March 2012 3

Greetings to Navy Divers around the world from Washington, DC, 

where many of us are engaged in an annual budgeting process called the Program 

Objective Memorandum (POM). I realize 

that this bureaucratic evolution is far less 

interesting than an SPM change-out on an 

SSN, or an aircraft salvage in rough seas, 

but the results of this POM - our budget for 

fiscal years 2014-2018 will significantly 

impact all diving commands and divers. So 

I will briefly describe what I believe will 

be the outcome, and make a recommendation about how we might proceed. Our 

nation is in dire fiscal straits, and budget 

cuts are coming your way. I cannot predict the actual amounts or specific timing 

more precisely than “a lot” and “soon”. 

The Fleet will still require fixing and salvaging, so it is incumbent upon all of you 

to aggressively pursue innovative, efficient 

ways of completing these critical missions. 

Documenting how efficient (i.e., maintenance costs avoided) and effective (i.e., 

Fleet sailing on time, ship pulled off of the 

reef in one tide cycle) you were, is almost 

as important as actually completing the 

work. My recommendation is to religiously 

record how you are saving the Fleet from 

spending additional maintenance funds, 

and keeping our ships and submarines at 

sea. Be ready to produce verifiable data on 

a moment’s notice that clearly shows how 

your work kept a ship from having to be 

dry-docked, allowed a submarine to sail on 

time, or salved a stricken vessel so that it 

could fight again. Documenting the concrete effects of your work won’t eliminate 

budget cuts, but it will help to keep these 

cuts manageable.

In February 2012, I was relieved as 

SUPSALV by Commander Mark Matthews. CDR Matthews is qualified in submarines and has completed diving and 

salvage tours in a naval shipyard as a Fleet 

Salvage Officer, and most recently, as Commanding Officer of the Navy Experimental 

Diving Unit. The SUPSALV job will be in 

great hands with Mark, and I anticipate that 

you will see him around the Fleet soon.

I joined the Navy because I wanted to 

be a Navy Diver, and since 1983 I have had 

the privilege of serving as a diver alongside some of the finest folks in our Navy. I 

am proud to have been part of a great tradition for so long and am confident that you 

will continue to overcome any challenge 

thrown your way.

Keep diving!

Captain Patrick J. Keenan, USN

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving

I

t is certainly an honor to serve the 

Navy, more specifically, the Navy 

Divers as the Supervisor for Salvage. On 

Friday, February 10th, 2012, I had the bittersweet privilege to relieve CAPT Pat 

Keenan in that position. It is an awesome 

opportunity to serve in an office so rich in 

history with global responsibilities, which 

will likely be the high point in my professional career. However, it was a sad day to 

watch CAPT Keenan depart the service after thirty years. Many of you know Keenan, 

as it seems he was purpose-built for this 

job. He leaves big shoes for me to fill and 

hopefully I will be able to adopt his infectious grin. Pat – I thank you for the years of 

mentoring and all of your contributions to 

Navy Divers across the globe.

For all Navy Divers – my job is to 

support you and to help you be successful 

in executing your mission. Your efforts in 

underwater ship husbandry keep our ships 

at sea and reduce the cost of maintenance. 

Your salvage capabilities are what the Navy 

relies on when ships are aground and when 

ports need to be cleared. It is my job to ensure you have the right equipment and the 

right procedures to get the job done. Also, 

my office stands ready to supplement your 

work with world-wide salvage contracts 

and service providers as tasking exceeds 

your capability or capacity. If, at any time, 

we are not doing everything possible to help 

you be successful, I want to hear about it.

In CAPT Keenan’s last SUPSALV 

sends article, he described the fiscal environment that we face. As he said, expect 

“a lot” of budget cuts and expect them 

“soon”. Even before the first Supervisor of 

Salvage was established in 1941, we have 

worked to maintain the right balance of 

salvage capability between the U.S. Navy 

and commercial providers. Certainly, I am 

committed to this goal, but I am forced to 

maintain a certain level of capability with a 

declining budget. We have already cut the 

easy stuff and further reductions will force 

“vertical cuts” in capability, in other words, 

we will have to identify things we are no 

longer going to do. There is an alternative: 

do things differently. I am pushing my office to identify sources of cost savings by 

challenging the status quo and making 

sure we strike the right balance between 

risk and cost. I ask you to do the same. If 

you have ideas for changes in how we operate, please share. Certainly, not all good 

ideas come from Washington. 

Keep diving and stay safe!

Mark M. Matthews, CDR, USN

Supervisor of Salvage and Diving
4 March 2012

The bone crushing waves sweep 

across the long Na’Pali coast 

during the winter months. On average, 

there are four storms per winter season, 

lasting two to four days each. The swell 

heights associated with these storms can 

reach an impressive 25 feet. The spectacular waves roll in with no mercy and ravage the seafloor with their persistent ebb 

and flow. When the storms settle, men 

and women of Underwater Construction 

Team TWO (UCT TWO) homeported 

at Port Hueneme, California, arrive to 

commence their annual maintenance and 

repair of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands Kauai, 

Hawaii. UCT TWO has been supporting 

the underwater range annually since the 

early 1980’s. This year, the 12 weeks of 

maintenance support fell to Construction Diving Detachment ALFA (CDD/

ALFA).

After the Storm:

UCT-2 Returns to Maintain 

“War-at-Sea”

Underwater Playground!

PMRF is the world’s largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and 

training missile range covering over 

1,200 square miles of sea floor, instrumented with 200 hydrophones and underwater communications devices, and 

42,000 square miles of controlled airspace. “If you [were to] lay this range 

on the United States, it would cover the 

area from the entire west coast to over 

20 states east of it.” said Construction 

Mechanic First Class (SCW/DV) Jeffrey 

Niblo, Project Supervisor. “It’s huge!” 

Using the sensors of the PMRF an object can be tracked, real time, within 10 

meters from the surface to the bottom of 

the ocean floor. The instrumentation is 

cabled through the surf zone and to the 

shore along one narrow corridor of beach. 

