2 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

SUPSALV SENDS V SENDS

“Are our last salvage ships REALLY

gonna get transferred to MSC?”

rescue towing of surface combatants, and

(b) harbor clearance/channel clearance

permitting rapid throughput of strategic

logistics.

COST EFFICIENCY – Careful examination confirms that converting the SAFEGUARD Class salvage ships to Military

Sealift Command operations will be less

expensive to the U.S. Navy than retaining

them as commissioned vessels. And there

is little doubt that if MSC recognizes

these specialty ships are not simply

smaller ships of the logistics force, but are

purpose-designed and built for the hazards of combat-salvage, then MSC could

develop, fund, and implement a “salvage

ship master” training program to ensure

civilian mariners are trained as professional salvors to competently operate our

salvage ships. But the greatest unknown

remains determining the critical size of the

uniformed salvage force aboard salvage

ships for actual wartime salvage.

For years, our T-ATFs have been

manned by 16-person Mobile Diving and

Salvage Unit detachments. However, the

recent experience of USS GRAPPLE (ARS

53) supporting the DDX Weapons Effects

Tests (WET) on EX-USS PETERSON (see

related article) revealed that every member

of GRAPPLE’s 100-person crew was required (directly or indirectly) to control

and contain fires and flooding on EXPETERSON after intentionally exploding a

warhead – and even with careful limitations on hull damage to keep this test

ship from severe flooding. The EXPETERSON operation was a wake-up call

to an increasing demand on our afloat salvage force manning, especially as our warship crews become much smaller - even

with the advanced, autonomous damage

control and fire fighting systems demonstrated on EX-PETERSON.

(“SUPSALV SENDS” continued on page 13)

That’s the most frequent question I

hear around the salvage Fleet today. And

it is not surprising. The U.S. Navy salvage

force has continuously included commissioned salvage ships since before WWII.

During the last two decades, however, the

Navy has reduced the number of active

duty salvage ships from greater than

twenty ships all the way down to the four

ships of the USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50)

Class. As of this writing, CFFC and

OPNAV are in the midst of determining

whether ARS 50s remain commissioned

vessels or are converted for Military Sealift

Command (MSC) operations.

Those discussions principally involve two issues: (1) what are the U.S.

Navy’s wartime requirements for afloat salvage platforms, and (2) what is the most

cost-efficient means to meet that wartime

requirement?

WARTIME SALVAGE SHIP REQUIREMENTS – Due to the classified nature of this issue, not everything can be

summarized in FACEPLATE. What I can

say is that the official campaign analysis

used to address future force requirements

for salvage ships makes assumptions

about the number of battle-damaged surface ships in need of salvage/rescue towing. And it omits completely a second critical role of salvage ships – harbor clearance and opening of blocked navigation

channels – an Achilles heel of our reliance

on “rapid strategic logistics” supplied by

U.S. and allied shipping. Until the SEA

POWER 21 vision is no longer dependent

on access to channels, ports, harbors, and

berths, a capable salvage force is still required. What’s missing is a quantification

of the near-simultaneous, wartime requirement for both (a) battle damage recovery/

In This Issue

SUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2

Military Sealift Command ............................... 3

From the Editor .............................................. 4

Battle Damage Repair at Sea ........................ 5

USS Hartford Grounded ................................ 7

Navy-Trained Divers Commercial Cards ....... 8

Both Divers Leaving the Bottom! ................. 10

“20,000 Jobs Under the Sea” Museum ....... 11

Propeller Hub Removal ................................ 12

Rapture of the Deep .................................... 14

Diving System Certification Corner ............. 15

Hard Hat History .......................................... 16

Command in the Spotlight ............................ 17

The Old Master ............................................ 18

Jake’s Corner............................................... 18

From the Supervisor of Diving .................... 19

FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisor

of Salvage and Diving to make the latest and

most informative news available to the Navy

diving and salvage community. Discussions or

illustrations of commercial products do not

imply endorsement by the Supervisor of

Salvage and Diving or the U.S. Navy.

Articles, letters, queries and comments should

be directed to the Commander, Naval Sea

Systems Command, NAVSEA 00C, 1333

Isaac Hull Ave. SE Stop 1070, Washington

Navy Yard, DC 20376-1070. (Attn:

FACEPLATE). Visit our website at http://

www.supsalv.org. To view an electronic

version of Faceplate in PDF format go to our

website and click on the word “Faceplate”

located in the left hand column. This link will

direct you to our list of Faceplate issues.

Captain Jim Wilkins, USN

Director of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

NAVSEA 00C

wilkinsjr@navsea.navy.mil

Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Supervisor of Diving

Editor In Chief

helmkampmt@navsea.navy.mil

LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret)

Managing Editor

jimbladhsr@aol.com

BMCM (MDV) Steve Smith, USN

BMCM(SW/MDV) Fred K. Orns, USN

Fleet Liaison Editors

smithss@navsea.navy.mil

ornsfk@navsea.navy.mil

Zoya Gorbunova

Production Editor

zgorbunova@roh-inc.com

Otto C. Adams

Graphic Designer

oadams@roh-inc.com
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 3

Towing, salvage, and diving is a

challenging profession requiring

unique knowledge and an extensive skill

set. This business comes with inherent

operational risks that add greatly to the

challenge. Long lists of lost or flooding

tows, parted lines and wires, Diver

accidents, etc., can make for entertaining

barroom sea stories or tragic reading in

investigative reports.There has been

much speculation why these types of

accidents happen, and to what extent they

were attributable to inexperienced officers

in executive and command positions. We

can also debate how much experience and

training is enough. While experience does

not guarantee accidents will not occur,

data does show a clear correlation between safety and experience. Regardless

of the arguments, experience counts, and

the Navy must keep it a manning priority.

In this article we will try and stay

away from the debate of “intangibles” and

stick to presenting a case for transitioning

the ARS 50 Class salvage ship to Military

Sealift Command as the best way to

ensure the Navy maintains its organic

towing and salvage capability. Simply

stated, Military Sealift Command, with the

appropriate Mobile Diving and Salvage

Unit (MDSU) augmentation, can operate

the ARS at full mission capability with far

more bridge and deck experience while

greatly increasing the operational availability to Fleet Commanders and reducing

costs to the Navy.

 BACKGROUND PERSPECTIVE

Throughout the years the experience level

in Navy salvage ships has varied for a

number of reasons. Today our manning

policy results in the lowest level of

experience in the primary mission areas

since before World War II. The Special

Operations Community (1140) provided

the experienced diving and salvage

officers to man and command salvage

ships for the past twenty years.

By: CAPT Mike Freeman, Navy Harbor Pilot, and CAPT Mike Herb, USN

We , t h e

authors, both

commanded

ARS 38 and

ARS 50 Class

salvage ships,

and each was

a qualified

Navy Diver

with 10+ years

at sea and

three different

salvage ship

tours before

taking command of our

respective ARS 50 Class salvage ship. We

point this out not to sell our resume, but

rather to show what the typical experience

level was for a commanding officer. The

SPECOPS community is no longer willing

or able to provide qualified salvage

officers in XO or CO billets. The current

command assignment policy provides a

commanding officer who is well qualified in

those aspects common to all surface

ships, but who must rely on members of

his or her crew for knowledge and

experience in the towing, diving, and

salvage business.

Another problem that exacerbates

the lack of experience on salvage ships is

that strong “back-up” is no longer

assured. In the eighties, it was not

unusual to have a Master Diver who was

on his 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th salvage ship

tour; a Bos’n with decades of experience

and many other of our senior enlisted had

multiple salvage ship tours. With only

four USN salvage ships throughout the

past 8 to 10 years; this is no longer the

case.

In our Navy we strive to assign the

most qualified officers to command. This

qualification is the result of years of

training and experience. Submarine

qualified officers command submarines.

Surface warfare officers command surface

combatants. In the aviation community, it

USS GRASP (ARS 51).

gets more specialized. Helicopter qualified

officers command helicopter squadrons,

P-3 aviators command P-3 squadrons,

fighter/attack aviators command VF

squadrons. “Know your stuff” is one of

the foremost qualities of a leader. Yet, on a

cyclic basis, we assign officers to

command salvage ships that have never

performed an open ocean or rescue tow,

never planned and supervised a diving

operation, never retracted a grounded ship

– the primary missions of their new

command.

MOVING FORWARD TO FUTURE

A best solution for today and into tomorrow – transfer operation of the ARS 50

Class ships to Military Sealift Command

(MSC).

This concept is not ground breaking.

With the transfer of last AOE 6 this summer and the decommissioning of the last

AOE 1 in FY’06, MSC will be operating the

Navy’s entire Combat Logistic Fleet. Other

non-combatants such as submarine tenders and even command ships are under

study. The four ARS 50 Class salvage

ships are a natural fit. MSC already operates the five T-ATF Class ships, with a primary mission of ocean towing and second-

 Proven capability

Military Sealift Command

in the Future of Shipboard Diving and Salvage
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 4

ary mission of salvage. During diving and

salvage operations using the T-ATF, the

MSC Master retains full responsibility for

the safe navigation and maneuvering of

the vessel, but a qualified Navy Officer in

Charge is responsible for planning and execution of diving and salvage operations.

Two of the T-ATFs, USNS MOHAWK and

APACHE, with MDSU TWO detachments

and fly-away DLSS regularly deploy as the

salvage asset to Sixth Fleet. Like the Combat Logistics ships and T-ATFs, the ARS

would remain Government Owned and

Government Operated, or GO/GO, and

would be operated by Government Service

Civilian Mariners or CIVMARs.

 Experience

Placing all towing and salvage platforms

under a single Type Commander creates

synergy. Under MSC, crews of professional licensed and unlicensed mariners,

whose experience in towing and salvage is

not measured in months, but in years or

decades, will operate all our salvage ships.

