The Official Newsletter for the Divers and Salvors of the United States Navy

Volume 5, No. 1 / June 2000

SUPSALV Sends ........................................... 1

New Salvage Calculations Computer

Program for Fleet Salvage Personnel ........... 3

Command in the Spotlight .............................. 4

Saga of the EX-SUSTAIN .............................. 6

Reunion 2000 a Big Hit .................................. 7

00C Qualifies Friction Stud Welding

Procedure ...................................................... 7

USS RUSSELL (DDG 59) Strut Bearing

Replacement .................................................. 8

An Adventure in Pago Pago .......................... 9

Book Review ............................................... 10

In This Issue

SUPSALV Sends V Sends

Omega 5 headed for the bottom in 10,000 feet

of water off Pago Pago, American Samoa - Page 9

RADM Malcolm Fages signing DSWS Instruction, in background QMCS(EOD) Steve Marshall, HTCM(DSW/MDV)

Chuck Young, ENCM(DSW/MDV) Dave Davidson, and

MCPON MMCM(SS/SW/AW) James Herdt - Page 16

Ballast Tank Improvements .......................... 11

NDSTC 20th Anniversary Update ............... 12

USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74)

Screw Change ............................................ 13

EXO BR MS Approved for

Surface-Supplied Diving ............................. 14

Historical Notes ........................................... 15

Diving Salvage Warfare

Specialist Approved .................................... 16

Bayou Zachary ........................................... 18

The Old Master ............................................ 19

From the Supervisor of Diving .................... 20

As highlighted by our Front Page

picture and headline, the article of

greatest interest to Fleet divers should

be the one titled “Diving Salvage Warfare Specialists” (DSWS). In it, and

repeated in CAPT Chris Murray’s

SUPDIVE note, are the names of those

who put forth the effort to get Fleet

diving the recognition it justly deserves as a Warfare designation. Let

me add my thanks to those who

pushed and prodded this initiative

along. This change will increase the

significance of the insignia we all

wear proudly on our uniforms. However, with the recognition comes increased responsibility as there will be

greater emphasis on qualification

both as a DIVE SUP and in your progression to MDV and on to a commission. Treat it as a challenge and don’t

get left behind. This office will support you in every way possible.

A principal goal of FACEPLATE is

to highlight Fleet salvage. To that end

reports on the “Bayou Zachary”, by

Captain (Sel) Phil Beierl and the story

of corralling EX-SUSTAIN, by Jim

Ruth prove that what may seem impossible can be done given proper

planning and most importantly the

right people. To continue emphasis

on Fleet accomplishments our next

issue will concentrate on three high

profile aircraft salvages; first the recovery of JFK Jr’s aircraft off Nantucket; second the EYGPT AIR 990

(continued on page 2)

Diving Salvage Warfare

Specialists (DSWS) See page 16
2 June 2000

FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving to bring 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, 2531 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, VA 22242-5160. (Attn:

FACEPLATE). Visit our website at

http://www.navsea.navy.mil/sea00c.

Captain Bert Marsh, USN

Director of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

NAVSEA 00C

marshb@navsea.navy.mil

Jim Bladh

Managing Editor

Head, Operations Branch, 00C22

bladhjc@navsea.navy.mil

HTCM (MDV) Chuck Young, USN

ENCM (MDV) Dave Davidson, USN

Fleet Liaison Editors

youngch@navsea.navy.mil

davidsondl@navsea.navy.mil

F. Scott Lassiter

Graphic Designer

slassiter@roh-inc.com

SUPSALV Sends V Sends (continued from page 1)

flight recovery off Rhode Island and finally the recovery of ALASKAN AIR 261

off Port Hueneme. I have a commitment

from CDR Lee Hall of Deep Submergence

Unit to provide an article on ALASKAN

AIR. With input from GRASP, GRAPPLE

and other units involved we can document the difficult tasks these high profile jobs entailed. My staff can’t document your efforts without your input; who

was there; who made the recovery dives.

These are stories that rate being told.

To round out this issue we have included articles on two high visibility

UWSH jobs both of which directly affected

deployment of major Fleet assets. These

articles, on the RUSSELL bearing staves

and screw changes on the STENNIS, highlight team efforts by MDSU ONE and CDU

divers with industrial facilities and

NAVSEA personnel. Congratulations to

all those involved who enabled timely

deployment of NAVY strike capability.

Finally, from items to keep in your

toolbox perspective comes LCDR Jeff

Stettler’s article on the “New Salvage

Calculations Computer Program for

Fleet Salvage Personnel” and LT Eddie

Gallion’s article on “00C Qualifies Friction Stud Welding Procedure”. Both

describe new tools for salvage and

UWSH. No tool is of value unless it’s

used, so call or email if you have questions about these or any other tools in

our inventory.

Seeking former and current crew members of U.S. NAVY, ARMY, and

COAST GUARD “workhorses” (those tugs and salvage ships classified as ATF, ATR, ATO, ATS, ARS, ASR, Ex-NAVY WMEC, U.S.

ARMY LT, and WSA, and all YT-class Ships).

The National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors (NAFTS) Eleventh

Annual Reunion will be held in San Diego, CA, October 4 - 8, 2000, at

the Handlery Hotel & Resort.

Contact George Kingston, 1611 Woodbridge Circle, East, Foley, AL

36535-2267 or call (334) 943-7823 for details.

National Group Seeks

Fleet Tug Sailors

National Group Seeks

Fleet Tug Sailors
June 2000 3

The 1998 Submarine and IUSS TrainingRequirements Review for Navy diving

and salvage training and the 1998 CNO

Salvage Executive Steering Committee requested that NAVSEA 00C develop a

computer-based salvage calculations program, a “mini POSSE” – calculation software for light salvage operations. The

goal was to provide a computer tool to

supplement instruction given in the Salvage Officer course, as well as provide a

computer tool for Fleet salvage calculations refresher training and for use in

simple salvage operations, where more

complex salvage engineering analysis is

not required.

In response to these requests,

NAVSEA 00C has developed a computer

program (named “Salvage Calculations

Program” or SCP), based on the RAPID

mode of the Program of Ship Salvage Engineering (POSSE). SCP provides the same

basic logic flow and calculations as

taught in the Salvage Diving Officer

course, with special emphasis on conducting stranding calculations as well as calculations for afloat stability and trim (intact

or damaged). SCP calculations are based

upon first principles. As with the hand

calculations taught in the Salvage Diving

Officer course, data input requires knowledge or documentation of the vessel’s hydrostatic properties and weight. Analysis

capabilities (and results) depend upon the

fidelity of the entered data.

SCP is a menu-driven Windows program and has full Windows functionality

(e.g., files, print, cut, paste, view, etc.).

Logic flow and data prompts follow standard ship salvage calculation methodology. The screen shown above illustrates

menu arrangement and data input and output. A baseline condition is established

under the “Base” menu, including entry of

a vessel’s hydrostatic properties (i.e., data

from Curves of Form), vessel weights and

centers of gravity, righting arm data (i.e.,

data from Cross-Curves of Stability),

strength information (i.e., section moduli

and shear areas), and plan/profile/section

By: LCDR Jeff Stettler

(continued on page 15)

Screen capture of SCP for Windows.

M/V Sergo

Zakariadze

aground, Old San

Juan, Puerto Rico.
4 June 2000

Keyport, Washington Keyport, Washington

Keyport? Where’s that?

Just down the hill from the crossroads of

SCUBA Lane and Hardhat Street, in the

small unincorporated town of Keyport,

WA, sits an old chapel converted many

years ago into a Navy Diving Locker. Inside this 1918 building sits a recompression chamber built in 1930 with every one

of its 618 or so original rivets still performing their job. Evidence of several “DiverAlts” performed throughout many decades by highly creative and motivated

divers is reflected in a mismatch of decor.