Additionally, near the island of Nihue, 

submerged deepwater target buoys hover 

at 100 feet tethered securely to anchors 

that lie in over 400 feet of sea water. 

Approximately 400 meters of cast 

iron split pipe was installed on the seafloor cables. This pipe acts to prevent 

chafing of the cable in rocky areas. Damage is inevitable due to the abrasion, 

corrosion, and sand scouring during the 

storm season. Four failed cables were repaired this summer with new sections of 

spare cables using task-tailored injectionmolded splicing techniques. According 

to Michael Dick, the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) Engineer in Charge of the repair project, “11 

other cables near failure due to abrasion 

and chafing were repaired with the application of anti-chafe split pipe preventing imminent failure. None of this effort 

could have been accomplished without 

the professionalism, hard work, and persistence of this team.”

By: CMC(SCW/FMF/DV) ELISIA CORREA

After the Storm:

UCT-2 Returns to Maintain 

“War-at-Sea”

Underwater Playground!
March 2012 5

Preventive maintenance on PMRF 

is the key to successful training for the 

Fleet. Builder Chief (SCW/DV) Jeremy 

Taylor, CDD/ALFA Officer in Charge 

explains, “the training facilities give the 

war fighter the ability to track and analyze open-ocean ‘war-at-sea’ scenarios. 

It tests the combat readiness and battle 

tactics capabilities of Fleet forces.” 

The PMRF range is the facility used 

to train the crews of submarines, surface ships, and Anti-Submarine Warfare 

(ASW) aircraft around the Fleet. Exercises, such as Prospective Commanding 

Officer Submarine training, Submarine 

Exercise (SUBEX), Air Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise (AIRASWEX), 

and Theater Ballistic Missile Defense 

(TBMD), are also conducted throughout 

the year.

The Sailors who have been involved 

in these endeavors have found 

them to be positive, enjoyable 

deployments. The following 

were quotes from the members of the Detachment.

“[I] enjoyed saving the 

Navy money, contributing to 

the big Navy mission, while 

doing some of the most beautiful diving in the world.” 

Builder Second Class (SCW/

DV) Khiaro Promise.

Engineering Aid Second 

Class (SCW/DV) Craig Claudio stated, “Great learning experience as a diver. Good to 

CMC (SCW/FMF/DV) 

ELISIA CORREA Assitant Officer in Charge 

( A O I C ) C o n s t r u c t i o n 

Diving Detachment ALFA 

(CDD/A) UCT 2. Currently deployed to Diego 

Garcia repairing the Fuel 

Pier, she is one of three 

enlisted female divers in 

the UCT ‘s with 20 years 

in naval service. 

 Title Photo: BUC(SCW/

DV) JEREMY TAYLOR staging the 

mooring leg system in place at 90 feet of 

seawater. By:CM1(SCW/DV) Jeff Niblo.

Photos bottom left to top right: EA2 

(SCW/DV) CRAIG CLAUDIO drills 

4-foot hole with Sinker Drill 58 for 

the sea floor anchor. (By: BU2(SCW/

DV) Khiaro Promise); BU2(SCW/DV) 

Khiaro Promise recoils the repaired 

cables following a splice repair at 100 

feet of sea water. (By: Mr. Mike Dick, 

NFES); UT2(SCW/DV) ADAM GLISTA 

inspects deep water target bouy at 100 

feet of sea water. (By: HM1(DSW/SW) 

Ryan Irvine) 

help out the readiness of the 

Fleet while honing our diving 

skills.” 

Seabee divers load the 

Lighter Amphibious Resupply 

Cargo (LARC) with SCUBA 

diving and underwater hydraulic equipment to set the stage 

for repair efforts. “Having the 

LARC for this project is very 

important” said Equipment 

Operator First Class (SCW/

DV) Leroy Schnathorst. “The 

convenience of entering the 

water from anywhere and mobilizing our heavy hydraulic 

equipment to the job site is 

priceless.” 

A total of 6 moorings 

were put in place. This included a combination of Danforth 

anchors and 5-foot 

by 4-inches all-thread 

rod, which required 

drilling into the sea 

floor and securing 

with epoxy. “We designed a special drill 

stand to house the 

Stanley Hydraulic 

Sinker Drill 58 in order to drill the holes 

straight for our allthread to be placed,” 

CM1 Niblo explained. 

Installed anchor points 

on the ocean floor allowed the cable splice 

ship to moor. 
6 March 2012

Chilean submariners from CS 

CARRERA (SS 22) along with 

the U.S. Navy’s Deep Submergence Unit 

(DSU), participated in exercise CHILEMAR III off the coast of Southern California November 3, 2011.

CHILEMAR is an annual bilateral 

exercise between the U.S. and Chile designed to demonstrate interoperability 

between U.S. submarine rescue systems 

and Chilean submarines. The exercise 

also promotes greater understanding and 

cooperation between the U.S. and Chile.

“This exercise is important because 

you cannot surge friendship,” said Rear 

Adm. Robert J. Kamensky, Deputy Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic. “You 

build that over time. Here’s a demonstration of friendship being built so that whenever we have to exercise it, we already 

know each other. We can trust each other 

in that we’ll be able to operate as a team.”

Chile Operates with

U.S. Naval Forces as part of

Submarine Rescue Exercise 

CHILEMAR III

A personal relationship between 

the U.S. Commander of DSU and Chilean submarine commanders provided 

the genesis for CHILEMAR. Assigned 

together as classmates at Chile’s Naval 

War College, the commanders continued 

to engage beyond that duty assignment 

and convinced their respective higher 

headquarters that a bilateral rescue exercise served beyond both country’s interests. This highlights the importance 

of personal relationships gained during 

international programs.

The exercise included a practice 

rescue scenario in which DSU’s Pressurized Rescue Module (PRM), mated with 

CARRERA for a transfer of personnel 

from the simulated distressed submarine 

to the rescue vessel.

“We actually went down and mated 

at 480 feet with the Chilean submarine 

CARRERA,” said Navy Diver 2nd Class 

Joe Olin, a PRM attendee assigned to 

DSU.

