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A United States Navy diver refers to a service personnel that may be a restricted fleet line (Engineering Duty) officer,
civil engineer corps The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsibl ...
(CEC) officer, Medical Corps officer, or an enlisted (ND or HM rating) who is qualified in underwater diving and salvage. Navy divers serve with fleet diving detachments and in research and development. Some of the mission areas of the Navy diver include:
marine salvage Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from s ...
, harbor clearance, underwater ship husbandry and repair, submarine rescue, saturation diving, experimental diving, underwater construction and welding, as well as serving as technical experts to the
Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...
,
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
, and
Navy EOD United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery (or dispo ...
diving commands. The U.S. Navy is the lead agency in military diving technology and training within the
U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
. The foundation of the Navy diving program consists of the Navy Diver (ND) rating for enlisted personnel who perform diving as their occupational specialty in the Navy.


History through World War II

The US Navy began employing divers in the middle of the 1800s; these were mostly were swimmers and skin divers using techniques that had not been altered for hundreds of years. Duties included the salvage and repair of ships, construction work and military operations, including the
Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...
during the American Civil War. Preparations for the battle included the sending of swimmers to clear mines from the path of Admiral Farragut's ships, that had been planted by
Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
forces to prevent entrance to the bay. avyCrow.com https://navycrow.com/navy-diver-traditions-of-honor-legacy-valor/ Navy Diver: A Tradition of Honor!, by Salty Dog Old School, Feb 7, 2020, Crows Nest website/ref> In 1898, Navy divers were briefly involved in an international crisis when the second-class armored battleship was sunk by a mysterious explosion while anchored in the harbor at
Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
. Navy divers were sent from
Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
to study and report on the wreck. Although a Court of Inquiry was convened, the reason for the sinking was not found. As American technology expanded in the early 1900s the US Navy developed an interest in submarine warfare. However, throughout the period of 1912–1939, the development of the Navy's F-class, H-class and S-class submarines was marred by a series of accidents, collisions, and sinkings. As a result of these submarine disasters a corresponding growth in the Navy's diving capability was developed. Until 1912, US Navy divers rarely went below 60 FSW (feet of seawater). There is little documentation that the Navy had a diving program prior to 1912.Navy Divers, Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin, All Hands, September 1944, pp. 26–30, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Indian

/ref> In that year, Chief Gunner George D. Stillson set up a program to test John Scott Haldane, Haldane's diving tables and methods of stage decompression. A companion goal of the program was to develop improvements in Navy diving equipment. Throughout a three-year period, first diving in tanks ashore and then in open water in
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
from , Navy divers went progressively deeper. The publication of the first US Navy Diving Manual''US Navy diving manual Revision 7'', SS521-AG-PRO-010 0910-LP-115-1921, COMMANDER, NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND, U.S. GPO, Washington DC