Having a sub-critical mass of only the five

T-ATFs creates a challenge for MSC in

maintaining the optimum experience level

among their deck officers in towing and

salvage. With the addition of the ARS 50

Class, MSC would have nine ships,

greatly enhancing the development of

their cadre of deck officers to optimally

operate these ships. MSC CIVMARs are

licensed and experienced mariners and TATF Masters already carry Coast Guard

towing endorsements on their licenses.

MSC wants to improve on this base and is

finalizing a training course for Masters and

Mates assigned to the tugs. This training,

which will be expanded for the ARS, includes towing and salvage unique

shiphandling, operational planning,

MDSU and SUPSALV operations. The

training will consist of classroom, simulator, and underway training.

 Increased OPTEMPO

 A significant benefit of MSC operation of

the ARS 50 Class salvage ships is that real

operational availability would more than

double. MSC guarantees their ships to the

Fleet for OPCON 270 days a year for tasking as the operational commander desires.

Transferring the Diver billets from the

ARSs to the Mobile Diving and Salvage

Units provides for more deployable detachments, with an increase in flexibility to

respond to diving and salvage requirements worldwide.

Providing T-ATF and T-ARS platforms on a rotating basis to support

MDSU training requirements will keep the

readiness edge sharp, both for the MDSU

detachments and the T-ATF/T-ARS crews.

The really good news is that you get this

increased operational availability and improved readiness at a reduced cost to the

Navy.

 Cost

Although secondary to operational readiness, fiscal realities cannot be overlooked.

From the CNO Guidance for 2004, it is clear

that we must pursue smarter ways to optimize readiness at lower cost. MSC can operate the ARS 50 Class salvage ships at

lower cost and the increased operational

availability allows us to more effectively

size the salvage force structure. The Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) published a

preliminary report in December 2003 that

shows a potential savings of $14M to

$24M per year. These saving estimates

take into account the additional manning

required at MDSUs. They are somewhat

conservative in that potential additional

savings from force reductions resulting

from increased employability are not accounted for.

This article is the opinion of the authors and

does not represent the position of SEA 00C.

mand experience and skills. Transitioning

the ARS 50 Class salvage ships to MSC

operation and the resulting partnership

with the Mobile Diving and Salvage Units

is the best way for us to ensure our wartime and peacetime operational salvage capability is preserved for the future.

Both Freeman and Herb are Naval Academy

graduates, qualified Surface Warfare Officers,

Special Operations Officers, and Divers.

Between the two of them they served on and

command nine different salvage ships.

It is a true pleasure to be back assisting the

Supervisor of Diving, Captain Mark

Helmkamp, as the Managing Editor for

FACEPLATE. Our purpose is to get the

word out about the support and accomplishments provided by Navy Divers. As you

read through these pages, bear in mind that

the stories published in FACEPLATE are

only a fraction of the work completed by

Navy Divers. Much of the work will never

be known due to its classification or the reluctance to record it. Help us remedy this

situation by sending us articles relating your

experiences, successes, lessons learned and

what it takes to get the job done. Faceplate is

limited only by the input that we receive

from you in the Fleet. Let us hear from you.

We recently received from Mr. Doug

Huff, Director of the Museum of Man in the

Sea, Panama City, Florida, copies of past

FACEPLATEs, dating back to May 1956.

We are exploring ways to make them easily

available to you. They contain a lot of history and interesting reading and should prove

to be excellent reference material.

I wish to thank all of you for your

continued interest and support. Remember:

When you submit an article, we are looking

for photos with captions and a brief bio of

the article’s author.

From The Managing Editor

By: LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret)

All things considered, it is the right thing

to do. Sailors who have spent years sailing on Navy salvage ships feel in their

heart that there should be a Naval Officer

in command and dungaree Sailors at the

helm. History and traditions of Navy diving and salvage run long, deep, and

proud; however, our first priority must be

readiness. The intangible benefit of having

pure USN salvage ships is not worth the

risks associated with the perishing com-

 BOTTOM LINE

Michael D. Freeman holds a Master, Oceans,

Unlimited Tonnage license and is currently a

First Class Pilot with the U.S. Navy. He retired

from the Navy in 1998 with the rank of Commander. CAPT Michael C. Herb is currently

Deputy Program Manager, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force at MSC.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 5

All Navy ships spend hours training on defensive systems and response to

battle damage. Damage control efforts are

always manpower intensive, but are particularly so when faced with damage associated with the explosive capability of

today’s high-powered missile systems.

As weapons become more powerful and

crew size is decreased, manpower for

damage control will become a major concern on board Navy ships. Ships will always need an organic fire fighting and

damage control capability but smaller

crews will become more dependent on salvage assets for fire fighting and damage

control support and relief. The ability of

an ARS to respond to such a situation

was partially tested during Weapons Effect Test (WET) conducted onboard EXPETERSON in January. The crew of the

USS GRAPPLE (ARS 53) was tasked with

providing fire boundary monitoring, fire

fighting, damage control, and salvage efforts to prevent EX-PETERSON from sinking or failing to meet established return to

port criteria during the WET evaluation.

Blast and fire damage are severe and unpredictable and a real life salvage and fire

fighting situation takes even more manpower and time to get under control than

a WET. GRAPPLE had the advantage of

studying the specifics of the test sceHull damage from blast. Crack arrestors (external hull stiffeners)

were installed previously to limit damage based on pre-test

predictions.

nario, pre-test damage and fire spread

predictions conducting fire boundary

team rehearsals,

and pre-staging

some fire fighting

and dewatering

equipment.

The purpose of

the WET was to test

the ability of an Autonomic Fire Suppression System in

development for

possible use in the

DD (X) program. A

threat representative

sized warhead was placed inside the hull

of EX-PETERSON and detonated to simulate an ASCM casualty. EX-PETERSON

was rigged with sophisticated test equipment to monitor and record the effects of

the explosion, and corresponding response of the fire fighting system. A post

explosion survey was also required as

part of the WET. In order to accomplish

this survey all fires would have to be extinguished and required damage control

actions completed to keep the ship safely

afloat. This challenging task was assigned to the crew of USS GRAPPLE.

 Providing offship fire fighting at

sea to EX-PETERSON

was no easy matter.

Boarding the damaged ship from USS

GRAPPLE with the required salvage and

fire fighting equipment required careful planning. Much

of the equipment was

pre-staged to maximize

personnel safety in

conducting the fire

boundary monitoring.

Still, the salvage crew

needed to be familiar

with small boat operations and transfers at

sea, then familiarize themselves with the

layout of the ship and the extent of the

damaged area. Equipment transferred included fire fighting hoses, de-smoking

equipment, Scott Air Packs, Fire Fighting

Ensembles (FFEs), and life jackets. Lastly,

the response team needed to extinguish

all fires and patch external hull damage.

EX-PETERSON was towed over fifty

miles off the coast of Florida and positioned where depths exceeded a thousand

fathoms. GRAPPLE was stationed 2 miles

from EX-PETERSON when the warhead

was detonated. After detonation, the onscene test conductor waited for test systems response. After this response period

was over, the GRAPPLE team was called

in. GRAPPLE Commanding Officer LCDR

Kevin Robinson established command

and control in GRAPPLE. The response

team was lead by GRAPPLE’s Executive

Officer LT Matt Rick using rigid inflatable

boats to ferry the response team to the

severely damaged ship. GRAPPLE deployed three salvage and rescue teams

composed of twelve to fifteen personnel

each for the fire fighting and damage control efforts. These teams were composed

of personnel from all divisions in

GRAPPLE, temporarily assigned personnel from MDSU-2, SIMA Mayport, and

Damage Control and Planning Leaders for the recovery operation.

FRONT ROW: LT Matt Rick, ENS Lori Bentzel, LTJG Sean Kido, DCCS (SW) Jeffery Yaun,

HTC (DSW/SW) John Coffelt, LCDR Kevin Robinson (CO).

BACK ROW: DCCS (DSW/SW) Randy Duncan, BMCS (DSW/SW/MDV) Mark Leet,

LCDR Brian Lawrence, DC1 (SW) Steve Rose.
6 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

LCDR Onofrio Anastasio is the Diving and

Salvage Officer at CLF/CNSL.

USS GRAPPLE along side EX-PETERSON while moving hull plating into place.

Mayport fire fighting school. LTJG Sean

Kido, MDV Mark Leet, DCCS (SW) Jeffrey Yaun, DCCS (DSW/SW) Randy

Duncan, and DC1 (SW) Steven Rose led

fire fighting and assessment parties.

Once on-board, the teams immediately established smoke and fire boundaries and established a command post.

Next the response team deployed investigators to conduct damage and fire surveys. Despite the ship being offloaded of

fuel and equipment that would normally

ignite under explosive conditions, numerous fire hazards existed including three

hundred forty-five gallons of heptane to

simulate onboard fuels and unspent

rocket fuel. Investigators encountered severe fires, dense smoke, and a significant

amount of debris blocking passages and

ladder wells. In addition, investigators

had to overcome bowed and jammed water tight doors and hatches, damaged and

destroyed decks along with a dangerous

amount of sharp metal debris scattered

throughout the detonation area. Once initial investigations were complete, the

GRAPPLE response team spent the next

twelve hours putting out residual fires,

overhauling the fires, and setting re-flash

watches. Two teams combated the fires.

These teams alternated efforts every two

hours until all fires were extinguished.

The third team rotated boundary watches

and conducted routine investigations to

monitor flooding and damage. Some members of the fire fighting teams expended

up to fifteen forty-five minute SCBA

bottles in their efforts.

