their training as aircrewmen,”
She further added that not only do the students have to
egress out of Helo Dunker underwater, but they have to
escape upside down, blindfolded.
“That Friday after the second week, students will do the
Multi-station Disorientation Device or what we call the
“Spin and Puke,” Harvey added. “It's a Simulator that shows
them how their body reacts to motion and to see if they are
going to get motion sickness.”
After Disney Week, Students finish the final segment of
their training at a slower pace, starting off the week with
Flare Fire.
“The third week is pretty simple for the most part, Monday,
they talk a little bit about the different tools in their
vest that they should carry ending with them practicing
flare fire,” Harvey added. “Tuesday is “Tom Cruise Tuesday”
where they get all their flight gear issued.” Harvey further
explained Wednesday is a team sports day to further
strengthen camaraderie followed by graduation the following
day.
Cmdr. Manuel A. Cortez, the Aviation Enlisted Aircrew
Training School department head, shared that his training as
aircrew has paid off multiple times during his career.
“In my enlisted years, I was a rescue swimmer, so the stuff
that we learned was put into practice. I've performed four
rescues, three at sea and one on land,” Cortez explained.
“All this stuff will just come up in your head the second
you need it.”
After 19 training days, Sailors and Marines are transformed
into aircrewmen. Their next step consists of technical
training for their individual job but all hold the common
experience - what it takes to become an aircrewman. Harvey
explained the moral concept Aircrew Candidates learn while
at NACCS.
“Our goal here at aircrew school is to instill the ‘crew'
concept. It's kind of an extension of boot camp; we take
away the individual [mindset] and make them a part of a
team.” Harvey further explains that even fleet returnees
have something to learn as well.
“99 percent of what we do here is conditioning. We try to
break them from their previous mindset and try to humble
them a little bit and show them they have a lot to learn.
Being an aircrewman, things are always dynamic and changing
like systems and aircrafts,” said Harvey. “Our hope for them
is that they can be a part of our team and be ever changing,
just like the Navy.”
Courtesy of Naval Station Norfolk
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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