2 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

SUPSALV SENDS

In This Issue

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.

Never in U.S. history has there been asalvage effort the size and scope of

that required in the aftermath of Hurricanes KATRINA and RITA. Approximately 500 miles of coastline in four different states (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) incurred the wrath of

these two storms which left over 3,000

commercial vessels sunken, stranded or

fully aground as the storms’ floodwaters

receded. Thankfully, only a few of these

casualties were deep-draft vessels, and

their owners removed them with little

damage almost immediately. But the remaining thousands included commercial

barges and fishing or shrimping vessels

with displacements over 100 tons.

What was the U.S. Navy salvage role?

Like so much of the KATRINA response

effort, it is a story of “First Responders”

and “Long Term Recovery.”

First responders: Part of the Navy team

in Joint Task Force (JTF) KATRINA was

a salvage and diving element (CTE

20.7.1.3) under command of CO MDSU2

(CDR Glenn Allen) and including USS

GRAPPLE (ARS 53) (LCDR Brandt),

which arrived in the early stages of

KATRINA response. An advance detachment of MDSU2 led by CWO3 Rick

Cavey immediately began local interagency coordination to apply their resources in a “first-aid” manner...hitting the

obvious, high-priority requirements both

for side-scan survey and diving and salvage. MDSU2’s exceptional record of success reduced the remaining immediate

priority work by removal of several wrecks

blocking waterways near Biloxi, MS.

USS GRAPPLE conducted channel and

port clearance ops in Pascagoula, MS and

Mobile, AL, assisting local authorities in

restoring these ports for commerce. CTE

20.7.1.3 also included a hydrographic surSUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2

Sorbet Royal 2005 ......................................... 3

MDSU ONE Aids in Repatriation of Air Crew. 5

MK V Monument at WNY.. ............................. 6

CARAT 2005 .................................................. 7

Breath-Hold Diving......................................... 8

Seabee Divers Help Restore Aquarius ........ 10

Hurricane Response .................................... 11

Hurricane Clean-Up ..................................... 12

Barge Explosion and Salvage Case Study .. 14

Historical Diving Society .............................. 15

The Pipe (Part 2) ......................................... 16

Patent Foramen Ovale and the Diver .......... 18

Hard Hat History .......................................... 21

From the Managing Editor ........................... 21

Albany Screw Change ................................. 22

Degree Opportunities for Navy Divers ......... 23

Ex-Oriskany Sinking .................................... 24

Command in the Spotlight ........................... 25

The Old Master ............................................ 27

Topside; Red Diver...From SUPDIVE .......... 28

vey team from Naval Special Clearance

Team 1 and an international contingent of

French and Canadian divers. This peacetime operation proved our USN Salvage

Forces’ wartime harbor and channel clearance capability and criticality.

Long-term recovery: In addition to

the tactical salvage element of JTF

KATRINA, the Chief of Naval Operations

and the Deputy Secretary of Defense

directed SUPSALV to undertake the

following national-level mission:

(“SUPSALV SENDS”continued on p. 5)

Captain Jim Wilkins, USN

Director of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

NAVSEA 00C

james.r.wilkins@navy.mil

Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Supervisor of Diving

Editor In Chief

mark.helmkamp@navy.mil

LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret.)

Managing Editor

jimbladhsr@aol.com

BMCM(SW/MDV) Frederick Orns, USN

ENCS (MDV) Brian Pratschner, USN

QMCM(MDV) Danny Boyd, USN

Fleet Liaison Editors

frederick.orns@navy.mil

brian.pratschner@navy.mil

danny.boyd@navy.mil

Zoya Gorbunova

Production Manager

zgorbunova@roh-inc.com

Otto C. Adams

Senior Graphic Designer

oadams@roh-inc.com

Cover Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Hermanson, a USS GRAPPLE Deep-Sea Diver prepares to dive. From Mark Lonsdale’s new book “Navy

Divers: Performance Under Pressure.” Photo authorized by Best Publishing Company, www.bestpub.com.

Working to support an integrated team of

FEMA, USCG, and U.S. Army Corps representatives, SUPSALV responded to tasking throughout the waterfront, principally

in southern Louisiana. To help us coordinate hydrographic surveys, the Oceanographer of the Navy provided LCDR Sean

Memmen. For wreck-removal work, most

involved rigging and lifting stranded commercial fishing and shrimping vessels

along the levees and banks of the Mississippi River and associated waterways. Approximately 80% of the vessels were high

and dry and required no diving, with only

about 20% partially or completely sunken.

To accomplish this work, we engaged

DonJon Marine (and several sub-contracted commercial salvors) for wreck removal, and Phoenix International to develop an interactive wreck removal database. Although our work is not complete,

as of this writing, over 300 of an anticipated 340 vessels assigned to us by either

“Under the direction of FEMA, provide

coordinated strategic direction of

national assets for KATRINA-related

hydrographic survey and marine

salvage response in selected off-shore

areas, channels, waterways, ports, and

harbors, with an ultimate goal of

critical maritime reconstitution

consistent with FEMA priorities.”
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 3

Divers from Mobile Diving andSalvage Unit TWO (MDSU2) Deep

Diving Detachment TWENTY, USS

GRASP (ARS 51) and Deep

Submergence Unit (DSU) participated

in one of the largest and most

challenging live submarine escape

and rescue exercises ever conducted –

NATO Exercise “SORBET ROYAL”

2005.

It was held in June and July 2005

in the Mediterranean off the coast of

Taranto, Italy. The Fly Away Mixed

Gas System (FMGS), Submarine

Rescue Chamber (SRC), and

Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS), were

employed in a coordinated effort to

demonstrate interoperability of

equipment and personnel necessary to

support U.S. Navy and NATO Submarine

Rescue Operations.

After a brief planning and training

period, key supporting cast from MDSU2

Administration, Supply, and Operations

Sorbet Royal 2005 By: CWO4 Jeffrey Zagurski

Departments, along with a ten-man

element from Detachment TWENTY,

mobilized over 30,000 standard cubic feet

of compressed breathing gas and 39

tons of specialized mixed gas diving

equipment and personnel. Everything was

loaded aboard a DC10 Aircraft at Norfolk

Naval Air Station for transport to Naval

Air Station, Sigonella, Sicily and further

transported to USS GRASP (ARS 51) in

Augusta Bay for

the exercise.

 Participation

in the exercise

afforded MDSU2

a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate its ability to mobilize

specialized

equipment and

personnel into the

COMSIXTHFLT

Area Of Responsibility (AOR).

 Throughout

the exercise,

divers were provided unique opportunities to dive

MK-21 using surface-supplied mixed gas,

cross-train with Russian and Turkish

divers, operate U.S.-specific rescue systems, and support the United Kingdom

Royal Navy transfer under pressure (TUP)

protocol with the U.K. (LR5, a free swimming submarine rescue vehicle deployed from the Icebreaker Fennika)

throughout the exercise.

“This is the first time I’ve had the

opportunity to work with my counterparts from other nations,” said

HTC(sel)(DSW) John Valentine. “I

worked with Russian, Turkish, and

Canadian divers and although the

basic steps are the same, everyone did

things a little differently.”

Valentine, a diver for Mobile

Diving and Salvage Unit TWO, said

he was surprised at how well everyone

meshed from the onset. “I walked

away from this experience with a lot

of respect for the different services and

for the capabilities they bring to the table.

At one point, we had three different

evolutions set up and operating on the

fantail of the (USS) GRASP.”

With over 40 different nations now

operating submarines worldwide, an

exercise such as Sorbet Royal offers a rich

training environment to work together and

solve complex disaster rescue problems

under a variety of difficult circumstances.

GMC(sel)(DSW/SW) James Dertilis,

a MDSU2 diver, said that the sheer number

The Atmospheric Diving Suit deployed from

USS GRASP can assist submarine rescues down

to 2,000 feet while the diver inside remains at

surface pressure.

The ITS PRIMO LONGOBARDO alongside at the naval

base in Taranto with various ships participating in

Sorbet Royal 2005 in the background.

ITS SAN GIUSTO was the command and control ship for Sorbet Royal

2005. She is an amphibious landing platform designed to carry vehicles

and marines.
4 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

of assets participating

in Sorbet Royal was

impressive. “What

surprised me the most

was how many units

they were able to

assemble from so

many countries.”

While it may not

be immediately apparent during the

search phase for a

missing and presumably lost submarine,

divers play an important part in many aspects of submarine

escape and rescue.

Using towed and

autonomous sonar

systems, divers

deployed on small surface craft would be

used to search pre-determined grids in

effort to locate the disabled submarine

(DISSUB). Once the DISSUB is located,

SCUBA, surface-supplied air, mixed-gas,

and saturation divers would be used in

conjunction with other rescue systems.

Divers work to inspect the hull, clear

access to hatches, attach supply lines to

deliver fresh air to the crew or provide

high pressure air through fittings in

attempt to re-establish buoyancy. The

ultimate goal is always to save lives. In

addition, divers can deliver watertight

pods containing food, medical supplies or

atmosphere control chemicals to keep the

crew alive while awaiting rescue.

During the exercise GMC(sel)

Dertilis dived 130 feet down to a bottomed

Turkish sub while working off the Finnish

icebreaker MS/V Fennika. “I’ve dived on

subs before, but it has always been

pierside. This was my first time diving on

a sub sitting on the bottom. It was really

impressive swimming down towards the

sail of the sub and then seeing the SRC

(Submarine Rescue Chamber) hooked up

to the hatch.”

For a disabled submarine (DISSUB)

below the depths at which divers can

work, an Atmosphere

Diving Suit (ADS) or

Remotely Operated

Vehicle (ROV) can allow

similar tasks to be carried

out.

Diver’s ability to operate recompression chambers provides another dimension to the submarine

rescue process because of

the potential for decompression sickness (DCS)

from exposure to increased internal pressure

created from a breech in

the submarines pressure hull. Rescued

submariners exhibiting signs of DCS

would be admitted to a recompression

chamber and treated with accelerated reThe USS GRASP deploys a submarine rescue chamber to the Italian submarine

Longobardo awaiting rescue on the bottom.

compression therapy and breathing 100 percent oxygen.

For most of the divers

involved in Sorbet Royal 2005,

the concept of performing a

search and rescue operation on a

disabled sub has always been a

theoretical exercise. GMC(sel)

Dertilis said that walking away

from this experience, he realizes

that we have the skills and

equipment to do it in the real

world. “I know we’re totally

capable of rescuing people from

the bottom,” said Dertilis, “more

importantly, this type of exercise

allows us to build confidence in

other countries’capabilities.

Should services be required, we

know who we can contact, what

type of equipment they have, and

how to work together in order to reach

distressed submariners as fast as possible.”

Future Sorbet Royal exercises are

already in the planning stages. Mobile

Diving and Salvage Unit TWO is

homeported in Little Creek, Virginia and

is commanded by CDR Glenn Allen.

CWO4 Jeffrey Zagurski is Officer in Charge,

Deep Diving Detachment TWENTY, Mobile

Diving and Salvage Unit TWO.

The LR5 being brought to her resting place onboard FENNICA.

Rigged above on the SPS NEPTUNO is the

cradle used to lower divers down to the

distressed submarine.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 5

A seventeen-member dive team fromthe Hawaii-based Mobile Diving and

Salvage Unit (MDSU) ONE, joined

forces with Joint POW/MIA Accounting

Command (JPAC) to conduct recovery

operations for a missing WWII aircraft off

the coast of Palau.

 MDSU ONE provided the JPAC

team with diving support needed to accomplish a forensic recovery of remains

from a WWII B-24J Liberator aircraft shot

down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire in September 1944. JPAC’s mission is to locate

and recover the human remains and material evidence, including personal effects

and aircraft parts that will aid with the

identification process of the Americans

that went down with the plane.

“Being involved in a mission of this

type is very rewarding,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Raymond Spann, MDSU

ONE Det 7 Officer in Charge. “We are part

of a mission that is able to bring closure

to families of the brave men lost sixty-one

years ago,” he said.

This is not the first JPAC mission for

MDSU personnel who are recognized as

the military’s foremost experts in underwater salvage and recovery operations. “It

simply made sense for JPAC to utilize this

expertise for the mission,” said Maj. Rumi

Nielson-Green, JPAC Public Affairs Officer.

Various diving techniques and equipment were incorporated into the mission.

The Navy divers joined five JPAC personnel to complete the task. The divers used

MK-21 MOD 1 surface supplied diving

equipment as well as MK-20 (SCUBA

mode). Each diver was equipped with a

state-of-the-art helmet mounted video system so the on-scene anthropologists could

MDSU ONE Aids in Repatriation of

WWII Air Crew

view everything the divers were seeing

and doing.

The mission took just over fifty days

during the rainy season in Palau. The team

also faced ecological challenges during the

mission. The aircraft went down near coral

heads and the craft itself is considered

a Palauan National Treasure. The Navy

divers worked to leave a minimal footprint

by minimizing their entry points into the

aircraft and by depositing dredge material away from any live coral using a drainage shoot system. No ecological restoration was required and all wreckage recovered during the dredging was replaced.

The plane was not raised.

“Every part of the government of

Palau from the local to the national level

was extremely cooperative and helpful,”

said Nielson-Green. “The President, Mr.

Tommy Remengesau, took great interest

in the mission and has been very gracious

toward this effort,” she said.

“This dive job has been one of the

best jobs I have ever done,” said Petty

Officer 2nd Class Steve Hordinski. “Not

only is the job great, but the locals treated

us very well. Palau is a beautiful place.

I am very glad I was part of this mission.”

The waters off Palau are considered one

of the best dive areas in the world. “We

only took the Palauan Sabbath off and

worked ten hours a day,” said Spann. “The

various sea life and incredible visibility

of this natural wonder is second to none,”

he added. The team had a combined dive

time of 165 hours.

“Despite the long hours, my guys

were excited about being involved in a

mission of such importance and magnitude. They all realized that this is a once

in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in

such a noble event,” Spann said. “In eighteen years of being a diver, this is the most

important job I have ever had the pleasure of being involved in.” At the end of

the mission, the team recovered human

remains and dog tags. The team is scheduled for a follow-up mission later this year.

COMMARFPCOM Public Affairs Release.

B-24J Liberator.

USCG or Army Corps have been recovered using SUPSALV’s commercial

heavy-lift assets under superb site coordination of our 00C Salvage Engineers Ric Sasse, Rick Thiel, Bill

Walker, and LCDRs Josh Price and Carl

Parks. Our 00C1 fiscal team led by

Karen Hopson supported. Engineering

Duty (ED) salvage engineers (from the

Fleet and shipyards) and NAVSEA

SUPSALV Det reservists capably augmented the SUPSALV team throughout the operation.