“We went down and met the captain and the crew,” said Olin. “We shook 

hands and exchanged gifts with them and 

let them know that submarine rescue is 

real and that we can deploy all over the 

world within 72 hours and be on station 

and ready to do our jobs and provide a 

real rescue if needed.”

CHILEMAR is also designed to prepare and train both nations to perform 

Submarine Escape and Rescue (SER) 

which is an international humanitarian 

aid discipline that requires cooperation 

across national and alliance boundaries.

“It was an excellent experience all 

around, not only because we got to see 

action and be part of it, but we got to 

watch the interaction between sailors 

from Chile and Sailors from the United 

States,” said Kamensky, who was one of 

the personnel who rode in the PRM to 

witness the evolution. “Watching how 

they interact was extremely heartening to 

me as one of the leads in the submarine 

force because it speaks for how well our 

coalition can cooperate and make things 

happen. It was extremely rewarding.”

By: Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice 

Karolina A. Martinez, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West 

Chief Navy Diver Cory Hall prepares hoses for dewatering inside a sealed chamber 

connecting the Chilean navy submarine CS Carrera (SS 22) to a pressurized rescue 

module. (U.S. Navy photo by Karolina A. Martinez/Released)

Above: Sailors assigned to Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) help civilian diver Justin 

Lashley resurface from the ocean inside 

an Atmospheric Dive System aboard the 

surface support ship Hornbeck Offshore 

Ship Dominator. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass 

Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Karolina A. Martinez/Released)

MCSA Martinez is A Mass Communication 

Specialist assigned to Navy Public Affairs 

Support Element west in Naval Base Coronado.
March 2012 7

The Naval Undersea Museum in 

Keyport, Washington, opened a 

new exhibit, “The Skin They’re In: U.S. 

Navy Diving Suits,” on 16 April 2011. 

The exhibit highlights the diving suits 

Navy Divers depend on for warmth and 

protection as they work in a variety of 

underwater conditions. CDR Darlene 

Iskra, USN (ret.), a Navy diver and the 

first woman to command a commissioned Navy vessel, cut the ribbon at the 

exhibit’s ceremonial opening.

The Navy employs a range of diving gear to safeguard its divers in every 

type of environment. Diving suits offer 

critical thermal and physical protection 

that our bodies – particularly our skin – 

cannot provide. In this sense, they act as 

artificial or second “skins.”

The exhibit showcases six types of 

contemporary and historic suits: five ambient pressure suits (a wet suit, a dry suit, 

a hot water suit, a Mark V diving dress, 

and a Mark 12 outer garment) and one 

The Skin They’re In: 

U.S. Navy Diving Suits

atmospheric diving suit (a JIM suit). Also 

featured are a flight suit, as an example of 

the lightweight coverings divers sometimes don, and a survival suit (submarine escape immersion suit), 

included to reinforce the 

dangers of the underwater 

environment.

Visitors learn about the 

suits themselves, and also 

why Navy Divers need diving suits and how they are 

used. Interactive components built into the exhibit 

emphasize these messages. 

For example, one activity 

shows visitors how difficult 

working underwater can be 

by asking them to thread a 

nut onto a bolt wearing diving gloves while their visibility is blocked by a shield. 

A key feature of the exhibit is a video that explains 

to visitors what it was like 

to wear and work in different suits. In this video, 

NDCM/MDV Jason Brustad, the current 

Master Diver at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard/Intermediate Maintenance Facility, 

and retired Navy Divers CDR Iskra and 

Chief Engineman Norm Haas discuss the 

diving suits they used during their careers. Their reflections add an important 

human dimension to the exhibit.

“The Skin They’re In: U.S. Navy 

Diving Suits” will be on exhibit through 

2012. The museum is open 10:00 AM 

to 4:00 PM daily (closed Tuesdays October–May). Admission and parking are 

free.

For additional information, please 

call (360) 396-4148 or visit the museum’s website at http://www.history.navy.

mil/museums/keyport/index1.htm.

Mary Ryan is the curator at the Naval 

Undersea Museum in Keyport, WA.

By: Mary Ryan
8 March 2012

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 

(MDSU) Two, Company 2-4 

Divers assigned to Commander Task 

Group (CTG) 56.1 beached a sunken pier 

at the port of Umm Qasr, Iraq, June 14, 

after three years of excavation.

The floating pier was sunk in the 

early 90’s according to Senior Chief 

Navy Diver Anthony Mabry, a Master 

Diver assigned to CTG 56.1, who supervised the overall dive operation during two separate missions to raise the 

sunken pier.

Mabry said the pier needed to be 

relocated from its previous resting point 

at the bottom of the deep-water harbor 

because it posed a potential hazard to 

navigation.

Multiple dive teams had attempted 

to raise the 90-foot by 30-foot rusted, 

barnacle covered pier. In addition to 

MDSU Two’s first attempt May 10-21, 

other MDSU teams had tried and been 

unable to raise the then seemingly unmovable pier since the first attempt in 

Nov. 2009. 

Traditional methods of extraction were 

attempted to raise the 

pier, using tools of the 

trade, such as cranes 

and lift bags to pull 

the wreck from the 

harbor’s grip, but the 

pier had several lines 

still attached to nearby 

mooring stations and 

other debris not visible 

through the muddy and 

racing current holding 

the pier in place.

“The biggest challenge for us was 

that the visibility here in the river was 

zero,” Mabry said of the difficult conditions. “Once your head left the surface, 

you were working with your hands only. 

Along with that, you have anywhere 

from a 15-foot to a 19-foot tidal shift.” 

“So when the current really got moving through here, it was moving maybe 

four, five, or six knots... and we had to 

dive through that,” Mabry said.

To move the pier, the dive team maneuvered a 110-foot fuel barge over 

the project and connected it to the 

pier with 16-rigging points to use the 

massive tidal shifts to their advantage 

and create 200-tons of lift to free the 

pier from its sunken state.

Chains and lines of Spectra (type 

of rope), along with rigging harnesses attached to 10-ton chain falls 

were constantly adjusted 

topside on the barge during 

the carefully coordinated 

lift, with precision accuracy 

needed to properly distribute weight evenly as the 

tides raised and lowered 

the project. 