From Paul Hughes’ built-in desks and cabinets and Don Rogers’ MK 5 helmet and

knot board made from small stuff, to the

workbench made from the bowling alley

floor removed during a previous base

renovation (still sporting the pointers), the

divers have left their mark. Familiar diving

patriarchs like Master Divers Robert

Sheets, Jerry Kinnard, and Bobby Moore,

or famous diving corpsmen like Larry

Stokes, as well as their protégés like First

Class Divers Dearl Hankins and Leonard

Winter (No “s”!), have all lived part of their

lives within the walls of the old locker.

But, today’s legacy isn’t being built into

this historical landmark rather into those

Navy Divers presently serving in the great

Pacific Northwest and the people of its local communities.

In days gone by, Keyport divers devoted most of their talents to the recovery

of underwater weapons on local test

ranges in Washington and Canada. Operating from small craft, braving waves and

cold weather, dodging sea-sick crew members and an occasional torpedo that disappears in the depth where it is more often

felt before it is seen. Divers have been an

integral part of the ranges forever. Starting in those early days with the MK 5 and

progressing to modern rigs including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), divers

did it all when it came to ushering exhausted torpedoes back to the firing pier.

This last decade, however, has seen many

changes here at Keyport. Not only is the

MK 5 permanently mounted on its display

stand and ROVs are run by civilians, but

the old method of proving every weapon

has dwindled down to sample testing from

a production “lot”. Though testing of torpedoes is a fraction of what it used to be,

the diving locker has maintained its viability by doing what Navy Divers do best—

improvising.

In the Keyport of the new millennium,

you will find on almost any given day a

team of divers using the chamber for something its builders never envisioned nor

would have understood—Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO). For the past several

years, Keyport has administered on average more than 250 HBO treatments for

dozens of patients. Not generally viewed

by most divers as the Hooyah, deep-sea

diving, salvage, ship husbandry, Hollywood kind of stuff. HBO carries its own

weight when it comes to accomplishment

and job satisfaction. From a lifesaving

treatment of an 8-year-old boy stricken

with necrotizing fasciitis (i.e., a frequently

fatal flesh-eating bacteria), to the saving

of limbs infected with osteomyelitis, or the

frequent healing of wounds traditional

medicine was unable to achieve, Keyport

has “been there—done that”.

We haven’t done it alone, though.

Diving medical doctors at Branch Medical

Clinic Bangor, Naval Hospital Bremerton,

and the Army doctors at Madigan Army

Hospital in Tacoma, provided keen insight

and their professionalism allowed them to

see and apply the benefits of HBO. Without their help, most of those we have

treated would still need healing. Although

this HBO service has saved hundreds of

thousands of dollars for the Navy medical

community in reduced CHAMPUS costs,

its real legacy is the people we have

By MDV D.R. Briggs

(continued on page 5)

Scuba Lane, Keyport WA
June 2000 5

treated and the lives they enjoy. To see a

shipmate or his family members healed by

HBO, after living for years with a medical

problem, is worth every minute invested.

It’s somewhat like the feeling Navy Salvage Divers had when they saw the USS

BLUEGILL rise to the surface after 14

years on the ocean floor. The big difference is that our patients lives have

changed , while the BLUEGILL went back

to the bottom of the ocean. This may

seem like quite a change from our days as

hairy chested Deep Sea divers, but it’s not

a big change for Keyport. After all, this is

the only command in the Navy where all

the Divers go to chapel every day.

In addition, Keyport has teamed up

with divers from Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility Bangor/Everett and Puget

Sound Naval Shipyard to form a Regional

Diving Locker. Although there are still

three distinct commands with Dive Teams,

personnel and equipment are shuffled

from locker to locker and command to

command to optimize diving assets within

the region to get all of the diving-related

work accomplished. This cooperative arrangement has allowed maximum efficiency at the least cost, without the confusion or temporary loss of production

time normally associated with realignment

of billets and organizational structures.

All lockers follow the same baseline-training plan, qualify using the same PQS standards, and use the same re-entry control

procedures. Military supervisors from

ENCM(SW, MDV) D. R. Briggs became a

Navy Diver over 25 years ago. Stationed in

the Pacific Northwest for over 10 years, he

has finally been pried loose from Keyport

and sent to Millington, Tennessee to serve

the Diving Navy in a warmer climate.

(continued from page 4)

other commands even qualify as Chamber

Supervisors on Keyport’s recompression

chamber. Additionally, the owners of the

dive lockers and recipients of these cooperative diving services enjoy the benefit

of knowing that their mission priorities are

going to be considered and supported equitably with the other commands. They

don’t feel like just another

customer without control over

their own destiny. The payoff

is a greater number of diving

teams available with a broader

base of equipment and professionals to satisfy any given

job. I’m sure the benefits of

that are self-explanatory to all.

In our quest to expand our horizons and find more diving

jobs, Keyport has become a

preferred diving service provider for many outside local

and non local entities. From

Fleet mooring buoy inspections for NAVFAC, to deepwater aircraft salvage and augmenting

Coast Guard diving teams in search of

sunken fleets under the ice caps, we’re

doing our part to uphold the Navy Diver

“can do” attitude. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, is one of the

best-equipped commands for non-ship

husbandry underwater work. If we can’t

do it strictly with divers, we augment with

our deep-diving ROVs and other assets,

with personnel who operate underwater on

a daily basis.

Finally (until we find something new

to do), recent requests to support the

Army Corps of Engineers have kept us

busy working on shipping locks, harbor

breakwaters, and other nontraditional adventures. At any given time on any given

day, we may be working at Vancouver Island, Canada, one of the San Juan Islands,

Dabob Bay, Hood Canal, Lake Washington, Idaho, or any other place we can

punch holes in the water. This is diversity

at its best.

For all of you who have served here

in the Pacific Northwest, you know it’s not

all fun in the sun. In fact, it’s only fun if

you don’t like the sun. Land of the proverbial moist cloudy drizzle, it’s not hard

to figure out why it’s so green and uncrowded here. But if you prefer cold clear

water, plenty of seabag storage space,

clean air, no “water hours”, and a small

military contingent (30 military), there’s no

EN2 Marler pilots the 35-foot work boat through the better place to be.

Hiram Chittenden Locks, Lake Washington, in

preparation for an inspection dive.

CHIEF Strong drives the 70-

year-old chamber down

while CHIEF Wescom

supervises the HBO therapy.
6 June 2000

(continued on page 11)

SAGA OF THE EX-SUSTAIN SAGA OF THE EX-SUSTAIN

By CAPT(Sel) Phil Beierl and Jim Ruth

On January 14, the EX-USS SUSTAIN(AFDM 7), parted its tow line in a

storm off Cape Hatteras while being

towed from Little Creek, VA to Jacksonville

FL. No one suspected this was going to

be the start of one of the largest rescue/

salvage/towing operations undertaken by

the Navy. The task required close coordination among the Fleet, contractors, and

SUPSALV, and spanned over 2000 nautical

miles (NM) and took 6 weeks to accomplish.

SUPSALV mobilized its East Coast

salvage and towing contractor DONJON

Marine to relieve the USS GRAPPLE

which was keeping station on the EXSUSTAIN. DONJON Marine in turn subcontracted Crowley Marine to provide tug

support to recover the EX-SUSTAIN.

