Tom Davis
WHEN I WAS assigned to
the 10th Special Forces Group in Ft. Devens, MA, I
commanded a combat dive team. Whenever a mission impossible came
down from on high, we got it. SO when the Special Forces School
wanted a team to test Viking dry suites under extreme conditions,
who you gonna call?! ODA 232!
The ambient temperature was in the high teens with a water
temperature in the low 30’s. We swam in the Atlantic and Groton’s
Thames River with the a Navy Landing Craft, Mechanized (LCM)
following us in support. This was the same type of ship that I’d
taken out to Hon Tre Island when I first arrived in Vietnam.
After a few swims, we discovered we had to wear ¼-inch neoprene
mittens rather than the five-finger gloves. When the water hit our
faces, it immediately froze. So for protection, we coated our faces
with gobs of Vaseline. This way the ice freezing on our faces didn’t
touch our skin. Of course, our eyebrows caked with ice. Although we
wore heavy woolen socks, the cold was so numbing that when we
completed a couple of hours swimming with fins, we weren’t able to
stand, much less walk, for several minutes. Swimming under these
severe conditions proved a challenge, to say the least.
On our last 6.5-mile swim down the Thames River, it snowed. We swam
in pairs, and, as usual, my team sergeant Ron Brockelman and I swam
together. When we finally got to the LCM with our legs numbed by the
cold, the Navy guys had to carry us to the rear of the ship. The
Navy Chief in charge said, "This really sucks! You guys are
just crazy!"
And with a big grin stretching across his face, Brockelman shot
back, "Chief, you ain’t going to believe this, but this is
the most fun I ever had with my clothes on." That Brockelman.
We terminated the testing by conducting a parachute jump into the
Atlantic. When I climbed aboard the recovery ship, Fort Devens’
post commander leaned over and shook my hand.