/ref> in 1916 and the establishment of a Navy Diving School at Naval Station Newport, Newport, Rhode Island were the direct outgrowth of experience gained in the test program and the salvage. When the United States entered World War I, the staff and graduates of the school were sent to Europe, where they conducted a number of salvage operations along the French coast. On 24 May 1939 four divers would earn the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
rescuing 33 men off the sunken . When the ''Squalus'' went down twelve divers from the Experimental Diving Unit were part of the rescue. Those directly involved in the most dangerous aspects of the rescue received the medals. WWII brought with it an expanded need for divers that began immediately after the December 7, 1941 Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
. By afternoon on the 7th nine divers from Destroyer Repair Unit 1 at San Diego were on a PBY being flown to Hawaii. Their first priority was to save lives, despite considerable effort they only found dead. They were attached to the Naval Salvage and Repair Unit created at Pearl Harbor where divers logged over 16,000 hours under diving officer Commander Haynes. Because of the shallow working depth the divers had no diving time limitation leading to fourteen hour days seven days a week. The Salvage Unit list of work included , , , , , and . They were assisted by the divers off and . Soon after the 16th
Naval Construction Battalion , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philip ...
arrived in Pearl Harbor her divers were tasked to the recovery of USS ''Oklahoma'' as well. Two steelworkers from CB 3 had previously been certified to dive with the Salvage and Repair Unit on USS ''West Virginia'', however they were recalled because their commanding officer objected to the pay they received. This led to no more volunteers from outside the Salvage Unit being trained to dive with the Salvage Unit. At Pearl Harbor the diving assignments were split civilian/military with the civilians outside the vessels and USN inside. The divers from Destroyer Repair Unit 1 are credited with creating the arc-oxygen underwater cutting torch. A diving task at Pearl Harbor was the recovery of bodies. It was a gruesome task that was eventually stopped as bodies would simply come apart when disturbed, from being submerged too long. The creation of Naval Construction Battalions to build advance bases in the Pacific Theater put more diving assignments in front of the Navy, enough that the Seabees had a school of their own to qualify 2nd class divers. CBs would put men in the water from the tropics to the Arctic Circle. In the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...
Naval Construction Battalion 4 had divers doing salvage on the Russian freighter SS ''Turksib'' in water. In the tropics Seabee divers would be sent close to an enemy airfield to retrieve a downed Japanese aircraft. At Halavo on
Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...
, divers from the 27th CB recovered a Disburser's safe full of money plus changed 160
prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
s on vessels of all sizes. The 27th Naval Construction Battalion logged 2,550 diving hours, with 1,345 classified as "extra hazardous". Seabees would also blur the definition of diver with the development of the
Underwater Demolition Teams Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. ...
. Another historic note to the Seabees is that they had African American divers in the 34th CB. Those men fabricated their diving gear in the field as instructed at diving school. For depths less than a modified USN Mk III or MK IV gas mask was considered acceptable and preferred by the men of the 27th CB. Twice, while at
Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to th ...
, the 105th CB sent special diving details on undisclosed missions. Divers in the 301st CB placed as much as 50 tons of explosives a day to keep their
dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
s productive. However, the divers of CB 96 used 1,727,250 lbs of dynamite to blast of
coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...
for the ship repair facility on Manicani Island, as an element of the Naval Operating Base Leyte-Samar.CEC Bulletin, Vol. 2 February 1948 No. 15, Lt jg. Cushing Phillips, p. 4

/ref> Their primary diving gear was modified Navy Mk III and Navy Mk IV gas masks. The war itself produced an unending demand for underwater ship repair and salvage. In New York city, New York,
capsize Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
d at the dock leading to the Navy creating a Salvage school right there to deal with the issue. For the next year the Navy had 75 divers working on her salvage. Each of the fleet's repair ships had divers. Six of them from were put to the test using the new technology of underwater cutting and welding. The stern was nearly completely blown off . They removed three
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s and stabilized ship structure enough so that she could be towed to a drydock. Divers from were there too with their underwater cutters working on USS ''New Orleans''. Their salvage work in combat zones got a fleet tug a Battle Star. Two divers plus their support teams were put aboard in response to a secret dispatch from Commander South Service Force Pacific. Each of the submarine rescue ships had divers assigned too. was sent to
Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is requir ...
Harbor after divers off confirmed the Japanese submarine I-7 was lying on the bottom in of water. Seven divers off the Florikan salvaged intelligence materials from the sub. Earlier in the year, at Kamimbo Bay, USS ''Ortolan'' divers recovered a pile of documents off the partially sunk
Japanese submarine I-1 ''I-1'' was a J1 type submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a large cruiser submarine displacing 2,135 tons and was the lead unit of the four submarines of her class. Commissioned in 1926, she served in the Second Sino-Japanese War ...
that was turned over to intelligence. The clearance of Manila harbor was a huge project where divers led by master diver Joseph S. Karneke from repeated the action. There they salvaged code books, maps of Japanese fortifications on
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
plus 500,000 yen; it was a major intelligence ''coup''. When Chanticleer first left the States part of its mission was to provide diver training to the fleet based out of
Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; a suburb of Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. These were formerly t ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. The US Navy out of Australia sent divers down to recover intelligence off the
Japanese submarine I-124 ''I-124'', originally named ''Submarine Minelayer No. 52'' and then named ''I-24'' from before her launch until June 1938, was an of the Imperial Japanese Navy that served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. During the latt ...
in just of water. When the Japanese took the Philippines a couple of the prisoners were USN divers, one was
Robert Sheats Robert Carlton Sheats (September 30, 1915 – March 9, 1995) was an American Master Diver in the United States Navy. He enlisted in the Navy in 1935 and retired in July 1966. Career World War II In 1941, while Sheats was serving as a First Cla ...
. The Japanese quickly learned of what the Philippine
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
had done with the silver that had been in the
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
on
Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
.Corregidor Treasures, Philippine Sailor, Karl-Wilhelm Welteke, July 201

