Water safety Job 1 for Sill lifeguards

By Mr. James Brabenec (IMCOM)June 7, 2012

water safety
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Okla.-- Hot weather, common to Southwest Oklahoma is soon to arrive, and many Soldiers, families or Fort Sill employees will look to the water to beat the heat.

Fortunately, the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation employs a staff of skilled lifeguards at pools and Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area.

Jason Browning, Fort Sill aquatics manager, said 30 lifeguards are certified to American Red Cross standards. At least four lifeguards are on duty at any one time at post pools. LETRA functions with a minimum of five lifeguards on duty.

All lifeguards, to include several who returned from last year's staff, recently completed a 40-hour Red Cross revision course for duties and responsibilities. He added each facility staff trains throughout the season at least one to two hours once every two weeks.

"I've done lifeguard selections on post and many I've put through the training myself," said Browning. "I've seen what all of them are capable of doing and consider them the best in the area."

He said though the swim season is only a couple weeks along, lifeguards have already rescued five swimmers. This doesn't mean five swimmers were drowning as Browning said there's a progression from someone swimming to being in extreme peril.

A swimmer is someone who is moving generally horizontally across or atop the water. One who is in distress is in a diagonal position and may or may not be able to make forward movement. In contrast, a drowning person suspends vertically in water.

"Our goal is to to get to them when they are diagonal," said Browning who trains his staff to look for this indicator as the time to respond.

Because lifeguards don't know the ability of each swimmer, they look for and respond to swimmers who appear to be having a hard time. Browning said lifeguards will swim test people to assess their skills. Based on those displayed abilities, the lifeguard will tell people where they should be in the pool to remain safe.

"Parents make sure your child can swim, if not, we have life jackets available at all facilities that families can check out," said Browning.

Lifeguards can assist properly fitting each swimmer who needs a life jacket and will only allow them in the water if it's worn correctly.

Though life jackets may be crucial for water safety, Browning said it's always a good idea for parents to be in the water with their children, "especially if one is a weak swimmer."

He said parents should tell lifeguards on duty if their child is a novice swimmer.

To overcome any deficiencies or fears concerning swimming, Fort Sill offers year-round Red Cross swim classes at Rinehart Pool. Browning said classes go from 6-month-old infants with their parents gaining comfort with the water all the way up to adult courses.

Kristy Sheikh, LETRA program manager, oversees all activities at the on-post recreation area. She said, on average 50-100 people may be swimming at the LETRA beach at any given time, however, she's seen this number skyrocket to more than 300. Five active-duty Soldiers on special detail keep watch over this group of aquanauts. Like all lifeguards on post they are fully trained to current Red Cross standards.

TV and movies normally overly dramatize a person in distress in the water, and Sheikh said this isn't often the case in real life.

"Most people just sink below the surface silently," she said. "That's why we have to be extremely aware and constantly scan the water."

Sheikh said there is one accessory some families bring to the lake that will keep them out of the water.

"Small plastic water wings are not approved floatation devices, we still see people using those and have to tell them they cannot swim at Fort Sill wearing water wings," she said. "Children must wear a Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device.

Browning said whenever children first learn to walk and falls down, they attempt to push themselves up by pushing off the ground. Similarly, children can end up face down in the water with water wings preventing them from getting their heads above water. They will also try to push themselves up, but the water offers no resistance. He said a Coast Guard-approved device made of life jacket material is similar to the water wings children are used to and are available at outdoor facilities on post.

Swimmers, of course, only account for some of the people who enjoy LETRA. With a variety of watercraft available for rental, this puts another group on the water that Sheikh keeps track of with a patrol boat.

"We issue Coast Guard-approved personal floatation devices and make sure people wear them correctly," she said. "We tell them they are not allowed to take them off or unbuckle the floatation devices while they are on our boats."

A recent drowning near Tulsa, Okla., verified the need to wear PFDs correctly. To his credit, a 26-year-old male wore a floatation life vest while operating a personal watercraft. However, he wasn't wearing it correctly, fell off the watercraft and drowned after the vest came off.

"I take my patrol boat out and verify boaters using FMWR watercraft are doing the right things, such as wearing their life vests correctly," said Sheikh. "If we see people in distress, whether it's from the wind or whatever, we will perform water rescues with the patrol boat."

She said May 26 and 27 they performed 23 rescues. These rescues don't imply any were life threatening, rather strong winds blew some boaters across the lake to where they couldn't paddle back to the boat docks.

Browning said the recent spate of saves reminds Fort Sill lifeguards of the demand for water recreation here in the summer and the importance of their service to the community.

"It won't ever be quiet, but we will always be prepared."