Location: Key West, Florida
The most highly selective program available to cadets, the Combat Diver Qualification Course (CDQC) has less than fifteen cadet slots each year. This means that they only select the best of the best cadets. The training is physically and mentally exhausting, so preparation above and beyond the basic requirements of the school is mandatory. To get accepted into CDQC, one must complete a Pre-CDQC course at West Point, NY. Pre-CDQC training includes an APFT and pool events, including a 25 meter sub-surface swim, a 50 meter sub-surface swim, clump retrieval, two minute water tread, weight belt swim, underwater knot tying, ditching and dawning of equipment, treading water for five minutes with a weight belt and twin 80 air cylinders, and drown proofing.