Beads of sweat form on his brow - not so much from stress, but from the heat. The wet suit that the swimmer is wearing is designed to keep his body warm in the coldest water. But in the hot, noisy aircraft it is more than a bit uncomfortable.

But then, this swimmer has been uncomfortable before. After all, he is a Navy SEAL - nobody ever promised him air conditioning. So sitting inside an Air Force C-130 on the simmering tarmac, while definitely not the best way to spend a hot summer afternoon, is nothing he can't handle.

None too soon, the aircraft is rolling, and then airborne. The air seems to cool somewhat, but actual comfort is still out of the question.

However, comfort is not uppermost in the SEAL's mind right now; he has to concentrate on getting ready to jump out of the plane.

As far as teaching first-timers how to jump on a static line, SEAL instructors have it down to a fine art. It's an art not fully appreciated by some trainees. "I really believe their philosophy is to make you so uncomfortable you can't wait to jump," one SEAL said.

The noise and vibration inside the C-130 rattle the fillings of the jumpers' teeth as the SEALs sit crammed together. Their parachute packs force them to sit forward, on the edges of their webbed benches. As the back end of the plane gapes open for the pending jump, there is no way to control the temperature or pressure inside the aircraft; both drop quickly.

The movement of the luminescent hour hand on the diver's watch and the drone of the aircraft's four powerful engines are the jumpers' only guide to their progress toward the drop zone.

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