During the initial ten days, Mother

Nature threw an unprecedented series of

winter storms at the drifting dock. The

tow would be re-acquired on three separate occasions by the Crowley tug CRUSADER only to have the weather deteriorate, resulting in the parting of a 10-inch

pendant to an “Orville Hook”. On one occasion the CRUSADER became fouled in

the tow bridle forcing them to cut the

bridle to free themselves. Amazingly the

EX-SUSTAIN managed to get east of the

Gulf Stream and drift south until it was approximately 300 NM due east of Jacksonville. The tug ENSIGN was dispatched to

render additional assistance.

After CRUSADER re-established the

tow with a fourth “Orville Hook”, Mother

Nature again intervened, throwing a new

series of Nor’easters at the dock and tugs.

At times the winds reached Force 11 on

the Beaufort scale resulting in the dock

towing the CRUSADER at 7 knots.

SUPSALV determined fleet assistance

would be required to recover the tow as

personnel were going to have to be

placed onboard the dock to re-rig the tow

bridle at sea.

Divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO and SIMA, Mayport were

tasked by Second Fleet to assist in recovering the EX-SUSTAIN. Second Fleet also

provided USS SUPPLY (AOE 6) due to her

speed and helo support capabilities from

Jacksonville and USNS SATURN (T-AFS

10) from Norfolk with HC-6 embarked to

transport the salvage team and equipment

to effect the rescue of the EX-SUSTAIN.

SUPSALV established a command center

in Jacksonville to coordinate logistics, communications, and rescue operations. Intensive planning sessions conducted

by SUPSALV, contractor,

and Fleet activities resulted in the development of an emergency

tow configuration which

was strong enough to

support the tow but light

enough to be man portable as the EX-SUSTAIN had no power.

Several configurations

were developed to allow a “max flex” approach to re-rigging the tow. All necessary equipment and personnel were staged

in Jacksonville, as two back-to-back snow

storms had virtually closed Norfolk and

the greater Washington, DC area.

On 27 January, CO, MDSU TWO,

CAPT (Sel) Phil Beierl, SUPSALV Rep, Jim

“Doc” Ruth, contractor personnel (Billy

Kratz and Clarence Squyres) departed

Mayport onboard the USS SUPPLY to recover the EX-SUSTAIN. While the dock

had nearly a 500 nautical miles (NM) head

start and was drifting Northeast at approximately 5 knots, CAPT Joe Stafford,

CO USS SUPPLY, dropped the hammer and

began closing the gap at 30+ knots as

soon as the ship cleared Jacksonville.

Meanwhile the USNS SATURN with HC-6

embarked departed Norfolk to rendezvous

with USS SUPPLY.

Using a fifth “Orville Hook”, ENSIGN

re-established the tow. On 29 January, the

first 8 members of the MDSU TWO,

SIMA, and contractor salvage team led by

MDSU TWO MDV Ken Brown boarded

the EX SUSTAIN to commence rigging the

dock for tow into Bermuda, which was

now only 60 miles away. While attempting

to make a hard connection to the newly installed tow bridle, CRUSADER’s aft bulwark was stoved in by the dry dock. Six

members of the team were forced to spend

a night on the dock due to deteriorating

weather conditions. HC-6 helos did an

excellent job of placing the 10+ pallets of

rigging equipment and the necessary food

stuffs required by the salvage team. The

remainder of the team was extracted on 30

January, in time to watch the Super Bowl.

A 12 man salvage team consisting of

the divers from MDSU TWO, SIMA,

SUPSALV, and DONJON re-boarded the

EX-SUSTAIN on 31 January. Over the

next several days, the salvage team and

Arial view of the EX-SUSTAIN as it endures the 30+ knot winds

and heavy surf.
June 2000 7

Reunion 2000, a jointSEALAB, Trieste, Submersible Pilots, and support personnel celebration

was recently held in San Diego. Over 150

aquanauts and hydronauts attended the

four day reunion, held 16 - 19 March.

Activities began on Thursday night

with a Mexican fiesta, held poolside at the

home of Bob and Judith Bornholdt. On

Friday, the activities included a presentation of the capabilities of the Deep Submergence Unit in San Diego, given by its

boss, CDR Lee Hall. Lunch followed, with

guest speakers Don Walsh and Dr. Andy

Rechnitzer, who talked about the “Deepest

Dive” on the Trieste (35,800 feet).

On Saturday morning, a business

meeting and general discussion was held

for all attendees. A banquet was held Saturday night, followed by several outstanding speakers. Jack Tomsky gave a talk on

SEALAB; ADM Brad Mooney followed

with a history of Trieste; and CAPT Bert

Marsh (00C), the keynote speaker, gave an

account of recent Navy salvage operations, including the recovery of JFK, Jr.,

and his airplane. The evening concluded

with the raffle of two stained glass MK V

diving helmet creations by that world famous artist, Walt Mazzone (the heart and

soul of SEALAB).

Sunday was “getaway day,” and the

Hospitality Suite was filled with coffee,

muffins and farewells.

Attendees included: Sir John

Rawlings (England), Richard Blackburn

(Australia), John Kleckner (Singapore), Bill

Lukeman (Canada), Dominique Sumian

(U.S. Divers/Calypso captain), Dr. Paul

Linaweaver (Santa Barbara), Dr. Robert

Bornnman (Virginia), Mary Lou Cannon

(San Diego), Captain Charlie Bishop (San

Diego), George Martin (Maryland), Jack

Reedy (Cal-Dive), Ed Cargile (Oceanside),

Bob Croft (New York), Jim McDole (MS),

and Herman Kunz (WA).

For additional information, or to get

your name on the mailing list, contact Bob

From 1980 - 1982, CDR Bornholt was the

Commanding Officer of the Experimental

Diving Unit at Panama City Florida,

retiring from active duty in 1982. Bob is

currently the owner and Chief Operating

Officer of M & D Offshore, a San Diego

marine surveying and consulting firm.

By Bob Bornholdt

Bornholdt at bornhlt@aol.com

or (619) 267-7503.

LT Gallion diassembles the friction stud

welder.

SEALAB II, circa 1965.

A procedure for underwater frictionstud welding was recently qualified

by the NAVSEA 00C Underwater Ship

Husbandry Division at the Navy Diving

and Salvage and Training Center

(NDSTC). The procedure is for welding 1⁄2

inch carbon steel studs to base materials

of DH36, HY80 and HY100 in water depths

to 50 feet.

In friction stud welding, a threaded

stud is rotated at a high rate, while under

an axial force to generate heat. The interface area is heated to the point that both

base material and stud are in a plastic

state. Rotation is stopped and the axial

force is maintained until the weld cools,

creating a sound metallurgical bond between the stud and base material.

The stud welder qualified by 00C is a

pneumatic machine attached by a vacuum

pad. It can be used on flat or slightly

curved surfaces by varying gasket thickness used in the vacuum pad. A fixture

can also be used to mechanically attach

welder to base material if the configuration

will not allow use of a vacuum pad.

Qualifying in a tank is one thing, but

does it work? That question was answered in February in support of a

SPAWAR project. Five studs were welded

to a torpedo tube shutter door to support a

camera mounting bracket. The stud welder

00C Qualifies Friction Stud Welding Procedure 00C Qualifies Friction Stud Welding Procedure

LT Gallion is a qualified Seabee Combat

Warfare Officer and Basic Diving Officer.

Ed is currently assigned to the Naval Sea

Systems Command, Supervisor of Salvage

and Diving, where he is a Project Officer in

the Underwater Ship Husbandry division.

By LT Ed Gallion

performed exceptionally well during this

operational trial.

Modification of a stud welder for underwater use and qualification has involved an extensive effort over several

years and would not have been possible

without the assistance of SIMA

Mayport’s Dive Locker. They provided

divers, arranged NDT service, and came

up with good ideas to make the machines

more diver friendly. NDSTC allowing use

of a controlled environment of thier tower

for the final qualification dives was icing

on the cake. BZ to all!