While fire fighting efforts were underway, a fourth team in GRAPPLE began

planning efforts on how the external hull

damage would be patched. While the fire

parties and repair team tended to EXPETERSON, a fifth team of eight personnel maintained a continuous ferry of supplies to the damage control party. This

team transferred SCBA bottles to and

from EX-PETERSON along with food,

fresh water, and other supplies packaged

and prepared by GRAPPLE’s Supply Department.

Remaining GRAPPLE crewmembers

were employed on at-sea watch stations.

Before all fires were extinguished,

GRAPPLE tied up alongside the drifting

vessel and used her Monitor fire fighting

system to cool the blast area. This event

was not over when the fires were out.

The explosion blew a sizeable hole

through the exterior hull above the waterline, as predicted. After the area was

cooled, the fourth team led by HTC

(DSW/SW) John Coffelt patched the hole

using GRAPPLE’s boom to position 4’ x 8’

sheets of 3/8” thick mild steel over the

hole in the side shell for welding. This

welding event was necessary to provide

enough freeboard to bring the damaged

ship safely back to port. Upon completing

patching operations, the response teams

and crew were noticeably fatigued, but

response operations were still required.

Stability calculations and a below waterline hull survey remained. After taking on

a significant amount of water from hull

damage and fire fighting efforts, stability

of the ship was in question.

Stability calculations were conducted by NAVSEA 00C Salvage Engineer LCDR Brian Lawrence. The Program

of Ship Salvage Engineering (POSSE) software was used to develop a dewatering

and stability plan. After meeting stability

requirements, GRAPPLE safely towed EXPETERSON back to port.

The GRAPPLE crew executed this

high-risk exercise flawlessly; completing

numerous personnel transfers, live fire

fighting and damage control efforts, and

major repairs with no injuries or equipment damage; all in an uncontrolled openocean environment. The DD (X) WET

gave the GRAPPLE crew the opportunity

to do what it was designed to do — conduct at-sea combat salvage operations on

a stricken vessel. LCDR Kevin Robinson

approached the operation as a USS COLE

type scenario with the additional complexity of dealing with open-ocean conditions

in 2 to 4 foot swells.

Only necessary accommodations

were made for safety purposes to distinguish this evolution from a real world

incident yet the most important lesson

learned from this operation was clear: in a

combat damage scenario, this evolution

requires all hands for an intensive and

sustained period of time. This was

summed up by USS GRAPPLE’s Command Senior Chief BMCS (DSW/SW/

MDV) Mark Leet: “When we get the call

to execute, there are no individual ratings.

We are all Salvors until the vessel is in

port.”

As the next generation of Navy ships

get smarter and crew size decreases, the

Fleet will benefit from a mobile and highly

skilled response force to enter the combat

theater and provide casualty assistance.

This force will require ships with the

response capabilities and dedicated crew

such as that aboard USS GRAPPLE.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 7

I

n October, USS HARTFORD (SSN 768)

sustained damage while operating near

Caprera, Sardegna, Italy and returned to

the Naval Support Activity La Maddalena

where Divers stationed on USS EMORY S.

LAND (AS 39) were called to inspect the

condition of the boat. Divers discovered

damage to the lower rudder, hull coatings,

openings, and appendages. It was clear

that the extensive damage would require

help from many areas of expertise.

NAVSEA 00C immediately mobilized

underwater cutting and welding equipment

from the Emergency Ship Salvage Materials (ESSM) bases located in Livorno, Italy,

Cheatham Annex, Virginia, and Bahrain.

In addition NAVSEA mobilized technical

personnel from Washington, DC, Norfolk,

VA, and Bayou Vista, Louisiana to coordinate, direct, and assist in repairs.

While specialized equipment and personnel were in transit, E. S. LAND Divers

completed a detailed damage inspection.

The results were submitted to the Squadron, SUBLANT, and NAVSEA. Back at

NAVSEA headquarters in the Washington

Navy Yard, a team of over 30 engineers responsible for the affected ship systems

gathered to evaluate the damage and develop repair requirements to make the boat

By: Mr. Tom McCue (00C55)

(USS HARTFORD GROUNDED continued on page 9)

ready for a safe transit to Norfolk, where

extensive drydock repairs would be accomplished.

FTSCLANT assisted E. S. LAND

Divers and ships force to conduct a

thorough evaluation of the steering gear

and its operation. NAVSEA 00C provided

on-scene technical direction and coordination to the team of 14 Navy Divers and 14

contract Diver/welders in this rare

opportunity for Fleet Divers to work in

concer t with

commercial

Divers. The

experience

of both resources

complemented

each other and

greatly contributed to the rapid

success of this

complex repair.

Working roundthe-clock under

intense pressure,

the cohesive

team of Divers

conducted 213

dives and over

466 hours of bottom time inspecting and

repairing the boat in a two-week period.

All work was done under the close surveillance of NAVSEA’s technical director

for submarines who, upon

completion of the repairs,

granted permission for the ship

to return to CONUS with only a

few operational restrictions.

Damage forward included

main ballast tank grates missing

fasteners and hinges, a circumferential crack in the nonpressure hull adjacent to the

forward ballast tanks, and damaged hydrophones. Damage

continued aft with over 600

square feet of tile damage and

ended with a twisted and torn

rudder, which was hard up on the hull and

inoperable.

E. S. LAND Divers were responsible

for a multitude of tasks including

inspection and documentation of all

damage, repair, and replacement of

hydrophones, removal of damaged tile,

removal of a large area of the damaged

rudder plating, and the removal of the top

section of the rudder to allow the rudder to

operate without contacting the hull.

Phoenix welder/Divers were responsible

for the trimming and fairing of the damage

on the bottom of the lower rudder, the

non-destructive testing of numerous

cracks in the proximity of the main ballast

tanks, and the welding of the ballast tank

grates.

The lower rudder had the most

catastrophic damage. E. S. LAND Divers

discovered that approximately 25 percent

of the lower rudder was twisted, torn, and

dented. There were multiple areas of plate

deformation on the sides of the rudder and

the top of the rudder was contacting with

the hull. Based on these inspection

results, NAVSEA on-scene technical

representatives developed a repair plan

consisting of removal of the top of the

rudder to increase the clearance between

the rudder and the hull, and to remove the

damaged section of the bottom of the

rudder.

Damage to bottom of rudder.

USS EMORY S. LAND Diver burning top of rudder to

increase clearance from hull.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 8

The commercial diving industry of theUnited States is well and prospering.

It is an industry in which the vast majority

of participants has committed to assuring

the highest levels of safety, but is also

continually seeking the input of properly

trained and experienced personnel to fill

both operational and managerial positions.

In reality, many commercial diving

companies owe their longevity to the efforts of former U.S. Navy trained Divers –

personnel who, while on active duty,

served in all the various diving positions

including those of Master Diver and Diving Officer. That fact is a testimonial to the

training received, to their can-do attitude,

and to their leadership abilities.

In 1999 the Association of Diving

Contractors International initiated a Commercial Diver Certification Card program to

serve as documented evidence that holders of such a card had received proper

formal training, on-the-job training,

and had gained the necessary experience to “fleet up” from Entry-Level

Tender/Diver (a new graduate of a

school) through Diver and to Diving

Supervisor. Further; that process provided for each of the categories of Air,

Mixed Gas, and Bell/Saturation diving.

These cards are recognized internationally and are referenced in U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers Diving Procedures, in the

OSHA definition of

what constitutes a

properly trained

and experienced

commercial Diver,

and also inserted

into bid documents

as a required proof

that Divers employed on the job

will be properly

trained and experienced.

 Beginning in

2000 ADCI discussed with U.S. Navy official implementation of a system whereby

Navy Divers, or other Divers trained at

U.S. Navy diving schools, could also become certified under the system and thus

have a “leg up” when separating or retiring from active duty. That “leg up” would

be by the fact that these individuals could

then seek direct entry into the commercial

diving industry to hold a position appropriate to their training and experience. The Commanding Officer of Naval

Diving and Training Center at the time

(now SUPDIVE) Captain Helmkamp was

extremely helpful and enthusiastic in moving to initiate the cooperative relationship

between NDTC and ADCI.

As a result of discussions, a letter to

the Navy Diving & Salvage Training Center on 30 March 2001 stated in part, “by

transmittal of this letter I invite any and all

qualified U.S. Navy Divers to make application for the appropriate certification

cards in accordance with ADCI Standards.

If appropriate, ADCI would also accept

application for issuance of the appropriate

cards by the U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center prior to graduation

of the students so as to facilitate bulk shipment of the appropriate cards for issuance

at graduation.”

Unfortunately, as we all know, it was

not too many months after that letter that

we experienced an attack on our nation

with emphasis then shifting to the requirement of further protecting our nation and

our way of life. As a result of that

action,coupled with other significant

projects assigned to the U.S. Navy diving

community, implementation of the program

discussed was somewhat overlooked. After recently discussing this with Captain

Wilkins, Captain Murray, and Captain

Helmkamp we all agree that now is the time

to correct this oversight and to move forward in a positive direction.

Notice of the program has spread its

way across the diving communities of

the Navy and Army. Since initiation cards

have been issued in response to applications, however, not in great quantity. It is

for that reason that this information is

now being made available in a better-publicized manner.

By: Ross Saxon, Ph.D., LCDR, USN (Ret.)

Navy-Trained Divers Commercial Certification Cards

 The Program

 It was originally envisioned that

upon graduation from Naval Diving

and Salvage Training Center each

graduate would be furnished a form

with the graduation certificate in order

that he or she might apply for an ADCI

Certification Card at the level of Entry

Level Tender/Diver. That form would

be submitted to ADCI together with a

$25.00 fee, photograph in hard or digital form, application, and copy of the

graduation certificate.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 9

(USS HARTFORD GROUNDED continued from page 7)

Photos provided by: CWO3 Frank Perna

(USS Emory S. Land)

In order to increase the clearance between the rudder and the

hull, a fairing plate had to be trimmed

off the top of the rudder. Divers cut

approximately 13 feet of the fairing

plate off the top of the rudder.

