Physical Ability and Stamina Test: 01

"The more you sweat in peace... the less you bleed in war,"

-General George S. Patton

Approximately a week after my visit to MEPS I was scheduled to take my first official PAST test. I was notified that we would be leaving my recruiter's office at 0745 so I should arrive promptly.

The drive wasn’t too bad maybe 45 minutes tops before I found myself sitting outside the pool waiting for everyone else to show up. According to my recruiter the test wouldn’t begin until 1100, and here we were about two hours early. I zoned out for must of the time before the test and just sat around hydrating while I waited. I hydrated, dehydrated, and hydrated some more.

Another PJ wannabe like myself, the training partner who I mentioned in a previous post came along as well. He however, just had surgery on his eyes to correct his vision and unfortunately the doctor forbid him to swim for a month. My friend, “Jack,” would still do his best to pass the run and calisthenics portions of the test though.

Eventually more wannabes and their recruiters showed up and like most competitors do before an event everyone began sizing up one another. There were two individuals who I remember specifically, one was built like a basketball player, he must’ve been 6’5” and lean as hell. I assumed he would be fast in the water with those arms. The second was shorter than myself, probably 5’8”, but jacked! The guy was all muscle, which won’t help you in a swim but he looked fit as hell, and I knew he would be fast.

I told myself that these two were the men to beat. I was going to take them out. My recruiter had mentioned to me previously that there was a few individuals taking their final PAST test that day. So I assumed that if they failed and I passed that there could be a chance that I could take their slot. He told me the two I previously described were going for PJ.

Finally, 1100 rolled around and right that minute our test administrator walked in. He was tall and built like a brick house, and a PJ to boot. My training buddy “Jack,” tried picking his brain a little for advice during the lulls between events and was told that “You either have it, or you don’t.” After that the PJ was pretty much stone-faced and said little. With little delay all the wannabes changed into their swim gear and formed up on the pool deck. We were briefed on the order of the test and that which was required of us and then it started.

First up, were two 25-yard underwater swims. You start at one end of the pool and when given the command to go, you inhale as much air as you can and swim to the other end of the pool without surfacing, or breaking the surface at all. If you do in fact break the surface at all the whole test is considered a failure. I remember looking around at the other candidates while I was swimming underwater. There form was off. I guess not all of them were given the chance or privilege to train with a PJ. Upon reaching the other end of the pool you are required to surface and freestyle back. After completing this you take a 3-minute break and do it a second time. This didn’t faze me as I had been practicing by training 50-yard under waters.

We were then given a 10-minute break before the 500-meter swim was to begin. The swim portion was my nemesis. Growing up in Florida you would think I would be a capable swimmer, but I wasn’t. I hadn’t seriously started swimming until I decided becoming a PJ was what I wanted to do. The worst part was probably the waiting. That pool was cold. My teeth started clicking, my body convulsing and shaking on its own, goose pimples breaking out all over my body. It was cold. On the command of go we pushed off the wall and started swimming, 22 lengths later and it was over. My time: 9:40. Not great, but passing. Like I said I wasn’t a swimmer. However, somehow I was first out of the twelve of us swimming. Hooyah!

Everyone hit the showers and changed during the 30-minute break before the 1.5 mile run portion of the test. I was one of the slowest getting changed and when I left the locker room I saw that everyone was still grouped up inside standing around with their thumbs up their butts trying to talk to the PJ or just bullshitting. I walked up to my recruiter and told him I was headed outside to warm-up on the track. I’m not wasting my break.

Once I left it seemed that everyone realized they ought to do the same. Everyone was stretching out, jumping around but still making light of the situation. I remember one kid specifically the tall giant I described earlier starting bullshitting about the run.

“Hey we should all get a big group run going with a nice pace with one another,” he said. “We could draft off one another and all finish strong.”

I laughed. “No,” I said, with an intense look on my face. “My goal is to pass all of you, and then lap as many of you as I can.” I can’t believe I said that! The words were out of my mouth before I even thought about it. Immediately all talk and bullshitting stopped but no one replied or said anything to me after that. “I just made myself a target,” I thought.

 Sure enough probably about 29 minutes into our break the PJ comes out and announces that we have about a minute before we start. We were lining up on the corner of the track right before the turn. I found myself on the fourth lane, thinking, “Oh crap, I’m going to get cut off by one of the seven guys on the inside of me right off the bat. I need to sprint right away and get in front so no one trips me up or slows me down immediately.” Sure enough the count down began and I began pep talking myself.

“10…”

“Okay Kyle here we go, get ready…”

“9…8…7…”

“You got this, you talked the talk, now walk the walk…”

“6…5…”

“I got to sprint… I got to sprint…”

“4…3…”

“Stride it out…”

“2…”

“...”

“1…GO!”

Now to quote one of my favorite movies, “From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was RUNNING!” Got to love Forrest Gump. And boy did I run. I walked the walk. I sprinted out the gate and cut everyone off going into the turn. I got in front and stayed there. I lapped four individuals during that run. I don’t know how, it was only a mile and a half so they must’ve really been running slow. My time: 8:56. Not bad. My goal was an 8:30… maybe next time.

I couldn’t believe it though, I crushed the swim, destroyed the run with no one even close to being on my heels. I felt good. But it was time for calisthenics. I made it a point to go last. Out of 12 people, I made sure to be the last person to go. I figured it would just be extra time to regain my energy. Pull-ups were first, I did 11. Then sit-ups, 54. Then Push-ups, 59. Not what I wanted, but it’s passing. My calisthenics are not my strong suit. I didn’t know it then but they would wind up becoming the weakest link in my final PAST test months later, not the swim.

After the test it was time to head back home after a nice lunch with the other wannabes and recruiters. I ordered a beer to celebrate. I had recently turned 21 but never put it to any use as I had been training so intensely for Pararescue.

Everything in moderation I suppose. But I prefer the saying, work hard… play hard. I celebrated a little more that night.