Submerged div -

ers tunneled through 15 

feet of mud using water 

pushed through a fire 

main and amplified by 

a P-100 fire pump to 

remove excess weight 

on the sunken pier and 

access its structural features to hook up 

rigging points. 

“In total we had 147 hours of dive 

bottom time, which combined is roughly a little over six days of Divers on the 

bottom working on the project,” Mabry 

said. “Many days we were working 18-

19 hour days because at certain points in 

this operation, once you get started you 

just can’t stop because it gets dark, so 

you work right through.”

“It took a lot of hard work, but we 

came out here and did it,” Mabry said. 

“The guys do what they always do. 

They’re professionals and they got it 

done safely. It’s a good feeling for us.”

Mabry also gave credit to the skipper and crew of U.S. Army vessel Landing Craft Utility Five Forks (LCU) 2018 

for their expert piloting skills, sharp deck 

hands, and logistics support throughout 

both missions conducted by MDSU Two, 

company 2-4. 

“Kudos to the Army for helping us 

out,” Mabry said. “Without those guys 

we would not have been able to do this.”

The U.S. Army also provided their 

own Divers from the 7th Engineer Dive 

Team to assist the U.S. Navy divers.

U.S. Army Sgt. Andrew Damon with 

the 7th Engineer Dive Team said he enjoyed the chance to work jointly with the 

Navy and was proud to be able to contribute to the mission.

“They’re a great group of guys,” Damon said. “I enjoy working with the Navy. 

They’re hard workers. I also learned a lot 

of great rigging techniques from them.”

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 

Frankie Caraska, Five Forks vessel master and commander of the 709th TransMarch 2012 9

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter D. Lawlor, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command/5th Fleet Public Affairs

portation Det. 1, said his crew was happy 

to support the mission.

“We’re a support element and we did 

everything we could to support them,” 

Caraska said. 

He and his crew provided transportation for the Diver’s equipment, meals, 

and security during MDSU Two’s recent 

missions in Umm Qasr. Five Forks also 

served as the Diver’s operating platform.

“We saw how hard the Divers were 

working out there and their job is incredibly dangerous. They’re so dedicated to 

their mission that they’ve actually been 

an inspiration to my crew,” said Caraska. 

“I have a new-found respect for Navy 

Divers and we hope to do more work 

with them in the future.”

After two missions, and months 

of preparation, the bollards on the top 

portion of the pier poked through the 

surface as the tide began to descend at 

the port on the border of Iraq and Kuwait.

By low tide on the evening of June 

14, MDSU Two, company 2-4, divers stood on top of the beached pier at 

Umm Qasr for the first time without 

dive helmets or an air supply.

Mabry said, “We had a lot of failures; we had a lot of setbacks, but no 

one ever got discouraged. They just 

kept doing their job and the pier is up 

on the beach, so mission accomplished.”

CTG 56.1 supports maritime security operations and theater security 

cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet 

area of responsibility.

For more news from Commander, 

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th 

Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusnc/.

Captions top to bottom: Staff Sgt. Jake 

Cochran, a diver assigned to the 7th Engineer Dive Team, receives a mooring 

line from Navy Diver 2nd Class John 

Creger, assigned to Commander, Task 

Group 56.1, during a sea and anchor 

evolution.; Staff Sgt. Jake Cochran, a 

Diver assigned to the 7th Engineer Dive 

Team, works his way down a traveling 

line after working on a sunken pier 

dive project; Chief Navy Diver Ryan 

Oakley, assigned to Commander, Task 

Group (CTG) 56.1, monitors the output 

of a dredger as it discharges mud and 

silt covering a sunken pier at the port of 

Umm Qasr. (U.S. Navy photos by Mass 

Communication Specialist 1st Class 

Peter D. Lawlor/Released)

A Sailor assigned to Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.1 guides a U.S. Army Diver assigned to the 7th Engineer Dive 

Team down a bow ramp aboard the U.S. Army vessel Landing Craft Utility Five Forks (LCU) 2018. 
10 March 2012

On a not so warm and rainy day 

in sunny Florida the last of six 

Auxiliary Propulsion Units (APU) came 

to the surface. This concluded our quest to 

supply the Fleet with spare APUs.

A few months ago there was a request from a PACFLT FFG for two ready 

for issue (RFI) APUs. Every FFG has two 

APUs so this request should not be an issue; simply go to supply, write a check for 

$ 510K, and get two. But there were no 

spares. To fix this problem Mr. Jim Peck 

(Diving Manager from SERMC) had an 

idea. With the up-coming decommissioning of three FFGs 

in Mayport, Divers 

could remove two 

serviceable units 

from one of these 

FFGs, refurbish the 

APUs, send them to 

the west coast, get 

their two grounded 

units back, refurbish 

t h o s e . S E R M C 

w o u l d h a v e t w o 

RFI APUs and the 

ship in need would 

be back in business. 

This sounds simple 

enough, so SERMC put the plan in motion.

Our request brought to light the 

critical shortage of RFI APUs for the 

Fleet. This led to the conclusion that if 

swapping out two APUs was a good idea, 

then getting all six would be a great idea. 

Of course, no good or great idea works 

until it has been translated into a plan. 

There were several major issues to 

overcome. One of the largest was without 

re-installing an APU there is nothing to 

attach the APU fairing plate to the ship. 

This issue was vetted through SERMC 

Engineering as well as NAVSEA. Both 

agreed that the ships could be towed at 

low speeds without the fairing plates. 

The columns would be blanked off with 

solid flanges to reestablish a secondary 

watertight boundary. The next big issue 

would be time. How long would it take 

to remove six APUs? How could we save 

time on these jobs and provide valuable 

training to our Divers?

During normal APU swap-outs, rigging the cofferdam is one of the biggest 

consumers of time. Normally one side 

of the ship is worked then the other side 

is worked. We decided to take a different tack. With NAVSEA concurrence, 

we would remove both port and starboard APUs wet, with no cofferdams. 

Additionally, we would use two sets of 

column fixtures which would allow the 

outboard APU to be yard and stayed to 

the inboard column and then removed 

with a pier crane.