Divers descended towards the

bottom of the rudder and prepared

to remove the extensive damage to

the plating and internal structure of

that section of the rudder. E. S.

LAND Divers installed an elaborate

stage to work from while they

burned off the projected and folded

sections of plate and removed any

coating in way of the repairs. This

proved to be a labor-intensive task.

Divers peeled off the coating and cleaned

the base metal to a white finish to facilitate

arc gouging the plate and internal members.

 With the damaged section of the rudder prepared, Phoenix welder/Divers proceeded to cut off the plating and internal

structure with an arc gouger. Phoenix

welder/Divers then installed internal

stiffeners and backing plates to the

existing structure, templated the profile of

the rudder and installed the new bottom

plate with the NAVSEA approved underwater wet welding procedure utilizing the

Sanvek Aquasan 5A nickel electrode and

Oxy-Lance underwater coating.

Upon completion of all repairs the

ship conducted a short sea trial, reported

Mr. McCue is the hull cleaning program

manager within the UWSH Division of

NAVSEA 00C.

no significant problems, and returned to the site so E. S. LAND

Divers could perform a quick rudder clearance inspection. With satisfactory results, the ship immediately departed for transit back to

CONUS and is currently in drydock

undergoing extensive repairs.

 The success of this underwater ship husbandry operation was

greatly attributed to the professionalism and talents of these two

unique diving organizations and

their ability to work side-by-side to

implement a well engineered repair

plan. The future of underwater ship

husbandry can benefit as we bring

similar expertise together in future operations.

Divers arc gouging damaged stiffener from lower section

of rudder.

An individual that completes the 1st

Class Diver Course would, upon graduation, be eligible for immediate application

for the Surface Supplied Mixed Gas Diver

Card (if not already in possession by actual performance) based on his or her prior

2nd Class Diver training and experience

having satisfied the Entry Level Tender/

Diver requirement.

Active duty Divers who have gained

experience in a work environment would

be eligible to apply for a Surface Supplied

Air Diver, or Surface Supplied Mixed Gas

Diver, or Bell/Saturation Diver card by

submission of the ADCI application form,

photograph, $25.00 fee, and a documented record that they had the requisite

field time and actual working dives to

move into the higher level category.

Active duty Divers who have gained

experience in a work environment where

operations are of a nature that they could

be considered equivalent to the conduct

of commercial activity – such as underwater ships husbandry, salvage, or related

companies seek as primary. Please realize

that your abilities or willingness to be in

the water may at some time decrease but

managerial and leadership abilities will

continue. It is therefore important when

seeking civilian employment to stress

both.

Photos provided by:

Ross Saxon is the Vice Chairman of

the Association of Diving Contractors

International.

Detailed information on this program

is available at http://www.adc-int.org by

clicking on the ADCI home page and then

clicking on “Certification Card Information Application” link on the left side of

the page.

In closing, the commercial diving

community believes that our active duty

counterparts should be given every opportunity to become a part of our community when they separate or retire from active duty. To that end, it is our responsibility to aid and assist each individual to

take that course of action, should they so

desire. Not only are you a highly trained

and experienced Diver but also an individual with a demonstrated ability to manage and to lead - important qualities many

 Information and Application

activities could make application for an

ADCI Surface Supplied Air, Mixed Gas, or

Bell/Saturation Supervisor card in the

same manner as above.

 Epic Divers of Harvey, Louisiana.
1 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

We will soon mark departure from 300feet on mixed gas here at NDSTC.

This capability, dormant since the early

90’s, is only one of the initiatives the

schoolhouse is undertaking to improve

diver training in support of the Revolution

in Training. The changes we are in the

process of implementing will build on an

already strong program and perfectly align

our training methodology and content

with the intentions of Sea Warrior.

Under the aegis of the Center for

Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving,

NDSTC is now free to concentrate fully on

the business of providing an underwater

education in diving. We are the

Department of Defense’s primary source

for entry level, apprentice, journeyman,

and master level training in work beneath

the sea. As such, we will continue to

provide training to all the armed forces

and civilians in their employ. In order to

meet the needs of our varied customers,

we are working towards several changes

to the way we do business.

One of the initiatives we are going to

exploit is termed “a la carte” or

“modularized” training. This training

process builds on the common training

elements in most of our courses, and will

allow us to tailor training to the specific

billet or job description of the prospective

Diver. As an example, we may offer nearly

continuous SCUBA training, classing up

as minimum class size is obtained.

Upon graduation the newly qualified

SCUBA Diver either goes to the Fleet or

continues on to more extensive training in

surface supplied diving, EOD, or some

com-bination suiting the graduate’s

prospective orders. This method of

training will reduce the delay for Divers

set-back for minor academic or physical

problems, and to some extent will allow

for variations in the pace at which the

student can absorb the material; no longer

will a strong prospect need to be dropped

for academic or similar minor deficiencies.

Our training policies emphasize the

value of time underwater, and we’re

expanding the opportunities to learn via

realistic training environments. Students

in the near future will experience more

bottom time doing a wider variety of

projects in an expanded range of

environments. Weather permitting, we will

conduct all open sea diving, including

surface supplied, over one of the many

wrecks available in the nearby Gulf of

Mexico. We are exploring several means of

increasing student bottom time overall

without increasing the time to train and

making that time underwater more

effective with a wider variety of assignments including port security dives,

ship’s husbandry, and surveys.

These are exciting changes we are

implementing to reinvigorate Diver

training. Regaining the capability to

conduct deep mixed gas dives after a ten

year hiatus will enable us to provide a

“proof” test for all our graduates. By

returning this evolution to the Diver

curriculum we can ensure that Divers can

attain their maximum depth of qualification, and all qualified Divers can

obtain the confidence borne of having

“been there, done that.” This process

perfectly complements our renewed

emphasis on training Divers, and is only

the first of many positive changes being

pursued by the crew at NDSTC. I invite all

to come down and see what we are up to

at the Home of Navy Diving.

SCUBA confidence training.

CDR Dave Davis is currently the Commanding Officer of Naval Diving and Salvage

Training Center.

Technical regulator maintenance training at NDSTC.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 1

Divers and historical diving enthusiasts have a new destination in the

Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San

Pedro, California — this classic streamlinemodern building holds an archive of

Southern California’s commercial diving

history, the brainchild of Diver-historian

Torrance Parker. Drawing upon his extensive knowledge and collection of diving

history, materials and equipment, and assisted by former Navy Divers Rigdon

Crawford, Jr. and Ed White, Parker has

created a permanent display documenting

the history of commercial and fishery

diving in Southern California. Along with

Crawford, Kenneth Knott, and Dan Boone

are the many ex-Navy Divers mentioned in

the exhibit who helped build the infrastructure of Southern California.

20,000 Jobs Under the Sea traces

commercial diving from the development

of the Deanes’ first practical helmet to use

compressed air up until present time,

including oil exploration, pipelaying, rigging, and other marine construction.The

ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are

responsible for eight percent of the

national economy; Divers’ contribution to

building the harbor together with

Southern California’s major power

plants, marine outfalls, bridges, and

dams cannot be overstated. Between

1947 and 1985, Parker worked on more

than a thousand ships and along with

his employees set a record in the two

ports by servicing more than 2,500

merchant and Naval vessels.

This exhibit is a natural extension

of Parker’s life work. The Dive Locker

window is a recreation of a typical

locker: suits, helmets, tools and equipment were actually used to construct

and maintain the harbor and the South

Bay’s underwater infrastructures. One

item of particular interest is a Schrader

helmet dating from the late 1800s. The

locker also features a pre-1933 MARK V

with single-spring exhaust valve and a

circa 1911 Morse No. 3 air pump, Diver’s

dress, gas-driven compressor, comboxes, underwater lights, and other

tools of the trade. Another display

window features a 1901 Japanese

abalone Diver — one of the original

group who emigrated from Japan to

operate the White Point abalone processTorrance Parker and Dr. William “Pete” Lee,

the former Director of the Los Angeles Maritime

Museum. Dr. Lee championed the 20,000 Jobs

Under the Sea exhibit before he retired last year.

ing facility. The manikin wears a Japanese

3-light helmet dating from the early 1900s,

with rare 90-degree inlet. Local artist

Guillermo Avalos painted the spectacular

background mural. Eerie black-light and

lifelike abalone sculpture recreate a

brilliantly realistic view of the ab Diver’s

world.

The Los Angeles Maritime Museum

is located on the main shipping channel

in the Port of Los Angeles and is

open Tuesday through Sunday. For

information, call (310) 548-7618.

The Fishery Diving Exhibit.

Leslie Jacobs is a freelance writer and

photographer from Redondo Beach, CA.

She has written a series of interviews with

veteran hardhat divers called “Voices of the

Deep” for the HDS Magazine.
1 2 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

The need for a new underwater repair procedure may present itself

at any moment. In one such case, a foreign

Navy FFG had run aground, creating an

urgent requirement for a new propeller

hub. A dry dock was not readily available

for the decommissioned ship identified as

the source of the hub. Mr. Michael Dean,

head of the Underwater Ship Husbandry

Division Naval Sea Systems Command

(NAVSEA 00C5), saw the need to develop

a procedure and put together a team to

determine the feasibility of an in-water hub

removal. While the plans for the hub removal were being formulated, the necessity for immediately supplying a hub was

alleviated. However, the in-water hub removal procedure was still worth developing and testing on an inactive ship. If the

concept of in-water propeller hub removal

could be proven on an inactive ship, then

the procedure could be developed for active ships. The in-water hub removal procedure would give the Navy an option for

a hub replacement other than a costly drydocking.

