Do you believe that soldiers that have never swum before could learn how to swim in four hours! The "buoyancy-adjustable swimming helper", invented by Jiang Sheng, a staff officer of the People's Armed Forces Department of Xihu District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, has changed more than 2,000 soldiers who couldn't swim before into master swimmers in a short period of time. And this invention has been granted the national invention patent and won a third class Military Scientific and Technological Progress Award.
At the front and rear ends of the swimming helper there is a buoyancy-adjustable gasbag respectively, which are connected respectively with the front and rear side of the bathing trunks, and the upper ends of the two gasbags are connected. Thus the pickup point of buoyancy is situated on the middle part of the human body, ensuring the free movement of swimmer's hands and legs while preventing him from sinking, which is the biggest impedient for green hands. So the swimming helper makes the learning of swimming easier.
In order to test the practical application results of the swimming helper, Jiang Sheng carried out trial trainings in many troops. Till now, a total of 2,140 soldiers, who had "great difficulties" in learning swimming, have learned how to swim rapidly after using the "buoyancy-adjustable swimming helper". The average training time of these soldiers is only 4 hours, and the success rate is as high as 100%.
By Sun Ming and Xu Zhengwu
(May 17, PLA Daily )