/ref> Millions of dollars in silver coinage had been dumped in Caballo Bay, an inlet on greater
Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...
, to keep it from falling into Japanese hands. The Japanese forced USN pow divers to retrieve the coinage. They did recover some of the treasure. However, the U.S. Army and Navy put together a hard hat diving unit in August 1945 that recovered millions of Pesos off . During WWII, "diver" was a qualification not a rate. First class divers could work depths while salvage and second class divers were qualified down to . Diving was considered "hazardous" by the Navy and the Navy adjusted pay for both the qualification as well as time and depth under water: $5 an hour or fraction of an hour for hazardous salvage work.
Adjusted for inflation In economics, nominal value is measured in terms of money, whereas real value is measured against goods or services. A real value is one which has been adjusted for inflation, enabling comparison of quantities as if the prices of goods had no ...
that converts to $72/hr in 2020. The qualification diver 2nd class paid $10 per month, salvage diver paid $12 per month, 1st class paid $15 per month. First class divers also drew "footage" of $15 plus $.05/ft at . Master divers drew $20 plus up to $10 "footage". A few months after Pearl Harbor Congress authorized a change so that divers were paid $5.00/hr for any dive certified "extremely hazardous". All dives to salvage ships at Pearl Harbor were given that designation.Diving Seabees, IV USS West Virginia, Decent into Darkness, Cdr. Edward C. Raymer, Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Rd, Annapolis, MD, 1996, p.126-7


Post World War II

At
Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity in July 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the ...
the Navy had qualified divers on multiple ships assigned to Task Unit TU 1.2.7 (salvage unit) of the Joint Task Force 1: , Appendix A: Activities of Participating Navy Vessels During Operation Crossroads , DNA 6032F Operation Crossroads 1946, United States Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests Nuclear Test Personnel Review, L. Berkhouse, J.H. Hallowell, F.W. McMullan, S.E. Davis, C.B. Jones, M.J. Osborne, F.R. Gladeck, E.J. Martin, Defense Nuclear Agency, Washington D.C., 1984, p.305-

/ref> , , , , , , and . After the nuclear tests diving officers were tasked to take their teams to inspect wrecks, document the damage, recover scientific data from test stations, recover scientific instruments and do salvage as required.DNA 6032F Operation Crossroads 1946, United States Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests Nuclear Test Personnel Review, L. Berkhouse, J.H. Hallowell, F.W. McMullan, S.E. Davis, C.B. Jones, M.J. Osborne, F.R. Gladeck, E.J. Martin, Defense Nuclear Agency, Washington D.C., 1984, p. 18