Reunion 2000 A Big Hit Reunion 2000 A Big Hit
8 June 2000

I

n January 2000, the first waterborne

main strut bearing removal, repair, and

replacement on a DDG 51 Class Destroyer

was completed on USS RUSSELL (DDG

59) in Pearl Harbor. The task was successful thanks to the cooperative efforts of

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONE

(MDSU ONE), Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard

(PHNSY), the crew of RUSSELL, and the

NAVSEA Diving Services Contractor.

In November 1999, a routine inspection revealed bearing staves extending aft

out of a bearing housing beneath the rope

guard on the port main strut bearing.

COMSUBGRUMIDPAC’s concern was

heightened by RUSSELL’s upcoming

WESTPAC deployment. With a short window of opportunity and no immediately

available dry dock, repair options were effectively reduced to a waterborne repair in

Pearl or a slow transit to an available dry

dock in WESTPAC. NAVSEA 00C5 was

contacted to evaluate the feasibility of this

operation. It was determined that challenges including lifting the shaft and propeller weight off the main bearing, extracting the bearing housings, and removal

and replacement of welded-in-place NICU

fairwater could be met.

MDSU ONE rigged and performed a

lift of the shaft and propeller off the bearing, removed the damaged bearing housings, and replaced the bearing housings

after refurbishment. The NAVSEA Diving

Services contractor was responsible for

removal and replacement of the welded

fairwater bearing access. PHNSY refurbished the damaged bearings and modified

the removed NICU fairwater with bimetallic welding of steel edging on all mating

seams of the two fairwater halves, allowing for wet welding replacement of the

fairwater.

Estimates based on bearing reaction

calculations for total shaft and propeller

weight, that would have to be lifted off

the bearing, indicated that divers would

need to remove three propeller blades to

reduce weight. Propeller blade removal and

fairwater removal began simultaneously.

After removal of three propeller

blades and the fairwater, MDSU ONE

divers began the bearing removal process.

This required removal of the top half of the

strut bearing, transfer of the shaft load to

rigging installed in lifting tunnels in the

hull, rotating the bottom half of the strut

bearing top dead center, and removal of

the bottom bearing half.

PHNSY renewed all staves on the

bearing, which had detached from the

phenolic foundation. Extensive damage to the port strut

bearing, lead to inspection of

starboard with a miniature

underwater camera provided

by NAVSEA. Stave damage

was apparent on the starboard strut bearing, which

increased scope of the operation to include renewal of

the starboard strut bearing.

Load cell readings of

actual shaft and propeller

weight lifted during removal

of the port bearing confirmed, that removal of three

propeller blades was not required. This determination

saved considerable time and effort on the

starboard side bearing replacement.

In little more than one month, complete refurbishment of both port and starboard main strut bearings went from “can’t

be done underwater” to another outstanding waterborne repair. Congratulations to

the “can do” divers of MDSU ONE.

QMCS (MDV) Danny Boyd, team leaders

EN1 John Theriot and HT2 Rick Belton of

MAKO, and EN1 Tim Hall and HT2 Erik

Haubtmann of GREAT WHITE led some

of the finest underwater ship husbandry

divers I have ever had the pleasure of

working with.

Strut Bearing Replacement for DDG 51

Class Destroyer USS RUSSELL (DDG 59)

Strut Bearing Replacement for DDG 51

Class Destroyer USS RUSSELL (DDG 59) By Geoff Healy

Geoff Healy is the Senior Propulsion

Systems Engineer for the NAVSEA

Underwater Ship Husbandry Division. Like

all Navy Divers, Geoff gets lots of motivation

from any suggestion that it “can’t be done

underwater.”

Geoff Healy inspects the damaged bearing staves.

USS RUSSELL bearing shell.
June 2000 9

The USN Supervisor of Salvage, under the direction of the

U.S. Coast Guard, sent

two rusted-out 180-foot

long-liner fishing vessels

10,000 feet to the bottom

of the sea on 16 and 19

March 2000, respectively,

bringing an end to their

nine-year stint on the

reefs of Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa.

The two Korean-flagged

vessels were the last of

nine fishing ships removed from the reefs.

In 1991, Hurricane

Val tore all nine ships

from their moorings in

Pago Pago Harbor and

threw them onto the reefs in front of the

village of Leloaloa. A response team from

Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Honolulu responded to the initial pollution

threat in 1991, removing 10,500 gallons of

oil from vessels that posed the greatest

short-term pollution threat. After the initial

response, the Coast Guard began a

lengthy legal process of finding the ships’

owners and holding them responsible for

removing the ships. In 1997, the Coast

Guard took responsibility for another

clean-up when a slow oil leak was discovered coming from one of the rusting hulks,

and none of the ships’ owners could be

found.

Three years later, with the environment once again being directly contaminated by the

wrecks, the Coast

Guard received

funding from the

Oil Spill Liability

Trust Fund to remove the remaining oil. The Coast

Guard also obtained funding

through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for the removal of ammonia,

asbestos, and

other contaminants aboard the

ships.

The Coast Guard contracted Hawaiibased Pacific Environmental Corporation

to build trestles from the shore to where

the wrecks lay on the reefs; cut seven of

them down to their water lines; remove the

remaining oil, diesel, ammonia, and asbestos; and dump the scrap metal out at sea.

The Coast Guard then requested and received funding for support from SUPSALV

for the removal of the two remaining

ships. Crowley Marine Services was

tasked by SUPSALV to pull the two remaining ships, which were in much better

structural condition, off the reefs, tow

them 12 miles out to sea, and sink them.

Crowley’s primary asset for this task was

the utilization of the Crowley Salvage Ship

AMERICAN SALVOR supported with a

Huges 500 D helicopter. Bob Barth, from

the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit,

was on scene as the SUPSALV representative for the removal phase of this operation. The ships’ final resting place was

chosen by the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) based on the depth and

(continued on page 10)

UT-1 and OMEGA 5 sit stranded on the reef.

By Jim Bladh

Historical background provided by PA3 Eric Hedaa, USCG

From Left to right: Jim Bladh, SUPSALV Representative, Governor Tauese P. Sunia of

American Samoa, and Frank Igaz, Crowley Marine Salvage Master.
10 June 2000

Sea Dwellers: The Humor, Dramaand Tragedy of the U.S. Navy

SEALAB Programs is a journal of this

exciting Navy adventure. Author and

Navy Diver Bob Barth was the only man

to experience all of the SEALAB programs and its predecessor, the Genesis

program, from the other end of the hose.

These programs provided the scientific

basis for the practice of saturation diving as it is known and performed today.

Barth and his peers were literally human

guinea pigs. He gave blood, sweat,

tears, the prime years of his life, and

even his heart and soul to these programs to experience what most men can

only dream of, life on the bottom of the

ocean.

Sea Dwellers is published by

SEA DWELLERS

Bob Barth’s Stirring Tale of the SEALAB Program

Doyle Publishing Company, Inc., 5206 FM

1960 West, Suite 107, Houston, TX, 77069;

telephone 1-800-457-6459. Price $16.95

plus $3.00 shipping and handling. Visa,

Mastercard, AMEX accepted. For more

information go to: www.seadweller.com.

Editor’s Note:

Bob is still charging: He has just recently completed a task for the Supervisor of Salvage, acting as the SUPSALV

REP for the removal of two 185-foot

LONG-LINERS F/V stranded in the harbor of Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Bob’s range of experience throughout the

world and background in diving and salvage made him ideal for this task. Being

no stranger to the South Pacific, he spoke

the local language fluently.