Fleet Participation: In addition to the

“first responder” operations above,

MDSUs 1 & 2 were offered opportunity by SUPSALV for Fleet Master

Divers and Diving Warrants to engage

with commercial waterfront operations

using SUPSALV funding, and CWO2

Williams from MDSU 1 spent several

weeks working with our team.

SUPSALV is also using KATRINA’s

strandings of the ex-USS SHADWELL

(LSD 15) and the ex-USCGC STATE

OF MAINE in Mobile Bay as an opportunity to use Fleet salvors to refloat

both vessels. Under direction of

SUPSALV Director of Salvage Operations, CAPT Mike Herb, USN (Ret), we

are developing a combination dredging/

salvage plan to substantially reduce exSHADWELL’s ground reaction from

her current 4,000+ long tons to a level

that will permit a MDSU 1 detachment

to employ beach gear to refloat her. A

similar approach will be taken to recover ex-STATE OF MAINE. We expect these operations to be undertaken

in March of this year.

 The U.S. Navy’s combined salvage

response by MDSU 1 & 2, USS

GRAPPLE, SUPSALV (augmented by

ED Salvors and 00C Reservists) and

SUPSALV’s commercial salvors is

helping turn the tide along the U.S. Gulf

Coast as the Mississippi and economically critical waterways return to full

capability. An unprecedented challenge

is being met by an unprecedented

response...Hoo-Yah, Deep Sea!

(...continued from page 2.)

SUPSALV SENDS

Captain Jim Wilkins
6 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

The first of “The Man in the SeaMonument Series”, the bronze

“Jake” project has been making progress

since our update in the last issue of

FACEPLATE. Graduates of DSDS and

NEDU crewmembers at the

Washington Navy Yard and

divers around the country have

joined together to fund what

will eventually give us the

money to build our “Jake.”

As a lot of you already

know, we embarked on this

effort last year with the

initial work going towards identifying how to

build this huge, fullydressed Mark V diver.

We contacted various

monument makers and

artists associated with a

task of this magnitude,

then after we found out

that there were good

people out there to do the

statue, we wanted to know how

much this bronze diver would

cost. Eventually, we had a good

idea about what was needed

and we hit the streets

with the effort

to raise the

money.

 There

is a lot

more to

putting up

a monument on

federal property than you would

think but the folks at the Washington Navy

Yard put their blessing on the project and

now it is in our hands to raise the money

to get it done. We have collected a good

amount of money so far, but much more is

needed until we get the monument built.

In order to help us get this project

completed, a website that tells our story

can be found at: http://www.hspig.org/

hspig-maninthesea.htm.

Mark V Monument at the WNY

An Experimental Diving

Organization was established at

the New York Naval Shipyard

in 1913 and formally designated

as the Navy Experimental

Diving Unit (NEDU) in 1927

when it was relocated to the

Washington Navy Yard

to centralize all navy

diving research.

The Navy Diving

School was established

in 1926 in Building 146 at the WNY and

was renamed Deep Sea Diving School

(DSDS) in 1928. The Navy Salvage School

was moved to the WNY from Bayonne,

NJ in 1957.

NEDU relocated to Panama City, FL

in 1975 and the Diving School followed

in 1980. There is currently nothing at the

Washington Navy Yard that tells this

history. The Mark V Monument we plan

to erect there will change this.

A Brief History

Donation Request

This monument is dedicated to Divers

from around the world who gave their

life’s work to underwater construction and

the salvage of ships lost at sea. Their

method of training and development of

equipment set standards adopted by the

international diving community. Their

traditions will last forever.

Please accept this opportunity to

support this project in remembrance of

the unsung heroes who labored in the

murky depths to save lives and improve

knowledge of the world underwater.

Please send your tax-deductible

contribution to:

Mark V Monument

17314 Panama City Beach Pkwy

Panama City Beach, FL 32413

 A certificate of appreciation will

be mailed to each donor. Please make

check payable to “Mark V Monument.”

Please contact Bob Barth at

bob.barth@mchsi.com or Doug Hough at

(850)235-4101 or momits@bellsouth.net

if you have any questions.

We have been asked over and over

for the address to send the tax-exempt

donations to, so here it is again: Checks

should be made out to Mark V Monument

and sent to 17314 Panama City Beach

Parkway, Panama City Beach, FL

32413. We have been working our

network of active and retired divers

while former military divers at

Homeland Security Policy Institute

Group have been soliciting donations from corporate America.

The end result of this

project is to have a bronze

“Jake” near the area of what

was once the Navy Diving

School and NEDU. If we

were to build a nest egg that

would allow for more of

these statues, then our

thoughts were to have a

second statue made for the

current Navy diving school

here in Panama City,

NDSTC, a monument to memorialize Army Divers at Ft.

Eustis, and a combat swimmer

monument for our SEAL

brothers in Little Creek, VA.

Right now we are

focused on the

first monument

for the

WNY.

You

can

assist in

this effort by telling all the folks you

know about it and helping us generate the

money needed to get it done. We promise

to build the best darn monument than we

can get built and make you proud that you

were part of it. There are a lot of old

sailors and school graduates back in the

shadows working on this effort, please join

us.

We thank you for your donations

and enthusiasm.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 7

Members of the rescueand salvage ship USS

SAFEGUARD (ARS 50) might not

have realized it when they left port

in Sasebo, Japan on April 21 that

their journey through Cooperation

Afloat Readiness and Training

(CARAT) 2005 would be a

multi-faceted language learning

experience.

USS SAFEGUARD completed

the final phase of CARAT in the

Philippines on August 23, 2005

successfully solidifying a long road

in cooperation at sea and ashore.

During the multinational exercise,

USS SAFEGUARD conducted training

with six different countries: Singapore,

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei,

and the Philippines.

“The number and types of things

that USS SAFEGUARD sailors have

accomplished this summer is pretty

remarkable,” said LCDR Doyle Hodges,

USS SAFEGUARD Commanding

Officer. “We’ve conducted diving and

salvage exercises with six different

nations, helped to clean up schools and

orphanages, enjoyed liberty all over

Southeast Asia, towed another ship, done

lots of valuable training, and qualified

Sailors in every watch station from

lookout to Engineering Officer of the

Watch to Officer of the Deck.”

Hodges noted that other nations’

divers were always “eager and professional.” He emphasized that every

exercise involved mutual growth and a

strengthened confidence in each other’s

abilities.

Throughout CARAT, Hodges noted

that there was a perfect semblance of

hands-on with classroom training. USS

SAFEGUARD dive staff used the MK-21

surface supplied diving rig, a device that

supplies air to divers in the water. At each

stop, USS SAFEGUARD brought out its

“Mud Monster,” a large yellow box,

whose sides measured 5 ft. by 5 ft., made

to simulate salvage operations. The crew

even partnered with the Royal Malaysian

Navy (RMN) to pull a purposely-sunken

Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) from the

ocean floor in Tioman Island, Malaysia.

Each CARAT phase presented

a new challenge and a new

language. One thing that helped

USS SAFEGUARD crewmembers

through the language barrier is the

international diving sign language

used during underwater exercises.

For instance, a closed fist means

stop. The thumb and forefingers

touching with three fingers extended

means, “I’m okay.” Other signs

mean, “you lead,” “out of air”, and

“going up.”

The crewmembers say that it was

not too difficult to communicate. In

fact, most of the USS SAFEGUARD

IT3 (SW/DV) Jason M. Tucker is Public

Affairs Officer, USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50).

JOSN Adam R. Cole is Public Affairs Officer,

Task Force 76.

divers feel that the learning process

was actually fun.

“I enjoyed breaking the language

barrier between the two Navies,”

said Hull Maintenance Technician

3rd Class (DV) Zachary D. Dimare

of the Indonesia phase of CARAT.

“It was challenging, yet rewarding,

to work with a culture so different

from ours.”

Many of USS SAFEGUARD

divers tried to teach their international counterparts new words

and phrases. Divers from the

Southeast Asian countries enjoyed saying

the English phrases like “Hoo-yah.”

A USS SAFEGUARD diver holds up an

American flag alongside a Royal Malaysian

Navy diver holding up a Malaysian flag.

USS SAFEGUARD divers group together with members of the

Indonesian Navy.

USS SAFEGUARD crewmembers salvage wreckage

from an Indian Seahawk jet that has been 165 feet

underwater for more than 30 years and was only

recently discovered by the Indian Navy.

“I have enjoyed interacting with

all the different cultures thus far

in CARAT,” said Boatswain’s Mate 3rd

Class (DV) Danielle R. Smith. “It has

been the experience of a lifetime!”

USS SAFEGUARD is a forwarddeployed rescue and salvage ship

operating out of Sasebo, Japan, and

is part of Task Force 76, the Navy’s

only forward-deployed amphibious force.
8 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

The unstated goal of breath-hold (BH)diving is to avoid drowning by surfacing in time to start breathing before

losing consciousness due to hypoxia. Normally with BH diving there is a strong urge

to breathe, forcing most humans to abort

a breath-hold within safe limits. This urge

to breathe is mainly driven by the rising

level of carbon dioxide that is produced

from our metabolic processes. Carbon dioxide is produced when the muscles consume oxygen to burn carbohydrates and

fat to produce energy for swimming. A

recently published study shows that a BH

diver burning fat, after carbohydrate stores

have been depleted, consumes oxygen

faster resulting in an increased risk of

hypoxia-induced loss of consciousness.

The dangers of hyperventilation and

hypoxia of ascent will also be discussed.

accidents have occurred during organized

competitions in the sport called “Apnea”

(no breathing).

Not all divers who “pass out” underwater will drown. Immediate rescue of the

unconscious diver can be accompanied by

spontaneous resumption of breathing and

the diver usually regains consciousness

within 10-20 seconds. Some of these underwater swimmers can recall their BH

diving procedure that culminated in the

loss of consciousness, even though they

usually have no recollection of the actual

event (since loss of consciousness affects

the memory of the immediate time period,

approximately 10-30 seconds, preceding

the incident). Such survivors have helped

physiologists to elucidate the mechanisms

of BH diving and loss of consciousness.

Craig explained the dangers of hyperventilation in 1961 (1) and Lanphier and Rahn

demonstrated hypoxia of ascent in 1963

(2). These mechanisms explain most cases

of loss of consciousness associated with

breath-hold diving. However, recently

Lindholm and Gennser (3) have described

some near fatalities in educated and experienced divers who had not subjected themselves to hyperventilation or hypoxia of ascent. These cases made us think that there

might be a third mechanism behind BH

diving associated with loss of consciousness. These divers had all engaged in prolonged exercise before the accident dive

and had not replaced energy by eating or

drinking anything.

PROLONGED EXERCISE/CARBOHYDRATE STORES DEPLETION

will become hypoxic faster, but the carbon dioxide driven stimulus to breath will

be delayed. A dive that could safely be

performed in a rested and well-fed state

may be dangerous after a long day of exertion from diving. The problem for the

carbohydrate-depleted BH diver is that

the signals (urge to breathe, diaphragmatic contractions) of near breath-hold

breakpoint that are recognized by the experienced divers as “it is time to surface”

will be blunted, giving the diver a dangerous sense of comfort. Prolonged exercise is common during military training and this training sometimes entails

maneuvers that require BH diving. Additionally, many recreational BH divers

(spear-fishermen) spend hours pursuing

their sport and fail to bring proper nutritional replacements.

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

HYPERVENTILATION

Prolonged periods of physical work

deplete the carbohydrate stores (glycogen)

in the body, which forces the body to compensate by increasing in the rate of lipid

(fat) metabolism. When the human body

burns fat to produce energy it uses 8%

more oxygen than if it metabolizes carbohydrates. Also, 30% less carbon dioxide

is produced by fat metabolism than carbohydrate metabolism. Thus, a breath-hold

diver who has depleted his glycogen stores

Hyperventilation reduces the blood

carbon dioxide content without increasing the oxygen content to the same extent because the oxygen stores in the

body are maintained constantly almost

full with normal breathing. Initiating the

Practicing breath-holding technique.

BH diver ascending.

Unfortunately, BH divers drown

every year and the typical accident scenario involves a young male competing

with his friends in the local swimming

pool trying to swim the longest distance

under water. These youngsters usually

don’t know much about diving physiology and the risks of breath-hold diving.

Yet it is possible to safely perform extraordinary feats if you are a trained athlete

competing in breath-hold diving. While

some humans may drown trying to swim

25 m others can swim 175 m breath-holding (current world record without fins in

a standard pool). It may be noted that no
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 9

BH dive with the reduced carbon dioxide

level makes it easier to maintain breathhold, enabling some divers with strong

motivation (or a high tolerance to discomfort) to hold their breath until unconsciousness. Craig (1) showed that the prolonged breath-hold times after hyperventilation were associated with lower oxygen levels in the blood going to the brain;

levels that were low enough to cause hypoxic loss of consciousness. This was a

particular problem if the diver exercised

(swam) during the breath-hold.

The partial pressure of oxygen in the

lungs (and not the fractional

percent, (%)) affects oxygen

loading of the blood and

therefore the oxygen delivery to the brain. A critical

oxygen pressure (PAO2

) of

approximately 30 mmHg is

needed to sustain consciousness when breathing is resumed after a breath-hold

(dive). At the surface this

equates to about 4% oxygen

in the lungs and 45% oxygen saturation of the arterial

blood. While a diver at the

surface would be unconscious with an pulmonary

oxygen content of 2%

(PAO2

: 15 mmHg), a diver

swimming around at 30 m

(100 fsw) with 2% oxygen

in the lungs would feel comfortable since the oxygen

pressure would be 60

mmHg due to the surrounding pressure of

4 atmospheres absolute pressure and its

effect on the gas pressure in the lungs (recall Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressure: the

partial pressure of a gas equals the absolute pressure times the fraction of the gas:

4 ATA (3040 mmHg) x 2% oxygen = 60

mmHg PAO2

). This diver, who is still able

to swim at 30 m, would become unconscious during his ascent to the surface because the partial pressure of oxygen in the

lungs would be reduced along with the absolute pressure. If we disregard the oxygen consumption of swimming, this diver

will reach the critical oxygen level at a

depth of 10 m (33 fsw) where the absolute pressure is 2 ATA and oxygen pressure will be 30 mmHg (2 ATA (1520

mmHg) x 2% = 30 mmHg). Thus, a BH

diver is most likely to loss consciousness

near the surface during the ascent.

BH divers can lose consciousness

during other phases of the BH dive because the diver could have dived so deep

or so long that the oxygen isn’t enough

for him to make it back to the surface.

Physiology and physics can trick the BH

diver’s ability to estimate their endurance

and they may not start ascent in a timely

fashion.

