Australian MAR-CIRAS Death

[GreenTip556]

I've been hearing scuttlebutt about this around the base for a while and was wondering if there was any shred of truth to it.

Has anyone heard tell of an Australian Military/Police/Para-Military (story varies) drowning due to a gear malfunction relating to the MAR-CIRAS egress handle? Sorry if this is the wrong thread but it seemed that hose who would have an answer would frequent this one. If this is true my prayers go out to that warrior's family.

Very Respectfully,
Green Tip 556

[nofear]

Not aware of any of our Police Units using the CIRAS. Also not aware of any of our Police drowning in the last 12 months or so, and I keep my ears open for that kind of news.

Will leave the Military comments for other Aussie members here who would know more than I.

[nofear]

Did you get any other info on this?

[DurkaSixTwo]

I've been hearing scuttlebutt about this around the base for a while and was wondering if there was any shred of truth to it.

Has anyone heard tell of an Australian Military/Police/Para-Military (story varies) drowning due to a gear malfunction relating to the MAR-CIRAS egress handle? Sorry if this is the wrong thread but it seemed that hose who would have an answer would frequent this one. If this is true my prayers go out to that warrior's family.

Very Respectfully,
Green Tip 556

I'm not the definitive authority on the subject BUT I am aware of 5 drowning deaths of Australian Army personnel in the past few years and none of them were publically attributed to the Eagle Marine equipment that you speak of. In difference, one of the public Inquiries actually speaks to the contrary stating that the usage of Eagle Marine style body armour systems with a quick release function actually contributed to the preservation of life of the survivors from a particular Black Hawk crash into the ocean. I have cut and pasted the relevant section below, plus the entire public link for those interested.

http://defence.gov.au/coi/reports/bh221_boi_report.pdf

Body Armour Quick Release

14.53 - Further to the issue of the SASR LPV, and outside the scope of the AESSO-ALSE Report, the Board heard evidence and was given a demonstration of the current SASR Body Armour ensemble known as 'Eagle Marine'. The great advantage of this system that was graphically demonstrated to the Board, was its 'rip chord' quick release that allows the member to quickly shed the weighty body armour. Given the marginal buoyancy capability of the current LPV system, being able to shed weight rapidly and simply, thus increasing ones buoyancy is considered an essential safety feature. Accordingly, it is recommended that Army conduct a study with the view of issuing other operational units (other than SASR) that operationally fly over water with a system that allows the simple quick release of ballistic armour such as 'Eagle Marine' currently used by the SASR.

[Ian0369]

FWIW, I witnessed two USMC recon guys take a swim in full kit, to include plates. After jumping off the RHIB they submerged for a second, and then floated. They would have had plenty of time to ditch their gear if required.