Specialists with the 188th Operations Group’s Life Support Element administer water survival training to pilots with the 184th Fighter Squadron of the 188th Fighter Wing at Creekmore Park in Fort Smith, Ark., March 4, 2012. The training is required for aviators prior to deploying. The objective of the training is to prepare pilots for the potential of ejecting from their A-10C Thunderbolt II “Warthogs” while flying over water. The 188th Fighter Wing will deploy to Afghanistan this summer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It will be the unit’s second combat deployment in the A-10.