ASCENT BLACKOUT

Peter Lindholm, MD, PhD is from Sweden

where he served in the military as a mine

clearance diver. He is currently in the U.S. on

a fellowship from the Office of Naval Research,

performing research in diving physiology at the

Centre for Research and Education in Special

Environments, Buffalo, NY.

Typical recording of arterial oxygen saturations in a subject who made

maximal voluntary breath holds under two different conditions: (a) preceded

by rest (Control) and (b) preceded by 18 hours of carbohydrate free diet

followed by 2 hours of moderate exercise (decreased carbohydrate and

increased fat metabolism). This figure illustrates that oxygen was depleted

more rapidly and to a greater extent (56% vs. 67% SaO2 ) during apnea

following prolonged exercise.

COMPETITIVE BH DIVING

Rapidly gaining popularity is the

competitive sport called “Apnea” (no

breathing) in which divers attempt to reach

maximal duration, depth, or distance

swimming during breath-hold. The current

world record in swimming (without fins)

in a standard swimming pool is 175 m on

one breath! For duration the best performance is 8.58 minutes during resting

breath-hold floating motionless in a pool.

There are athletes that can swim to more

than 100 m deep and return to the surface

using only a wetsuit, facemask, and fins.

 SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT

The term “shallow water blackout”,

originally coined for CO2

 intoxication in

diving with closed-circuit breathing gear,

is sometimes inappropriately used to describe hypoxia of ascent. As described in

this article, loss of consciousness during

breath-hold diving is due to hypoxia of

the brain caused by prior hyperventilation,

a shift to fat metabolism, hypoxia of ascent, or a combination of these three factors.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this article is to inform breath-hold divers of the potential

increase in the risk of losing

consciousness if breath-hold

diving is performed after a

prolonged period of exercise

or fasting. For swimmers it

seems advisable to perform

breath-hold underwater

swimming before other demanding physical exercise.

Divers involved in underwater sports should take care to

replenish their carbohydrate

stores, for instance, during long competitions

or a day of recreational

spearfishing, both to increase

performance and to reduce

the above mentioned risk.

REFERENCES

1. Craig A.B., Jr. Causes

of loss of consciousness

during underwater swimming. J Appl Physiol 16: 583-

586, 1961.

2. Lanphier E.H. and Rahn H. Alveolar

gas exchange in breath-hold diving. J Appl

Physiol 18: 471-477, 1963.

3. Lindholm P. and Gennser M. Aggravated hypoxia during breath-holds after

prolonged exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 93:

701-707, 2005.
1 0 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

A tiger team of Seabee divers fromUnderwater Construction Teams

(UCT) 1 and 2 recently joined efforts and

deployed to Key Largo, Florida, to assist

the National Oceanic Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) to restore and

stabilize Aquarius, the world’s only

undersea laboratory. The undersea habitat,

often referred to as America’s “inner”

space station, sits at a depth of

approximately 60 feet. Owned by NOAA

and operated by the University of North

Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW),

Aquarius is a national asset that supports

scientists, researchers, and even astronauts

in their efforts to better understand the

oceans, coastal resources, and the ability

to conduct work operations in an austere

and remote environment.

According to Craig Cooper, Operations Director for Aquarius, “as Hurricane

Rita passed south of the Keys as a Category I Storm before roaring into the Gulf

of Mexico, its wave heights reached nearly

30 feet off Key Largo. Since Aquarius is

sitting in 60 feet of water, a thirty-foot

wave overhead created significant bottom

surge; the type of surge that has been

known to tear shipwrecks in two and scatter them hundreds of feet across the bottom of the ocean.” The surge and constant

wind-driven currents from the east-southeast shifted Aquarius approximately ten

feet, broke a pin to one of legs, and threatened to tip the habitat over. Additionally,

the hold-down anchors were pried from

the seafloor, and exterior deck frames,

battery pods, and other

structures were damaged or torn loose.

According to

LCDR Tim Liberatore,

UCT 2 commanding officer, “the UCTs are

perfectly suited for this

type of work. Stabilizing the Aquarius habitat was a great opportunity to do real-world

seafloor engineering on

an underwater structure

while helping out an

agency that was affected by Hurricane

Rita. The UCTs have not been involved

with this type of work since the 1960s and

1970s when they were first called upon

to help establish the Navy’s Man-in-theSea and Sealab saturation diving programs.”

With the entire habitat bow down at

fifteen degrees and severely twisted,

NOAA was forced to cancel a planned

October National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA) Extreme

Environment

Mission Operations

(NEEMO) project

and request assistance from the U.S.

Navy diving community in the hopes of

stabilizing the lab in

time for a follow-on

mission. During the

NEEMO mission,

NASA “aquanauts”

and scientists had

planned to evaluate

new medical diagnostic and remote telemetry technologies to

enhance the delivery of

medical care in remote and harsh environments, as well as develop procedures

and techniques for lunar exploration using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),

tracking systems and navigation devices.

NASA will drive the ROVs from inside Aquarius and from the Exploration

Operations Center at the Mission Control

Center (MCC) located at NASA’s Johnson

Space Center, in Houston, Texas. The

aquanauts will also participate in a number of SCUBA and hard hat diving exercises and tasks to evaluate operations concepts for lunar exploration including

building underwater structures, working

with MCC hindered by communication

delay scenarios, and demonstrating concepts for man-machine interaction with the

use of robotic devices.

Chief Builder (SCW/DV) Mike

Johnson, UCT 1 detachment Officer in

Bow stud link chain rigging.

(“Aquarius” continued on p. 20)

The Aquarius habitat.

Diver inspecting the habitat.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 1 1

DonJon was one of the first marinesalvage companies called to respond

to the damage from Hurricane Katrina,

and later, Rita, early Saturday morning,

September 3, by Captain Jim Wilkins

(SUPSALV), and asked to travel to

Alexandria, Louisiana, where the Katrina

Emergency Response Command Post was

being based. The purpose was initially to

provide technical support as it related

to possible salvage issues that were

impacting the opening of commercial

marine traffic in the affected areas.

The early response effort was focused

on rescuing people still remaining in the

city and around the Gulf region, repairing

the damaged levees, pumping water out,

and performing hydrographic surveys of

the Mississippi River and other primary

channels in an effort to reopen those waterways. Upon arrival on-site, we found

representatives from a number of ASA salvors, most notably T&T Marine, Bisso

Marine, and Titan Maritime in the Alexandria Command Post, and Resolve Marine in the Mobile, Alabama region. The

ASA was poised to respond.

Over the first few days, there was a

fair amount of time spent waiting for conditions to allow for the commencement of

recovery operations, attending meetings,

and trying to support the response efforts

of the United States

Coast Guard, United

States Army Corps of

Engineers, FEMA, and

SUPSALV in whatever

way possible.

The Coast Guard

folks who were running the early response

were the same ones

whose families were

displaced by the

evacuation, and in

many instances, they were not even sure

where their families were. Most, if not all,

lost their homes, possessions, and much

of their life as they knew it.

Early on in the response effort, we

moved from Alexandria to New Orleans

to survey barges that were restricting the

opening of the Industrial Canal. It was

essential that this waterway be cleared so

that repair materials such as stone and cement could be

brought to Lake

Pontchartrain,

whose waters

were spilling

into the city.

A survey

team was

brought to the

site by an armored USCG

helicopter with a

four-man security team. During the survey, an eightperson, gun-toting group of local vagrants

approached the bridge from a distance.

The survey team was quickly placed in

a protected position while the security

forced the vagrants to leave.

Once the initial salvage survey to remove the stranded barges was completed

in New Orleans, the helicopter ride back

to Alexandria was quiet. Seeing the vast

range of destruction was sobering. It gives

one a better feeling for what a war zone

looks like.

During subsequent flyovers of

the Mississippi River, the destruction

was not quite as

wide-spread but

certainly evident.

Our first flight

to Gulfport and

Biloxi, Mississippi, was an eye

opener. In New

Orleans, buildings

were generally intact and flooding

caused most of the

damage. In Mississippi and Alabama, the homes and buildings were obliterated, blown right off their

foundations. In some spots, it was like

nothing ever existed there.

The local casinos and casino barges

in the area were crumbled. Pleasure boats

were in piles. The rebuilding of the region

would have to start from scratch.

Back in Louisiana, fishing towns like

Empire, (mile Marker 19 on the Mississippi) and Venice (at

the mouth of the Mississippi) looked like a

flooded toy box complete with oil and debris. In Empire, two

170-foot-long fishing

trawlers of approximately 450 tons each

were picked up and

moved over 1,000 feet

and placed squarely

onto the main highway.

In short, the Gulf Coast has suffered

immense damage, but hope remained.

Just as the Katrina response was moving into high gear, Hurricane Rita swept

into the Gulf Region. While Rita was not

as strong as Katrina and luckily not a direct hit on New Orleans, the weakened

infrastructure of the area sustained

additional damage. Levees were again

breached and areas of New Orleans which

were pumped dry were reflooded. Salvage

efforts were curtailed and all marine

equipment headed north for protection.

Sections of western Louisiana, which were

not severely impacted by Katrina, sustained marine and non-marine damage.

Power was knocked out throughout the

region. Water, gasoline, and in some instances food were not readily available for

days. As a result of the response teams

already in place, recovery was quick, but

the scope of the response was now larger.

Working together with the various

ASA members and a few potential members has been a great experience. Together,

we have seen things we didn’t expect to

see in our lifetime, and we have used our

collective experience to get this enormous

recovery effort underway. Our best wishes

go out to the Gulf Coast region and those

who have lost so much.

John Witte, Jr. is the Executive Vice

President of DonJon Marine Co., Inc.

Aerial view of Venice.

Hurricane damage in the town of Empire.

1 4 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Late in the afternoon on 19 January2005, a tank barge designated EMC

423 carrying a cargo of approximately

400,000 gallons of clarified slurry oil

exploded and caught fire in the Chicago

Sanitary and Ship Canal just east of

the Cicero Avenue Bridge. The towboat

pushing the barge at the time of the

explosion broke away from the barge and

commenced an effort to push the burning

barge to the northern bank of the canal.

The explosion ripped the deck off the

tank barge in the way of Cargo Tank #2,

Cargo Tank #3, and Cargo Tank #4,

however the barge remained afloat.

Subsequent firefighting efforts introduced

enough water through the open cargo tank

tops that the barge sank adjacent to the

north bank of the canal. After sinking, the

bow of the barge remained above water

and the wreck took on a starboard list of

approximately 2.5 degrees.

The United States Coast Guard

Marine Safety Office (USCG MSO)

Chicago organized a unified command

center and began the process of managing

the efforts to contain and prevent pollution

from the oil remaining in the barge’s cargo

tanks. The pour point of the clarified slurry

oil was approximately 180 degrees

Fahrenheit with a density greater than

water. The oil quickly solidified and was

mostly contained within the remaining

structure of the cargo oil tanks. While the

immediate risk of pollution was limited

by the solidification of the oil cargo in

the tanks, the wreck became an immediate

hazard to navigation and ongoing

pollution threat. The decision was

made to remove the

wreckage of the barge as

expeditiously as possible.

The barge owner, as

the responsible party,

designated himself as the

salvage contractor, and

diving surveys commenced. The dive surveys revealed that the

deck structure of the

barge was completely

compromised from the

forward end of Cargo

Tank #2 to the aft end of

Cargo Tank #4 and the

side shell of the barge had

buckled slightly at the

transverse bulkhead between Cargo Tank

#3 and Cargo Tank #4. Diving surveys

also revealed that almost all of the cargo

oil (in a solid form similar to asphalt) was

still contained within the hull structure of

the barge and that flooding had occurred

in the port and starboard wing tanks as

well as the aft void.

Based on construction plans obtained

from the barge owner, salvage engineers

from the USCG Marine

Safety Center Salvage

Engineering Response

Team (SERT) and the

USN Supervisor of

Salvage and Diving

(SUPSALV) developed

a HECSALV (POSSE)

model of the barge. The

load case for use in

HECSALV was developed using the ullage

readings taken during the

on-load of the cargo, and

the damaged condition of

the barge was developed

using the model, load

case, and diving surveys.

USCG SERT and SUPSALV Salvage

Engineers were asked by MSO Chicago

to use the HECSALV/POSSE model to

evaluate the salvage plans that were presented by the salvage contractor. The salvage contractor initially intended to remove the water that had slowly leaked into

Cargo Tank #1 subsequent to the barge

sinking. He believed that this would raise

the forward end of the barge enough to be

able to install a sand bag cofferdam around

the perimeter of the open deck on top of

Cargo Tank #2. After installing the cofferdam, the salvor intended to remove the

water from Cargo Tank #2. He would then

repeat the process of installing a cofferdam and pumping the water from Cargo

Tank #3 and Cargo Tank #4 as buoyancy

was regained from the forward end of the

barge to the aft end of the barge. After removing the water from the cargo tanks,

the oil would be removed from Cargo Tank

#1 and the water would be removed from

the aft void.

An analysis of this plan was conducted by SERT and SUPSALV engineers, and the analysis confirmed that this

approach would remove enough weight

from the barge to refloat the vessel. Additional analysis revealed that this approach

would greatly increase the deck tension

in the area between Cargo Tank #3 and

Cargo Tank #4. Because the deck had been

stripped away during the initial explosion,

and buckling had already occurred in the

area of highest predicted deck tension, the

Barge Explosion and Fire.

Firefighting efforts.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 1 5

salvage engineers concluded that the catastrophic failure of the barge side shell was

possible in executing this salvage approach. USCG MSO Chicago rejected the

salvage plan, due to the risk of releasing

the trapped cargo

oil into the canal if

the barge collapsed.

The secondary

salvage approach

proposed by the

salvage contractor

called for removing 75% of the solidified cargo oil

from Cargo Tank

#3, Cargo Tank #4,

Cargo Tank #2,

and Cargo Tank

#1. Water would be

allowed to backfill the barge during the cargo removal process. After the removal of the

cargo oil, the water would be removed using cofferdams and pumps as proposed in

the initial salvage plan. A HECSALV/

POSSE analysis of this plan revealed that

the sequence of cargo oil and water removal would reduce the deck stress induced on the barge during the lightering

sequence, and the removal of 75% of the

cargo oil would mitigate pollution in the

event that the barge structure did catastrophically fail.

In order to remove the solidified cargo

oil, the salvage contractor attempted to locally heat the cargo oil to the pour point

of 180 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat exchanger lowered from the surface and

pump the cargo oil with an asphalt pump.

Because the water temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit, efforts to locally heat

cargo oil were unsuccessful.