 NAVSEA 00C5 pulled togeth a team of

experts in the various areas required to develop this new procedure while providing

oversight and final approval. Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City

designed, built, and tested the cofferdam

and equipment associated with the hub

removal. Naval Surface Warfare Center

Carderock Division/Naval Ship Systems

Engineering Station Philadelphia

(NAVSSES) reviewed and provided expert

guidance in propeller hub mechanics and

removal procedures. Hull integrity was

scrutinized by NAVSEA 05 to ensure the

cofferdam would not damage the ship.

NAVSEA Inactive Ship

On-Site Maintenance

Office (NISMO) Philadelphia provided the facilities and inside mechanics for work on the

decommissioned ship.

Phoenix International,

Inc. provided diving,

welding, and design

support for the hub removal. Global PCCI- A

Joint Venture (GPC) onsite support included

both tools and personnel while design and

Cofferdam being lowered into place.

Upper part of Cofferdam structure coming out of the water.

manufacturing services were supplied

from GPC’s Cheatham Annex location.

Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility

(SIMA) Norfolk’s critical review of rigging

procedures for the cofferdam and Byrd

Johnson’s synopsis of dry-dock hub removal and installation procedures were of

invaluable assistance.

The underlying requirement for the

in water hub removal was to establish a

dry environment to protect the internals

of the hub and the shaft from water intrusion during the procedure.

NSWC Panama City engineers, machinists, and welders had the lion’s share

of the work in designing, fabricating, and

testing the cofferdam that would provide

this dry environment. The hub removal

followed the dry-dock procedure with the

exception that all work was performed in a

cofferdam pressurized to the pressure at

twenty feet below the water line.

The worst combinations of rigging

loads, hull shape irregularities, and water

pressure that could act upon the coffer-
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 3

dam were modeled to create a robust cofferdam and provide a safe working environment for the divers. The cofferdam designed would approximate the work area

that is used by mechanics in dry-dock.

Keeping the cofferdam to this relatively

compact size meant it could be installed as

a one piece unit around the hub. The

cofferdam’s height left a gap between the

top of the cofferdam and the ship’s hull.

The dewatered cofferdam would have

nothing to hold it down except the seal

around the strut barrel. An upper structure

with a jack stand at each corner was installed on top of the cofferdam to make up

for the gap between the cofferdam and the

ships hull. When bolted to the top of the

cofferdam the upper structure’s four jacks

would extend to make contact with the

hull. The upper structure, the seal around

the strut barrel, and rigging made the cofferdam and the ship react as one system

while the hub was being removed from the

shaft. NSWC Panama City’s single-point

rigging design used a trolley hoist to remove the hub from the propeller shaft and

greatly simplified what the divers had to

monitor and operate.

A decommissioned ship presented a

unique set of conditions in preparing for

hub removal. Piping missing, systems

open, and equipment removed was part of

the complication of working on an inactive

ship. A great deal of patience, perseverance, and system knowledge was shown

by NISMO mechanics in preparing the

ship for the hub removal.

With the ship ready on the inside and

the blades removed, Phoenix Divers

started the work everyone had come for -

hub removal. A 170-ton crane was used to

pick up the cofferdam from the pier. The

cofferdam was yard and stayed over the

propeller hub using the starboard lifting

tunnel’s rigging and the crane. Rigging

from port side lifting tunnels was used to

rotate the cofferdam to the upright position while the crane and starboard side rigging were used to control the rotation and

act as hold backs. Moving a nine-ton cofferdam into place with less than one inch

clearance on multiple sides in water with

visibility less than one foot is anything but

easy. The Phoenix crew handled the cofferdam as if it were a routine operation.

 With cofferdam in place, the hub was

connected to the lifting trolley, propeller

hub bolts were removed and the hub

was then easily pushed away from the

shaft. The trolley and beam method

worked very well and proved an easy and

effective way to move the hub within the

cofferdam.

 The blanked hub was lowered out of

the cofferdam and sent to the pier. At the

completion of the work, all five blades and

the propeller hub had been removed from

the FFG. The ship sits lighter with the abHub port view.

LCDR Bruce Hamilton is currently assigned

as part of the Underwater Ship Husbandry

Division, NAVSEA 00C5.

In summary, a careful determination is still required to understand: (1)

the number of salvage ships required to

conduct wartime harbor clearance and

channel clearance to permit rapid offload of strategic logistics ships in addition to the salvage ships engaged elsewhere in battle-damage recovery and

rescue towing missions, and (2) the increased demands on salvage ship manning resulting from diminishing surfacecombatant crew sizes. Our drive for

peacetime efficiency must not overwhelm our requirement for war-fighting

effectiveness.

During the last two Gulf wars, our

Naval losses (and therefore our requirements for salvage ships) were extremely

limited due in part to the enemy’s inept

and ineffectual use of mines. And there

was virtually no effort by enemy forces

to scuttle ships to block channels and

harbors. Our next enemy will not likely

be so foolish. Our biggest issue is not

whether we’re aboard ARSs or T-ARSs,

but whether our Navy’s salvage forces

(both ships and Salvors) must be properly sized and properly trained.

SUPSALV SENDS

sence of 52,000 pounds of weight; otherwise, the ship was left as it was found.

The removal of the propeller hub was a

great success. The efforts by all members

of the team performing this operation were

exemplary. The in-water hub procedure is

faster and less expensive than the equivalent dry-dock procedure. No extensive ship

preparation for and recovery from

dry-docking is required. The ship can stay

pier-side with no disruption to its normal

in-port routine. The development of an inwater hub replacement procedure for

active ships will be of great value to the

United States Navy, once again proving

the worth of underwater ship repair.

(...continued from page 2)

Captain Jim Wilkins
1 4 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

This page is designed to give the readers the latest “Buzz” on various topics to USN diving and its systems.

Compiled and written by MDV Steve Smith (smithss@navsea.navy.mil)

Standard Dive Systems: Standard life

support dive systems such as the LWDS,

FARCC, SNDL, TRCS, EEHS, and FADS

are just that, “standard”. NAVSEA has a

good and sound policy that keeps the

system configurations and OPs/EPs the

same. So regardless of where you get

stationed, your system configuration and

OPs/EPs should be the same. If a

“standard” system configuration or OPs/

EPs is substandard in your eyes, then

please submit a change request to MDV

Fred Orns or myself and we will test and

evaluate. If it is a change that will benefit

the Fleet or has substantial cost savings,

we will generate the change for all the

affected systems so that all can benefit.

Process Instruction 006: PI 006

“Viewports in Hyperbaric Systems” is now

signed and approved. It is applicable to all

manned hyperbaric chambers that are built

IAW ASME and PVHO standards. This PI

covers chambers with flat, conical frustum,

and double bevel disc windows for all

pressures. This PI cancels AIG 03-05 and

is available on our web page at http://

www.supsalv.org/.

Compressors: Recently there have been a

number of problems with the purification

systems of MAKO and Bauer compressors. We have found that one of the

problems is not maintaining pressure in

the purification system at all times. We are

making a change to 5921/063 5921/36 PMS

that will reflect a bi-monthly check, to

check and maintain appropriate pressure

in the purification system when not in use.

Some other steps to help avoid these

problems are: don’t count on the automatic drain alone, manually bleed down

periodically, remove filters when

compressor is not going to be used for an

extended period of time, maintain pressure

on the purification system at all times,

keep a compressor log, and change filters

regularly.

MK-21 MOD 1: It has come to our

attention that over the years Kirby

Morgan has made three different lengths

of neck clamp adjustment stud on the

Superlite 17/MK-21 MOD 1 helmets, some

as short as 2-1/2 in. If too short, this can

possibly create an “over tightening” effect

on the shell of the MK-21 MOD 1 helmet.

If the neck clamp handle on the neck

clamp/yoke assembly requires excessive

force when donning a MK-21 MOD1

helmet, then it requires attention. It could

be a simple matter of adjusting the nut.

However, in at least one case, the nut was

backed all the way out and enough force

was applied to crack the helmet shell.

During normal MK-21 diving this should

never be a problem, but when using the

helmet with dry suits with the integral neck

dam that are approved for contaminated

water diving, this could become a problem.

MK-21 EGS: When diving with an EGS

that has a J-Valve, ensure that it is in the

down position prior to starting the dive.

This requirement will be reflected in the

next Dive Manual revision.

Choices: NAVSEA has recently approved

the use of CPV valves and TESCOM

regulators as alternatives for the LWDS

and the FADS III systems. Revised

drawings reflecting these changes have

been issued for the FADS III. Revised

drawings reflecting these changes for the

LWDS will be issued soon. The LWDS

“Service to the Fleet”

manual has been changed to reflect this.

Changes to the FADS III manual are in

process and revised manuals will be issued

when ready.

Mishap Reporting: Everybody is familiar

with Appendix A6-M (Diving Mishap with

Hyperbaric Treatment) of OPNAVINST

5100.19D, but what about Appendix A6-N

of the same instruction? Appendix A6-N

requires reporting of all Class B or Class C

diving mishaps that don’t require hyperbaric treatment. Class B mishap is identified

as: The total cost of reportable property

damage is $200,000 or more, but less than

$1,000,000; an injury or work-related illness

resulting in permanent partial disability;

or a mishap resulting in the hospitalization

of three or more people. A Class C mishap

is identified as: The total cost of reportable

property damage is $20,000 or more, but

less than $200,000; or an injury preventing

an individual from performing regularly

scheduled duty or work beyond the day

or shift on which it occurred; or a nonfatal

illness or disability causing loss of time

from work or disability at any time (lost

time case). For more information, please

see the instruction.