/ref> The Diving officers did written reports of all observations, C.2.9 identifies what was found on on 21 August 1947 with everything underwater photographed. was the only ship to be raised and recovered from the operation. The divers off the ''Widgeon'' and the ''Gypsy '' brought her up. Salvage of was attempted, but the sub was damaged beyond saving and stricken from the roles. Salvage of was started, but she was declared a loss. Divers carried a watertight Geiger counter, Geiger tube that was monitored by their support crews so that they could be warned and retracted from
radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...
hot spots. The
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
brought development to USN diving. In October 1950 struck a mine in Wosan harbor and sank. A UDT diver using an Aqualung located and marked the ships location for surface supported hard hat divers to return and destroy the classified materials on board. That was the first tactical use of
scuba Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
gear by the U.S. Navy. For the UDTs it marked a transitional change in their mission model and for the Navy it changed thinking of diving as a solely non-combat task. The
United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit The United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU or NAVXDIVINGU) is the primary source of diving and hyperbaric operational guidance for the US Navy. It is located within the Naval Support Activity Panama City in Panama City Beach, Bay Count ...
is located at
Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...
. There unit is composed of 120 service personnel drawn from numerous components of the Navy. It is their job to execute the U.S. military's special diving tasks like saturation diving. During the 1960s the Navy had divers involved in two submersed projects,
Tektite Tektites (from grc, τηκτός , meaning 'molten') are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz ...
and SEALAB I, II, and III. On 28 January 1969 a detachment of 50 men from
Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO (abbreviated as ACB 2, or PHIBCB 2) is an amphibious construction battalion in the United States Navy based in Little Creek, Virginia. Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE is its sister unit based in Coronad ...
plus 17 Seabee divers began installation of the
Tektite habitat The Tektite habitat was an underwater laboratory which was the home to divers during Tektite I and II programs. The Tektite program was the first scientists-in-the-sea program sponsored nationally. The habitat capsule was placed in Great Lameshur ...
in Great Lameshur Bay at
Lameshur, U.S. Virgin Islands Lameshur is a former plantation on the island of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands. It is inside Virgin Islands National Park and home to the Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station (VIERS). The Tektite program placed two under ...
. The Tektite program was funded by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
and was the first scientists-in-the-sea program sponsored by the US government. The Tektite project was a product of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
. It caused the US Navy to realize the need for a permanent Underwater Construction capability that led to the formation the Seabee
Underwater Construction Teams Underwater Construction Teams (UCT) are the United States Navy Seabees' underwater construction units numbered 1 and 2 that were created in 1974. A team is composed of divers qualified in both underwater construction and underwater demolition ...
. SEALAB was led by Captain
George F. Bond Captain George Foote Bond (November 14, 1915 – January 3, 1983) was a United States Navy physician who was known as a leader in the field of undersea and hyperbaric medicine and the "Father of Saturation Diving". While serving as Officer-in-C ...
with divers from the fleet. SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy in the 1960s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the SEALAB expeditions helped advance the science of deep sea diving and rescue, and contributed to the understanding of the psychological and physiological strains humans can endure. USN
Aquanaut An aquanaut is any person who remains underwater, breathing at the ambient pressure for long enough for the concentration of the inert components of the breathing gas dissolved in the body tissues to reach equilibrium, in a state known as satura ...
s of note include
Robert Sheats Robert Carlton Sheats (September 30, 1915 – March 9, 1995) was an American Master Diver in the United States Navy. He enlisted in the Navy in 1935 and retired in July 1966. Career World War II In 1941, while Sheats was serving as a First Cla ...
,
Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 wh ...
,
Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...
,
Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury ...
and Robert Barth. In 1966 a
B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
crashed off Palomares, Spain with four hydrogen bombs. , and brought 150 divers who searched down to without locating the weapons.Contact 261, Captain Lewis B. Melson USN, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, June 1967, p. 3

/ref>
DSV Alvin ''Alvin'' (DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Gro ...
located them at a depth of . Still in service, USS ''Chanticleer'' was involved with RVN diving operations at
Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city ha ...
during the
Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Her divers were tasked with a number of salvage assignments. At
Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Với Khu Kinh T� ...
Combat Base in 1967 Mobile Construction Battalion 71 had an Underwater Construction Team search the Tra Bong River for a missing Squad of Marines that the Marines wanted back no matter what. Their efforts made the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition. In the 1970s Navy divers took part in
Operation Ivy Bells Operation Ivy Bells was a joint United States Navy, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA) mission whose objective was to place wire taps on Soviet underwater communication lines during the Cold War. Background ...
. It was a joint Navy
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
operation. Since the divers did not have the security clearances needed they were given a story for the mission. In 1975 the first female hard hat diver to be qualified was Donna Tobias. Ten years later
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper Heidemarie Martha Stefanyshyn-Piper (born February 7, 1963) is an American Naval officer and former NASA astronaut. She has achieved the rank of Captain (naval), Captain in the United States Navy. She is also a qualified and experienced marine ...
became a salvage officer and would become another USN astronaut/diver. Also that year, Seabee diver Robert Dean Stethem was killed by
hijackers Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
on
TWA Flight 847 Trans World Airlines Flight 847 was a flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens, Rome, Boston, and Los Angeles. On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked shortly after take off from Athens. The hijackers deman ...
at
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. The Navy named DDG-63 in his honor. In the 1980s Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 1 and 2 were created. MDSU 2 has been involved in the salvage of , ,
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
, Swiss Air Flight 111 and the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...
s ''Challenger'' and ''Columbia''. Post Vietnam the DOD has made an effort to recover the missing remains of US service personnel. In 2010 MDSU divers searched at Quynh Phuong, Vietnam for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command or JPAC. They dove the Mediterranean for WWII remains in 2012. In 2018 MDSU divers were again requested by the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover American military personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts, ...
or DPAA, which had absorbed JPAC. The divers were sent to the
Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
group where WWII aircraft were known to have gone down. In 2003 Divers from MDSU 1 and SUPSALV were given the task to remove of
bunker fuel Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), ...
from the wreck of .
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
in 2005 followed by
Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...
brought disaster recovery to Navy divers. In 2006, the US Navy changed Diving from a "qualification" to a rating of the fleet: Navy Diver (ND). In 2007 divers from the Naval Experimental Diving Unit, Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2 and US Army worked on the salvage of the
Soviet submarine K-77 ''K-77'' was a "Project 651" (NATO reporting name: ) diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying Americ ...
. That same year MDSU divers were sent to Minnesota when the Interstate 35 bridge collapsed into the
Mississippi river The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
In 2011 the divers of Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 1 along with
USCG The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
and SUPSALV divers were tasked with the clearance of of bunker fuel from the wreck of in
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Harbor. MDSU 1 was called in 2018 to repeat the action on on the WWII German cruiser ''Prinz Eugen''. The ship had been sink in the atomic tests of Operation Crossroads. Distinguished Diver list: * William Badders Chief Machinist mate * Carl Brashear Master Chief Boatswains Mate *
Orson Leon Crandall Orson Leon Crandall (February 2, 1903 – May 10, 1960) was a United States Navy diver and a recipient of America's highest military decoration - the Medal of Honor. Biography Orson Crandall was born on February 2, 1903, in Saint Joseph, Miss ...
Chief Boatswains Mate * Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg Boatswains mate 2nd Class * James Harper McDonald Chief
Metalsmith A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest metalworking occupations. Shaping metal with a ...
*
John Mihalowski John Mihalowski (August 12, 1911 – October 29, 1993) was a United States Navy diver and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor. Biography John Mihalowski was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Po ...
Chief Torpedoman * Chief Machinist mate Edward Raymer (was the senior NCO of the first divers sent to Pearl Harbor after the attack, retired with the rank of Commander) * 29 Divers received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for having over 100 hours in dive time at Pearl Harbor. * 2 Divers received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for diving during gale-force winds, in sub-freezing temps, snow, and possible air attack (including a nine-hour dive in water).