The salvage of EMC 423 was successfully executed by placing .25 inch steel

plate vertically around the perimeter of the

barge and pulling the steel plate into contact with the side shell of the barge using

wire rope hogging straps. Divers used soft

patches, wedges, and plugs to make this

“whole barge” cofferdam as water-tight as

possible, and adequate pumping capacity

on all four cargo oil tanks was applied simultaneously to overcome leakage. The

water was removed from the cargo oil

tanks, and the barge was refloated and

towed away for disposal.

USCG SERT and NAVSEA 00C salvage engineers provided technical analyHECSALV/POSSE representation of the damaged barge.

Sunken Barge on the north bank of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

sis to support salvage plan review and

decision making by USCG MSO Chicago.

This analysis allowed USCG MSO Chicago to avoid approving a salvage plan that

had the potential for creating further pollution if the barge had broken up and released the solidified cargo oil. All interested parties with access to POSSE are

encouraged to download the barge

model and initial salvage plan from

www.supsalv.org/00c2 posse.asp and use

these files to refresh their skills and

re-familiarize themselves with the tools

available to salvage engineers in evaluating various salvage plans and approaches.

LCDR Joshua Price is currently the Assistant

for Salvage at NAVSEA 00C.

U.S. Navy Diving

and the

Historical Diving

Society USA

The Historical Diving Society

USA is a non-profit educational

corporation formed in 1992.

It has members in 37 countries and

publishes the award-winning

quarterly magazine HISTORICAL

DIVERS, which covers many

aspects of diving history, including

the U.S. Navy.

Among Society Advisory Board

members are distinguished Divers

such as Dr. Christian Lambertsen,

Bob Barth, Scott Carpenter, Surgeon

Vice Admiral Sir John Rawlins, Bev

Morgan, Phil Nuytten and Andreas

Rechnitzer.

As a part of the HDS Educational Outreach Program, the Society

is offering a complete set of back

issues of HISTORICAL DIVER,

along with a continuing subscription,

free upon request to any U.S. Navy

diving unit. For more information

on this offer, please contact the

Society at hds@hds.org.
1 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Ramsey dropped to the

bottom of the pipe and felt for

the emergency regulator. It was

on the strap around his neck and

handy for the switch-over. He

was still breathing very hard

from the swim and did not seem

to be able to get enough air out

of his doubles to satisfy the

need. “Well,” he thought, as he

started to switch regulators, “I

counted 10 more joints of pipe

so we could not be any farther

than a couple of hundred feet

from the end of the pipe. I’ve

got plenty of air left in my

piggy-back bottle to make it

out.”

He made the switch-over and pushed

the button on his emergency regulator to

expel the water. When he let up on the

purge button, the regulator stayed on

steady-flow blasting large volumes of air

out and around his head and escaping forever along the top of the pipe. Silent curses

raged across his brain as he jerked the

emergency regulator out of his mouth and

banged it into his hand in an effort to stop

the free-flow. He shoved the regulator back

into his mouth and carefully ejected the

water with the air he had left in his lungs.

The next breath came easily and shut off

properly at the end of the breath. The regulator was working correctly. This was a bad

dive, he thought to himself, as he set out

after Frank. “I don’t know if I’ll take another one of these pipeline jobs again. They

are bad enough when everything goes right

but this was ridiculous,” he thought.

Ramsey settled down for the short swim

out of the pipe and started counting joints

again.

 Six joints, seven joints, eight joints,

ten joints, that’s 200 more feet and he

would soon be out. He relaxed, settled

down, and his breathing rate went down.

This is more like it, he thought, relax. So

I’m down to my emergency bottle, it’s

okay, just a few more feet and I should see

the light at the end of the pipe. Sixteen

joints, seventeen joints, eighteen joints,

where’s the light? There should be

only two more joints. Nineteen joints,

twenty joints, twenty-one joints. Wait,

something’s not right here... the engineers

told me this was a two thousand foot pipe

and the pipe joints were twenty feet apart,

and I took samples every five joints or one

hundred feet. Twenty-two joints, twentyseven, thirty. Good God, this pipe is much

longer than the engineers told me. What

the hell! Thirty joints, thirty-five joints.

This is bad, Ramsey thought to himself. This is really bad. I have to save every ounce of air in my bottle, I’ve got to

stretch it, I’ve got to make it last. Then he

thought about Frank. Frank had far less air

and the realization hit him. Somewhere,

floating at the top of the pipe was Frank.

He had probably already gone by him. He

had to be out of air by now. What a tragedy, he thought. What a shame, all because

some engineer gave me the wrong dope.

On he went, on into the black. Even his

light was growing noticeably dimmer. It

would soon go out.

The absolute finality of this endless

pipe descended upon him. That pipe had

no beginning and it had no ending. That

pipe was his forever. A strange relaxation

melted through his body. His breathing became even slower and longer. The confusion in his mind stopped swirling

and settled as the grains of sand fall

into place on the ocean floor. I am

a fool, he thought. Now I know

what happened. When I switched

to my emergency regulator, I got

turned around and now I’m swimming back the wrong way in the

pipeline. It’s all very simple. I

swam as far as I could on a set of

doubles, then I switched to a single

and swam back down the pipeline

and there’s no way on God’s Earth

I can cover the same distance on a

single. I don’t even have a gauge

to tell me when the end is going to

come.

Ramsey Parks was probably

never more relaxed than during this

moment of facing death. It was like falling from the tallest building except that he

had a lot more time to think about it, and

think he did. The first thing he thought

about was Conrad Limbaugh who had

faced exactly the same situation in a cave

in France and had undoubtedly gone into

the same trance-like tranquility during his

last few minutes when he realized there

was no way out. I should have learned from

that, Ramsey thought, but no, I wanted the

money. The money was good at the start

but now he laughed to himself ... the money

was nothing. And then he thought of his

wife. He had only been married a week.

My poor wife, he thought, I’ve made a

widow out of her. She will never understand why this happened.

He had stopped counting pipe joints

by now. There was no reason to. He must

swim on down that endless pipe until ...

and then he thought about how it would

be when it came. The regulator would start

to breathe hard. He would start drawing

Frank Donahue and Ramsey Parks.

I

n our last issue, divers Ramsey Parks

and Frank Donahue were completing a

commercial pipe inspection. Halfway

through the job, Frank became light as he

drew down his air supply and decided to

change to his emergency regulator. We now

pick up where we left you skip-breathing

in the July issue of Faceplate...
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 1 7

on it, and drawing on it, and soon there

would be nothing to draw on. And he

would relax and die. It’s taking so long,

he thought, I’m so relaxed, swimming is

so smooth and easy.

And then it came. He first noticed an

almost imperceptible change in his regulator. A very, very slight increase in

breathing resistance as he slowly

drew the air out of the tank, through

the hose, and into his mouth. He had

taken the regulators apart many

times and he could follow the air as

it came up from the tank and through

the first stage regulator, lifting the

seat and into the hose, and into the

second stage regulator, and as he

drew in on the diaphragm it tripped

the lever that allowed the precious

air to flow into his mouth. This was

the start of there not being enough

air to open those little valves, not

being enough air to supply his lungs.

But he was relaxed and it was easy

and it was going to happen very

smoothly. After several increasingly more

difficult breaths he was even deeper into

his trance. He was as completely relaxed

as a human can become. His light was

nearly out, just showing a feeble glow in

the darkness, barely reflecting on the sand.

And then he saw something. Something faint and small a long way off. Was

it possible? He eased out his tranquility

slightly. He squinted his eyes within his

mask and strained to look, and the beat of

his legs kicking his fins picked up slightly.

And then the tranquility was completely broken. His eyes opened wide. His

heart accelerated. Adrenalin coursed

through his body. Light! There’s a light,

right there, right there is the end of the pipe.

I can make it! The regulator drew hard.

He strained to draw the life-giving air from

the regulator. This was no time to relax and

stretch his air. This was it. This was everything. He had to make it out of the end of

the pipe. He had to get out of the tower.

He thrust his legs as never before. He

pulled with his arms. He strained with everything available, rounded the end of the

pipe and entered the tower.

God, look at it ... the open ocean ...

it’s right up there. He dropped one of his

weight belts as he came up the tower. The

extra buoyancy made him accelerate toward the roof of the tower. He reached out

his arms and trimmed his body. He hit the

opening on an angle and deflected through

the opening on an angle with his hands

pushing hard on the roof of the tower.

There was no air left now but he left the

regulator in his mouth hoping to get perhaps a slight breath from the gain in pressure differential as he raced towards the

surface. He jettisoned his other weight belt

and his speed toward the surface increased.

Blow out, he thought, blow out, don’t

embolize, don’t make it all this way only

to embolize. He managed to get a little air

going out of his lungs. The light became

stronger and stronger until it blinded him,

or maybe it was the lack of oxygen that

caused his already tunnel vision to close

in and collapse. And suddenly, there was

no water on his face, he opened his mouth,

and the regulator dropped from it. Air

rushed in and down to his lungs. He

squinted his eyes and laid back on the

buoyancy of his doubles and the piggyback. His vision returned. That first breath

he needed to give him life, but this breath,

the second breath, he savored. He tasted

it, he enjoyed it. It was as if he were filling

his lung sacks one at a time. There’s so

much of it up here. There’s so much of this

good stuff up here. He drank in the blue

sky and let the sun wash across his face.

With the next breath he noticed he was

trembling and he made an effort to relax.

He looked about him on the water and

nearby his boat was approaching rapidly.

On the boat, we had given up hope,

of course. We held off for several minutes

after we had calculated he couldn’t possible have any air left. Frank Donahue had

come up on the inshore end and we had all

assumed that Ramsey would be close

behind. After quite some time lapse,

we assumed that something had gone

wrong and waited until we knew his

air supply would be exhausted. We

started to prepare a recovery team to

get his body. While we were making

preparations, the boat operator kept

near to the end of the pipe and then,

long after giving up all hope, he appeared.

Although there was a noticeable

loss of color from his face, Ramsey

kept a calm exterior as he climbed

aboard, sat down, and had a smoke.

We radioed the beach that the other

diver was aboard and that the job was

secured. As we headed into port,

Ramsey explained what had happened.

Although he had no comments to indicate how he felt about swimming pipelines, that was the last pipeline that I can

remember him entering. Occasionally after an evening of good food and drink, the

conversation slows and he confides in me

that he still awakes in the middle of the

night to find that he has been swimming

that same pipeline.

The years will wear on with you and

me, we will have good days and bad days.

But somewhere late at night when the city

is asleep, and the only sound is the murmur of the ocean against the beach,

Ramsey will be once again swimming

down that endless, dark pipeline.

Ramsey Parks..

Bev Morgan worked as a

commercial diver for many

years. Shortly after becoming a diver, he started

designing and making

equipment and formed Kirby Morgan in

the early 1960’s. Through continued

research and innovation, KMDSI has

developed the world’s leading line of

diving helmets and full face masks.
1 8 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Over the past three years, I have conducted diving medical research for

the U.S. Navy addressing the question of

any possible increased risk to Navy Divers

that may arise from a common heart anatomical variation known as patent foramen

ovale or PFO. In light of recent changes

to the Manual of the Medical Department

(Change 126 Manual of the Medical Department, U.S. Navy, NAVMED-117; 12

Aug 2005; MANMED), I felt that an article in FACEPLATE addressing concerns

of the Navy and how those concerns may

affect the working diver was warranted.

Recent Additions to MANMED

Article 15-102 section 7 subsection

m paragraph 2 of Change 126 of the

MANMED states: “Designated divers

diagnosed with any decompression sickness (including symptoms of joint pain or

skin changes) shall: ...

(b) Be evaluated by a cardiologist for the

presence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO)

with the results documented in the

medical record.”

Prior to the recently approved Change

126 to the MANMED, testing for PFO was

not required by the military for any reason. The addition of this requirement

is a significant change in official policy

regarding a diver’s health and deserves

a thorough understanding by every diver.

To get a good grasp of the topic, one must

first understand how the heart functions

during diving.

The Heart and Diving

The heart is essentially a dual pump

system designed to keep two fluids, oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood,

flowing in their separate circulation loops.

Freshly oxygenated blood flows from the

lungs to the left side of the heart (#4 in

Figure 1) and is then pumped through the

systemic circulation to the muscles, organs, and brain (#6). Oxygen-poor, or

deoxygenated, blood from the muscles,

organs, and brain flows through the lowpressure piping system, the veins, to the

right side of the heart (#1) and is then

pumped to the lungs (#3) where oxygen

is returned to the blood and carbon dioxide is released.

Occasionally, when a diver surfaces

from either a no decompression or a decompression dive, small bubbles appear

in the blood due to nitrogen gas diffusing

out of body tissues and into the blood.

These bubbles are typically found in the

low pressure or venous side of the circulation and are returned to the right side of

the heart (#1 in Figure 1) where they are

pumped from the right ventricle (#2)

through the pulmonary artery (#3) to the

lungs. The lungs are composed of tiny air

sacs and small capillary blood vessels

where gases are exchanged and bubbles

are removed from the circulating blood.

Oxygenated and bubble-free blood is returned to the left side of the heart through

the pulmonary veins (#4) and pumped by

the left ventricle (#5) to the muscles, organs, and head through the aorta (#6).

Usually the bubbles produced by decompression do not cause a problem, thanks

largely to the filtering capacity of the

lungs.

When a very large quantity of

bubbles are generated over a relatively

short period of time, as may occur with

certain high-risk dive profiles or with omitted decompression, the filtering capacity

of the lungs is overwhelmed and the diver

may exhibit the pulmonary symptoms usually associated with pulmonary decompression sickness (DCS). Pulmonary DCS,

descriptively known as “the chokes”, occurs when a large intravascular bubbleload causes congestion of the pulmonary

capillary bed, the release of inflammatory

factors, an increase in the pulmonary arterial pressure, the collection of fluid in the

lungs, and subsequent death. The direct

injection of air bubbles into the arterial

system, an arterial gas embolism (AGE)

generally occurs due to barotrauma and

is not part of the subject of this

article.

Patent Foramen Ovale:

The Heart of the Matter

A PFO is a hole (or potential hole) in

your heart’s dividing wall that allows direct connections between the left side and

right side pumps. Everybody has this hole

prior to being born and about one in four

Americans will continue to have a PFO

into adulthood. In most of these individuals, there is a small flap of tissue that covers the PFO from the left side pump (the

higher pressure pump) and acts as a oneway flapper valve. Since the pressure in

the left side circuit is almost always higher

than that on the right side, the PFO flapper valve is usually closed and the two

plumbing circuits remain separate. The

PFO flapper valve may be temporarily

opened by maneuvers that increase right

side pressure in relation to left side pressure. These maneuvers include lifting,

straining, or coughing.

