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By far the funniest version of this is people who enlist in the US Navy and can't swim. They spend effectively all of boot camp going to the pool while instruct

By far the funniest version of this is people who enlist in the US Navy and can't swim. They spend effectively all of boot camp going to the pool while instructors shout at them to float, as if that is somehow going to teach them to tread water.

duxup 4y ago
I think a pretty large % of people can't swim.
- coldtea 4y ago
  A "pretty large" number of people does not work in the navy.
  - replygirl 4y ago
    Technically true. The Oromo are a large people, making up 35% of Ethiopia's 115 million citizens; Ethiopia does not have a navy. sorry this was funnier before your edit
- stevekemp 4y ago
  Traditionally many sailors couldn't swim, so it almost fits! In the UK most children are taught to swim, and in many European countries the same. I'm often surprised to learn that Americans swim less frequently, but I guess it's just another one of those culture and facilities differences.
  - ip26 4y ago
    America has a lot of land with no ocean or nearby significant body of water. Meanwhile, the UK is an island and the British Empire was built on naval power. Swimming is a cultural imperative.
    - okasaki 4y ago
      Presumably you have pools, lakes, and rivers though.
    - tokai 4y ago
      >British Empire was built on naval power. Swimming is a cultural imperative. You are answering this to a post that state that not being able to swim was a part of naval culture.
    - notfromhere 4y ago
      Pools exist. Feel like it’s more common for Europeans to go to a local pool to swim than it is for Americans
      - throwaway173738 4y ago
        I never learned to swim as a child because I almost drowned during a lesson. Most of the people in the swim class I took as an adult had similar experiences. I think that’s it’s less about access and more about fear of the water.
        DiggyJohnson 4y ago
        That seems like... a very good reason to learn how to swim, not a reason to quit. I'm making light of what sounds like a pretty serious situation, I guess, but that is my genuine reaction to your comment.
      - kevincox 4y ago
        I think it is very different. In Canada it is very common to go camping or be invited to someone's cottage and you may end up in a dock or boat. Places where you may not be planning on swimming but fall it by accident (or in the case of a boat due to an accident). For this reason children are generally taught to swim as a safety measure. Drowning incidents are fairly common in Canada so it is good to help reduce them. If most of your swimming is in pools (especially public pools) it is far safer (shallow end, more people around, limited depth, no trauma from a boating accident) so it is less necessary to learn from a safety point of view. Obviously many people will still learn for fun but it generally isn't pushed as much in school or other community services.
  - wil421 4y ago
    According to these results [1] North America and West/North Europe is the exact same for Men at 89%, I didn’t realize there was a gap between men and women. At 78% for US and 85% for West/North Europe. Living near water has nothing to do with it as most places have pools, rivers, lakes, or springs in close proximity. [1]https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/352679/majority-worldwide-cannot-swim-women.aspx https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/352679/majority-world...
- ghaff 4y ago
  Where I went undergrad they required either passing a swim test or taking a phys ed swim class to graduate. Presumably there were medical exemptions. (And I actually was exempted because I had a Scuba cert which itself required a swim test.) I don’t know how inflexible they were come graduation if push came to shove.
  - aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA 4y ago
    Harvey Mudd?
bramblerose 4y ago
Maybe somewhat counter-intuitively, swimming is a more relevant skill for the Army than for the Navy. Offshore, being able to swim doesn't help much: you're not going to end up in the water unless you're in some sort of accident, which means that either you're wearing a lifevest, or you're almost certainly going to drown (because you're unconscious or are not found in time). Whereas in the Army you might need to actively cross bodies of water, and therefore you need to be able to actually swim.
- rtkwe 4y ago
  No one is swimming with a combat load without special equipment so even the army has limited use for swimming. Navy mostly needs you to not drown while they rescue you if you're just a general seaman too.
- Der_Einzige 4y ago
  If the Marines actually lived up to their name (naval infantry), they'd be the ones who need to swim the most.
  - rtkwe 4y ago
    Even when they are doing their core differentiation of amphibious assaults they're not really swimming to shore. It's usually more of a survival need rather than being a military need.