By Howie Doyle

Jim Bladh presently serves as Head of the

Operations Branch for the Supervisor of

Salvage and is the Managing Editor of

FACEPLATE.

OMEGA 5 before extraction.

distance from American Samoa.

In planning the removal of the long

liners, the Coast Guard worked closely

with the EPA, SUPSALV, the National

Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the government of American

Samoa.

“Sinking these two worked out to be

much cheaper than building trestles and

tearing them apart,” said LCDR John

Sifling, the project’s federal on-scene coordinator representative. “There was also

much less damage to the coral, and it was

quicker.” Sifling said that damage to the

other seven boats was too severe to allow

them to be pulled from the reef and sunk

out at sea.

(continued from page 9)
June 2000 11

(continued from page 6)

ships company withstood damaged tugs,

small boat casualties and gale force winds

as they struggled to overcome Murphy’s

law and Mother Nature enroute to the Old

Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda.

While awaiting authorization to enter

Bermuda, SUPSALV and MDSU TWO designed a more robust towing rig, with sufficient strength for making a 1000 NM tow

in the heart of the North Atlantic winter.

Using a satellite phone, the SUPSALV rep

called in design details to the SUPSALV

command center in Jacksonville manned by

LCDR Sly Mata.

Finally, on 4 Feb the dock was safely

secured along side the pier in Bermuda

and Commodore Robert DeStefano,

EODGRUTWO arrived to assume on

scene commander responsibilities from

Capt Stafford. During the next two weeks

the salvage team assembled a primary tow

bridle and emergency tow bridle, and two

additional bridle legs just in case they

might be needed. The logistical challenge

to accomplish this task required maximum

coordination by all parties concerned, inJim “Doc” Ruth NAVSEA 00C22B Towing

and Salvage Engineer.

cluding people at SUPSALV’s ESSM base

at Cheatham Annex. ESSM personnel

worked tirelessly fabricating padeyes, assembling equipment, and coordinating air

shipments to meet the short fused schedule. In the final analysis, five flights were

required (two DC 8 flights and three Lear

jet flights).

 On 16 February EX-SUSTAIN

cleared Bermudan waters under

tow by CRUSADER enroute to

Jacksonville. Finally, after an uneventful eight day tow, the dock

arrived safely at Atlantic Marine

and Dry Dock, Inc. in Jacksonville,

FL.

 And so ends the saga of the

EX-SUSTAIN. Many times we felt

as though we were caught in the

Bermuda Triangle with Mr.

Murphy along as an unwelcome

guest. True to the long standing

tradition of Navy salvage, all participants dug in, rolled up their

sleeves, and persevered. Quoting Commodore DeStefano in his final sitrep “ Bravo

Zulu to the salvors who did most of the

rigging and heavy manual labor ...including moving 11 shots of anchor chain into

place bare handed”. The line between military and civilian, Headquarters and Fleet,

contractor and government became indistinguishable as we worked as one, to accomplish the mission. The lion’s share of

the success must be given to the divers of

MDSU TWO and SIMA, Mayport who accomplished this task the old fashioned

way by the sweat of their brow. To them I

say anytime anywhere.

Ballast Tank

Diving

Improvements

By Mike Dean

Michael Dean is an "Ocean Engineer"

graduate of Florida Institute of

Technology. Mike is Head, Underwater

Ships Husbandry Division for the

Director of Oceaneering, Supervisor of

Salvage and Diving.

SIMA MAYPORT

ENS(DV) Hensley

STG2(DV) Nastasi

HM2(DMT) Dent

EM2(DMT) Larson

For years divers have entered ballasttank and performed numerous underwater ship husbandry tasks. More recently diving commands have developed

gas free procedures in accordance with

Naval Ships’ Technical Manual, Chapter

074 to permit the divers to remove their

hats while working in these confined

spaces. This practice has significantly improved the divers mobility and efficiency

and made working in ballast tanks a more

comfortable practice. In fact, the only

down side of this current practice is the

effort required by each command to develop and maintain a unique process and

to cross train divers to act as gas free technicians. In an effort to streamline the process, SEA 00C has been working to develop a common enclosed space procedure, reduce training requirements, and

provide commands with reliable gas monitoring equipment and improved ballast

tank lighting systems. To date, we have

received agreement to move diving in enclosed space requirements out of NSTM

074 and into the USN Diving Manual. We

are looking into portable gas monitoring

equipment and will soon begin working

with the medical community to develop allowable contaminant levels for divers working in hyperbaric spaces. We have built

and provided prototype ballast tanks

lights to SIMA Norfolk for evaluation.

We would like your feedback in developing this common process and equipment.

Commands interested in participating in

this development should contact

NAVSEA 00C5. A convenient link to SEA

00C5 is available through the Underwater

Ship Husbandry Web Site at http://

www.navsea.navy.mil/sea00c.

The EX-SUSTAIN enroute to Jacksonville towed by

the CRUSADER.

The salvage team assembled aboard USS SUPPLY (AOE-6)

MDSU-2

CDR Beierl (CO)

BMCS(MDV) Brown

BMC(DV) Bell

BMC(DV) Breaux

EM2(DV) Borden

NAVSEA 00C22B

Jim “Doc” Ruth

CROWLEY MARINE

Clarence Squyres

DONJON MARINE

Bill Kratz

MDSU-2(cont.)

MM1 Hooper

SM2 Guillen

GM2 Urban

BM2 Blanchard
12 June 2000

ask?

Our heritage as a diving community

started circa 1882 and has played a vital

role in Uncle Sam’s Navy and the civilian

community ever since. Because of the exposure we have received as a result of the

recent air tragedies, more and more people

are asking the question, “Who are these

guys and what do they do?” Through the

press we have been receiving, the public

is learning it’s not an easy job; it requires

one to leave his natural breathing environment (the surface) and to maneuver underwater to accomplish a task with a support

breathing apparatus. What is considered a

simple task in theory on the surface becomes difficult and arduous to perform

below the surface. The recent filming of

the movie Navy Diver and the numerous

documentaries on TV about diving have

brought these facts and the individuals

involved to the forefront.

On 1 - 2 June of this year, we are going to take the time to pay tribute to several men who went beyond the call of duty

in the early days of diving, in conjunction

with celebrating the Dive School’s 20th

anniversary and 118 years of formal Navy

dive training in Panama City at NDSTC.

Planned activities during this celebration

will include dedicating the Dive School

John Schnoering currently serves as the

Command Master Chief/Master Diver at

NDSTC and is approaching his 20 - year

anniversary of joining the Navy in July.

By Master Diver John Schnoering

Greetings from the Emerald Coast!Stop and take a hard look at NDSTC

today and compare it to what it was back

in 1980. One would notice the school has

not only changed on the outside with the

addition of two large wings, two new 130-

foot diving craft, and a free ascent tower,

but also the addition of various specialized

courses. To date, we offer 22 different

courses of instruction (one is technically

an evaluation process) with ~ 1,200 students annually. Even though we are not

labeled a “joint training command,” we are

working jointly with MCD Marines, Army,

and Coast Guard under one roof. On the

Navy side of the house, we have Fleet

Diver, EOD, and Seabee training pipelines,

and, in the not-too-distant future, the Air

Force may join our team and move their

operations from Key West. We also continue to train submarine sailors, international students, and members of the law

enforcement community, and are currently

looking at a partnership with the local universities. On top of that, our staff members

are heavily involved in the local community, supporting various volunteer and

self-help projects. As one can see, we

have greatly expanded our role in the diving field outside of the hard-hat and salvage realm since moving the Dive School

from Washington, DC. But, not to worry,

there is some “old school” left in this institution.

