The Nation : Fear, Stress Cited in Navy Recruit Death

Heart failure most likely caused by fear-induced stress apparently killed a panic-stricken Navy recruit, a heart specialist testified. Earlier, a classmate testified that Airman Recruit William Mirecki, 19, of Appleton, Wis., was participating in a drill known as “sharks and daisies” when he was forced back into a swimming pool where he died. The investigative hearing will determine whether six sailors should face court-martial in the death in the pool March 2 at the Pensacola, Fla., Naval Air Station. The exercise described pits instructors, playing the role of panicky drowning victims, against trainees, who then are supposed to drag them underwater to break their hold and rescue them. Another classmate testified that Mirecki had shouted: “Leave me alone . . . I quit.”