The first two started right after 

Christmas and were completed in three 

days. The other four APUs required 

two days for each ship. For the last two, 

NAVSEA OOC5 sent down their newest engineering diver, Mr. Jacob Nessel, 

to receive in water APU experience. We 

welcome Jacob to the diving community 

and look forward to working with him 

in the years to come.

The take aways from this job 

should be; Navy Divers are providing valuable services to the Fleets. Always take the time to make a good 

p l a n a n d t h e n 

follow the plan. 

Anytime you are 

going to deviate 

from a proce -

dure, get technical guidance 

from competent 

authority. In this 

day and age we 

all need to be on 

the lookout for 

cost saving ideas 

and measures. In 

three weeks the 

Navy increased its 

APU inventory by six units, two of which 

have been re-furbished and sent to a ship 

in need.

“This is how to make over 1.5 million, in less than three weeks.”

Master Chief Bell is currently in his 28th year 

of Naval Service and is the Master Diver for 

SERMC, Mayport FL. 

Above: APU being craned from the water, USS 

STEVEN GROOVES (FFG 29) in the background. Photo by Mr. Jim Peck. 

SERMC dive locker with Mr. Jacob Nessel (NAVSEA 00C5) and Mr. Jim Peck in 

the center standing behind six APU’s. Photo by ND1 Dionicio Peralta.
March 2012 11

USS DENVER (LPD9) 

Port Shaft Repair

I

n the Spring of 2011, the SRFJRMC Detachment Sasebo, Japan, 

Dive Locker was confronted by a job 

never before seen at this location. During 

a routine hull cleaning of the USS DENVER (LPD 9) in January, corrosion was 

detected on the port side shaft. The extent 

of the damage wasn’t revealed until work 

began, but what ensued was a replacement of 27 feet of Glass Reinforced Plastic, encompassing the entire length of the 

port shaft.

The 13 man Sasebo Dive Locker, led 

by NDCS (MDV) Pierick, needed additional equipment and supplies to handle 

such a job. Having recently completed 

back-to-back Controllable Pitch Propeller seal replacements on two home ported 

LSD 41 Class ships, another monumental project seemed to be at hand. 

The wheels were quickly 

set in motion to acquire 

the necessary equipment 

and personnel to accomplish this feat by the May 

27th deadline.

In an effort to ensure the project would 

be completed by the 

deadline, it was decided 

to employ two doghouse 

cofferdams, one from 

SRF-JRMC Yokosuka, 

and the second from 

SUPSALV’s Emergency 

Ship’s Salvage Material 

(ESSM) facility in Port Hueneme, CA. 

The dry habitats were necessary to successfully perform the required fiberglass 

work.

To complement the Sasebo Team, 

divers from SRF Yokosuka, SWRMC, 

and Phoenix International assisted in the 

repair efforts. Under the direction of Justin Pollack, the onsite SUPSALV Underwater Ship Husbandry engineer, divers 

began work on April 

24th. The cohesive 

teamwork displayed 

by all involved was remarkable. After 

installation of the first cofferdam by the 

Navy team, Phoenix began work removing the existing fiberglass. Once removed, the shaft was cleaned, inspected, 

and corrosion areas repaired. Upon completion of these repairs, non destructive 

testing was performed to locate any possible defects or weak areas in the shaft. 

Since no Navy divers were qualified to 

perform the NDT in a dry environment, 

the Phoenix team completed this on all 

areas of the shaft.

One major obstacle became apparent 

almost immediately. In order to safely use 

the Yokosuka doghouse cofferdam with 

two extensions installed, new padeyes 

would have to be welded in place. This 

welding required the use of 70/30 argon 

helium gas, a specialty product not readily available in Sasebo. After completion 

of the welding, all padeyes on the cofferdam still had to pass NDT using dye 

penetrant, followed by weight testing. As 

a result of diligent efforts by both teams, 

this de -

lay was kept to a minimum, and the cofferdam was repaired, 

tested, and installed on the shaft in less 

than a week.

Since the majority of the Navy team 

was inexperienced with fiberglass work, 

extensive training was conducted topside 

prior to performing the repairs to become 

more proficient at fiberglass installation 

before attempting to work in the confined 

environment of the doghouse cofferdam.

In spite of the obstacles encountered, 

the combination of dive teams was able 

to complete this arduous task in less than 

three weeks, well ahead 

of the May 27th deadline. 

Based on the experience 

with this job, revisions to 

Chapter 13 of the UWSH 

Manual are currently underway. The hard work displayed by both dive teams 

was incredible, and the 

teamwork from everyone 

led to successful, timely 

completion of the project.

NDC Canup was Lead 

Dive Supervisor on the 

Navy side and would like 

to express special thanks to 

Paul Kristiansen at ESSM, 

Justin Pollack at 00C5, 

SRF Yokosuka, SWRMC, 

and Phoenix International Divers. Your 

outstanding support of your crews during this repair was critical to its success. 

“HOOYA DEEP-SEA”

By: ND1 (DSW) Andrew Strause

Top to bottom: ND2(DSW) Laux preparing 

to install cofferdam; Doghouse cofferdam 

being lowered into water.

ND1 Strause is currently assigned to SRFJRMC Yokosuka Detachment Sasebo
12 March 2012

N aval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., have spent the past 

year engaging in Navy Week community 

outreach events in cities across the country, showing off their diving skills.

Last October, over the Navy birthday, they were diving in the Georgia 

Aquarium in Atlanta, GA. They spent 

five days in January diving in the Florida 

Aquarium in Tampa Bay, Fla., and in 

mid-June entertained crowds of people at 

the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, 

Tenn. Most recently (Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 – Sept. 4), they were part 

of Cincinnati Navy Week, diving in the 

Newport Aquarium (Newport, KY), just 

across the river from Cincinnati.

Coordinated by the Navy Office of 

Community Outreach (NAVCO), the 

U.S. Navy conducts approximately 21 

Navy Weeks each year, reaching out to 

communities across the country to show 

Americans the investment they have 

made in their Navy as a Global Force for 

Good, and sharing the Navy story with as 

many people as possible.

