Military policemen must keep cool even when under the water

Organised by the Training Centre Lešť in close cooperation with the SVK Military Police, two specialist courses for members of the SVK Military Police have been underway throughout July at Lake Gulashka, located at the Sunny Lakes Resort in Senec. Chief Diving Instructor SSgt Vladimír Penička, the course leader of the Training Centre Lešť, explained that the course is focused on the water rescue procedures and the behaviour of people who suddenly or unexpectedly fall into the water.

Maj Jozef Šoltýs, Chief of Section, Crisis Management, Training and K9 Branch, Military Police Department Vlkanová – Hronsek, made it clear that the course, designed for members of the Military Police Crisis Management Teams from Vlkanová, Prešov and Topoľčany, takes advantage of the skills the SVK Military Police Boarding Teams acquired while serving as part of the two rotations of Op Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea. If deployed on a similar operation, they must be prepared to execute assigned operational tasks.

Cpt Martin Urban, the course supervisor and Chief of the Crisis Management Group Topoľčany, said: “A soldier with the full field kit of over 20kg may fall into the water from a boat and the life jacket may malfunction for different reasons. That is why he must be able to remove everything he is carrying under the water. This means the bullet-proof vest, the weapons, the magazines, the helmet, etc. And the uniform which gets wet very quickly and pulls him down. If so, he can use a small oxygen bottle which is available to every soldier in the boat and which can sustain him below the water′s surface for up to 10 minutes or only 1-2 minutes when under stress or panicking. As a result, he must be able to remove all of the heaviest items within the time limit.”

MSgt Štefan Tršo, member of the Crisis Management Group Vlkanová, was deployed on Op Sophia as Deputy Leader of the SVK Boarding Team as part of its second rotation. He appreciates that the course at Lake Gulashka has helped him refresh his skills from the pre-deployment training in Germany. SSgt Miloš Halecký, member of the Crisis Management Group Prešov, has never been on operations in the Mediterranean Sea. “The course is an excellent aid for managing stress in crisis situations and testing your skills for handling such situations. Even such a banal thing as unbuttoning a button on the sleeve of your uniform jacket below the water′s surface may cost your life. If that lasts too long, you may run out of air in the oxygen bottle and there might be no one close to you to rescue you,” said SSgt Halecký.