Physically it will absolutely put you ahead of the game, and it exposes you to the techniques and standards that you will experience in the water. If you finish the program to a "T" then you will not have to worry about the physical portion just focus on the team and the mental portion at selection.

As long as you are able to swim 100m at a time then that is fine. All I ask is that you complete the distance or reps however long it takes you. It is part of building resilience. I know you can get to that point in less than a month if you are willing to spend the time in the pool.

The criteria for the PAST (Pushups, pullups, situps, and a run) is very similar to the other Special Warfare fields as far as cals go. You can look at that criteria here. My the Pass the PAST program has swimming included, which I would recommend to anyone anyway as an alternative cardio exercise in between run days in order to lessen the impact of running on your legs and prevent shin splints. The only thing the PAST program does not include is rucking which is huge in SERE. So if you can already pass the PAST and would like a bigger challenge you could go for the Get Selected program.

Absolutely, I always tell guys who have been to Indoc before that it is a chance to be the person you wanted to be at Indoc and try out different leadership tactics since the events are all about learning yourself and your team with real smoke sessions and real instructors but no negative impacts to your career.