If you want to take a trip back in time,

read the book The Terrible Hours, by Peter

Maas. Not to give away too much of the

story, anyone who has the chance to serve

on an 1930s/40s vintage ASR, or tried to

work a lance through chest-deep mud in 38

degree water, or rode the SRC to depths in

excess of 400 feet, could in part begin to

relate to the undertaking of rescuing the 33

survivors of the USS SQUALUS and salvaging the sub to eventually be placed

back in service. What’s that got to do

with the price of tea in Panama City, you

building to the legendary “Swede”

Momsen and a Hall of Honor for those

who received the Medal of Honor in hardhat diving, to name a few. Food, refreshments, and souvenirs will also be available,

with a social to wrap up the two-day event

at the Long Glass Conference Hall. I don’t

know which will hit the streets first, this

column or the AIG announcing the event,

but anybody and everybody who is or

was affiliated (or not!) with diving is welcome to attend. Start talking to your commands now for travel arrangements and

funding. And, for the entrepreneurs

among us, we are looking for vendors to

peddle diving-related wares. POC: Yours

truly.

MDV Schnoering
June 2000 13

On 30 August 1999, divers from Consolidated Divers Unit (CDU) San Diego, CA, and Puget Sound Shipyard

(PSNS), WA, started a

double propeller replacement on USS JOHN C

STENNIS (CVN 74) at Naval

Air Station North Island,

San Diego. Weeks of behind-the-scene planning by

PSNS (the planning yard for

STENNIS work), Southwest

Regional Maintenance Center (the work broker in the

Southwest Region),

NAVSEA 00C, and CDU

were necessary before the

first diver ever left the surface. This effort was the first

combining of underwater

assets under the regionalization repair

concept, and it highlighted the flexibility,

capabilities, and benefits of

regionalization.

PSNS Diving Supervisor Rick Jackson and CDU Master Diver BMCS

Storment devised a plan to combine resources to complete the job. A diving station was set up on a barge using specialized equipment provided by NAVSEA 00C,

PSNS, CDU, and PWC San Diego. This

avoided diving under the flight deck and

elevator and allowed movement of the

barge with screw attached from under the

overhang, to a place where the pier crane

could safely lift the propeller. This setup

also simplified movement to the outboard

side for a second propeller change out.

Mounted on the barge were two lightweight diving systems and compressor; a

conex box containing the air consoles

communication gear, diver’s underwater

camera system, and diver changing area;

NAVSEA 00C tool van; floodable counter

ballast tank with strongback attached; 10-

ton portable crane; pneumatic winch; and

a hydraulic power unit, hose reel, and

tools. A detailed floor plan was necessary,

with accompanying stability calculations.

Good communication and teamwork

were a must to safely remove and replace

two 63,000-pound propellers. Two dive

stations, with up to five MK 21 divers in

the water at one time, were periodically

used. Phone and chart personnel were

kept very busy! As you can imagine, rigging equipment and tools that we used

were neither lightweight nor highly portable. A crane was used to transfer rigging, lifting fixtures and tools to the

water’s edge. A combination of lift bags,

chainfalls, a pneumatic winch, and diver

ingenuity were used to get it all to and

from the worksite. Three 50-ton hydraulic

chainfalls were used to yard and stay the

propellers from shafts to strongbacks attached to a floodable counter ballast tank

on the barge. Once transfered to the

strongback, the entire barge

was moved out from under

the overhang, and the propeller was transferred to the

pier crane.

 With a new propeller in

place, CDU’s underwater

welding team went to work

reinstalling the rope guards.

The Navy’s only certified

underwater welding team,

led by HTC (SW/DV)

Barker, fit up and welded

the two-piece rope guards

in place. Welding of each

rope guard took approximately 40 hours, and one

welder completed each.

A combined crew of 16 Navy Divers,

6 civilian shipyard divers, and NAVSEA

00C’s representative worked side by side

on the surface and in the water, 12 hours a

day for 20 days. The high level of professionalism and camaraderie that was

quickly established among all personnel

led to the safe completion of the job.

CDR Debra Bodenstedt commands CDU,

Executive Officer is CWO4 Michael Spisak,

and the Senior Enlisted Advisor is BMCS

(SW/MDV) Kyle Galliard.

By CDR Debra Bodenstedt

USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) with her battlegroup following in rear.
14 June 2000

(continued on page 17)

T

EXO BR MS EXO BR MSEXO BR MS EXO BR MS EXO BR MSEXO BR MS Approved for Surface-Supplied Diving

The Kirby Morgan Dive Systems EXOBR MS Full Face Mask is now class certified

for use with surface-supplied diving systems in

temperatures down to 28o

F and to depths of 190

fsw (air), 140 fsw (NITROX), and 300 fsw (HeO2).

The EXO features a balanced, fully adjustable

demand regulator, an oral nasal mask, and an exothermic exhaust system.

The EXO is an alternate band mask that can

be used in ship husbandry, enclosed space diving, and light salvage work. 00C will not be issuing the EXO to Fleet units. Fleet units desiring

to use the EXO will have to procure it. It can be

ordered under DSI part number 300-038MS and

will include the mask, O&M Manual, tool kit,

large bore and standard manifold block to mask

hose, standard comms module (non-preamplified

mic), comm port plug, and air inlet swivel. If you

do not already have the DSI Manifold Block Assembly, you will have to purchase it separately

using part number 300-150 as well as the

preamplified microphone part number 315-026 for

use with a Hydrocom. Once procured, you will

need to contact 00C for an Indoctrination Training video, qualification card, and PMS. You will

also have to update your diving system certification PSOB and send it to 00C4 for approval.

After an on-site survey was conducted at

Diving Systems International (DSI) Santa Barbara facility, indoctrination training, certification

dives, validation of the operations and maintenance manuals as well as validation of operating

and emergency procedures and PMS was conducted at Underwater Construction Team Two,

Port Hueneme, CA. Special thanks to LCDR

Brant Pickrell, CUCM(DSW) Rusty Deen and the

crew of UCT TWO and Steve Kushner, Connie

Morgan, and Robbie Olhiser at DSI for their support in certifying the EXO BR MS.

By HTCM(DSW/MDV) Chuck Young

Paul McMurtrie during certification dive.
June 2000 15

Reprinted from Faceplate, Summer 1970.

offsets (for display). Vessel weights

that vary from the baseline condition are

added or removed under a “Weight”

menu. Damaged compartments of

simple shape can be modeled under the

“Flood” menu, and effects of free surface and varying ship waterlines (i.e.,

free-communication) are included in the

calculations. Information for stranding

calculation is entered under the

“Strand” menu and includes capabilities

for entering stranded drafts or defining

the grounding location and extend, as

well as effects of tidal changes on

stranding calculations. Results are presented in graphical and tabular format,

allowing the user to look at individual

casualty “conditions” (e.g., free-floating

flooded condition, stranded condition,

stranded condition with tidal change,

etc.). Under the “Tools” menu, a user

LCDR Jeff Stettler is Assistant for Salvage

and the Program Manager for the

POSSE for NAVSEA 00C.

can select units (i.e., English or metric),

display precision, reference frames, and

water density. A detailed User’s Manual is

available as an online Help document under the “Help” menu. A Microsoft Word

version of the Help document is available

for printing.

SCP has gone through beta testing

and has been distributed on CD by mail to

all Navy salvage commands. Additionally, the program will be available to download by special request to NAVSEA 00C.

Additional information is available on the

NAVSEA 00C website.

Note: SCP will have significant limitations when dealing with complex salvage

situations. SCP is much less capable than

the Navy’s POSSE, which is a detailed naval architecture and salvage engineering

program. For more complex salvage situations, use of POSSE by an experienced sal-

(continued from page 3)

vage engineer is highly recommended,

vice relying solely on SCP.