Training and ratings


The Schools

After completion of recruit training or acceptance in the Navy diver program from the Fleet, individuals will go to Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, for Diver Preparation Course (32 training days, including 20 days of basic electrical and engineering courses). Upon completion of the training, candidates will go to Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in
Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...
, for Second Class Dive School, which is 70 training days long. The center has 22 different courses of instruction for roughly 1300 students annually. On average, there are 300 students in training at any given time. The training center conducts approximately ten thousand dives each year. The NDSTC is divided into Fleet and specialized sections. Regardless of their section, all candidates receive instruction in: * Basic gas laws as they relate to diving. *
Diving medicine Diving medicine, also called undersea and hyperbaric medicine (UHB), is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of conditions caused by humans entering the undersea environment. It includes the effects on the body of pressure on gases, the diag ...
*
Decompression chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply o ...
operations *
Scuba gas planning Scuba gas planning is the aspect of dive planning and of gas management which deals with the calculation or estimation of the amounts and mixtures of gases to be used for a planned dive. It may assume that the dive profile, including decomp ...
* Diving physics * Salvage operations * Surface-supplied diving systems * Use of all diving apparatus: Open- and closed-circuit rigs * Underwater mechanics and tools, and underwater cutting and welding


Fleet Training

Upon completion of Second Class Dive School service personnel are assigned to one of the Navy Diver Units to develop their diving and salvage skills. Underwater ship repair, salvage, or construction can be done using either SCUBA equipment or a surface-supplied diving system. Training for Diving Medical Officers and diving medical technicians is also part of Fleet training.


Advanced Training

Many experienced divers return to NDSTC for further course work so they can qualify as First Class divers or as Master divers. The first-class dive school is approximately 12 weeks in length. During training, students are subjected to numerous drills and tests. Some of the subjects include:
Hyperbaric Chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
,
SCUBA Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
, MK-16
Rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen i ...
, Surface Supplied Air, and Mixed Gas Supervisor. Students are taught how to diagnose diving-related illnesses as well as handling system emergencies. While attending First Class Dive School students are put through Master Diver Evaluations. The evaluations consist of a number of challenging scenarios. Only a select few will qualify. Master diver is a qualification that is difficult to achieve.


