American actor, director, and musician Gary Sinise received underwater egress training at Aviation Survival Training Center (ASTC) during a visit to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Feb. 9.

Sinise participated in the training in preparation for his flight in an F/A-18 fighter jet scheduled for later in his extended visit to the area. To ensure safety before the flight, water survival training was required to ensure Sinise understood the proper escape procedures should an aircraft mishap occur.

"While Gary Sinise is here at ASTC Miramar, we are going to train him on various aspects of water survival," said Chief Navy Diver Joey Jenkins. "So, what he is going to do is get into the pool to learn and actually demonstrate some of those basic water survival skills that will prepare him for flying in a military jet."

Sinise arrived at ASTC, met with local Sailors, and received classroom briefs designed to familiarize him with survival equipment used in actual aircraft ejection scenarios over both land and sea. Sinise quickly realized the high volume of information being taught, but stayed dialed in and excitedly asked questions to ensure he fully understood the briefs. The team then escorted Sinise over to the base pool to put into practice the concepts learned.

Sailors outfitted Sinise with full F/A-18 flight gear before leading him into the water. The actor swam 25 yards and orally inflated a life preserver unit while treading water to complete the hands-on element of his training.

"I've tried to do a lot of different types of things with all the branches," said Sinise. "They have asked me about this one for a while."

Sinise returned to the ASTC classroom, where after chatting and taking photos with Sailors at the pool, he attended briefs on aviation physiology, ejection seats, and parachuting.

ASTC Sailors enjoyed one last opportunity to meet and take photos with Sinise before his departure to tour other areas on the base.

"I get invited to do a lot of really neat things," said Sinise. "I'm an advocate for the military, and the more I know about what the military does and how they do it, the better advocate I can be."

ASTC Miramar is one of the U.S. Navy's eight ASTCs responsible for training all naval aviators and flight crew. The ASTCs and are managed and operated by the Navy Medicine Operational Training Center (NMOTC), which reports to Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command (NMETLC). NMOTC and NMETLC are global leaders developing and executing medical and medical operational training.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more information on ASTC Miramar, or parent commands NSTI and NMOTC, visit http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc or www.navy.mil/local/NMOTC/.