Dive motivator: starting off on the right flipper …, Explosive Ordnance and Disposal , Diver, Search and Rescue swimmer and Special Warfare Combat-Craft Crewman - Navy Sea Air and Land SEAL - EOD - SAR - SWCC

All Hands, April, 2004 by James G. Pinsky

"It pays to be a winner," shouts Boatswain's Mate 1st Class (SEAL) David Cassidy, a dive motivator assigned to Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes, Ill. "It pays to be a winner."

Like a starting pistol, his words catapulted Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL), Explosive Ordnance and Disposal (EOD), Diver, Search and Rescue swimmer (SAR) and Special Warfare Combat-Craft Crewman (SWCC) candidates into the secondary combat training pool for another lap. It was their tenth lap after what seemed like a million push-ups, flutter kicks and pull-ups, but not one candidate complained or even flinched as the workout grew more intense. The truth is, they actually liked the grueling exercise, and they should--after all, they volunteered for the workouts.

Workouts are part of an informal mentorship program called Dive Motivator which are run by SEAL, SWCC, Diver, SAR and EOD instructors assigned to RTC. Local "A" school graduates, Sailors awaiting class assignment and any Sailor around RTC who passes one of the special program screening tests are welcome to join the voluntary workouts.

Officially, the instructors are billeted to RTC to educate recruits during boot camp and administer special program screening tests to candidates. At the same time, the dive motivator instructors saw a need for a more structured physical fitness training following boot camp to help ensure Sailors showed up at schools like Basic Underwater Demolition/SCUBA (BUD/S) or Navy Air Crewman School in the best shape possible.

"If I had been left on my own after "A" school, there's no way I would have been ready for BUDS," said SEAL candidate, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Taylor King. "I would have been going to the weight room and getting bulky and heavy--the complete opposite of what I need to do to succeed as a SEAL candidate."

The instructors constantly mentor their candidates in every aspect of their lives because they know being physically fit is not enough to make it through the Navy's special programs. According to Dive Motivator Instructor, Chief Journalist (SEAL) Zechariah Carmack, it takes a fit mind, a will to win and the heart of a champion. Bringing the champion out of each and every one of the candidates' is why they mentor.

The instructors demand their candidates act like champions in every aspect of their lives. And the mentoring works--it shows in their uniforms, their demeanor, how they talk to the instructors and to each other. Because of the leadership the dive motivators introduce the candidates to, candidates change their diets, study harder and develop the will to swim just one more lap when their body says no more pain today.

After a workout, the candidates, every one of them ripped with toned muscle structure and lungs like a dolphin, thanked Cassidy for letting them workout. As they left the pool, Cassidy reminded them that the next workout would be at 3 p.m.

"Every time we have an intense training session, and I finish it, I look back upon it and say to myself that it wasn't that bad," said King. "What's amazing is every once in a while I look at just how far I've come both mentally and physically, and i'm motivated even more because I know that what the instructors demand from us works--we get stronger, we get faster, we become more cunning. And that's what Dive Motivator is all about. It prepares us for the special programs so we make it through."

Cassidy's words echo throughout the day with the candidates. Much more than just a slogan, the idea that being the very best you can be is drilled into their beads as if their lives depend on it--because it does.

"All of our jobs are inherently dangerous," said Carmack. "We have to demand from each candidate an attitude of always doing their best. In our line of work, a lapse in concentration or a moment of indecision can mean the difference between a mission's success or failure, a Sailor living or dying."

"We know that we have to bring our "A" game every day," said Dive Motivator Instructor, Chief Aviation Ordnanceman (EOD/SW) Brian Farris. "Most people in our community may look the other way when this billet is offered to them because they'd rather keep diving, jumping and working within their communities. But they should look at this assignment as the most important contribution they can make to their communities because we're these candidates first impression of the special programs.

"Like the CNO says, we're their first 72 hours, and how well we represent our communities goes a long way in determining the success or failure of each candidate," said Farris. "This job should be viewed as the most important billet to the future of each of our communities. I know I consider it an honor to be here, an honor for fresh candidates to meet me as the first representative of the EOD community. What an awesome responsibility."

Sometimes the Sailors who show up at the pool aren't rookie Sailors fresh out of boot camp or "A" school. Sometimes, Sailors midway through their career are attracted to the zest of being in a special program and petition an instructor for help. Without the slightest hesitation, regardless of the hour in the day, they get the instructor's very best effort.