Specialized Training

A Navy diver gets specialized training in demolition and mixed-gas diving. Navy divers work in extreme conditions, performing various underwater tasks ranging from underwater ship repair, underwater salvage and special operations/special warfare type diving. Because their area of operations are so varied, they can be required to utilize any type of diving equipment for use in any depth or temperature in any part of the world. Certain diving qualification allows NDs to live and work at extreme depths for days or weeks at a time, a discipline known as saturation diving. Navy enlisted personnel that graduate from second class or first class dive school; and ultimately master diver comprise the Navy Diver rating. NDs are the in-water operators and supervisors for the various mission areas mentioned previously as their primary day to day mission is that of in-water operator and/or supervisor. There are three enlisted diving badges/qualifications in the ND rating: *Second class diver - E-4 to E-5 personnel. This is the basic diving qualification in the ND rating, awarded upon completion of ND 'A' School (pin awarded upon warfare qualification). Primary duties are to serve as in-water operators during various missions. *First class diver - E-6 to E-8 personnel. Advanced diving qualification awarded upon completion of ND 'C' School. In addition to duties as a second class diver, first class divers serve as diving and chamber treatment supervisors. *Master diver - The highest enlisted diving position in the Navy. Awarded upon successful completion of the master diver course which includes exceptionally demanding diving operational problems and acceptance by a master diver board. Oversees diving operations and train/qualify diving supervisors. Personnel in the CEC
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ratings can qualify as underwater construction technician (UCT). Like other Navy divers, UCTs are primary in-water operators that conduct underwater construction and demolitions. The three qualification that the various rate can obtain with are as follows: Basic Underwater Construction Technician/ NEC 5932 (2nd Class Diver), Advanced Underwater Construction Technician/ NEC 5931 (1st Class Diver), and Master Underwater Construction Technician/ NEC 5933 (Master diver). Navy
hospital corpsmen A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...
can qualify as a diving medical technician (DMT), where they are given training in medical aspects of diving. Primary responsibilities are to provide medical advice and treatment to diving personnel. They also instruct members of the diving team in first aid procedures when the presence of diving medical personnel is indicated. Additionally, there is a scuba diver qualification primarily for those stationed on submarines to serve as sub divers in a limited capacity. Navy scuba divers are also trained at NDSTC at a 5-week course. Their duties consist primarily of conducting occasional inspections on the submarine they are stationed on. Scuba divers maintain their traditional Navy rating such as ET or MM; their diving Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) is a collateral duty, not their primary one.


U.S. navy diver physical fitness test

Diving medical personnel evaluate the fitness of divers before operations begin and are prepared to handle any emergencies which might arise. They also observe the condition of other support personnel and are alert for signs of fatigue, overexposure, and heat exhaustion. The physical fitness test has been shown to be a poor predictor of job task performance. The test consists of the following carried out in the order given: #Swim 500 yards (or 450 m) utilizing only combat side stroke or breast stroke within 12 minutes 30 seconds (candidates are allowed to push off the sides when turning. However, if the candidate uses the bottom to stand or rest, they will fail the test). #10-minute rest period. #Perform 50 push-ups within 2 minutes (Upper arms must parallel deck at dip and arms locked out at the top of the rep). #2-minute rest period. #Perform 50 sit-ups within 2 minutes (Bent knees. Candidates hands must stay on the collarbone and the elbows must touch the knees). #2-minute rest period. #Perform 6 pull-ups within 2 minutes (no kipping or swinging is allowed and the chin must clear the top of the bar on each repetition). #10-minute rest period. #Run 1.5 miles (2.414 km) within 12 minutes 30 seconds. Note: The times and quantities listed are for passing the screening test only. Each candidate's scores are submitted and the candidates with the top scores along with ASVAB exam scores will be selected and given a navy diver contract. Passing the physical fitness test is necessary but by no means guarantees the candidate a contract.


Health impact

A study published in 2011 by the
Navy Experimental Diving Unit The United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU or NAVXDIVINGU) is the primary source of Commercial diving#Military and naval diving, diving and Diving chamber, hyperbaric operational guidance for the US Navy. It is located within the Naval ...
reviewed the long-term health impact on the U.S. Navy diving population. The divers surveyed participated as divers for an average of 18 years out of their average 24 active duty years. Sixty percent of the divers surveyed were receiving disability compensation. One in seven of the divers had experienced neurologic symptoms of
decompression sickness Decompression sickness (abbreviated DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompressio ...
, with 41% of the divers experiencing one or more of the nine diving injuries surveyed. Seven percent of the surveyed divers had undergone a
joint replacement Replacement arthroplasty (from Greek ''arthron'', joint, limb, articulate, + ''plassein'', to form, mould, forge, feign, make an image of), or joint replacement surgery, is a procedure of orthopedic surgery in which an arthritic or dysfunctional ...
. Eighty-six percent of the divers rated their health as "Excellent, Very Good, or Good". When compared to the general population, the divers showed better mental health but poorer physical health.


