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Tre Martin BRC Dunker Training (Early 2023)

Tre Martin’s early-2023 BRC dunker training was a helicopter underwater egress evolution completed during his Basic Reconnaissance Course at Camp Pendleton. Tre briefly became wedged in the trainer’s exit but used a controlled exhale and body-position adjustment to free himself. Staff Sergeant Martinez described the performance as textbook execution under pressure and the fastest egress in Tre’s iteration. The performance occurred amid severe sleep deprivation and was followed by approximately seventeen hours of unusually deep, unresponsive sleep after Tre returned to Baltimore.

Background

Tre was twenty-one and pursuing qualification as a Reconnaissance Marine. A 2021 overseas combat assignment and subsequent service had left him with combat trauma and moral injury. During one building collapse, he had remained pinned beneath a beam for approximately six minutes. He had learned that uncontrolled struggling could make physical confinement more dangerous.

The underwater egress trainer simulated escape from an aircraft cabin after a crash over water. Participants were restrained in a cabin that entered the pool, rotated upside down, and filled with water. Tre’s six-foot-five, approximately 270-pound body made the confined seating and exit more difficult to negotiate than they were for smaller Marines.

Training Sequence

Briefing and Restraint

The briefing room smelled strongly of chlorine and sweat. Staff Sergeant Martinez instructed the class to brace for impact, orient themselves after inversion, release their restraints, and find and execute an exit. Tre sat in the back row and watched the other Marines’ nervous responses.

Tre was assigned to seat two between Rodriguez and Patterson. The harness held his torso and lower body against the seat while leaving his hands free for the release sequence. The pressure of the restraints and body armor recalled earlier building clearances, but Tre kept his attention on the steps Martinez had given the class.

Inversion and Escape

The trainer’s impact with the water drove air from Tre’s lungs. It rotated more quickly than the briefing videos had suggested, leaving him inverted while water entered the cabin. He released his chest, waist, and foot restraints in sequence, then checked that his gear was clear before moving toward the exit.

Tre became wedged in the opening with his chest compressed. Instead of forcing himself forward, he relaxed his shoulders and exhaled enough air to reduce the width of his chest. The adjustment allowed him to clear the opening and reach the surface while close to the limit of his breath.

After the evolution, Staff Sergeant Martinez told him:

“Outstanding work, Martin. Textbook execution under pressure. Fastest egress time in your iteration.”

Tre accepted the evaluation without outward celebration. The controlled performance did not remove the fear he had experienced while trapped underwater.

Sleep Deprivation and Return Travel

Insomnia During BRC

After the eighteen-hour training day, Tre remained awake in his bunk replaying the harness pressure, the inversion, the sound of water entering the trainer, and the moment he became wedged. At 2147, he calculated that only five and a half hours remained before reveille if he fell asleep immediately.

During later administrative marches, his trained body maintained the required pace while his attention became distant. He had checked his watch for the fourth time at 0347 and estimated that he had slept approximately three hours. This automatic functioning concealed the extent of his exhaustion from instructors and classmates.

Travel to Baltimore

After training ended, Miguel Rodriguez drove Tre to San Diego International Airport. Tre answered questions about Baltimore and thanked the driver for asking about his service. Approximately ten minutes into the ride, he entered a deep sleep with his head tilted back and his breathing slow. Braking, an ambulance siren, construction noise, and jackhammers did not wake him. Rodriguez had to call him several times at the airport before Tre opened his eyes, initially confused and then immediately alert through training.

In the terminal, civilians and veterans thanked Tre for his service. TSA Agent Stevens commented on his exhaustion and asked when he had last slept; Tre answered that he would sleep on the plane. A woman whose brother served in the Navy bought his coffee, and Tre asked her to thank her brother for his service.

Seventeen-Hour Sleep in Baltimore

Tre arrived home on a Friday evening. Angie, Isaiah, and twelve-year-old Tiffany joined him on the couch for a movie. Within approximately twenty minutes, he entered profound unresponsive sleep. He did not react to his name or to a car backfiring outside.

Tiffany noticed the change first:

“Mama, something’s wrong with Tre.”

She asked whether the family should call someone because the sleep resembled a medical emergency. Angie checked Tre’s pulse, breathing, and chest movement and continued monitoring his vital signs.

“His vitals are fine. He’s just… exhausted. Like, really exhausted.”

The family lowered the television volume and maintained a quiet vigil. When Angie, Isaiah, and Tiffany went to bed around eleven, they left Tre on the couch with a blanket around his shoulders and continued checking on him.

Tre woke at approximately 2 PM Saturday after about seventeen hours. He was disoriented about the time and day, at first asking if it was 2 AM. Tiffany had gone to Keisha’s house for the afternoon after asking Angie to let her know as soon as Tre woke. When Tre texted her that he was awake, she replied:

“FINALLY! I thought you were dead! Are you really ok?”

Angie asked:

“When’s the last time you actually slept? And I mean really slept, not that military cat-nap stuff.”

Tre answered that it might have been before training began. Angie pointed out that the course had begun three weeks earlier.

Consequences

Tre completed the dunker evolution and the broader Basic Reconnaissance Course, becoming a Reconnaissance-qualified Marine. Instructors saw controlled execution and physical competence. His family saw the depletion hidden by that performance.

The underwater sequence remained a trauma cue. During a later Survivors gathering at Riverside Courts, the word “underwater” caused Tre’s expression to go blank before he tried to move past the response; Kevin Williams noticed the change. After the December 2026 Camp Pendleton blast injured Tre’s lungs, respiratory distress also recalled being trapped underwater and unable to breathe.

The event established a recurring pattern in Tre’s life: he could continue functioning through profound exhaustion and compartmentalized distress, then enter unusually deep sleep or dissociative states when he reached safety. The seventeen-hour episode gave his family a clear view of that pattern and led Angie to challenge how long he had gone without sustained rest.

Participants and Roles

  • Tre Martin: BRC candidate who completed the underwater egress evolution and later experienced the prolonged recovery sleep.
  • Staff Sergeant Martinez: Instructor who briefed the class and evaluated Tre’s performance.
  • Rodriguez and Patterson: Marines seated beside Tre during the trainer evolution.
  • Miguel Rodriguez: Driver who witnessed Tre’s profound sleep during the airport trip.
  • Angela “Angie” Martin: Tre’s mother and a nurse; monitored his vital signs and confronted his sleep deprivation.
  • Isaiah Martin: Tre’s father; remained with the family during the vigil.
  • Tiffany Martin: Tre’s younger sister; first recognized that his unresponsiveness was abnormal.
Events Military Events Tre Martin The Survivors