Future: We are in the process of securing

funds, designing, and eventually building

a portable O2

 suitcase console that will

have the capability to be hooked up to

any existing dive system. We have talked

about actually converting existing

systems, but our analysis is that it would

be too cost prohibitive. The suitcase

console gives us a flexible and affordable

alternative. This will enable us to supply

100% O2

 to the Diver in the water column,

helping us to minimize the chances of DCS.

Once built, we will provide O2 suitcase

consoles to select commands to evaluate

and obtain data on new procedures and

tables that are designed to decrease the

probability of diving related illnesses.

Superlite 17/MK-21 MOD 1 helmet.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 5

cedures. So the PSOB you

used for your last certification may not be the most

current version.

System

Certification

Status Report:

The System Certification

Status Report is now

updated quarterly, and is

available on the 00C4

website.

System Certification

Manual (MAN-010):

but will be added to the 00C Technical

Publications CD at the earliest opportunity.

Read the manual, paying particular

attention to Chapters 2 (Administrative

Procedures of the System Certification Process), 3 (Initial Certification), and 5 (Repair

and Overhaul), as these pertain to

the Fleet certification process. Also, Appendices A (Categorization of Scope of

Certification Materials and Components),

H (Divers Handling Systems), and I (REC

procedures) provide required procedures

for the Fleet user.

On a bigger picture, most of the current Appendices will be taken out of

this manual for incorporation into a

NAVSEA Diving Life Support Systems

General Design Manual. Currently the

REC, OQE, Diver Handling Systems,

and those appendices that apply only to

certification, will be kept in the Certification Manual.

Over the next year we ask for your

comments and suggestions to improve

the manual. We look forward to your feedback on the revised manual, as this is your

guide to successful certification. Without

your input, we cannot respond to Fleet

needs.

The standard PSOBs on the 00C4

webpage are the only ones authorized for

system certification. Each command is responsible for downloading the most recent version of the applicable PSOB and

filling it out prior to the System Certification Site Survey. We continually update

these PSOBs to reflect the latest technical

requirements and system certification proThere are four recently updated Topside

Tech Notes on the 00C4 webpage:

 • Filters – Vol IX, Issue 2 (Jan 2004)

 • Moisture Separators – Vol V, Issue 3

 (Jan 2004)

 • Relief Valves – Vol I, Issue 2 (Jan 2004)

 • Flasks – Vol IV, Issue 3 (Feb 2004)

All diving commands should periodically

check the 00C4 webpage and download

the most recent issue of all applicable technical publications. We strongly encourage

dive lockers to use these Topside Tech

Notes to assist in Division training.

Standard PSOBs:

The 00C4 webpage also contains six

standard PSOBs:

 • LWDS (15 Nov 2003)

 • SNDL (17 Apr 2003)

 • TRCS with OL scrubber (15 Mar 2002)

 • TRCS without OL scrubber

 (15 Mar 2002)

 • Standard SSDS (1 Nov 2001)

 • Standard Chamber (15 May 2000)

Additionally, we are in the process of developing standard PSOBs for FADS III and

FARC systems. Until these standard

PSOBs are completed and put on the

00C4 webpage, continue to use the Standard SSDS or Standard Chamber PSOB for

these systems.

Topside Tech Notes:

The revision of the Safety Certification

Manual or “Orange Book”, as it has become to be known, was completed in February 2004. Hopefully you will find this version is easier to use with clear and up-todate certification procedures and technical

requirements. The responsibilities and requirements of certification are clearly

spelled out and the searchable CD format

makes it easy to find answers to your

questions. Currently it is a stand-alone CD,

The first major revision to the MAN-010 is

in for final Fleet review. We are hoping to

issue the revised MAN-010 by the Working Divers Conference (or shortly thereafter). We will issue an AIG 239 to inform the

Fleet when the MAN-010 revision is issued.

A limited number of manual CDs will be

mailed out to Dive Commands. The manual

will be available for download from the 00C4

webpage.

Certification Manual

Revision:

Standard Navy Double Lock Chamber (SNDL).
1 6 A u g u s t 2 0 0 3

The Navy’s Contribution to Diving

This is an excerpt from “20,000 Jobs Under the Sea, A History of Diving and Underwater Engineering” by Torrance R. Parker

Like underwater burning, much ofAmerica’s early diving development

was the result of U.S. Naval diving

operations. An example of Naval Divers

and their contributions to diving is the

work of Master Diver Frank W. Crilley.

Crilley made record air dives to depths

over 300 feet during the 1915 salvage

operations on the sunken submarine F-4.

President Calvin Coolidge awarded Crilley

the Congressional Medal of Honor for his

heroism in rescuing fellow Diver William F.

Loughman when he became entangled in

the steel sweep wires during operations to

salvage the F-4. Loughman survived, but

suffered permanent paralysis from the

bends.

Another Navy Diver who helped

develop modern diving methods was

Garland Suggs. Suggs, designated a

Master Diver in 1928, participated in the

Navy’s early oxy-helium diving test work,

and eventually served as chief instructor at

the Navy’s Diving and Salvage School in

Washington, D.C. Once, on special

assignment by the Navy, Suggs salvaged

Howard Hughes’ record-breaking aircraft

from Lake Mead’s deep water. Impressed

with Suggs, Hughes offered him a job upon

retirement from the service. Suggs

accepted, and worked the remainder of his

life for Hughes after retiring from diving.

Master Diver Frank W. Crilley.

Master Diver Garland Suggs.
A u g u s t 2 0 0 3 1 7

The sun was shining, the seas werecalm and crystal blue on the island of

Crete. Detachment Alpha of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two (MDSU TWO)

was hosting the 2003 Joint U.S./Hellenic

Diving Exercise, better known as the

Greek DIVEX. This was a continuation of

a joint NATO diving and salvage exercises MDSU TWO has been conducting

with Hellenic Special Forces and Fleet

Divers for a number of Mediterranean deployments. With Master Diver Mike Babin

running the dive site, Detachment Alpha

was ready to show Hellenic Navy and

Special Forces Divers the U.S. Navy surface supplied diving protocol.

Topics such as MK-21 familiarization

and underwater cutting and welding were

thoroughly covered in a classroom setting

and then put to use within the clear waters

of Souda Bay.

This team of 15 U.S. Navy Divers,

stationed TAD aboard USNS Mohawk

(T-ATF 170), were in the final stages of a

Mediterranean deployment in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom and

COMSIXTHFLT, when they were requested by the Hellenic Navy to give

training to their Greek counterparts.

 The Greek Divers

were impressed with

the ease of set up and

deployability that was

afforded to U.S. Navy

Divers u s i ng t h e

FA D S 3 S S D S. So

much so that they inquired about the possibility of buying one.

Of course, when told

the sticker price, they

were a little less eager

to make the purchase.

 The Greeks quickly

mastered the MK-21

SSDS rig and were eager to pursue underwater cutting and

welding. They were taught waterborne

cutting techniques with the Broco oxygen

system and wet welding with a Miller

welder fortified with a power converter. A

piece of quarter inch thick plate steel was

taken down on the stage and clamped to a

home-made work bench previously fabricated by Det Alpha Divers.

 The Hellenic Divers then attempted to

cut the practice plate utilizing the methods

previously taught to them by MDSU TWO

Divers. There were varying degrees of

success, as with any Diver that

has attempted to use this system

for the first time. The cutting

torch was pulled up and the

welding stinger was lowered to

the Divers and they attempted to

fill in holes and run beads on

what was left of the steel plate.

During the DIVEX, a call

came from COMNAVEUR for

Navy Divers to evaluate a potential salvage of a sunken cargo

ship in the main port of war torn

Monrovia, Liberia. The Detachment OIC CWO4 Armstrong

and MDV Babin were quickly

dispatched by COMSIXTHFLT for this

mission.

This left Detachment Alpha and the

Greek Divers in the capable hands of Detachment LCPO, MMC(DSW) Andy

Degitz. Dive training was resumed with

unbridled enthusiasm.

For ten days the Divers of Det Alpha

and their Greek counterparts continued

plunging to the bone-crushing depth of 30

feet beneath the sleek hull of the USNS

Mohawk to train. The result was 22 successful dives with over 870 minutes of

bottom time safely accomplished.

At the conclusion of the exercise, Det

Alpha hosted a Bar-B-Q for their Greek

counterparts and in return the Greek

Divers invited the U.S. Navy Divers to a

celebratory dinner of traditional Greek

foods. Det Alpha enjoyed the octopus and

squid and learned a greater appreciation of

Greek cuisine and hospitality. The evening

concluded with the presentation of certificates and trading of dive pins by all participants.

It was mutually agreed that the exercise was a great success and that future

diving and salvage exercises should be

planned to further the cooperation and

training between the two countries.

LT Col Mataras going “up and over”.

WO (MDV) Kantzios and HT1 (DSW) Valentine posing

for the camera.

By: HMC(DSW) Kenneth R. Meler

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO Det Alpha
1 8 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

First of all, in response to BMCM(MDV)Fred Orns’ (Faceplate Vol. 6, Number 2,

November 2002) claim that he’s good looking. Have any of you seen Fred when he

gets up in the morning? Where did he get

that mirror? Just kidding Fred!

Well shipmates, I have given four

line-pulls and I’m coming up and over. It’s

time to step down and let the talent that

WE have been cultivating and allow them

to take the side. My

emphasis for this article is the future, not

the past. I, as much

as anyone in the

Fleet, spend a lot of

time looking back

fondly at the “Good

Ole’ Days” and telling sea stories that

get better and better

with each passing

year. But I will tell

you all this - I have

never been more

proud of Fleet Divers

of today and their

accomplishments.

 Why? Because

the Divers of today

are just as motivated and dedicated as we

ever were, but their level of knowledge and

hunger for more is exponentially higher.

When I was a young Diver, the MDV had

the one and only copy of the Diving

Manual under lock and key in his office.