A team of six TRIREFFAC Divers, 

led by Navy Diver Chief Kevin Moore, 

demonstrated their skills and equipment 

in each aquarium, swimming among 

sharks, stingrays, and numerous types 

of fish while answering questions about 

their lives as Navy Divers and talking to 

visitors to the aquariums.

At the Newport Aquarium they interacted with visitors from both inside and 

outside the aquarium tank where they 

had a static display of diving equipment.

“We were set up outside of the tank, 

and had a pretty good group for interaction with people,” said Moore. “Using 

video, we were able to show off Navy 

diving in general, so they could see some 

of the different things divers do.”

“We talked to a lot of people who 

were interested in what we had,” said 

Navy Diver First Class Troy McDowell, 

a member of the Cincinnati team. “We 

had a really good static display set up of 

all our diving apparatuses, and we got 

to school people on the type of work we 

do. They were very interested in what we 

had to say.”

When possible, some of the dive 

team participating in a particular Navy 

Week were originally from that local 

area.

Navy Diver Second Class Jonathan 

Ballew was part of the team who took 

part in Chattanooga Navy Week in June.

“It was extremely fun. We saw a lot 

of people,” said Ballew. “I am from that 

area, so it was nice to go back and show 

my family and friends what I do.”

At several of the events, it was the 

first time family members had seen them 

dive.

“Navy Weeks are a great opportunity to show something about what Navy 

Divers do,” said Moore. “A lot of people 

thanked us for our service. A lot more 

people had no idea that Navy Divers 

were even at Kings Bay.”

TRIREFFAC completes an average 

of 18-24 submarine refits, and spends 

more than 1 million production manhours each year in support of ballistic 

and guided missile submarine maintenance and voyage repair. The command’s 

Navy Divers are responsible for underwater ship husbandry, which means they 

maintain hull valves, repair and replace 

propellers, vent and clean ballast tanks, 

to name just a few of their tasks. They are 

the underwater repair team.

During fiscal year 2010, the TRIREFFAC Dive Locker conducted 879 

dives encompassing more than 1,054 

hours of accident-free diving operations 

for various commands, including Naval Submarine Support Center, Kings 

Bay; Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, Kings Bay; Naval Submarine Base 

Kings Bay; Nuclear Power Training Unit 

Charleston, SC; Naval Ordnance Test 

Unit Port Canaveral, FL; and many other 

naval and civilian components. Additionally, the TRIREFFAC Dive Locker had 

the 16th largest amount of bottom time 

of 101 diving commands Navywide in 

FY 10.

Using Navy Divers has been very successful in the community outreach effort 

said CDR Kim Marks, NAVCO Director.

“The Trident Refit Facility Divers conducted 12 dives over four days 

in the Newport Aquarium and proved 

to be one of the week’s most effective 

TRIREFFAC Navy Divers 

participating in FY2011

Navy Weeks:

ATLANTA (OCT 2010)

NDC(DSW/SW/SS) Kevin Moore

ND1(DSW/SW) Noah Gottesman

ND1(DSW/AW/PJ) Troy McDowell

ND2(DSW) Joshua Underwood

ND2(DV) Christian Sapp

ND2(DSW) Alexander Weber

TAMPA (JAN 2011)

NDC(DSW/SW/SS) Kevin Moore

NDC(DSW) Timothy Staniszewski

ND2(DSW) Nick Daly

ND2(DV) Christian Sapp

ND2(DV) Brad Pask

HM3(DMT) Matthew Kelley

CHATTANOOGA (JUN 2011)

NDC(DSW/SW/SS) Kevin Moore

NDC(DSW) Timothy Staniszewski

ND2(DSW) Andrew Mixon

ND2(DSW) Thomas Seymour

ND2(DSW) Andrew Weber

ND2(DSW) Jonathon Ballew

CINCINATTI (SEP 2011)

NDC(DSW/SW/SS) Kevin Moore

ND1(DSW/SW) Noah Gottesman

ND1(DSW/AW/PJ) Troy McDowell

ND2(DSW) Joshua Underwood

ND2(DSW) Brad Pask

ND2(DSW) Brian Williams

Trident Refit Facility Divers 

Participate in Navy Weeks

By: Stacey Byington, JOC (Ret.), Public Affairs Officer for Trident Refit Facility, Kings Bay, GA.
March 2012 13

outreach assets,” said Marks. “Cincinnati was the fourth Navy Week this 

particular diving unit has supported, 

and the unit’s past experience was 

clearly evident in their interaction with 

patrons and their approachability.”

Navy Weeks were not all work and 

no play. In addition to diving in the cities’ 

aquariums, the TRIREFFAC dive teams 

interacted with area media, had the opportunity to go to city sporting events, and participated in community service projects.

In Atlanta, they took their diving 

equipment to various high schools, visited with children who were patients in 

the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s 

Scottish Rite facility, and were interviewed by local and national media. 

In Tampa Bay, two divers were interviewed live during Navy Night with 

the Tampa Bay Lightning (ice hockey) 

on the jumbotron with an audience of 

almost 17,000; two different divers appeared on ‘Good Day Tampa Bay,’; and 

all were interviewed for stories which 

aired on both local and national markets. 

It was the same in Chattanooga and 

Cincinnati. In Chattanooga, the Divers were interviewed on WPLZ, a local 

Chattanooga talk radio show, participated 

with the Leapfrogs at a “Snap a Sailor” 

event at the Big River Grill, and talked to 

more than 7,000 visitors to the Tennessee 

Aquarium. In Cincinnati, attendance at 

the dive demonstrations at the Newport 

Aquarium was estimated at more than 

14,000 people. Additionally, two divers 

were interviewed live on Fox 19, and 

several participated in a community service event at the Clippard YMCA.

“Navy Weeks give us the opportunity to show the communities what the 

Navy does for them,” said Moore, the 

only Diver at all four events. “Each city 

has had its own unique flavor, and it 

seems like each city tries to out-do the 

one before. It just keeps getting better 

and better.”

