Cold Weather Operations Course (CWOC) at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, prepares Army personnel for extreme cold operations and one of the things you have to learn is how to survive in very cold water. Back in 1986, I was Temporary Duty in Adak, Alaska, an island in the Aleutians archipelago and we were warned that if we fell into the water, you have two minutes to get out or you will die. Needless to say, none of that polar bear swim for me.