A strong abdominal Valsalva maneuver, similar to the strain that one produces

when attempting to have a bowel movement while being constipated, temporarily

increases the pressure in the chest cavity

surrounding your heart. The Valsalva maneuver required during screening tests for

the presence of a PFO uses a much more

forceful procedure than the one divers

commonly use to clear their ears while

Figure 1. The heart after completing a dive

during which bubbles are generated in the

blood and enter the low-pressure circulation.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 1 9

descending in the water column. When the

forceful Valsalva is relaxed there a precipitous drop in the chest cavity pressure

which permits a sudden and large increase

in the amount of blood flowing into the

right heart and lungs and a relative decrease in the amount of blood returning

to the left side of the heart. This momentary shift in blood volume causes a right

side heart pressure that is greater than the

left side heart pressure for a few heart

beats and allows for the PFO flapper valve

to open and the movement, or “shunting”,

of blood directly between the right side

and left side heart.

 The concern regarding diving with

a PFO is that bubbles that are normally

filtered from the blood going to the brain

can bypass the filter bed of the lungs by

directly entering the left atrium from the

right atrium through the opening of the

PFO (# 1 & #4 in Figure 2). The bubbles

would then be pumped directly into the

systemic circulation (#6) and theoretically

could create symptoms of neurologic or

spinal DCS (DCS II). There have been

more than ten studies in which divers with

a history of DCS II injury were examined

for the presence of a PFO. Divers with a

history of serious DCS II were found to

have twice the expected number of PFO’s.

While being the improper study design to

determine actual risk of developing DCS

II, these various retrospective studies indicate a potential 2 to 5-fold increased risk

of having a DCS II symptom if the diver

has a PFO. The study conducted at

Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU),

although also not conclusive, agrees with

a doubled relative risk. Most people who

get unnerved by this apparent increased

risk of diving with a PFO forget two

things: (1) the U.S. Navy bends fewer than

twenty individuals per year while conducting more than 50,000 working dives,

and (2) a majority of the bends cases

occur during experimental dives in

which immediate diagnosis and treatment

(i.e., recompression) is available. The

Navy’s total DCS rate is less than 0.04%,

and the rate for serious DCS II injuries is

much lower. Those individuals who do

get bent and receive prompt treatment are

unlikely to experience long-term residual

symptoms.

Screening Tests for PFO

There are several different ways of

determining whether a PFO exists in a

diver’s (or anyone else’s) heart. This is

causing some problems, as we will discuss later in the paragraph.

The “gold-standard” for PFO detection, and the method utilized by

most cardiologists, is transesophageal

echocardiography (TEE) with bubble contrast. In brief, an ultrasound image of the

heart is obtained by placing the ultrasound

probe adjacent to the heart by means of

the esophagus (i.e., the patient swallows

the “big, black snake”) and injecting a

small amount of bubble containing solution (the bubble contrast) into a vein in

the patient’s arm. This procedure is invasive, meaning that it requires the test subject to have the ultrasound probe, typically

a hose about one-half inch in diameter,

introduced into their esophagus through

their mouth. Most people have a strong

gag reflex and therefore require sedation

before this procedure can be tolerated.

The use of sedative makes the conduct of

a strong Valsalva procedure unlikely and

therefore causes many small PFO’s to not

be reported during the TEE procedure.

The complication rate associated with TEE

is very small but occurs more often than

DCS injury in the U.S. Navy.

NEDU chose to use two other,

noninvasive methodologies for detecting

PFO during the conduct of their study.

During transthoracic echocardiography

(TTE) with bubble contrast, the ultrasound

probe is pressed against the test-subject’s

abdomen just below the rib cage and the

heart is observed through the chest-wall

while bubble contrast is introduced into

the arm vein. The TTE procedure only

detects 65% of the PFO’s that may be detected by TEE, but does not require the

use of a sedative and therefore permits the

conduct of a forceful Valsava procedure.

The sensitivity of NEDU’s procedure to

detecting small PFO’s and significant

right-to-left shunts that are not in the heart

is increased by the inclusion of a third

detection method, the transcranial Doppler

(TCD). TCD is performed at the same time

as the TTE and is also noninvasive. A

Doppler ultrasound probe is attached to

either side of the test-subject’s head and

directly counts small bubbles in the bubble

contrast solution that are transported by

the systemic circulation to the head if a

PFO or significant Right-to-Left Shunt

(RLS) is present. A RLS is the direct

movement of right side blood into the left

side circulation and may occur either

through a PFO or a right-left vascular connection that occurs outside of the heart,

e.g., inside of the lungs. The combination

of TTE and TCD with bubble contrast

injection has proven to be a sensitive,

rapid, and patient acceptable means of detecting PFO and RLS at NEDU. The typical exam (Figure 3) requires about twenty

minutes and is well tolerated by the diver.

No complications from testing have

occurred.

However, the current MANMED

does not provide guidance as to what procedure is to be used by the consulting cardiologist for the assessment for the presence of a PFO in those divers who do have

a DCS injury. Three out of four divers

identified as having either a PFO or a RLS

during testing at NEDU were reported by

the consulting cardiologist as not having

a PFO.

Figure 2. A heart with a PFO and post-dive

bubbles. The direct connection between right

and left side circulations creates the potential

for bubbles from the right side to avoid filtration by the lungs and to pass directly into the

system circulation.

(“PFO” continued on p. 20)
2 0 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Figure 3. HM2 Kenneth Hopper conducts a

PFO screening examination at NEDU. The

experimental diver is lying on his back with

HM2 Hopper conducting the TTE. The bubble

contrast solution has been injected into an

intravenous line in the subject’s left arm after

proper TCD probe placement on the subject’s

head has been achieved.

cardiology consult from their command

Diving Medical Officer.

It remains to be seen how new PFO

information will be used in the future, but

it remains imperative to the continued

safety of Navy diving that all post-dive

symptoms that may be diagnosed as DCS

shall be reported by the diver to either the

Dive Supervisor, Diving Medical Officer,

or Master Diver. Further study of the

potential linkage between the presence

of a significant RLS or PFO and decompression injury will continue at

NEDU and results of this study, as they

become available, will be reported to

working divers in future articles such as

this one.

Charge, stated that “It was

great to work jointly with

UCT 1 and UCT 2 to assist

NOAA with this important

project. The project also

gave us an opportunity to

train together and dive with

NITROX, an enhanced

oxygen-to-nitrogen gas

mixture, which allows the

divers to stay longer on the

bottom doing work.”

According to Construction Electrician 1st

Class (SCW/DSW) Alex

Semmler, UCT 2 Aquarius

project leader, “the good

news is that after two weeks

of working alongside

NOAA and UNCW divers, the team was

able to successfully stabilize and anchor

the habitat sufficiently to allow NOAA to

commence with its November mission”

and proceed with other missions

planned for Aquarius this winter,

including a U.S. Navy sponsored

saturation diving mission that

will further prepare the Navy for

a fly-away sat dive capability

that comes online this fiscal year.

Additionally, Chief Warrant

Officer Edward Bichard, UCT 2

operations officer, said “this

project has helped establish a

great partnership between

NOAA and the UCTs that will

hopefully continue into the

future with NOAA making plans

for a permanent anchoring

project and a replacement

offshore life-support structure”.

For additional information

about Aquarius, please visit the official

website at www.uncw.edu/aquarius.

(“Aquarius” continued from p. 10)

Why Is the Navy Doing This?

(“PFO” continued from p. 19)

LCDR Patrick Hennessy is currently serving

as Diving Medical Officer, researcher, and

diver at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit

in Panama City, Florida.

As of press time, BUMED M34 has decided

to no longer require PFO testing after

DCS occurrence because standard testing

for PFO is not generally available. A

change to MANMED will be forthcoming.

-Ed.

Diver making repairs after Aquarius sustained hurricane damage.

There is sufficient data to support thecontinued acquisition of PFO status of

Navy divers as a scientific curiosity. Current Navy diving practices are extremely

safe as indicated by the observed bends

rate of less than 0.04%. Most Navy dive

tables have a calculated probability of

DCS outcome of 2% to 6%, a theoretical

bends rate that is 100-fold more than the

actual experienced rate. However, plans

are in place that will significantly change

the way that the U.S. Navy dives. Future

dive tables that extend the no-decompression limits and topside decompression

computers that calculate decompression

profiles based upon real-time data of actual dive profiles rather than the current

“square” dive profiles may lead to significantly increased actual DCS rates while

decreasing theoretical bends rates. As decompression profiles are designed to more

accurately reflect the dive profile, and

consequently, as the potential for producing post-dive venous bubbles increases,

the linkage of a PFO to DCS II may

strengthen. It also may not. We really will

not know the answer until the appropriate

data is acquired and analyzed.

Summary

The current MANMED requires

cardiology consultation for individuals

who have a history of DCS; this

requirement is prospective and only

involves new cases of DCS. CAPT

Wilkins, Super visor o f Sal vage

(NAVSEA 00C), has determined that any

Navy Diver who desires to know whether

or not he or she has a PFO may request a
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 2 1

The seventh bi-annual2-day “Working

Diver” symposium will be

held on March 7 and 8,

1978 at Batelle Memorial

Institute, Columbus, Ohio.

More than 600 divers,

salvors, scientists, and

engineers from the United

States and abroad are

expected to attend. The

symposium is being

sponsored by the U.S.

Navy Supervisor of Diving

and Office of Naval

Research, t he Salvage and Diving

Committee of the Marine Technology

Society (MTS), the Ocean Technology

Division of the American Society of

Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and

Battelle-Columbus.

Specialists from Canada, England,

France, Japan, and the United States will

present 21 papers discussing topics of

current interest to working divers and

salvors. Subjects include ship husbandry,

thermal problems in diving, large-object

salvage systems, underwater television,

and arctic diving operations. The speakers

represent the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast

Guard, U.S. Department of Commerce,

Canadian government, diving equipment

manufacturers, diving contractors, salvage

companies, research

organizations, and

universities.

 Mr. W. W. “Woody”

Hayes, head football

coach at The Ohio State

University, will be banquet speaker on March 7.

RADM G.C. Heffner, SC,

USN (Ret.), assistant to

the president of Battelle

Memorial Institute for

Community Affairs, will

be banquet toastmaster.

 Chairing the symposium will be CAPT Robert B. Moss, USN,

Director of Ocean Engineering and Supervisor of Salvage. Members of the program

committee are CDR F. Duane Duff, USN

Supervisor of Diving, Mr. Walter R.

Bergman, Assistant to the Supervisor of

Diving; CAPT William F. Searle, Jr., USN

(Ret.), Chairman of the Committee on

Salvage and Diving, MTS; Dr. Jack R.

Malson, Chairman of the Ocean Technology Division, ASME; Ms. Betty Alkire,

senior administrative assistant; and

Mr. Peter S. Riegel, research engineer,

Equipment Development Section, Battelle

Columbus.

Blackie Keane, a retired U.S. NavyChief Boatswain’s Mate who died in

November 2004 at age 79, was given a

“full-body” burial at sea by the crew of

the USS GRAPPLE. The combat rescue,

salvage and recovery ship was the same

type on which Mr. Keane worked over 40

years ago as a Master Diver and as one of

the pioneering corps of Navy Divers.

444... Blackie Keane...444

PO2 James Kerbedett of he USS GRAPPLE

stands guard over the casket of Chief Master

Diver Donald “Blackie” Keane.

Originally printed in “The Disposaleer” in

August of 2005. Written by Sean Smith.

Originally printed in the Winter 1977 issue of

Faceplate.

My close association with the Officeof the Supervisor of Salvage began

with Captain Bill Searle, who sponsored

me to be the first Exchange Officer with

the British Navy. After over 30 years

associated with the office I have noted that

the Supervisors of Salvage has been involved in many operations that have made

the headlines. Namely:

• Bill Searle – Palomares Nuclear

weapons recovery,

• Eugene Mitchell – Oriental

 Warrior, Sydney Smith, Regulus,

• Huntley Boyd – Suez Canal

Clearance,

• Colin Jones – Air Florida,

• Chuck Maclin – USCG Blackthorn, Korean Airlines 007,

• Chuck Bartholomew – Space

Shuttle Challenger, Exxon

Valdez,

• Dick Fiske – Desert Shield/

 Desert Storm,

• Chip McCord – TWA Flight

800,

• Bert Marsh – Ehime Maru,

• Jim Wilkins – Gulf Coast hurricane clearance.

It appears that Jim Wilkins drew the

big one. Of course, there were many more

operations dating back to Commander

Sullivan in 1942. Ref:: (Mud Muscle &

Miracles). John Witte’s article (see p. 11)

gives a brief overview of what is involved

on the Gulf Coast.

Captain Mark Helmkamp has published a list of participants in his

Topside Red Diver section (see p. 29)

that have made contributions to our

proposed “JAKE” Divers memorial in

hopes that it will encourage additional

support.

From the Managing Editor

Jim Bladh

Managing Editor’s Note: Blackie and I were

friends and diving partners for years. Blackie,

you beat me to the bottom again.

“We feel as if we are taking care of

one of our own,” said Master Chief Gary

Furr, 48, a fellow Master Diver and

Command Master Chief of the

GRAPPLE. “When you spend the better

part of your life serving your country as a

diver, the sea becomes a part of you. We

feel like we’re taking him home.”
2 2 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Cover

I

t’s day 6, 1200 AM, we are already a

day and a half behind schedule as the

dive team heads down the pier towards

your now, biggest pain on the waterfront.

The crane team has just started leveling

the “J-fixture” for reinstalling the

propeller and

all hell is

breaking

loose. The

wind is increasing to

50 mph,

lighting bolts

are striking

everywhere,

and now the

rain is coming down in

sheets. It’s

just par for the course on this job. This

scenario is replayed on a daily basis. If

it’s not the weather, it’s dealing with some

unforeseen material or procedural problem.

As anyone who has ever worked on

the aging 688 Class submarines knows,

nothing goes according to plan. When we

were tasked with the “emergent” PAB

replacement, we responded in the usual

diver fashion, “can do.” When the PMA

asked for our proposed schedule stating

that no overtime is authorized, we gave

the usual padded “9 days sir.”

Day one – the guys are fired up and

ready to go, they hit the water running.

“Topside, we are going to need a drill to

get these fairwater screws out.” And so the

story goes. Ok, no problem, just a minor

setback. After a full eight-hour shift, we

now have removed the fairwater covers

and rope guards. Not making much

money yet, surely things will pick up.

Second shift takes the side, ok guys, first

shift ran into some problems but we should

be able to make up the time. First thing

we need to do is get this dunce cap off so

we can remove the screw. “Topside, we

just broke the cool guy tool for removing

the lifting eye plugs.” BM1, run over to

38 and have another one made. “Topside,

we just broke the new tool you sent us.”