Historical

Notes

The Legion of Merit was awarded to CAPT Willard F. Searle,Jr., USN, for this outstanding services as the Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage from September 1964 to May 1969. The presentation was made by RADM Maurice H. Rindskopf, USN, on

24 February 1970 during the “Equipment for the Working Diver

Symposium” held at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus,

Ohio.

His citation states “. . . CAPT Searle contributed more than any

other individual since World War II to the high state of readiness which now exists in the Navy’s salvage and diving organization.”

Legion of Merit Presented to

CAPT Willard F. Searle, Jr., USN

The presentation of the Legion of Merit to

CAPT Searle by RADM Maurice H. Rindskopf

with CAPT E.B. Mitchell in the background.
16 June 2000

I

 know all of you are aware of our efforts

to get our community our own warfare

designators and hearing us tell you “it’s

coming, it’s coming, trust me”. Well, persistence has paid off; on 26 April DSWS

was officially signed out. So what does

DSWS do for you? The DSWS Program

provides a professional development and

qualification continuum that will increase

combat readiness and enable you to maintain a proficient level of knowledge in all

Fleet diving mission areas and operational

environments. It will also formally recognize your commitment, experience, leadership, technical competence, and readiness

for increased responsibility. DSWS is also

equivalent in importance to other warfare

designations.

As a warfare specialty, the DSWS

qualification can only be obtained through

a formal program outlined in OPNAV Instruction 1414.3 and can be viewed at the

00C website http://www.navsea.navy.mil/

sea00c. Within a few weeks, the

NAVADMIN will be released detailing the

implementation of the DSWS program.

DSWS is an integral part of a diver’s career

path. It will be mandatory for all E-5 and

senior enlisted personnel. Active duty E-4

and junior personnel may qualify. As part

of the Navy Diver training plan, DSWS

will be a prerequisite for 1st Class Diver

(NEC 5342) and eligibility for advancement

to E-5 and above.

While we wait for the NAVADMIN,

here are some specifics:

• Master Divers are automatically

qualified and will qualify all others.

• Commands and their ISICs not

having a MDV should contact

00C34/36 (http://

www.navsea.navy.mil/sea00c) for

guidance.

• E-5 and senior personnel will have

12 months to qualify.

• Only enlisted personnel currently

holding NECs 5346, 5341, 5342, 5311,

5343, 8493, 8494, 5931, 5932 are

eligible.

• Must complete at least 12 months

accumulated time as a 5343, 8493, or

5932.

The following common core PQS must be

completed:

• Navy Diver (NAVEDTRA 43245),

complete Watchstations 301-304.

• Underwater Ships Husbandry

(NAVEDTRA 43252), complete all

Fundamentals.

• Salvage (NAVEDTRA 432510),

complete all Fundamentals.

• Small Arms (NAVEDTRA 43466),

complete Watchstations 301, 302,

and 314.

• Re-entry Control Procedures.

Complete JQR for Divers Life

Support System Maintenance

Technician.

• Ship’s Maintenance and Material

Management (3M), complete

Watchstations 301 through 304.

• Damage Control (NAVEDTRA

By HTCM(DSW/MDV) Chuck Young

Cover photo provided by Dick Cole

(continued on page 17)

U.S. Navy Diving Breast Insignias

2nd Class Diver 1st Class Diver Master Diver
June 2000 17

Point of contact for the indoctrination training video, qualification card and

PMS for the EXO BR MS is Stuart Yee

(NAVSEA 00C37) at commercial (703) 607-

2766, DSN 327-2766, or email

yeesm@navsea.navy.mil. Point of contact

for certification is Rob Warren (NAVSEA

00C4) at commercial (703) 607-1570, DSN

327-1570, or email warrenrl@navsea

.navy.mil.

(continued from page 14)

43119), complete Watchstation 303.

• Safety Program Afloat (NAVEDTRA

43460-4), complete Watchstation 301.

The following platform specific diving

related PQS must be completed:

• Diving, Salvage, and Submarine

Rescue

• Underwater Ship Husbandry

• Special Warfare/Explosive Ordnance

Disposal/USMC

• Naval Research

• Diving Training

• Underwater Construction

All core PQS is available for download at http://www.cnet.navy.mil/netpdtc/

pqs. This summer MDV Propster will be

heading up a PQS working group to develop a single DSWS PQS book and command specific PQS. Till then, commands

will have to use the core PQS above and

complete any command/platform specific

diving related qualifications. Now for the

pin; when qualified, you will wear the diving pin designated by your NEC and wear

it as your warfare specialty and use DSW

as your designator after your rate.

The DSWS Program has been a tremendous undertaking by many divers

within our community, but there are a few

who deserve special recognition. They

are QMCM(MDV)(Ret) Brendan Murphy,

ENCM(MDV) John Propster, HTCM(MDV)

Michael Washington, BMCM(MDV)

Barry Burgess, MMCM(EOD) Jim

Brooks, CDR Bill Orr, ENCM(MDV) Dave

Davidson, and QMCS(EOD) Steve

Marshall. HOOYAH DEEP SEA!

(continued from page 16)

BU1(SCW/DV) Eric Eaton, EO3 Emory Cole,

Paul McMurtrie, HM1(DV) Howard

Underwood, CM2(SCW) James Richardson,

CE1(DV) Tim Ullom, Scott Lopez and

CE1(SCW/DV) Dennis Metcalf.

BU1(SCW/DV) Eric

Eaton, BU1(DV) Leo

Trebles and CUCM(SCW/

MDV) Rusty Deen during

indoctrination training.
18 June 2000

Bayou Zachary

By CAPT(Sel) Phil Beierl

Thirty years ago the barge “BayouZachary” was stranded and abandoned on the southwest bank of the Hero

Cutoff of the Inter-Coastal Waterway

(ICW) south of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Over the years, some effort to salvage the

barge and its cargo of asphalt seem to

have been made but without success.

The net result was that many years later a

badly deteriorated barge—still holding

hundreds of tons of semi-liquid asphalt—

found its way onto the Environmental

Protection Agency’s Superfund list of pollution sites. With no owner to be held responsible for the clean-up costs, the

project was “federalized” and made a government responsibility. This opened the

door for the EPA to turn to the Navy and

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two

(MDSU TWO) for help.

A survey in early January revealed

the 236 foot by 44 foot barge nearly

awash, with all compartments flooded to

the waterline and significant structural

damage to the after port quarter—the entire aft one third of the port side of the

barge had been torn away. Test pumping

showed that many key compartments

could probably be made watertight

and a diving survey of the starboard

side aft compartments gave reason to

believe they could be repaired. Most

importantly two of the six cargo compartments thought to be full of asphalt were found to contain mostly

water instead. A detailed salvage

model in the POSSE program showed

a reasonable chance of re-floating

the barge, With the apparently low

risk of a spill, MDSU TWO agreed to

accept the job. While MDSU TWO

salvors would handle the job of floating the barge, they would get support from the EPA, the US Coast

Guard Gulf Strike Team, the Bureau of Reclamation, and Koester Environmental Services Company who together would

handle all pollution control and disposal

issues.

CWO3 Chuck Hulsizer and

BMCS(MDV) Ken Brown took

MDSU TWO Detachment

Bravo back to New Orleans just

after Mardi Gras. They organized a command post at a

small shipyard that would serve

as the ultimate disposal site for

the barge, and staged diving

and salvage equipment on a

“spud” barge moored alongside the “Bayou Zachary”.

