In the Navy, I was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officer. One of the things we did as EOD technicians is called helicopter casting.

A U.S. Navy EOD technician jumps into the Arabian Gulf from an MH-60S helicopter

Helicopter casting is where 5-6 of us would jump out of a helicopter traveling at about 10 knots, 10 feet above the surface of the ocean. We’d jump into the water and do some work like planting a charge on a floating naval mine. Then, when we were finished, the helicopter would turn around and come pick us up.

My team and I were doing this for training in the summer of 2012. Let me tell you, helicopter casting is actually a lot of fun! We all jumped into the water and the helicopter flew off into the distance. Then, we spread ourselves out into a line, spaced out about 20 yards from each other. So there we were, six guys bobbing in the water in our wetsuits and swim fins, trying to maintain a straight line. The helicopter turned around and then swooped down to a height of about 10 feet above the water and lowered a caving ladder down into the ocean. As the helicopter slowly flew above the line of us floating in the water, we each grabbed the rope ladder as it passed by us, and we climbed back up into the helicopter.

This first pass went great- my team and I all got back up into the helicopter just fine. After I sat down in the back of the helo, however, I noticed one thing had gone wrong: my swim fins, which had been clipped to my belt loop so that I could climb up the ladder, were missing. They had been ripped off my belt loop as I dragged myself up off the ladder and over the edge of the helicopter cargo bay.

“Should I do this again?” I thought to myself- and quickly responded internally with, “yeah, I got this! No problem!”

So we began the second pass, and the six of us jumped back out of the helicopter into the water as it slowly hovered forward just a few feet above the waves.

As my teammates and I got ourselves into a spaced out line once again, I looked at the helicopter. It seemed to be circling out a lot wider on this pass. We continued to hold our positions, treading water as we watched the helicopter get smaller and smaller. I became aware of my legs getting tired- it was difficult to tread water with my wetsuit, boots, and pants that I was wearing. “I sure wish I had my swim fins on this pass,” I thought to myself regretfully.

Luckily, the helicopter soon returned and began to swoop down over us, releasing the ladder down to the first man in the line. And as the helicopter approached me, I began to be pelted in the face by tiny, needle-like drops of water kicked up by the helicopter’s rotor wash. It was tough to get a good breath- the water droplets seemed to be aimed directly at my eyes and mouth, making it difficult to breath without coughing. And as the helicopter got closer and closer, I began to be pushed beneath the surface of the waves- without my fins, I was having trouble keeping my head above water. My legs burning and my lungs gasping for breath, I struggled- alone in the water, trying to keep my eyes on the approaching ladder.

Finally, it was my turn. I tried to swim towards the ladder, but couldn’t seem to make any headway towards it.

As I struggled to stay afloat, coughing and swallowing water, I finally thought “I can’t do this” and turned away to swim towards the safety boat.

At that moment, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I quickly turned- and there was one of my teammates, treading water in front of me. Without a word, he grabbed my by the wetsuit and dragged me back towards the ladder. I was completely exhausted, and unable to help in any way- I worked to keep my head above water as he dragged me along. Finally, we reached the ladder, and although exhausted I was able to climb the ladder and collapse within the helo.

In that situation, I felt that I had two options:

1. Do it myself
   
2. Quit and fail

This was a false choice- and it’s false in almost any situation. It never occurred to me to ask someone for help! The truth is, there’s always someone who you can turn to for help. We’re never alone.

The next time you have a helicopter bearing down on you, don’t forget to pop your head up and ask for help from someone who can drag you to the ladder.