We were too proud to show our shipmates

that we didn’t have the manual memorized

and we “needed” it to get smarter. Today,

there are more manuals in print, on CD, or

website than can be held by Barnes and

Noble. The numbers of 2nd Class Divers

that are Diving Supervisor qualified is

amazing. As a DORA inspector, I get out

quite a bit to see it first hand. In fact, last

year I witnessed (along with others) the

best neurological exam I have ever seen,

and it was done by a first term 5343!

 So, how do we take this hunger, talent,

motivation, and expertise, and apply it to

Sea Warrior (you need to read up on

this)? It will not be easy, my friends. Much

of what the senior enlisted diving leadership has been wrestling with these past

months has been trying breakdown what

we do into its smallest parts, so we can

determine the best way to train our Divers.

No salvage job or ship repair evolution I

have ever done can

compare to this task

in terms of planning

for the unknown

and the absolute

necessity to wipe

the slate clean and

not hang onto the

“that’s the way we

have always done

it” mentality. But I

liken this to a salvage or UWSH job.

Our job is not to

complain that we

can’t do it, or that it

won’t work! Our

job, our forte these

past 120 or so

years, has been accomplishing the impossible. We are the

ultimate problem solvers! Yes, this task is

uncomfortable and mind numbing on its

best day, but we must prevail.

It has been an honor and a privilege

serving with you and for you these 20 or

so years. Rest assured I will continue to

support the Fleet diving community in any

capacity I can in the years to come. I am

comforted in the fact that the watch will

be relieved, and relieved well. The

process of Sailors moving on and others

stepping up to fill the void is tried and

true.

In closing, I would like to recognize

the Master Divers that helped “make” me:

MDV Scott Heineman.

ENCM(MDV) Ray Straining,

MDV Scott Heineman prepares to enter the

water for a dive on USS MONITOR.

These men have had the greatest impact on my career. I hope in some way that

I have had the same effect on some of

you.

JAKE’S

CORNER

By: Otto Adams

Drawing was created by CWO4 Rick Armstrong.

HTCM(MDV) Donnie Laurin,

HTCM(MDV) Rudy Watts,

BMCM(MDV) Mike Einhellig,

ENCS(MDV) Clifford Ellis,

HTCM(MDV) Rick Armstrong,

BMCM(MDV) Oly Olson,

MMCM(MDV) Rusty Hunt,

HTCM(MDV) Lino Matteoni.
A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 9

Topside; Red Diver...

From the Supervisor of Diving

 Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Twenty-four years ago, the currentSupervisor of Salvage, Captain Jim

Wilkins, the former Supervisor of Diving,

Captain Chris Murray and I were all

engaged in training at the new Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in

Panama City, Florida. We trained in the

venerable MK V, MK I, MK-12, Jack

Browne, and of course, SCUBA.

In SCUBA, we dove with Modified

UDT or Fenzy life preservers; state of the

art, we were told. We always thought we

should wrap our arms through the straps

and hoist the doubles over our head, then

slide them down our backs into position

when donning the gear. We learned this

technique from our hero, the great Mike

Nelson, played by Lloyd Bridges in the

television series Sea Hunt. We assumed

everything we learned at the school in

those days was cutting edge technology,

and if Nelson donned his bottles in that

fashion, so should we. MDV Wes Gummel

had a different opinion, but never

corrected us, quietly smiling as he

allowed us to break our backs. MDV

Gummel knew Divers had to learn some

things on their own, and he enjoyed the

entertainment brought by successive

classes of mud puppies.

Twenty years later, while I was in

command of the Dive School, we determined to celebrate the 20th anniversary of

NDSTC in Panama City. We dedicated the

school to VADM “Swede” Momsen with

the assistance of our guest speaker,

former USMC Commandant, General Al

Gray, sponsored a BBQ, street rod and big

bike show, equipped and dedicated the

“Hall of Heroes” for our Medal of Honor

Divers, and built a Master Diver “Wall of

Fame.” We also sponsored, with the

assistance of one our great diving predecessors – GENESIS and SEALAB Diver

Bob Barth – a fish fry for former SEALAB

and Deep Submergence Sailors. It was a

great party.

It was during that festive occasion

that Bob introduced me to Bev Morgan, of

Kirby-Morgan fame. Bev cut Lloyd

Bridges his wet suits for the Sea Hunt

series. It was during that conversation

with Bev that he laughingly mentioned

how they had made a set of balsa wood

SCUBA cylinders (doubles) for Lloyd so

he could easily throw them over his head

in the fashion we desperately tried to copy

while at NDSTC.

A valuable lesson was recorded that

day...

Now we are in a fairly critical time in

our Navy diving history. Captain Wilkins,

Captain Murray and I never expected 24

years ago that we would be so positioned,

and through our collaborative efforts

could advance Navy Diving-we just

wanted to survive and graduate. But here

we are and we understand completely our

obligation to our Navy Diving community.

It’s payback time. We cannot afford to

make assumptions regarding our future

Divers and the equipment they will employ. Our underwater capabilities are at

stake, and it is up to us, Navy Divers, to

preserve our valuable diving skill-set for

our Fleet.

Captain Gary Windhorst, commanding

the Center for EOD and Diving, and Commander Dave Davis, commanding NDSTC

in Panama City, heavily engaged through

the Revolution in Training, are completing

the analysis leading to formation of Fleet

Diver and EOD Diver ratings. Training efficiency is a paramount consideration for

them and that means that Fleet Diving requirements must be explicitly detailed and

catalogued. Fleet involvement is integral

to this process, and must be supported by

experienced Fleet Master Divers. Only

through quality Master Diver input can

Captain Windhorst and Commander Davis

hope to complete this monumental task

and provide dive training that is efficient

and responsive to Fleet requirements.

Neither Captain Windhorst nor Commander Davis can rely on mere assumptions to execute their training plan... as fellow Divers, we are all obliged to support

them, and without emotion.

We at 00C3 understand a need to review our Fleet diving program. We have

targeted four areas for review where we

expect to (1) improve efficiency, (2) improve responsiveness and enhance

interoperability, (3) advance technology,

and (4) better engage with the Fleet.

In future issues of FACEPLATE I will

share more detail in each of these areas,

but I do want give you a brief example of

one initiative for your consideration.

Under the heading of improve efficiency we will replace our current air decompression tables with tables and procedures based on the VVAL-18 decompression algorithm. Bob Kilpatrick of our office

and MDV (Ret.) Paul Schadow have developed the concept for the required hardware to give our Divers in-water O2

. We

hope to prove the concept, including certification, by July. Captain (Dr.) John

Murray and Dr. Ed Flynn are preparing a

plan for implementation of the new Air

Tables.

Some advantages of the new tables

include SurDO2 capability to 190 fsw,

longer No-D times between 120 and 190

fsw, and fully integrating a single table format for air/O2

, and AirSurDO2 dives.

I view the VVAL-18 tables as an intermediate step toward our ultimate goal of

fielding a “probabilistic” model vice our

current “deterministic” dive tables in our

effort to “optimize” bottom time and decompression obligation. After we have

gathered sufficient data, using computers

coupled with digital depth measurement

systems, Drs. Flynn, Murray and Drs.

Gerth and Southerland at the Experimental

Dive Unit will expand our diving capability

wherein we maximize our allowable Bottom

Time and minimize a corresponding

amount of safe Decompression Time. We

shouldn’t be penalized in decompression

for “square” dives we do not make. Remember: time is money, and we can not afford to spend unwarranted time “cooking”

in the round house, nor can we afford to

cut short, in aggregate, our TBT.

There has been concern over the

loss of bottom time at 40 fsw on the VVAL18 Table. I believe we will eventually increase our available bottom time at that

depth when we “drive the dive” by com-
R

EVISIONS

GENERALNOTES

BU.NO.S9400-921583

REV. D

ATE

DESCRIPTION

APPROVED

ABCD

APPROVED BY CAPT MARK V. HELMKAMP

U.S. NAVY SUPERVISOR OF DIVING

“NOT A CERTIFIED DIVING APARATUS”

PC 77 ADDED TO GENERAL NOTE NO. 1

11

14

41

11

14

44

12

14

44

LOCKING DEVICE AND GEN. NOTES NO.’S. 1, 3, 4. AND 8 ADDED. ALTERED LEGEND ON NAME PLATE ALSO ON NOTE NO. 1 TO 11 ADDITION OF NEW SHEETS NO.’S 2 AND 10 TO SET. PAGE NUMBE

RS

CHANGED FROM 007 TO 008. TITLE ALTERED TO COVER ADDITIONAL

SHEETS. CORRECTIONS MADE TO DRAWING, ADDED PCS 13, 74, 76, & 78. PLAN NUMBER CHANGED FROM BU.NO. 417976 TO BU.NO.S9400-921583. 7 2947

E

PLAN NUMBER CHANGED FROM “STANDARD PLAN” TO “HULL STANDARD PLAN.”

12

15

56

___________________________ ________________________

__________________________________ PRINCIPLE ENGINEER

N

__________________________________ FOR CHIEF OF BUREAU REV D

_______________________

___________________________

HULLSTANDARDPLAN

NAVYSTANDARDDIVINGHELMET

MARKVMOD. I GENERAL ARRANGEM

ENT

10 SHEETS

SCALE 6” 1 FOOT

SHEET I

BUREAU OF SHIPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. N

AVYDEPARTMENT

APRIL 6, 1948

DATE1. 

