NEWS | Wednesday, 18 February 2009

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Ability to swim not a prerequisite for Special Duties force

Matthew Vella
It is among the toughest of military training, but swimming is not a prerequisite for selection into the Armed Forces’ C ‘Special Duties’ Company.
The death of Private Matthew Psaila, believed to have been submerged for 10 minutes after disappearing into Chadwick Lakes during a military exercise, has sparked questions on how the young soldier, who was undergoing intense training, did not know how to swim.
Relatives of the 19-year-old soldier have stated Psaila could not swim, while it is still an open question whether AFM commanding officers were aware he was unable to swim.
But army sources have confirmed that swimming is not a prerequisite for joining the C ‘Special Duties’ Company, the AFM’s rapid reaction elite force that is deployed for high-risk operations such as anti-terrorism missions.
Deemed to prepare soldiers for some very dangerous missions, the C-Company’s selection process appears however not to test any applicants over their suitability for the water.
“As a highly trained infantry company, the soldiers are turned into a physically top-notch unit. It is likely that anyone incapable of swimming would have been eliminated throughout the training programme,” an army source said.
“It is a natural process that those who are unable to take the drill and the physical and psychological pressure, fail to meet the standards and are eventually dropped,” the same source said.
Questions have now been raised as to whether a more thorough pre-selection process could determine suitable candidates to undergo the rigorous military training.
The basic requirements to join the AFM as a gunner include physical fitness, being over 18 years of age, a Maltese citizen, a clean police conduct, have a minimum height of 1.57m for males and 1.52m for females, and a secondary level of education.
Psaila’s family remains in the dark as to whether his commanding officer was aware he could not swim, or whether he was last in line as the soldiers trudged through Chadwick Lakes against the current on a cold winter’s day.
The AFM has declined any official comment since Psaila’s death is now the subject of a magisterial inquiry and an internal inquiry.
Psaila was undergoing a course leading to the qualification of an infantryman. Last Friday, a nine-soldier unit in combat gear, carrying a 20kg backpack and their rifle were on an exercise at Chadwick Lakes.
The soldiers were wading through the water in the lake, that can reach a depth of nearly two metres.
It is believed Psaila spent ten minutes underwater before his fellow soldiers pulled him out of the water. His family believes Psaila could have panicked as the unit approached a tight tunnel.

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