Left to right: Navy Divers Second Class Jonathon Ballew (right) and Alexander Weber talk to Chattanooga radio personality Gary Poole on WPLZ Radio’s “Chattanooga’s Morning News Show,” on 95.3 FM as part of Chattanooga Navy Week. 

(U.S. Navy photo by Stacey Byington); Navy Diver Second Class Brad Pask from Trident Refit Facility, Kings Bay, GA, is 

interviewed by a Fox 13 WTVT-TV reporter, as Navy Diver First Class Tim Stanezwski looks on, from inside the Coral Reef 

exhibit at the Florida Aquarium, as part of Tampa Bay Navy Week. (U.S. Navy Photo by Stacey Byington); NDC(DSW/SW/

SS) Kevin Moore and ND2 Brad Pask promote Tampa Bay Navy Week activities during a hockey game between the Tampa 

Bay Lightning and the Atlanta Thrashers. (U.S. Navy Photo by MC1 Ruben Perez); Navy Divers from Trident Refit Facility 

Kings Bay pose with Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick D. West outside of the Tennessee Aquarium in 

Chattanooga, TN as part of Navy week. (U.S. Navy photo by Stacey Byington); Hospital Corpsman Third Class Matt Kelly and Navy Diver First Class Tim Stanezwski, are interviewed by Cyndi Edwards for ‘Daytime’ in the studio of WFLA-TV, 

as part of Tampa Bay Navy Week. (U.S. Navy Photo by Stacey Byington); ND2(DSW) Joshua Underwood and ND2(DSW) 

Brad Pask talk with children at the Clippard YMCA in Cincinnati, Ohio, and let a member of the audience feel the weight 

of an MK-21 Mod 1 underwater breathing apparatus (UBA), as part of Cincinnati Navy Week. (U.S. Navy/Released)
14 March 2012

U.S. Navy Divers Supporting

11 March USNS SAFEGUARD with Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) ONE Company 1-2 

was 900 miles north west of Japan in 

Chinhae, Korea for a 14-day ship repair 

and maintenance period. The Seventh 

Fleet (C7F) Salvage Officer was also in 

Chinhae, Korea meeting with the Republic of Korea Navy divers to plan the next 

Republic of Korea Salvage Exercise. 

12 March SAFEGUARD, 

MDSU ONE Company 1-2, and the C7F 

Salvage Officer were mobilized and sailed 

for Yokosuka, Japan with orders for support and specific tasking soon to follow.

15 March SAFEGUARD arrived in Yokosuka ready to support as 

needed. The MDSU Company started 

supporting Yokosuka Naval Shipyard 

divers in a massive underwater ships husbandry effort to return all 

U.S. Navy warships conducting ship’s maintenance 

to an underway condition. 

The MDSU Company Officer in Charge (OIC) and 

the C7F Salvage Officer 

headed to United States 

Forces Japan (USFJ), in 

Yokosuka, Japan, for a situational update and future 

tasking. Upon arrival to 

USFJ initial tasking was to 

help support the Japanese 

government in establishing 

different methods for getting coolant water to the Fukushima Nuclear reactors. 

16 March After many hours 

of calculations, engineering analysis, 

and NAVSEA engineering support it was 

determined that a minimum of two high 

volume/low pressure diesel Hydraulic 

Submersible Salvage Pumps in series 

with two high pressure/low volume 

diesel Hydraulic Submersible Salvage 

pumps from NAVSEA’s Emergency Ship 

Salvage Material (ESSM) warehouse in 

Sasebo, Japan were the best option to 

provide support to the cooling of the Fukashima reactors. Five 6-inch Hydraulic (high pressure/low volume and low 

pressure/high volume) Diesel Hydraulic Submersible Salvage Pumping Systems (w/kit) arrived at Yokota air base.

17 March At 0300 training was 

provided to the Japanese government and 

Fukushima power plant employees on 

the ESSM pump operations and configurations. The equipment then departed on 

five 5-ton flat bed trucks later that morning bound for the Fukushima power plant.

A Tasking Order was released for 

SAFEGUARD with MDSU Company to 

support Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and harbor clearance in Misawa and Hachinohe Ports. 

Later that afternoon C7F Salvage Officer departed Yokosuka for Misawa in 

order to assess and survey the damaged 

area in support of the harbor clearance. 

18 March U.S. Embassy personnel assisted the C7F Salvage Officer 

to establish the first harbor clearance 

meeting attended by local Hachinohe 

government officials, local fishermen, 

local business owners and Japan Coast 

Guard to discuss local plans and USN 

capabilities. During the first meeting the 

president of the Hachinohe 

Port Authority (Prudential 

Government) personally requested U.S. Navy assistance 

for salvage and harbor clearance in the Port of Hachinohe. 

The Japanese Coast Guard 

(JCG) and the Hachinohe Port 

Authority met twice to discuss 

the Japanese effort to survey 

different sections of the Hachinohe Port, focusing on work 

that had been accomplished in 

the previous five days and the 

work efforts that would continue. The problem was that 

there was no clear plan after 

the surveys were complete. LCDR Derek Peterson, U.S. 7th Fleet Salvage Officer, views photos of damage caused by a tsunami to the port in Hachinohe with city officials. (U.S. Navy 

photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devon Dow/Released) 

On 11 March 2011, at 1446 local a massive, 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern coast of 

Japan, triggering widespread tsunamis which resulted in massive infrastructure damage. Especially hard 

hit were numerous port and harbor facilities. This timeline gives a brief description of the support given by U.S. 

Navy Divers during Operation Tomodachi.
March 2012 15

The meeting consisted of:

• Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) 

• Hachinohe Port Authority (Prudential 

Government)

• Ministry of Land and Transportation

• Three Hachinohe City government 

officials

• Fishing Port authorities 

• JX Oil Company

• NCIS

• LCDR Derek Peterson CTF 73/C7F 

Salvage Officer

• U.S. Navy public affairs officer NAF 

Misawa

• Two Hachinohe Media personnel 

(Nippo Press Co and Daily Tohoku 

Press)

This meeting agenda included discussion of a detailed 45 by 45 meter grid pattern fathometer depth search plan, clearly 

defining the port’s priorities with respect 

to scanning and clearing, and discussing 

a future plan for clearing debris. Topics 

included were determining what kind 

of debris might be in certain locations, 

where there seemed to be possible debris, 

the manor in which they were searching 

for debris, and containment methods to 

use while lifting the debris. At the end of 

the meeting the president of Hachinohe 

Port Authority (Prudential Government) 

personally requested the U.S. 