PC. NO. 1 & 68 SHOWN ON SHEET NO. 2 BU.NO.S9400-921591

 “ “ 2 & 3 “ “ 3 “ “ “ -921584

 “ “ 4 TO 11 INCL. “ “ 4 “ “ “ -921585

 “ “ 12 20 “ “ “ 5 “ “ “ -921586

 “ “ 21 39 “ “ “ 6 “ “ “ -921587

 “ “ 40 50 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -921588

 “ “ 51 55 “ “ “ 8 “ “ “ -921589

 “ “ 56 59 “ “ “ 9 “ “ “ -921590

 “ “ 60 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -921588

 “ “ 61 65 “ “ “ 6 “ “ “ -921587

 “ “ 66 67 “ “ “ 9 “ “ “ -921590

 “ “ 68 70 “ “ “ 10 “ “ “ -921593

 “ “ 71 72 “ “ “ 8 “ “ “ -921589

 “ “ 73 77 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -921588

2. DIVERS AIR AND EXHAUST VALVES SHOWN ON BU.NO.S9400-921580 SHALL BE FURNISHED

 AS PART OF HELMET CONTRACT. 3. WELDING LENS FACE PLATE SHO

WN ON BUREAU NO S9400-921582 SHALL NOT BE FURNISHED

 AS PART OF HELMET CONTRACT. 4. FOR DIVERS DRESS SEE BUREAU P

LAN NO’S. 583407 AND 583408. 5. METHOD OF FASTENING ATTACHMENTS TO HELMET SHELL AND C

OLLAR:

 THE HELMET PC.1 AND THE COLLAR PC.56 ARE TINNED IN WAY OF THE FAYING SURFACES

OF ALL PARTS INTENDED FOR ATTACHMENT.

 THE WINDOW FRAMES PCS. 6, 21, AND 16; THE AIR DUCT PC.2; THE TELEPHONE CUP PC. 43;

THE PAD FOR WELDING CLIP PC. 68 AND THE SCREW RING (FEMALE) PC.4 ARE SECURED TO

THE HELMET SHELL PC. 1 BY TINNING AND SWEATING TIGHT. THE SCREW RING (MALE) PC. 5 IS SECURED TO COLLAR PC 56 IN THE SAME MANNER.

 THE GOOSENECKS PCS. 40 AND 41 TOGETHER WITH THEIR WASHERS PC. 42 ARE FIRST

TINNED AND AFTER SECURELY FASTENING THEM TO THE HELMET PC. 1 BY COPPER RIVETS,

THEY ARE SWEATED TIGHT.

 THE COLLAR RING PC. 51 IS FIRST FORMED TO FIT THE COLLAR SHELL PC. 56 AND BOTH

ARE TINNED. THE SKIRT OF THE COLLAR SHELL IS THEN WORKED NEATLY AROUND THE OUTER

EDGE OF THE RING AND THE TWO SURFACES SWEATED TOGETHER. BEAD PC. 71 SOLDERED

ON TOP OF RING.

 THE OUTLET EXHAUST BODY PC.25 AND ITS THREADED WASHER PC. 27 ARE FIRST TINNED. THE AFTER END OF THE VALVE BODY IS SECURELY COPPER RIVETED TO THE HELMET SHELL PC. 1 AND THE THREADED WASHER PC. 27 IS SCREWED ON AND SWEATED TIGHT. THE WHOLE BODY THEN SWEATED TIGHT.

 THE BALL SPIT COCK PC. 28 AND ITS THREADED WASHER PC 32 SHALL BE SECURED IN THE

SAME MANNER.

 THE SAFETY LOCK BRACKET PC. 34 AND THE WASHER PC. 37 ALSO, THE EYELETS PC. 46 WITH

THEIR WASHERS PC. 47 SHALL BE FIRST TINNED, THEN RIVETED UP AND SWEATED TIGHT.

 THE STUDS PCS. 36 AND 39 SHALL PASS THROUGH THE COLLAR RING PC. 51 AND THE HEADS

SHALL BE SOLDERED TIGHT ON THE INSIDE OF THE COLLAR SHELL PC. 56.

 THE NAME PLATE SHALL BE SECURED BY BRASS RIVETS MADE WATER TIGHT BY SOLDERING

ON THE INSIDE.

 THE SOLDER USED CONSISTS OF MIXTURE OF EQUAL QUANTITIES OF LEAD AND TIN. THIS PLAN SUPERSEDES BU. NO.417976. DRAWN BY: EXAMINED BY: IN CHARGE OF: DATE: 40 42 46 48 30 DATE 1

35

2

27

25

21

22545726987105914131220612256511232446476667

A

A

4

30

49

44

42

41

2

1

16

73

74

75

A

76

40

42

45

48

50

18620

17

13

12

148182654114647 56 5451214142444950

73

74

73

76

A

10

A

61

62

481134353637

56

24

39

23

52

51

52

21

22

53

18

25

27

433435363761512

A

13

20

55

57

18

17

16

4361514685622191213202629303132334647 3853

39

A

63

64

65

A

SEEGEN. NOTE NO. 2

7

10

=

53
2 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

Topside; Red Diver... (continued)

Here’s my address:

Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Supervisor of Diving

Code 00C3B

1333 Isaac Hull Ave, SE Stop 1073

Washington Navy Yard, DC 20376

If you’re the impatient sort, my email

address is helmkampmt@navsea.navy.mil

OK, Red?

puter. “Table-jumping” is becoming more

common and clearly indicates a faulty process; we must forge ahead and update our

air decompression procedures.

The intervening period using the

VVAL-18 tables will require the dedication

of all Master Divers to ensure data is consistently and accurately collected. If we

have any hope of advancing our profession, we need to collect this data accurately.

As always, I am counting on you,

the Fleet Master Diver, as your support

and personal involvement is critical to the

success of this endeavor. You are kidding

yourself if you are comfortable with the

status quo; a visit to DEMA or ADC will

quickly reveal that Navy Diving has room

to improve, both in safety AND efficiency.

Let’s do it.

In future issues, I will discuss our

other initiatives, including our Fly-Away

Sat System, Dive Manual changes, interagency diving, advanced air quality monitoring, diving computers and data loggers,

contaminated water diving, and future EOD

and NSW diving systems.

As your “Supervisor Topside” I

am very interested in hearing your “bottom reports” – from the working Diver.

LCDR Paul Fleishman, MDVs Smith and

Orns are standing by to hear your advice

and concerns and are eager to serve. So far

I’ve heard from MDVs Balesi, Furr,

Stogdale, Westbrook, Wiggins, Bradford

(MDV Brick always provides interesting

feedback) and Van Horn and am always

interested in hearing and learning from our

Fleet Master Divers. Don’t be shy about

calling and giving me your bottom report!

OK, Red?

USN Diving history. In this issue, the MK

V print was prepared by Mr. Brian Deitz of

NDSTC. I’m told Brian worked over a

weekend to meet my admittedly inflexible

and unreasonable demands. Thanks

Brian... and great job! Our centerfold for a

future issue is already in the works and

will give a glimpse into the inner workings

of one of Navy’s greatest contributions

to the science of diving...Any guesses?

OK, Red?

The Age of Aquarius...

The Underwater Swim School Reunion is scheduled for 7 - 9 May, 2004 in Coronado.

Contact Don Stone for more information at stonefish7@cs.com or call (561) 391-6727.

This year’s Sealab/Man-In-The-Sea Reunion will be held in San Diego, CA on May 9-11,

2004. A special invitation is extended to all of our friends from the various Deep Submergence

communities. This year’s festivities will be held at the Holiday Inn Bayside. For reservations

call (800) 662-8899 and ask for the “Reunion 2004” rate.

Letters to the Editor...

Feel a burning desire to sound off andwant to be heard by our diving community? Square your shoulders and send

me a letter or email and tell me about it.

And if I deem them appropriate for this

publication, I will publish them and provide a response where warranted. Controversial issues are acceptable, but don’t

bother me with anything offensive.

How many of you out there served in or graduated from the Naval School of

Diving and Salvage at the Washington

Navy Yard? How many of you choked on

exhaust fumes and dodged DC traffic during morning PT, experienced Anacostia

River muck, and recall the Thomas

O’Malley? The school is gone of course,

but there is nothing to mark the site where

many great Navy Deep-Sea Divers earned

the right to wear the hard-hat. Captain

Mike Herb and I discussed a bronzed

“Jake” to mark this hallowed ground. Is

this a worthy project? I think so, and I will

inquire with Chuck Micele of the ARS/

ASR Society to see if there is interest there

too. Let me know what you think. More to

follow.... OK, Red?

Old Copperhead...

I

t seems to me that we should recognize

 our senior active duty Officer and Enlisted Hard Hat Divers. In our next issue, I

will introduce our “Old Copperhead” -

both officer and enlisted. Do you know

who they are? OK, Red?

Faceplate Centerfold...

Centerfold? Now don’t have an embo- lism...calm down; take a vent. Occasionally, we’ll provide something that will

give you a little insight into our fabulous

WNY Dive School Memorial...

Aquarius is an underwater ocean labora- tory located in the Florida Keys national Marine Sanctuary. The laboratory is

deployed three and half miles offshore, at

a depth of 60 feet, next to spectacular coral

reefs. Scientists live in Aquarius during

ten-day missions using saturation diving

to study and explore our coastal ocean.

Aquarius is owned by NOAA and is operated by the National Undersea Research

Center at the University of North Carolina

at Wilmington. Our Undersea Medical Officers have been supporting Aquarius

missions since 2000. These diving doctors

receive valuable real-world saturation

dive training and Aquarius receives topnotch medical assistance. This symbiotic

relationship will be expanded this year to

include 1st and 2nd Class Divers acting in

support roles. UMO’s are coordinated

through CDR (Dr.) Ross Levine at

NDSTC. 1st and 2nd Class Divers will be

scheduled through MDV Steve Smith of

our office. I have dove Aquarius and was

in sat there in December – a fantastic experience – an experience I would like as

many of our Divers as possible to take

advantage of as we look ahead to our

own fly-away saturation diving system.

Want to know more? Go to: http://

www.uncw.edu/aquarius/ OK, Red?