duxup 4y ago

I think a pretty large % of people can't swim.

coldtea 4y ago
A "pretty large" number of people does not work in the navy.
- replygirl 4y ago
  Technically true. The Oromo are a large people, making up 35% of Ethiopia's 115 million citizens; Ethiopia does not have a navy. sorry this was funnier before your edit
stevekemp 4y ago
Traditionally many sailors couldn't swim, so it almost fits! In the UK most children are taught to swim, and in many European countries the same. I'm often surprised to learn that Americans swim less frequently, but I guess it's just another one of those culture and facilities differences.
- ip26 4y ago
  America has a lot of land with no ocean or nearby significant body of water. Meanwhile, the UK is an island and the British Empire was built on naval power. Swimming is a cultural imperative.
  - okasaki 4y ago
    Presumably you have pools, lakes, and rivers though.
  - tokai 4y ago
    >British Empire was built on naval power. Swimming is a cultural imperative. You are answering this to a post that state that not being able to swim was a part of naval culture.
  - notfromhere 4y ago
    Pools exist. Feel like it’s more common for Europeans to go to a local pool to swim than it is for Americans
    - throwaway173738 4y ago
      I never learned to swim as a child because I almost drowned during a lesson. Most of the people in the swim class I took as an adult had similar experiences. I think that’s it’s less about access and more about fear of the water.
      - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
        That seems like... a very good reason to learn how to swim, not a reason to quit. I'm making light of what sounds like a pretty serious situation, I guess, but that is my genuine reaction to your comment.
    - kevincox 4y ago
      I think it is very different. In Canada it is very common to go camping or be invited to someone's cottage and you may end up in a dock or boat. Places where you may not be planning on swimming but fall it by accident (or in the case of a boat due to an accident). For this reason children are generally taught to swim as a safety measure. Drowning incidents are fairly common in Canada so it is good to help reduce them. If most of your swimming is in pools (especially public pools) it is far safer (shallow end, more people around, limited depth, no trauma from a boating accident) so it is less necessary to learn from a safety point of view. Obviously many people will still learn for fun but it generally isn't pushed as much in school or other community services.
- wil421 4y ago
  According to these results [1] North America and West/North Europe is the exact same for Men at 89%, I didn’t realize there was a gap between men and women. At 78% for US and 85% for West/North Europe. Living near water has nothing to do with it as most places have pools, rivers, lakes, or springs in close proximity. [1]https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/352679/majority-worldwide-cannot-swim-women.aspx https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/352679/majority-world...
ghaff 4y ago
Where I went undergrad they required either passing a swim test or taking a phys ed swim class to graduate. Presumably there were medical exemptions. (And I actually was exempted because I had a Scuba cert which itself required a swim test.) I don’t know how inflexible they were come graduation if push came to shove.
- aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA 4y ago
  Harvey Mudd?

bramblerose 4y ago

Maybe somewhat counter-intuitively, swimming is a more relevant skill for the Army than for the Navy. Offshore, being able to swim doesn't help much: you're not going to end up in the water unless you're in some sort of accident, which means that either you're wearing a lifevest, or you're almost certainly going to drown (because you're unconscious or are not found in time). Whereas in the Army you might need to actively cross bodies of water, and therefore you need to be able to actually swim.

rtkwe 4y ago
No one is swimming with a combat load without special equipment so even the army has limited use for swimming. Navy mostly needs you to not drown while they rescue you if you're just a general seaman too.
Der_Einzige 4y ago
If the Marines actually lived up to their name (naval infantry), they'd be the ones who need to swim the most.
- rtkwe 4y ago
  Even when they are doing their core differentiation of amphibious assaults they're not really swimming to shore. It's usually more of a survival need rather than being a military need.