Training Changes The Game

By Rick Arnold, SKYDRATE Trainer.

SKYDRATE Trainer, Rick Arnold, demonstrating how to install the Omni TSC which enables the SKYDRATE system to be compatible for use in a Immersion/Dry Suit.

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“Train like you fight” and “adapt and overcome” are long standing ethos for all US Military Warfighters. When it comes to SKYDRATE, Omni Defense Tech’s groundbreaking automated bladder relief system, training is as crucial as it is for any type of flight equipment. The last thing any aviator wants to do is try something new before testing it out on the ground first.

When I travel to perform SKYDRATE training, I routinely hear how valuable and important the initial training sessions are for both the aviators and for those who support them. Even though bladder relief is a common everyday event, peeing in one’s flight suit is not! The working conditions of an aviator include being in a confined space, wearing multiple layers of clothing, and having to multi-task under high pressure circumstances. These working conditions make a daily human function, like bladder relief, a whole new elevation of complicated. Omni Defense Tech has been hard at work for the last 25 years, ensuring the task of bladder relief is as routine in the air as it is on the ground.

Team SKYDRATE provides in-person and/or web-based training, in support of every SKYDRATE system purchased for all Aviators and their aircrew equipment technicians. Learning about the basic operating procedures and key points of use for the SKYDRATE System and training with it on the ground in a static environment ensures the best chance of success. I recently had a Naval Flight Surgeon remark to his initial pilot students, “Gents, peeing in your pants is not normal! You need to be 100% familiar with your SKYDRATE system, just like you are for everything else in your aircraft!”  I could not have said it any better myself! At Omni, we understand the importance of user training. Training is key for bladder relief in the skies to become second nature. When nature calls, SKYDRATE is the solution.

During one of my recent training trips to support USAF F-35 Aviators, it was apparent the wing leadership, aviators, and AFE technicians are taking human performance to the next level by emphasizing pilot hydration and in-flight safety.  It was so great to hear one of their senior F-35 Pilots say “Rick, this is a game changer!”  This is the most common statement from the aviators whom I am honored to train and work with in optimizing their use of the SKYDRATE system.

“Train like you fight, fight like you train.” Should be applied to inflight bladder relief as it will assuredly help aviators “adapt and overcome” one of their greatest human performance challenges.