What the !@#$? Are you sure you have

cleared all the stake marks? “Yes, topside,

we have removed all eight stake marks.”

What a relief, only

eight stake

marks this

time. After

burning

out the

first set

of divers

using a

pneumatic

grinder,

we finally

get the

cone endlifting

plug out.

The forward-lifting eye plug wins the battle and we go ahead and choke off the

dunce cap with a Kevlar strap and one lifting eye. Victory at last, the dunce cap is

on the surface. It ends up taking shop 38

several hours using opposing pneumatic

hammers to remove the plug. Now let’s

get the dunce cap studs out so that first

thing in the morning we can get this screw

off.

“Topside, we need another stud extractor, we broke this one.” What is going

on? Just double nut them and let’s get out

of here. We tried that and we are not getting any love. After using a 4’ pipe wrench,

three divers and a small boy, we finally

get the studs out. Despite our best efforts,

not a good day’s work, but spirits are still

high.

All right, a new day with no rain or

lightning, a good start, things are surely

looking up. Let’s get some cheater bars

on that nut and see if we can break it loose.

No such luck. Get the intensifier kit and

let’s press the screw up so we can get the

nut off. “Topside, we got some leaks on

the nut.” Here we go again. After looking

at the nut we find that during the last install the wrong plugs were used in the nut

thus letting the fluid leak out and damaging all the internal seals. Ok, now let’s do

it the old school way (with NAVSEA approval of course). Let’s wrap the nut with

a strap and take it to power (although Petty Officer Bennett is the Sup, we do not

have MDV Gaillard in the water). After

applying many band-aids and with some

much-needed luck, the nut cooperates and

we get the screw moved down the taper.

After the third press, the nut finally gives

up and dies. Some joy, the nut is on the

pier and off to 38 for a rebuild and the

screw is ready for removal. Have we exorcised all our demons?

Hey, EDO, we just want to make sure

the shaft is in the dry-dock position. Yes,

Dive Sup, it is. Ok, let’s get

this fixture on and make

some money. “Topside, are

you sure the riggers leveled

the fixture right?” It looks a

little off too starboard.

EDO, are you sure your shaft

is in the dry-dock position?

Yes, Dive Sup, “I know my

boat.” Divers, use the outboard chain fall to adjust the

fixture. Note to self, when

something just doesn’t look

right, it usually isn’t. Ok,

topside, the fixture is on lets

start walking this screw off.

You guessed it, the screw won’t move. It’s

binding on the keyways. After some careful investigation inside the boat by the

Master Diver (using that Master Diver

TRF Kings Bay Diver Locker.

Divers preparing to enter the water.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 2 3

The training a Navy hard hat diver receives is intensive and thorough.

Training provides basic instruction and

experience in surface-supplied air and

their support systems,

underwater repair, diving

physics, underwater tools

and work techniques,

underwater cutting and

welding procedures, and

chamber operations. It is

this intense and structured training that may

open doors for Navy

divers to receive academic credit towards an

Associate of Science degree from National Polytechnic College of Engineering

and Oceaneering.

Formerly the College of Oceaneering,

National Polytechnic is pleased to announce the offering of a new online concentration for its Associate of Science

degree in Marine Technology designed

specifically for military and public safety

hard hat divers. This four-course online

specialty in Homeland Security Management is designed to support recipients of

military hard hat training by offering

college credit for military training and

experience.

For example, a Second Class diver

with two years Fleet experience, or someone who attended both first and second

class dive school, could receive up to 36

quarter credits (a full academic year) of

course work towards the Associate of Science degree. By completing the Homeland

Security Management specialty, 30 quarter units of general education, and some

welding experience (which may also be

waived if the diver is a hull technician,

builder, or other rating including welding),

the diver can earn his or her Associate of

Science degree in Marine Technology.

The Associate of Science degree in

Marine Technology with a concentration

in Homeland Security Management is

comprised of 36 quarter credits in the fundamentals of hard hat diving, two credits

in topside welding experience, 24 quarter

credits in homeland security management,

and 30 credits in general education. The

homeland security management courses

consist of Crime Scene Investigation, Seaport Security, Principles of Investigation,

and International and

Domestic Terrorism.

General education

courses are required

in six categories

(a minimum of 30

quarter credits) and

include college mathematics, college English, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences,

and humanities. General courses may be

taken online through National Polytechnic or transferred from another accredited

institution.

National Polytechnic is a non-profit

college accredited by the Accrediting

Commission for Community and Junior

Colleges of the Western Association of

Schools and Colleges. It is also approved

by the Department of Education for financial aid, Veterans Affairs, and is a

SOCNAV member. National Polytechnic

accepts transfer credit for Defense Activities for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and other credits

as recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE). The College also

provides a 20% discount on its online

courses to active duty military personnel.

Master Diver Bob Cave, U.S. Navy

(Ret.), is a member of the National Polytechnic College of Engineering and

Oceaneering faculty and teaches at the San

Diego campus. For more information on

the profession or to enroll with the College, please call (800) 432-3483, (619)

563-7430, or visit us at www.natpoly.edu.

National Polytechnic College is a

non-profit corporation, an equal opportunity educator, and an affiliate of the

National University System.

Master Diver Bob Cave at the College’s

San Diego campus.

brain) we find, and imagine this, the marks

the boat uses to align the shaft in the drydock position are not correct. Way back

in shaft alley under some obscure deck

plate the MDV finds the actual stamped

shaft marks. Low and behold, the shaft is

off to starboard (see note above). After

wasting a full shift, the fixture is removed

and the shaft jacked to the newly discovered marks. Wow, what a difference that

makes.

Despite the best efforts of Murphy, we

managed to get the screw off, the ARC

bearings replaced with staves, and the

screw on with nothing more then the usual

summer Georgia thunderstorms and the

occasional tropical storm to slow us down,

oh, and don’t forget the flying teeth. It was

only through complete dedication, “can

do” attitude of the dive team, not to mention some very long nights (so much for

the no overtime authorized), and the

around the clock support of many shops,

we delivered this boat a half day ahead of

schedule. To bring us back full circle, remember the fairwater covers in the beginning, “Topside, we need some all-thread,

a big hammer, and a cargo strap, we can’t

get this last fairwater cover on.” Ok, who

brought the bananas? Here we go again.

Editor’s Note: The underlying issue

in this story is Procedural Discipline and

QA oversight. Procedures are written to

provide the correct method for accomplishing a task – safely – and result in the

component functioning as intended. Because our environment is dynamic, QA is

there to identify any anomalies that do not

meet specifications. When procedural discipline and QA both fail safety is compromised, equipment does not perform to

specification, and scarce maintenance

funds are expended to correct the deficiency. If the procedure is not working,

seek guidance from competent authority,

do not take shortcuts... you may be the

diver who has to correct the problem and

be placed in harms way. Dive safe and

follow the procedures.

CWO2 Ray Schubert and BMCS(MDV)

Sandy Bell, TRF Kings Bay.

Submitted by Nancy Herbst, Vice President

of Administration at National Polytechnic

College of Engineering and Oceaneering
2 4 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

I

n her glory days, the USS ORISKANY

wreaked havoc on our Nation’s enemies

during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In

her new role, the ORISKANY will serve

Mother Nature by providing a haven to

increase and benefit delicate sea life off

the shore of Pensacola, Florida, as well as

a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for

divers, when she is sunk as the world’s

largest artificial reef in May 2006.

But the transition from

war-wielding aircraft carrier

to artificial reef is not an easy

one. Environmental remediation of the 888-foot long

vessel would be a daunting

task for most companies, but

the experts at Resolve Marine Group, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ESCO

Marine of Brownsville,

Texas have had the situation

well in hand since being

awarded the remediation

contract from the Navy in

September 2003.

This tedious chore included removing all substances and coatings that could potentially be harmful to

marine life that will eventually inhabit the

vessel. After months of cutting, scrubbing,

scraping, and pressure-washing, the

remediation crew accomplished the mission and returned the vessel to the Beaumont, Texas reserve fleet in June 2005,

where it awaits issuance for the solid PCB

containing materials in the ship’s structure such as electrical cable insulation.

Once she’s sunk 22.5 miles from the

Pensacola shore, the ORISKANY, which

boasts a flight deck capable of parking up

to 86 fighter jets, will provide a habitat

for some of Gulf of Mexico’s native species, such as goliath grouper, amberjack,

ocean sunfish, and eagle rays. Due to the

sheer mass of the vessel, fishermen and

divers alike speculate that elusive fish such

as marlin and reef shark will also be drawn

to the shelter of the sunken ship.

According to pre-approved specifications, the carrier will be sunk in 212

feet of water. Due to her considerable

height, the ship’s flight deck will remain

just over 100 feet from the surface, allowing divers to explore the 888-foot

by 129-foot flight deck, hangar deck,

and her 30-foot-tall island structure.

Part of the remediation process included the removal of hatches, porthole

covers, wiring, pipes, and any other fittings that may pose any potential danger to divers. Removal of these fixtures

will also serve to make the sunken vessel very easily navigable for divers

looking to catch a glimpse of some of

the ships interior and the marine life that

will eventually make its home there.

According to experts, the wait for

that marine life to inhabit the vessel

won’t be long.

In an independent study, the Reef

Environmental Education Foundation

researched the amount of fish that descended upon the ex-USS SPIEGEL

GROVE, which was sunk as an artificial reef off the Florida Keys in 2001.

In less than one month, 46 different species of fish were documented inhabiting the vessel and up to 179 species

were found in outlying artificial reefs

that were sunk years earlier.

Aside from the plentiful marine life

divers will likely find populating the

ORISKANY, they’ll also get the chance

to see – up close – one of the Navy’s most

fabled aircraft carriers.

Built in 1944, the ORISKANY was

the last carrier built to Essex Class specifications, ultimately becoming the last

Essex carrier ever used in the Navy by the

time she was decommissioned in 1976.

She was also the only Essex

ever to be refitted with an

angled flight deck and “hurricane” bow.

Besides her unique design, the ORISKANY also

holds several historical distinctions – she launched

12,000 combat sorties in

Vietnam – more than any

other carrier in U.S. Navy

history. She’s also the first

carrier to round Cape Horn

and was the first Navy carrier to act as a Hollywood

stage when “Bridges of

Toko Ri” was filmed aboard

her in 1953.

Upon the EPA’s approval, the team at

Resolve Marine Group, Inc., stands ready

to return to the colossal carrier’s flight

deck to continue last-minute preparations

for her sinking.

Once complete, the Navy will outfit

her with controlled charges and scuttle her

at a permitted artificial reef designated by

the State of Florida approximately 23

miles off Pensacola. Her role will have

changed forever. No longer will she hear

the roar of jets launching from her flight

deck, but with marine life inhabiting her

and several thousand divers and fishermen

frequenting her, the ORISKANY will continue to make a significant impact in her

new role.

Ex-USS ORISKANY on her initial transit from Beaumont to Corpus Christi.

Dave Salazar is the Marketing & Public

Relations Coordinator, Resolve Marine

Group, Inc., www.resolvemarine.com
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 2 5

Homeported at Naval AmphibiousBase Little Creek, Virginia, USS

GRASP and her crew of 110 have continued the 75-year Naval tradition of providing diving, salvage,

and towing services to the

Fleet. Since her last Mediterranean deployment in

the summer of 2003,

GRASP has continued to

maintain an extremely demanding schedule. As an

auxiliary ship, GRASP is

continually called upon for

a broad range of assistance

and recovery operations,

proving the ship’s motto

“Any Ocean, Anywhere,

Anytime.”

In June 2004, GRASP

was the support ship

for diving operations

conducted on the Civil War

ironclad USS MONITOR.

MDSU2 Detachment

Alpha accompanied

GRASP during this

operation along with two NOAA

representatives to ensure that this National Sanctuary would go undisturbed.

Prior to leaving Little Creek, GRASP

crewmembers spent a rigorous week of

long hours rigging the ship to lay a fourpoint moor. Once in position off the coast

of South Carolina, close coordination

between the bridge and deck personnel

to the Edge.” GRASP laid a two-point

moor off the coast of North Carolina and

provided underwater footage to depict

Navy rescue efforts for trapped Johnson

Sea Link submersible. This documentary, “Expeditions to

the Edge: Sunken

Sub” was shown on

the National Geographic channel.

Advanced diving

supervisor training

was conducted in

conjunction with

the operation to

further enhance

GRASP divers’

abilities to conduct

one of her primary

missions.

After assisting

National Geographic, GRASP

headed south

for the ex-USS

NICHOLSON

sinkex. During the transit GRASP was

asked to assist a 20-ton U.S. Coast Guard

craft beached at Cape Hatteras. GRASP’s

small boats marked the 3 fathom curve

with buoys, then the ship made her approach, dropping the starboard fos’cle anchor as a positioning anchor. After letting

go the anchor GRASP backed down to

within 600 yards of the beach, and trolleyed an 8-inch hawser to the stranded

vessel from GRASP’s traction winch. A

visual internal and external survey was

conducted on the vessel’s hull and no apparent damage was found; GRASP could

continue with the de-beaching process.

With the help of the tides and the tension

on the traction winch the vessel was freed

from the beach. Ever wonder why ARSs

are called Rocket Ships?

Following this successful assist and

recovery evolution, GRASP continued to

was required to deploy four anchors and

tons of wire rope for the moor, then the

bridge team meticulously maneuvered the

ship into harness so that diving operations

could begin. With MDSU2’s Fly-Away

Mixed Gas System, fifty

dives to 230 feet were

conducted over a period

of two weeks. The

success of the “Clean

Sweep” preserved the

beauty of this historic

American ship and

National Sanctuary.

One month later

GRASP was underway

in support of National

G e o g r a p h i c’s documentary of the USS

JOHNSON Sea Link

recovery, “Expeditions

USS GRASP USS GRASP

By: BMCS(SW/MDV) Heater

USS GRASP (ARS 51).

Looking for fish hooks while slushing the bull rope.
2 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Charleston, South Carolina for ex-USS

NICHOLSON sinkex. She towed ex-USS

NICHOLSON out to sea and set her adrift

for explosive testing. After the first blast

she was recovered, taken back in tow, inspected for battle damage and prepared for

the second round of demolition testing before she was finally sunk, serving her last

duty to the Fleet. Upon returning to

homeport, GRASP was called upon to assist an SSN that was stranded in 50 feet

of water off the coast of Virginia. The

submarine’s anchor wildcat had failed

during anchoring evolutions, leaving the

boat trailing the anchor and several shots

of chain. Divers in SCUBA utilized a lift

bag to raise the anchor chain to the surface and used KERI cable to cut the detachable link from the anchor. Once the

chain and anchor was detached, they were

recovered on deck with the capstan and

aft boom and brought home for re-installation - another successful mission accomplished by GRASP.

