CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa - Marines are known for their ability to improvise, adapt and overcome, enabling them to respond to nearly every possible scenario they may encounter.

However, one scenario Marines on Okinawa are required to train for, instead of relying on their legendary improvisational skills, is an aquatic helicopter crash.

“The Marine Corps began this training in August 2002,” said Glenn Bedard, an underwater egress instructor with G-3/5 training, operations and plans, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan. “In the underwater egress trainer we teach service members how to egress an aircraft and get to the surface.”

The training begins in a classroom setting where Marines learn to use physical reference points of an aircraft, procedures to apply if an aircraft goes under water and how to breathe compressed air, according to Michael Duenas, chief instructor at the Egress Training Facility on Camp Hansen.

“Breathing compressed air can be dangerous if the user doesn’t know the correct way to use it,” said Duenas. “Even people who are skilled scuba divers can forget an important rule; never hold your breath. If you hold your breath while breathing compressed air, it may cause air embolisms among other serious injuries to your lungs.”

After the instruction period, Marines then move to the pool for the practical application where they practice egressing in a variety of scenarios, according to Duenas.

The trainer consists of a modular amphibious egress trainer, known to Marines as the “Helo Dunker,” can be arranged to mimic the interior of different types of helicopters.

Once students are strapped into the trainer, they are rolled upside down so they are under water. This is when the students must egress by removing a window, unbuckling themselves from their seats and swimming out.

“The rolls get progressively harder,” said Duenas. “By the end, service members are wearing blackout masks, carrying a rifle and wearing flak jackets and helmets. They have to remove all their heavy equipment before they come to the surface. After they successfully complete five runs, they’re certified.”

According to studies performed by the Science and Technology Organization Collaboration Support Office, the successful egression rate is 91.5 percent for those who have completed this training compared to 66 percent for those without training.

“There have been submerged aircraft where some service members have this training and some do not,” said Bedard. “Those who had the training were the ones with the most success. This is important to know how to do. It’s going to save lives.”

The egress trainer on Okinawa is one of four training sites for the Marine Corps and it’s the only location outside the U.S. All service members on Okinawa who participate in Marine Corps led aerial operations and exercises must receive this egress training.

“The operations and exercises Marines do in the Asia-Pacific region involve a lot of flying to give support and aid,” said Bedard. “Now they have the training to survive if they need it.”