Aquaphobia was the fear of water or, more specifically, the fear of drowning. Malcolm Reed suffered from this phobia. As such, he opted to enter Starfleet rather than the Royal Navy. A great uncle of Reed's also had the same condition, but he faced his fears, joined the Navy, and signed up for submarine service. (ENT: "Minefield") The origin of Reed's aquaphobia is revealed in the novel Last Full Measure to be a traumatic near-drowning experience he had when he was a teenager in a confrontation with a bully.