In September while preparing for salvage training GRASP was once again

called upon as the ready

salvage ship to recover an

anchor from the hospital

ship USNS COMFORT

(T-AH 20). Her 3-inch

anchor chain had parted

while at anchor. The

hawking anchor was

rigged and the quartermasters plotted a search

grid for hawking. The 16-

ton anchor was located

and recovered utilizing

both towing machines

and Engineering Department’s ability to

ballast and deballast the

ship for the twelve hours

required to break the

mammoth anchor free

from her grip in 30 feet of

mud within the harbor.

Six shots of three-inch

chain weighing over 15

tons were recovered over

a two-day evolution. The

following week the damage control teams exercised their capabilities during fire at sea

exercises set up by MDSU2, further

proving the wide varieties of expertise by

all personnel on board GRASP. One

week later GRASP was underway

again enroute to

Naval Station

Pascagoula,

Mississippi to

tow ex-USS

TICONDEROGA,

the first of the

Ticonderoga

Class cruisers

to be decommissioned. The ship

performed flawlessly during the

two-week transit

from Mississippi

to Philadelphia,

where once again

the crew enjoyed

a well-deserved

weekend off in

downtown Philadelphia. Living up to the reputation of a

rocket ship (always taking off) she once

again prepared for the tow of ex-USS

STUMP, the most recent ship to be decommissioned. GRASP took ex-USS STUMP

under tow in October and delivered her to

Philadelphia for disposition. This was

GRASP’s third visit up the Delaware river

in three months. She would get one week

in port before being tasked to tow a floating crane from Naval Submarine Base

Groton, Connecticut back to Norfolk.

In a five-month period the Officers

and Crew of USS GRASP had taken the

ship through every mission area in their

arsenal, providing service to the Fleet.

Without a stop, USS GRASP headed into

a drydock for an arduous two month overhaul.

One week out of dock during her

shake down cruise, she was called upon

to recover an anchor and chain lost

by USNS SPICA. The 11,500 pound

anchor and 7 shots of 3 inch chain were

recovered utilizing the 40-ton boom

and aft capstan. GRASP is currently deployed in the Mediterranean with more

salvage operations planned for her history

file.

This story was provided in the Fall

2005. Rocket ship GRASP was transferred to MSC 19 Jan 06. - Ed.

Another successful anchor recovery.

GRASP divers meet at the dive station.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 2 7

All of us are quite accustomed to

gathering around the dive side and

listening to the brief prior to any dive. In

the husbandry world this brief can have a

long sequence of events that all must tie

together in a specific order or things go

sideways real quick. Earlier this year

SERMC was tasked to load out a dive

team, travel to Pascagoula Mississippi

to replace both fin stabilizers on board

USS JOHN L. HALL (FFG 32). We have

completed this task a handful of times in

the past and even though it is a challenging rigging assignment for the divers,

I felt that we had this job in the bag.

All the required equipment from

NAVSEA was in place prior to arrival. The

new fins were on the pier and all that was

left for us to do is get the crane in position

and brief dive number one. The first brief

is normally very long on this job. It requires a detailed walk through and understanding of the 29 pieces of rigging

required to control the movement of the

fin. The rigging components were first assembled on the pier so the divers and the

dive team can get a clear visual reference

and to answer any questions prior to

getting wet.

The rig was then disassembled into

sections that the two divers could handle

leaving surface at 1000. On this job you

will normally be able to tell if the brief

was effective within the first hour because

the divers will start getting off track. That

wasn’t the case on this day. Every piece

went together smoothly and the divers and

the dive team were operating like a welloiled machine. By noon the rig had been

verified twice against the procedure and

I was smiling from ear to ear while giving

the divers a smack on the back for a job

well done.

The next phase of the job is all on

the Rolls Royce tech rep inside, disassembling the internal tiller assembly and

bridge unit. While that’s going on, we

gather again on the pier for the second

brief about the handling of the fin from

the ship. This is the most critical phase of

the job because one wrong move will

result in the fin being wedged into the

outboard bearing. Our confidence level

was up and we weren’t expecting anything

to get in our way. At 1800 we were in

position ready to begin the removal phase.

Again things went exactly as briefed. The

fin came out without a hitch and was

hanging in the water well clear of the ship

on the primary rigging pendant.

We knew when we got started this

morning that it was going to be a long day

if everything went perfect and a real long

day if Murphy showed up. So even though

dusk was beginning to settle on the dive

side, we were excited about how things

were going.

The only thing remaining was to

shackle the crane to the fin, transfer the

load to the crane, set the fin on the pier,

and we were going to call it a day.

The two divers that removed the fin

had plenty of bottom time remaining and

I felt confident that the Diving Supervisor

could brief the divers while still in the

water. The upper portion of the primary

rig has a 11⁄4” link connected to a six-ton

come-along connected to another 11⁄4”

link where the rest of the rig and fin was

hanging. The divers were directed to the

upper link and briefed about shackling in

the crane pendant. Green diver was then

sent to keep an eye on the fin shaft during

the lift and red surfaced to get the crane

pendant. As smooth as things were going

today, there was no reason to think that

this simple procedure was going to cause

so much grief.

The pendant was hooked up in a

matter of minutes with red diver moving

to the other side of the fin to attach the

tending line. OK’s were given from both

divers. The crane was directed to come up

easy.

As the pendant started to break the

surface, the tenders noticed that there was

chain wrapped around it. The crane was

stopped and divers were sent to investigate. Red diver reports that the six-ton

come-along is slack and twisted around the

rest of the rig. When asked if lowering

the fin would straighten things out he

reported, “no way, it’s one big knot of chain

and I’m not sure if it is still connected.”

So, the decision was made to bring the

twisted mess to the surface for inspection

and verification that it was going to be

safe to lift the fin to the pier. Inspection

revealed that red diver had swam past

the upper link of the rig and shackled into

the lower link causing the come-along

to slack off and get fouled. At that point

the anxiety level dropped off knowing

that the fin was still safely shackled in

and we could get this mess to the pier.

The divers were pulled and the fin was

lifted.

During the debrief, red diver admitted that the brief he got in the water did

not clearly state which link to shackle

into so he thought it didn’t matter. If

we had taken the time to pull the divers

and show them with the drawings and

the procedure like we had done for the

other evolutions we would have eliminated

this error from accuring.

Lesson learned: No matter how

simple the task is or how experienced the

diver is, a proper brief is always required

to ensure the job goes safely and smoothly.

MDV Eric Frank.

Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate, Master Diver Eric Frank, U.S. Navy
2 8 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Topside; Red Diver...

From the Supervisor of Diving

 Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Welcome Mike Herb

In our last issue, we brought Tom

Salmon up and over and bid him a fond

farewell. Tom cast off his mooring lines

here at NAVSEA and now steams independently and in company with other

retirees in southern California and Baja

California. In this issue, we welcome my

long-time friend, retired Captain Mike

Herb, who has relieved Tom as our new

“00C2” in the Salvage Directorate. Mike

started and ended his active-duty diving

career here at “The Yard” and I was

honored to be Mike’s Master of Ceremony

at his retirement on a scalding hot day

last summer.

Mike is a native of Pottstown, Pennsylvania and is a 1976 Naval Academy

graduate. Mike left Annapolis and served

as a Surface Warfare Officer in USS

FAIRFAX COUNTY (LST 1193). While

on FAIRFAX COUNTY, he was accepted

into the Special Operations Community

and later attended the Navy School

of Diving and Salvage in Washington,

DC, where he qualified as a HeO2 Diving

Officer. While a student at NSDS, Mike

met his wife-to-be, fellow Deep Sea

class-mate Martha Elizabeth Gray of

Atlanta, Georgia.

Mike was distressed to learn that

Martha was to be his SCUBA partner

and was concerned that she might

not be able to keep up with the class.

His fear, however, was unfounded;

Martha quietly accepted an NSDS

instructor’s brazen challenge to anyone

in the new class to a match race in

the pool. The instructor graciously

offered Martha a “head-start” but Martha

declined his kind offer and returned

the same opportunity to the overzealous

instructor (you know the type, we’ve

ALL endured them) – and then she

proceeded to leave him in her wake

and whip him. Only later was it revealed

that Martha was an All-American

swimmer while in college. Mike was

hooked on Martha for life, and the poor

instructor learned a hard life lesson:

never openly challenge a new class

without first snooping the background

of potential adversaries. Mike and Martha now.

Mike and Martha back in the day.

Mike left NSDS to serve as Operations Officer, Navigator and Diving

Officer in USS FLORIKAN (ASR 9) and

then as Executive Officer in USS HOIST

(ARS 40).

After departing HOIST, he was

assigned as XO of MDSU2. Following

MDSU2, Mike commanded USS BOLSTER (ARS 38). Returning to Little

Creek, Mike served as Chief Staff Officer

of Combat Support Squadron EIGHT

before he returned to sea in command of

USS GRASP (ARS 51). Mike’s next

assignment was as Chairman, Department

of Professional Programs at the Naval

Academy. He then took Command of

the Naval Diving and Salvage Training

Center in Panama City and followed

that great tour as Executive Officer of the

Concord Naval Weapons Station.

Mike spent some time at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, (outside the big wall as a

student, mind you – I swear – Ed.) as a

Fellow at the U.S. Army’s Command and

General Staff College where he completed

the Advanced Operational Art Studies

Fellowship and was awarded a Masters

Degree in Military Art and

Science. He then reported to Deputy

Chief of Naval Operation for Fleet Readiness and Logistics as Head of Ordnance

Programs and Policy Branch after which

he served in his final assignment at Military Sealift Command as Deputy Program

Manager, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force.

Mike joined our office and was

almost immediately dispatched to Louisiana in support of Hurricane Katrina

salvage operations. One day, I expect

Mike will actually be back from Louisiana

and you can call on him here and wish

him a hearty “Welcome Aboard.”

This is a real sore point with me.

Think about MDV Charlie Cope’s letter in

Letters to the Editor (see p. 30) the next

time diving in Contaminated Water is

contemplated, whether dressed out to

dive, or as one of the tenders.

While we have been working to develop a plan to detect both type and quantity of contaminates in water that is of

questionable cleanliness, a “hand-held”

solution is a long way off. Still, dry-suit

technology and equipment and procedures for both divers and tenders are

available now that would provide increased protection when water is contaminated. Unfortunately, many harmful contaminates are not always obvious or easily

detected except through time-consuming

lab analysis. Even then, contamination

varies at the dive site as type and quantity

can change with depth, tide, or after the

bottom is kicked-up – it’s a moving,

changing target. Worse, the Dive Sup really needs to know in advance what contaminates to look for before proper analysis for those contaminates can be ordered.

Certainly Hurricane Katrina associated

dive operations raised diver awareness for

Contaminated Water Diving Operations

and underscored (again) our need to advance protective equipment and training

availability for U.S. Navy dive teams.

We have stepped up the priority for

improving Fleet Contaminated Water

Diving (CWD) guidance. I tasked MDV

Fred Orns and our German exchange engineer and diver, Fraulein Anke Wilhelm, to

Contaminated Water Diving
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 2 9

spring and a CWD workshop during WDC 2006

in San Diego in May.

Additionally, MDV Brian

Pratschner is working to

provide the best CWD

equipment to the Fleet.

Besides his continued

work to add the ORCA as

a SSDS configuration, he

is intensifying efforts to

bring the KM-37 (still in

test and evaluation) with

its quad-exhaust and

improved neck ring,

and bring the Divator

DP-2 (an XLDS variant)

online. XLDS-RDC

(eXtreme Lightweight

Diving System – Rapid

Deployment Console,

has entered manned testing at NEDU). MDV

Frederick “The Great”

Orns’ CWD course

will cover the following:

Nomenclature and

definitions, Regulations,

Safety, health and hazard

recognition, Job Safety

Analysis, Detection and

evaluation, Personal Protective Equipment, Engineering controls and

equipment, Medical surveillance, Emergency Response, Decontamination, Confined space

entry, and Diving in

contaminated environments.

Tom saw the need to recognize ALL

military divers and suggested expanding

our effort to include monuments for Army

and UDT-SEAL Divers at Ft. Eustis and

Little Creek, Virginia respectively. Tom is

located in Whittier, California and his

effort can be reviewed at a website

relentlessly worked by Jeff West:

www.maninthesea@hspig.org.

I must applaud Jeff West who has put

in a great deal of time and effort towards

our mutual goal of memorializing the Navy

Diver at the WNY and now, all military

divers. Tom reports that MAR-VEL President Tom Maddox, DESCO and AnheiserBusch have already committed resources

to our project. Meanwhile, Jim Bladh and

I surveyed an area near where the

old school and EDU once stood (a convention center and a parking lot now occupy

those hallowed NSDS/EDU grounds) and

have found a nice spot in front of the

Taylor Building and alongside the old

marine railway (where Presidential Yacht

Sequoia once moored and opposite the

side of the old NSDS/EDU location) that

we will propose to the CO, Washington

Navy Yard.

Listed below are individuals who

have contributed as of this writing.

(See page 6 for more information):

 John Ackerman, Fred Aichele,

William Ary, David Baisse, David Balk,

David Ball, Bob Barth, Jim Bladh, Alfred

Briggs, Jay & Beverly Cook, Al Dietrich,

Bill Dover, Don Draper, Evan Evans,

James Evans, Dr. Ed Flynn, Jr., Charles

Fulkerson, Jim Gardner, Ray Goodson,

Jim Halwachs, John Hatcher, Mark

& Kathie Helmkamp (that’s ME

knuckleheads), Mike & Martha Herb, Gad

Hitchcock, Byron Howell, Ron Klepper,

Bill Liebold, Bill Loudermilk, Dianne

“Karen” Lynn, Kevin McEvoy, Bill

Milwee, Nyle Monday, F.B. Montague,

Frank Monger, Bev Morgan of KirbyMorgan, Tom & Doris Neuman, Dan Orr,

Peter Pehl, Peter Pehl II, David Peterson,

Jack Ringelberg, Don Risk, Pete Ruden,

Bill Searle, Kemp Skudin, Tim Stark,

Larry Stokes, Bill Tageson, Tony Thomas,

Jack Tomsky, Jim Vorosmarti, Paul

Walker, Kenneth Wallace, Dorothy &

Arthur Webb, Sylvester Wilson, Bill Winters, Lee Wolford, and Woody Woodward.