Ratings and enlisted designators

The navy diver rating was announced in Naval Administration Message 003/06 and consists of sailors with the following NECs: * NEC 5341 — master diver * NEC 5342 — first class diver * NEC 5343 — second class diver The effective date of the ND rating was June 1, 2006 for E6-E9 (senior
non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
), and October 1, 2006, for E1-E5 junior enlisted. * E4 (ND3) — Navy diver third class * E5 (ND2) — Navy diver second class * E6 (ND1) — Navy diver first class * E7 (NDC) — Chief Navy diver * E8 (NDCS) — Senior Chief Navy diver * E9 (NDCM) — Master Chief Navy diver


Officer designators

Designation as a Diving Officer for selected:MILPERSMAN 1210-140DIVING OFFICER, MILSPERMAN 1210-140, CNO, 22 Aug 2002, p.1-6
/ref> * Unrestricted Line (117X, 112X) * Restricted Line/Staff Corps (146X, 144X, 210X, 510X) * Limited Duty (61XX, 648X, 653X) * Warrant (71XX, 72XX, 748X, 753X) * 1440 — Engineering Duty (restricted line) Officer * 510x — Civil Engineer Corps (staff) Officer * 720x — Diving (warrant) Officer File:Working Diver 01.jpg, Underwater welding File:US_Navy_071026-N-3093M-012_Mass_Communication_Specialist_2nd_Class_Kori_Melvin_documents_Navy_divers_and_special_operators_from_SEAL_Delivery_Vehicle_Team_(SDV)_2_and_Naval_Special_Warfare_Logistics_Support_conducting_Lock_Out.jpg, SEAL operations File:US Navy 011105-N-3093M-011 Navy deep sea diver.jpg, Salvage Operations File:Navy_Diver4.jpg,
Atmospheric diving suit An atmospheric diving suit (ADS) is a small one-person articulated submersible which resembles a suit of armour, with elaborate pressure joints to allow articulation while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere. An ADS can enable di ...
File:Navy_Diver5.jpg, Harbor clearance File:Cast and recovery exercise 140522-N-NI474-054.jpg, EOD Cast and recovery exercise File:Navy_Diver7.jpg, SCUBA File:Navy_Diver8.jpg, Closed circuit File:US Navy 010703-N-5329L-005 Diver working on USS Monitor salvage.jpg, Saturation diving File:US Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) divers.jpg, Explosive ordnance disposal File:US Navy 070808-N-3093M-002 Navy Diver 1st Class Josuha Harsh Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., surfaces after completing a salvage dive.jpg, Disaster recovery


See also

*
Robert Croft Robert Damien Bale Croft MBE (born 25 May 1970) is a former Welsh cricketer who played international cricket for England. He is an off-spin bowler who played for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006. He retired from first class ...
(
free dive Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear. Besides the limits of breath-h ...
pioneer) *
Clearance diver A clearance diver was originally a specialist naval diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but the term "clearance diver" was later used to include other naval unde ...
*
Diving gear Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found ...
* Diving hand signals * Royal Navy ships diver *
Underwater Construction Teams Underwater Construction Teams (UCT) are the United States Navy Seabees' underwater construction units numbered 1 and 2 that were created in 1974. A team is composed of divers qualified in both underwater construction and underwater demolition ...
* UDT * * *


References


Sources

* Supervisor of Diving, Naval Sea Systems Command, 2007. ''US Navy Diving Manual'' .(UK): AquaPress Publishing. . Revision 5. Hardback. The complete manual for equipment, procedures and operations established by the Department of Navy. * Supervisor of Diving, Naval Sea Systems Command, 2007. ''US Navy Diving Manual'' .(UK): AquaPress Publishing. . Revision 5. Looseleaf. The complete manual for equipment, procedures and operations established by the Department of Navy. *https://web.archive.org/web/20080310094417/http://www.necc.navy.mil/diver/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20090712084127/http://www.necc.navy.mil/content.htm


External links


Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center

Navy.Com recruiting page



Naval Undersea Museum
{{Underwater diving, prodiv
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
United States Navy ratings