emcbride81
Contributor
Anyone here know if the fitness test for Navy Diver's is done before or after boot camp? I am looking into it, but I would need to train for the swimming phase.
Navy diver fitness test
- Thread starter emcbride81
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
NudeDiver
Contributor
I dunno about Navy - but when I was at Air Force basic, they had the "Pararescue" (PJ) tryout day, I think it was around week 4 or so. There was one guy in my flight who joined up strictly to be a PJ. It was all he talked about. It was all he wanted to do. I don't remember what all he had to do - run, swim, situps, pushups, etc. All I remember is that for one of the tests (I think MAYBE it was swim), he just barely missed whatever the standard was by a very small margin. Didn't make it into PJs. When the list of random assignments came out, he ended up being assigned as a groundskeeper. Long way to spend a 4 year enlistment.
We had another guy who wanted to be a F-15 mechanic - he ended up being a groundskeeper too. Unlike the PJ-wannabe though, this guy was a complete moron and frankly, I think keeping the grass cut may have been more than he could handle. Even so - rough way to spend his 4 year enlistment.
Hint: the smart ones get their job assigned and guaranteed (as much as you can trust the government anyway) BEFORE they enlist. Doubt you can do that with the specialties like PJ, Navy Diver, etc. though. If you really want to go in, you might want to get a good job guaranteed, and then try out for the divers. That way, if you don't make it, you're not completely boned.
Good luck!
AKDiver
We had another guy who wanted to be a F-15 mechanic - he ended up being a groundskeeper too. Unlike the PJ-wannabe though, this guy was a complete moron and frankly, I think keeping the grass cut may have been more than he could handle. Even so - rough way to spend his 4 year enlistment.
Hint: the smart ones get their job assigned and guaranteed (as much as you can trust the government anyway) BEFORE they enlist. Doubt you can do that with the specialties like PJ, Navy Diver, etc. though. If you really want to go in, you might want to get a good job guaranteed, and then try out for the divers. That way, if you don't make it, you're not completely boned.
Good luck!
AKDiver
Work on the mental strength as well as the PT. A strong bod and weak mind make for a trip to another assignment. A strong well prepared mind and a slightly better than average bod will get you through. 
Seeing how you are a diver already the best advice I can give you is to keep your mouth shut about being a diver. That will just give them more ammo to wash you out on. They want you to learn "The Navy Way" which is like oil and water with rec diving.
Gary D.
Seeing how you are a diver already the best advice I can give you is to keep your mouth shut about being a diver. That will just give them more ammo to wash you out on. They want you to learn "The Navy Way" which is like oil and water with rec diving.
Gary D.
NudeDiver
Contributor
I'll second that. The moment you mention you're a rec diver, they will paint you as someone who thinks they know it all and ride your ass the rest of the time you're there. "Special treatment" in the military is rarely a good thing.
If you do make it to the divers, act like you've never, ever, ever seen any diving equipment in your life.
irishsquid
Contributor
When I was in the Navy, your guarantee was for the school and upon successful completion of the school, you are placed according to the needs of the Navy (usually in your rate).
Good advice. It's easy for the Navy to develop your body; mental discipline/toughness is much harder to develop. Basically, you have it or you don't. Good Luck!Work on the mental strength as well as the PT. A strong bod and weak mind make for a trip to another assignment. A strong well prepared mind and a slightly better than average bod will get you through.
Seeing how you are a diver already the best advice I can give you is to keep your mouth shut about being a diver. That will just give them more ammo to wash you out on. They want you to learn "The Navy Way" which is like oil and water with rec diving.
Gary D.
Noboundaries
Guest
Below are a couple of links you might find interesting. You may know all that information if you're talking to a Navy recruiter. My last shore assignment in the Navy I was in charge of the Navy Officer Recruiting programs in Los Angeles from 1984 to 1988, but that was a LONG time ago. The enlisted programs were in the same building.
If we suspected a guy might not pass the physical requirements for a program they wanted, we'd put them on a fitness program. But trust me, it was nothing like the actual physical test. It was just enough to get them to pass their OCS or Boot Camp minimums. Things may have changed in the last couple of decades, but once you take that oath, you are a counter and that's what matters to the recruiting command. I guarantee you that hasn't changed one bit.
Bottom line, if you want to be a Navy diver, don't just meet the minimums, blow them away. Get your ass in the best physical shape of your life before you go. And do whatever you need to do to have the unfaltering confidence to excel in your weakest area. Based upon what you posted above, that sounds like the swim.
I wasn't in the Navy dive program, but I was a Navy pilot. Ours was a very similar minimum physical test, only the run was in the sand and the swim was in a flight suit. Plus there was an obstacle course and other stuff. You'll have something similar. There will be surprises.
Here are two tricks for the pushups and situps. Pushups: someone will put a fist under your chest. You have to touch the fist on each pushup and your arms have to be straight when in the "up" position. Trick: expend NO energy on the drop. Just let your chest and arms go limp, drop with gravity, and start your rebound flex as soon as you hit the fist. Then push up hard, arms straight, then go limp again and do it all over. If you have any chest strength at all you should be able to double the minimum required.
Situps: very similar type of process. Expend NO energy on the drop other that the initial pushback from your knees. As soon as you pushback, go limp. Bounce off the deck and sit up. As soon as your elbows hit your knees, pushback, go limp, bounce off the deck and do it again. Should also be able to double the minimums.