And relative to this discussion, retired Diving Corpsman and classic

Beemer restorer Larry Stokes sends me

this:

review the Contaminated Water Diving portion

of Divers Institute of Technology (DIT) Commercial Diver Training Program for possible inclusion in the NAVSEA Technical Document

(Guidance For Diving in Contaminated Water,

SS521-AJ-PRO-010). Anke’s focus has been on

portable, real-time contaminate testing equipment and procedures.

After completing the DIT curriculum and

spending time with DIT instructors and

students in the classroom and on dive

station conducting hands-on training with

dry-suits and SSDS equipment, MDV Orns

determined the best way to provide the Navy

Divers proper training was through assist visits.

He is currently working with Mr. Jerry Zebor

of DIT and is preparing a modified version of

the DIT HAZMAT and CWD curriculum that

will provide the necessary knowledge and

skills to perform as a dive team member in a

contaminated water environment. MDV Orns

will conduct a 5-day course at each MDSU this

WNY MKV Monument Update

 I reported in the April 2004 FACEPLATE that we wanted to build a bronze

“Jake” to commemorate the location of

the old diving school, the Naval School of

Diving and Salvage (NSDS), and the old

Experimental Diving Unit here in the

WNY. Bob Barth and Doug Hough (curator of The Museum of the Man in the Sea,

Panama City, Florida) were made responsible for soliciting money have been

collecting contributions. Their effort is

focused on the active and retired Navy

Diver and relies upon our “network” to

spread the word and garner support.

 Meanwhile, former Navy Diver Tom

Barnes and former Army Diver

Jeff West have been aggressively seeking

corporate contributions. Additionally,

This is a picture of a clay model of a

diver in a MKV that I commissioned. It is

What’s wrong with this picture? Does the use of a pressure washer

make sense? How should the tenders be protected? Is having an

open drinking water bottle on station appropriate?
3 0 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Topside; Red Diver... (continued)

to scale and stands about 14”

high. It should be finished after

the 1st of the year. Anyone who

collects bronzes knows they

are “spendy.” If there is

any interest in them, I can

arrange getting more with

ALL profit going to the

MK V fund. Later on I can

arrange for the same in cold

cast (that is resin and

painted to look like

bronze) and the cost for

them will be about onethird the cost of a bronze version. I

own the molding rights and have no plans of

putting the bronzes on the market otherwise.

I will not sell any unless the profit goes to

the MK V fund. If there is no interest, the

mold will be destroyed so no more can be

made.

If interested, please contact me and I

will direct your inquiry to Doc Stokes –Ed.

Welcome LCDR Dru Daubon

Assistant Supervisor of Diving

Commanding Officer at EODMU TWELVE in

Charleston, SC. Completing NATO exercise

Blue Game in Denmark, and successfully

deploying three ordnance clearance

detachments to the C5F/C6F AORs in support

of Operation’s Iraqi Freedom and Enduring

Freedom.

 LCDR Daubon qualified as a Master EOD

Technician, OUPV Captain and has been

designated a Foreign Area Officer for the

Western Hemisphere. He is married and has

two children, Dru (9) and Monica (8).

Welcome aboard Dru! Now go re-write

the Dive Manual...

which we can now at last express our gratitude.

 Jean-Michel Cousteau

Ocean Futures Society

325 Chapala Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

http://www.oceanfutures.org

I’ll admit that I was amazed by the response I received from out there in diver-land

regarding the “Diver’s and Their Rides”

spread found in the previous issue of Faceplate (Vol. 9, No. 2). As usual, a few shipmates failed to get the word or were not able

to provide a photograph of their pride and

joy before our press time; your liberty is

hereby cancelled until after your motivation

and attitude improve. And for the next issue, don’t stand on MY umbilical because

YOU didn’t get me your photograph. And

by the way; stow those Salt ‘n Peppers, we

haven’t worn them in years, sheeze! So here

you are gear-heads, feast your eyes on still

more rides. Don’t be surprised if one day you

see them at the Barrett-Jackson auto auction

in Scottsdale goin’for zillions...

Letters to the Editor

From Jean-Michel Cousteau,

Ocean Futures Society

Sixty years ago, when my father, JacquesYves Cousteau, and his buddies, Frederic

Dumas and Philippe Taillez, were tinkering

with his new invention, the SCUBA apparatus for breathing under water, they had probably a limited view of the enormity of the frontier they were crossing. But they did know

that they were risking their lives and that it

would require courage and a passionate curiosity to experience the unknown.

That has not changed and so I am pleased

to lend my full support to the Man in the Sea

memorial as a fitting tribute to those brave

divers who were also pioneers and who put

themselves at risk in order to serve their countries, and in many ways, all of us, by pushing

into the deep and exploring the true nature of

our planet in its watery depths.

So much of the work done in the sea goes

unnoticed and unsung, and this monument will

stand as testimony to divers for their work

and their membership in a community to

From Jack Lynch, President of the

UDT-SEAL Association

This mission of creating the Man in the Sea

Memorial Monument is one of great importance to provide our future generations a path

back to examine the past, present and the

future of breathing, working and living

underwater. This focal point will be one to

bring for the history of those men who made

that transition into the depths of the unknown.

The stories to be told have both amazing feats

of bravery and ingenious abilities of improvising. Some stories have sad endings which

prove there is a price that these men paid for

pioneering into the depths divers have gone.

Many stories have happy or funny endings

with successes allowing diving to move

onward in theory and diving equipment. But

I will guarantee one thing for sure! This

Memorial will generate stories to be told that

will be the most entertaining stories ever told

any where by anyone.

 I personally have been to about every

diving school the U.S. Navy has and enjoyed

every one of them. I have been fortunate to

meet and work with some of the legends of

Navy Diving such as Dr. George Bond,

SEALAB; CAPT Frank Cain, WW II Frogman; LT Joe DeMartino, WW II Frogman and

Vietnam era SEAL; Dr. Chris Lambertson,

OSI; Bob Barth; Jack Schmidt; John T.

Brady; Billy Arlington; Ragman Radicki, and

of course Bos’n Ryder. There is no end to the

long distinguished list of who is who in

diving. There should be no end to the story

and displaying “Jake” for all to see and

wonder who these men are is a start. “Jake”

represents all divers, everywhere!

 As President of the UDT-SEAL Association, Board of Director for the Naval Special

Warfare Foundation, Board of Director for

the U.S. Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, and past

President of the Navy Divers Association,

I fully support and provide my endorsement

for the mission of creating this Man in the

Sea Memorial Monument effort. “Jake” is not

just a name.

Jack Lynch

President, UDT-SEAL Association

 We wished fair winds and crystal clear,

warm, diving seas to LCDR Paul Fleischman

who just retired as Assistant Supervisor of

Diving this December. Join me in welcoming

LCDR Dru Daubon as Paul’s relief. Dru

comes to us from Commander U.S. Naval

Forces SOUTHERN (CUSNS) Command in

Mayport, FL where he served Assistant

Theater Security Cooperation officer and

Exercise Director. Originally from Culebra,

PR, he is a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval

Academy and has served afloat in

USS FORTIFY (MSO 446) and USS

OPPORTUNE (ARS 41) prior to attending

EOD School and assignment to EODMU Six.

He reported as Officer in Charge of Mobile

EOD detachment FOURTEEN at Explosive

Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit SIX,

Charleston, SC. In 1995 he assumed duties

as OIC of a Mine Countermeasures

Detachment TEN and selected to provide

specialized EOD services during the 1996

Centennial Games for the Atlanta Committee

for the Olympic Games (ACOG). After a

short tour ashore at Naval Weapons Station

Fallbrook CA he was assigned as the Senior

Operations/EOD Officer for Commander

Mine Countermeasures Squadron TWO in

Ingleside, TX and completed a deployment

to Commander Sixth Fleet in support of

multinational MCM exercises and Kosovo

humanitarian relief operations (Operation

SHINING HOPE). Prior to receiving orders

overseas to CUSNS he served as the

More Deep Sea Drivers (p. 31)

Thanks Jack! On the “Man in the Sea Memorial”

list is a UDT-SEAL LAR-5 diver for Little Creek,

Virginia. -Ed.
 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 3 1

Ray Haas’ 1966 IHC crew cab stump-puller

(former U.S. Navy truck).

Sandy Bacia’s “Guilty As Charged” 1967

Chevy II door slammer.

Full-figured Retired Diver Ed Delanoy’s 2002

Kawasaki “Meanstreak.”

Vern Geyman’s big block 1934 Fordstreet rod.

Vern Geyman’s hand-built custom bike.

Kellard Jansen’s new bike.

Former SUPSALV Bert Marsh’s 2003 50th

Anniversary C-5 Corvette.

Ret. MDV Mike Nichol’s 2005 Screaming

Eagle Fat Boy.

RN Sat Diver WO Buck Taylor’s 1957 Porsche

356.

LCDR David Ince, RN, in front of Mini

V8 EOD Landrover built for his son in

1994.

Ret. MDV Mike Nichol’s derby cover.

CWO4 Mark Pierson on his 2005 Honda CBR 1000.

MDV Charlie Cope’s 1990 Kenworth truck.
3 2 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

Neuman (he was the treating

DMO). I had to run some nerve

conductive studies to rule out

other causes for the problem. The

tests were normal which showed

that the condition was more than

likely a long-term problem from

the hit. I have letters from two

other DMOs that say the same

thing. The VA said, “That while

you suffered a minor mishap on

one dive, there no indication that

you were ever bent or treated for

the bends while in the service.”

They had my medical record and

the letters at the time. They found

other medical problems but not

that I had any ear infections or

ear squeezes. Or that I had went

to Long Beach Hospital and been

found to have significant weakness in my left leg. This is all in

my record. I got 20% for my

back.

Dr. Long has given me a

physical and has written a letter

to support my claim. I had an appeal hearing on 9 August and I

hope I can get this finally settled.

They do now believe that I was

bent. When I filed my original claim, I

thought it would go right through. I had to

go back and file for the ringing in the ears,

hearing loss, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Now they won’t

have to pay back pay for them. There are

many divers who are in worse shape than I

am in. You cannot fight this by yourself.

Join a Veterans Organization with a good

service officer. They are invaluable in helping with the paperwork.

Those of us who are retired will have to

live with the documentation that we have.

Those who are still on active duty and may

be just getting into this business, get a personal dive log and keep it up-to-date.

Record anything that happens to you on a

dive station, from squeezes, to cuts, sprains,

diving accidents and have the dive sup, diving officer, and corpsman sign the log. I

don’t mean to slam the Safety Center, but they

do not have all the info on file that people think

they do. By their records, I never went to 1st

Class School and they have no record of the

dive or the hit. They can only record what is reported to them. This may be the age of the

computer but documentation is still the way the

government works. The VA health care or disability people know nothing about diving or

long-term effects of diving-related incidents.

CAPT Larry Garsha, Head of Undersea

Med at BuMed, is concerned about this as is

CAPT Mark Helmkamp and his Med Officer,

CAPT John Murray. These gentlemen have

gone above and beyond in helping me.

Spit out that pogey-bait and remind yourself of MDV Charlie’s letter next time you have

your grubby mitts on your Health Record.

Savvy? – Ed.

But wait; there’s

more from Deep

Sea Divers HTC

Glen Rubin of

NEDU and Craig

Cooper of the

NOAA habitat

“Aquarius.”

Topside; Red Diver... (continued)

Reminder for all hands to utilize the Navy Diver Feedback Form at the SUPSALV website

in the 00C3 dropdown menu. We strongly encourage the use of this for submission of

comments or recommendations on issues of concern. If you have any questions on how or

what to submit, please contact MDV Brian Pratschner at (202) 781-1451 or via e-mail at

brian.pratschner@navy.mil.

The following conferences will be held May 5 – 12, 2006 in San Diego, CA:

May 5 – 7 - SEALAB Reunion,

May 7 – 11 - Diver/Support Reunion,

May 8 – 12 - Working Diver Conference 2006.

Merry Christmas

Twas’ the night before Christmas on the sea deep and blue

Document, Document, Document

My Experience with the VA

 From MDV Charlie Cope, (Ret.)

As many of you may know, I have a disability claim pending with the VA. This

stems from an aborted sat training dive in

1975. Treatment was not commenced until

about 20 hours after surfacing and it turned

out that it was a CNS and spinal hit that has

resulted in parathesia in my left arm and several other medical problems. These problems

didn’t show up for 25 years. Treatment was

a fully-extended Table 6 through 30 ft then

back to 60 ft and another Table 6 all the way

out. I did experience some toxicity during

the second 6 and had to interrupt the oxygen

periods several times. After the treatment, I

retired in 1986 with normal diver problems.

I was recently in DC and CAPT

Helmkamp asked me to write a summary of

what I have ran into in dealing with the VA.

I have been on S.S. disability since April

2004 and have not worked since October

2003 because of blood clots in my lungs. Before I filed the claim, I had contacted Dr.

Dive Sups, Read & Heed: You’ve heard

it before, but I know it is well worth reminding all of you Deep-Sea knuckle-heads that

you are best positioned and singularly most

interested – whether you now realize it or

not – in ensuring your official military medical record accurately reflects every aliment

or injury you’ve suffered while serving

Uncle Sam as a Hoo-Yah U.S. Navy Deep

Sea Diver. Whether you bang your big ugly

noggin on the bottom or are treated in the

round house for DCS, once back on the

sunny-side; document every detail. Ask the

DMOs and Diving Corpsmen do it; that’s

their job. If you have a problem, call me or

Captain (Dr.) John Murray and we’ll help

you sort it all out.

However, I know this will require continued emphasis and many will, unfortunately,

be forced to learn this lesson years after the

injury when members of your dive team are

dispersed and their memories have faded. In

testimony, I offer “Exhibit A.”

Davy Jones was asleep with the rest of his crew

With I in my hard hat and dive knife in hand

one last dive for dinner for the deep sea diver clan

Then from the comm box I heard such a roar

Santa’s sub, she was sinking to the deep ocean floor

SOS, SOS, came the signal from below

Call the SEALs to come save me, please hurry, don’t be slow

But it’s dark and it’s cold, much too deep for me

If we’re going to save Christmas, we must call Deep Sea

So we broke out the hard hats, the hose and the gas

Then descended below to save Santa fast

We salvaged the presents and that dear ‘ol fat man

He then went on his way from wence he began

With St. Nick out of danger, as he yelled you could hear

Merry Christmas DEEP SEA . . . you saved Christmas this

year!

A non-attributed poem sent by Captain Jim Evans... Retired

Deep-Sea Diver extraordinaire (and accomplished Ball Room

dancer, Mercedes-Benz aficionado, Trapeze Specialist,

Wolverine Tamer, Deadly Snake Charmer, a Master-Mind in

the Ways of Espionage, and finally, Literary Agent for MDVs

Starkey and Jimmy John)...