Each morning the team made a

ten-mile ICW boat transit to

reach the salvage site and got

right to work. Their first task

was to clean up thirty years accumulation of trash and debris

and to remove unnecessary

topside equipment and structure to lighten

the barge. Then they got down to the serious business of restoring buoyancy.

Much of the asphalt was located aft

of midships in the third main compartment,

so one salvage plan relied heavily on restoring some buoyancy to the badly damaged stern section. Working in muck and

tar that seemed to cover everything,

divers were able to install patches and

shoring to repair the stern-most starboard

compartments, but still more buoyancy

was needed. A key breakthrough resulted from the discovery that there was

not eight feet of asphalt in a key cargo

compartment, but a three foot thick layer

with water underneath. By forcing a large

slotted pipe section through the asphalt

layer, pump suctions could be lowered

through the pipe and the water below

pumped out. A final step was a major effort to jet and pump out the mud that had

accumulated in the stern of the barge over

the many years since its stranding.

Less than two weeks after they set to

work, Detachment Bravo cheered as two

tugs gently pulled the Bayou Zachary free

of the mud bank and began the tow to the

shipyard. Having planned for all manner

of emergency, it seemed almost too easy

as the barge was kept afloat with a minimum of pumping and the tow proceeded

uneventfully. Only the premature grounding of the barge as it was two thirds of the

way into the disposal slip at the shipyard

soured an otherwise perfect operation.

Despite this less than ideal mooring arrangement, the EPA happily took custody

of the barge, confident that it would

(continued on page 20)

MMC Riendeau and BM2 Ogg install

shoring on a damaged bulkhead below the

waterline.

MMC Riendeau and SM2 Guillen install an

external patch.
June 2000 19

The Old Master

The Old Master The Old MasterThe Old Master

he Old Master he Old Master he Old Master By BMCM(SW/MDV) Joseph K. Johnson

I

 was asked to write this article due to the

fact that I just returned from the E-9 Selection Board. From my experience I can

tell you that the process is not perfect but

it is fair. Selection board members take

great pride in trying to choose the best

candidate to fill each quota available. In

all ratings it’s not easy to compare divers

versus non-divers. There are always

good candidates in both, but with the limited number the board has to select, there

will always be good candidates left out.

Non-selection does not mean poor performance. It is simply a relative judgment of

standing amongst peers when considering

members for a finite number of advancement quotas.

In the past selection boards were

briefed on SPECWAR programs. That

wasn’t the case this year as each individual board was given a binder containing information specific to each field of

SPECWAR. The divers information sheet

contained a brief description of each diver

NEC, a list of hard jobs both operational

and administrative, a list of sea/shore

commands. The brief sheet also described

how divers are detailed, the limited availability to work within source ratings and

that divers must be a Master Diver (5341/

5346) to be advanced to E-9. The latter

statement should speak volumes to first

class and saturation divers. If you want

to be considered a viable candidate for

Master Chief, you need to get hot! The

detailer is waiting to hear from you.

There were 20 Master Divers up for

selection to E-9 and seven were selected.

There is a false perception that if a Master

Diver is on the board, he will have the

power to influence each selection. If that

were true, we would have selected 20 Master Divers.

 It is no secret most boards look back a

minimum of five years. Your record has to

stand for itself. Make sure your microfiche is accurate and legible and your ESR

is up to date. You must have strong

evaluations. Don’t leave it up to the board

to decipher if something is going on with

your career, explain it. There is no substitute for sustained superior performance;

one good evaluation does not guarantee

selection. It is your responsibility to accept and excel at the hard jobs both sea

and shore. I hope we haven’t gotten to

the point that just because we wear the

pin, we think we should be automatically

advanced. The pin gives you the opportunity for advancement, but you still have to

compete.

Each and everyone that has the opportunity to sit on a selection board

should go. There is always a need for selection board members and recorders. It

will really open your eyes and help the

diving community to better understand

the selection process. In the future when

we get our own Selection Board, it will help

to choose the best qualified members from

our own community although our advance

quotas will probably drop.

I would like to close by congratulating our new Master Chiefs and Senior

Chiefs for a job well done. I’m looking forward to working with each of you in the

future.

BMCM(SW/MDV) Joseph K. Johnson is

currently assigned as Command Master

Chief and Detachment FIVE Master Diver at

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONE.

Master Diver Joseph K. Johnson
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

SEA 00C

NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND

2531 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY

ARLINGTON VA 22242-5160

Official Business

From the Supervisor of Diving

Captain Chris Murray Captain Chris Murray

float all the way into the slip as they began

removing cargo.

Two important lessons were learned

during this operation. First and foremost,

a thorough and detailed salvage survey

pays dividends in the long run. Do not

assume that the record of a previous survey is correct and don’t take anything for

(continued from page 18)

CAPT (Sel) Phil Beierl is the

Commanding Officer of Mobile Diving

and Salvage Unit Two.

granted. A core sample of the asphalt

cargo during the initial survey would have

revealed the water underneath. The second lesson is that when working in a team

with several agencies it is always important to double-check the work by the other

agencies. While preparation of the disposal site was an EPA responsibility, it

DSWS has been approved by ADM

Johnson!

The final step was the signing of

OPNAVINST 1414.3 Diving Salvage Warfare Specialist Qualification (see page 16).

Attainment of the DSWS designation signifies that a diver has excelled in competency and professionalism, and has

achieved leadership positions beyond

that of the basic diver Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) qualification. This is a big

step in the continued professional growth

of our fleet divers.

Well done to HTCM(DSW/MDV)

Young, ENCM(DSW/MDV) Davidson,

QMCS(EOD) Marshall, HTCM(DSW/

MDV) Washington, ENCM(DSW/MDV)

Propster, BMCM(DSW/MDV) Burgess,

MMCM(EOD) Brooks, CDR Orr and

QMCM(MDV) (retired) Murphy for their

persistence in making this happen.

Diving Salvage Warfare Specialists (DSWS)

Working Divers Conference (WDC

2000) January 25-27

Great turn out at the WDC in Panama

City, Florida. 205 paying customers. Besides being a little cold for the south, it

was a very productive week discussing

various diving issues. WDC 2000 presentations, point papers, status of action

items and a list of attendees can be found

at our WEB site, http://www.navsea.

navy.mil/sea00c. The list of attendees is

password protected, but the rest is open.

HEO2 SSDS revised tables

Revised HEO2 tables and procedures

are being finalized for operational testing.

The tables have been revised to address

the O2 convulsion problems that surfaced

in the Fleet after the reintroduction of the

FlyAway Mixed Gas System in 1997. This

is in response to the MDV/CWO conference from last summer. The revised tables

have been reviewed by the Navy Decompression Team and are to be tested this

summer with MDSU TWO divers while

diving on the USS MONITOR. The goal is

to complete 200 plus dives to depths from

210 to 240 FSW. NEDU and 00C will monitor the tests.

Master Diver Candidates

 MDV candidates need to get your packages in. The overall manning now sits at 86

MDV’s to fill 95 billets. As a reminder a

change to the MILPER’s manual is in effect as of APR, 2000 that makes it mandatory for E-8’s to become MDV’s within one

year of making E-8. E-7’s are required to be

fully qualified to attend an MDV class (recommended, passed the test, with a package into BUPERS) within three years.

would have been wise to QA the dredging work.

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED: OUR NEXT EDITION OF

“FACEPLATE” IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 2000. I WILL REQUIRE YOUR

ARTICLES NO LATER THAN 1 AUG 2000. INCLUDE PICTURES WITH CAPTIONS,

AND THE NAMES OF YOUR DIVERS. ALSO, A SHORT BIO OF THE

AUTHOR. CONTACT YOUR FLEET LIASON EDITORS (SEE PAGE 2).

EDITOR’S NOTE