The run, swim, and pullups are just a matter of conditioning, conditioning, conditioning. Don't waste your time lifting weights, doing rowing machines, playing basketball, etc. Do running, swimming, pushups, pullups, and situps. Don't just run a mile and a half, run five. Don't swim 500 yards, swim 5000. That way when you do the test, mentally it will be a piece of cake.
There will be points assigned to your performance. Meet the minimums and you get the minimum number of points. No one will be impressed and you'll give the instructors an insight into your psyche you don't want them to have. There is a maximum number of points too. If I remember right, it was double the minimum # of pushups and situps, 20 pullups, and 9 minutes on the 1.5 miles. I don't remember the swim minimums because our swim was different; a mile in an hour, no touching the sides. Plus there were underwater swims and other stuff. Surprises.
Now, what the hell are you doing reading this? Get your ass out there running, swimming, and doing the ups. We're all pulling for you. Do good.
And if you have any doubt about what I wrote here, print this out and show it to your recruiter. I was the OPO, he'll know what that means.
Navy Diving | Qualifications
NavyDiver.org
If we suspected a guy might not pass the physical requirements for a program they wanted, we'd put them on a fitness program. But trust me, it was nothing like the actual physical test. It was just enough to get them to pass their OCS or Boot Camp minimums. Things may have changed in the last couple of decades, but once you take that oath, you are a counter and that's what matters to the recruiting command. I guarantee you that hasn't changed one bit.
Bottom line, if you want to be a Navy diver, don't just meet the minimums, blow them away. Get your ass in the best physical shape of your life before you go. And do whatever you need to do to have the unfaltering confidence to excel in your weakest area. Based upon what you posted above, that sounds like the swim.
I wasn't in the Navy dive program, but I was a Navy pilot. Ours was a very similar minimum physical test, only the run was in the sand and the swim was in a flight suit. Plus there was an obstacle course and other stuff. You'll have something similar. There will be surprises.
Here are two tricks for the pushups and situps. Pushups: someone will put a fist under your chest. You have to touch the fist on each pushup and your arms have to be straight when in the "up" position. Trick: expend NO energy on the drop. Just let your chest and arms go limp, drop with gravity, and start your rebound flex as soon as you hit the fist. Then push up hard, arms straight, then go limp again and do it all over. If you have any chest strength at all you should be able to double the minimum required.
Situps: very similar type of process. Expend NO energy on the drop other that the initial pushback from your knees. As soon as you pushback, go limp. Bounce off the deck and sit up. As soon as your elbows hit your knees, pushback, go limp, bounce off the deck and do it again. Should also be able to double the minimums.
The run, swim, and pullups are just a matter of conditioning, conditioning, conditioning. Don't waste your time lifting weights, doing rowing machines, playing basketball, etc. Do running, swimming, pushups, pullups, and situps. Don't just run a mile and a half, run five. Don't swim 500 yards, swim 5000. That way when you do the test, mentally it will be a piece of cake.
There will be points assigned to your performance. Meet the minimums and you get the minimum number of points. No one will be impressed and you'll give the instructors an insight into your psyche you don't want them to have. There is a maximum number of points too. If I remember right, it was double the minimum # of pushups and situps, 20 pullups, and 9 minutes on the 1.5 miles. I don't remember the swim minimums because our swim was different; a mile in an hour, no touching the sides. Plus there were underwater swims and other stuff. Surprises.
Now, what the hell are you doing reading this? Get your ass out there running, swimming, and doing the ups. We're all pulling for you. Do good.
And if you have any doubt about what I wrote here, print this out and show it to your recruiter. I was the OPO, he'll know what that means.
Navy Diving | Qualifications
NavyDiver.org
Remember the goal of the school is to make you quit. The more ammo you give them the easier it is for THEM. Go in with a good attitude and in good shape with very weak jaw muscles and you will do just fine.
It's a good occupation that may very well reshape the direction your life will go.
Gary D.
It's a good occupation that may very well reshape the direction your life will go.
Gary D.
- Messages
- 3,225
- Reaction score
- 9,832
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
My oldest son signed up for delayed entry in November 2007 while he was a Senior in High School. During the recruiting process, and a subsequent visit to the Navy Diving School in Panama City, FL, we were informed that the Navy was changing their policies of largely placing mid career sailors into the diving school with new recruits straight out of boot camp. Their rationale was that they were receiving too few years of service for the amount of training that they were investing. He entered into this program with the requirement that he had to complete the dive school physical fitness tests each month at our local Naval Station under the supervision of a retired Navy diver as well as monthly drug tests. Though he had run track in HS and is a strong swimmer, I had doubts about his strength for the pull-ups and push-ups. Surprisingly (to me), he easily passed all of the tests for December, January and February. I had thought that he was well on his way but in March 2008 he decided that he preferred to go the commercial route instead of the military. He is now enrolled at Divers Academy International in New Jersey which is fine though I personally think that he would have been better off in the Navy. My understanding from this experience is that the Navy Dive Program is looking for younger recruits and since your age is listed as 31, I'd make sure that you will still be eligible for placement into the diving school after boot camp. I also agree with the other posters that you really need to far exceed the minimum requirements in order to receive serious considerations.
OP
emcbride81
Contributor
Yeah the age thing is a concern. They may not even let me test for it, the recruiter is looking into it.
ScubaJeff123
Guest
The training sounds pretty rigorous, but if you are young and want it bad enough, you can do it.
Similar threads