Navy’s assistance for salvage 

and harbor clearance assistance in the Port of Hachinohe. 

19 March C7F 

Salvage Officer met with local fishermen and contractors 

for Hachinohe harbor survey 

and clearance. They gave a 

tour of Hachinohe Port by 

land and water, viewing the 

pier areas in the vicinity of 

the industrial, refueling, and 

fishing piers. The C7F Salvage Officer was able talk 

with local shipyard businesses and 

diving/salvage shops for future/continued support in the debris removal.

20 March USNS SAFEGUARD remained on station in Yokosuka to supplement SRF 

divers in removing 38 cofferdams and a shaft wrap 

from a US Navy warship. 

Also completed tow jewelry inspections in the event 

the ships were unable to get 

underway under their own 

power should they need 

to sortie due to projected 

wind shifts and possible 

radiation contamination in 

the vicinity of Yokosuka. 

SAFEGUARD stayed in 

the vicinity of Yokosuka 

until all ships were underway under their own power.

21 March EOD Mobile Unit 

Five Platoon 501 (EODMU5 PLT 501) 

and Underwater Construction Team 

TWO were en route to NAF Misawa. 

Both USNS SAFEGUARD and USS 

TORTUGA (LSD 46) were en route 

to Hachinohe to help conduct harbor clearance and survey operations. 

23 March EODMU5 PLT 

501 and the Underwater Construction Team TWO arrive in Hachinohe.

24 March Command Task 

Group (CTG) 776.36 was formed to execute harbor/port clearance mission in 

Northern Japan consolidating the U.S. 

Navy Diving forces to include SAFEGUARD, MDSU ONE CO 1-2, UCT 

TWO, and EODMU5. Operations in 

clearing Hachinohe harbor included 

working with the local authorities in 

their previously performed soundings 

at 45m intervals. CTG let local officials and Japanese Coast Guard prioritize underwater obstacle removal 

and helped to developed survey and 

dive plans based on Navy soundings. 

Early morning dive preps in Hachinohe at DFG Pier

(By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

Vehicle removal in Hachinohe Harbor (By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

LCDR. Derek Peterson, U.S. 7th Fleet salvage officer, briefing 

U.S. Navy Diving Capabilities and assets to support harbor clearance for the Japanese city representatives. (U.S. Navy photo by 

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devon Dow/Released) 

Operation Tomodachi Submitted by: LCDR Derek Peterson 
16 March 2012

8 April SAFEGUARD, TORTUGA, MDSU ONE, UCT TWO, and EODMU5 released from Operation Tomodachi.

Units Involved:

USNS SAFEGUARD

MDSU ONE CO 1-2

UCT TWO

EODMU 5

CTF-73

CTF 76

USS Tortuga (LCU 1627)

25 March USNS SAFEGUARD arrived in Hachinohe to support 

harbor clearance. A specialized group 

progress south for site surveys and local 

provincial government meetings starting 

with the Miyako local government and 

Japan Coast Guard to discuss plans and 

USN capabilities. 

27 March USS TORTUGA 

(LSD 46) and LCU 1627 arrived to support harbor clearance in Hachinohe.

28 March Completed objectives in Hachinohe Port included primary 

goal of creating a cleared path in order for 

an LNG compressed natural gas tanker to 

safely enter port through an access lane to 

the fuel pier for off-load of home heating 

fuel. This effort included a complete side 

scan survey, port priority list of critical 

areas, visual dive of all significantly sized 

contacts and a written survey of all operations (detail numbers provided below).

28 March – CTG 776.36 underway 

from Hachinohe in route to Miyako

29 March SAFEGUARD 

and TORTUGA arrived in Miyako harbor and started side scan sonar surveys 

and debris identification and removal 

with the combined diving and salvage 

team. MDSU Company stayed on board 

SAFEGUARD while UCT TWO and 

EODMU5 were deployed from TORTUGA on LCU 1627. SAFEGUARD 

was positioned in the middle of the inner harbor of Miyako while TORTUGA remained at sea as the command 

and control platform for CTG 776.36.

2 April First harbor clearance 

meeting with Kesennuma local government and Japan Coast Guard to discuss local plan and USN capabilities.

3 April CTG 776.36 completed 

objectives in Miyako including a cleared 

path in order for fishing vessels to safely 

enter the port and allowing an access 

lane to pier for off-load of supplies and 

equipment. Efforts included a complete 

side scan survey, port priority list of critical areas, visual dive of all significantly 

sized contacts and a written survey of all 

operations (detail numbers provided below). Upon completion SAFEGUARD 

and TORTUGA were underway en route 

from Kesennuma / Oshima port.

4 April SAFEGUARD and 

TORTUGA entered Kesennuma port. 

Received LCU with combined team and 

commenced survey operations.

4-6 April Conducted survey 

and harbor clearance operations in Kesennuma and Oshima.

6 April CTG 776.36 completed 

objectives in Kesennuma and Oshima 

including a cleared path for ferries and 

fishing vessels to safely enter the ports 

surrounding Kesennuma and Oshima 

and allowing an access lane to pier for 

off-load of people, supplies, and equipment. This included a complete side scan 

survey, port priority list of critical areas, 

visual dive of all significantly sized contacts and a written survey of all operations (detail numbers provided below).

TORTUGA and SAFEGUARD sortied due to possible shift in winds and 

radiation exposure of Fukashima.

Debris removal off USNS SAFEGUARD in 

Miyako. (By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

Debris removal by USNS SAFEGUARD in 

Miyako. (By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

Debris removal on USNS SAFEGUARD in

Hachinohe. (By: MDV Jon Klukas)
March 2012 17

NUMBER OF 

ROV DIVES

ROV BOTTOM 

TIME (Hr / Min)

HACHINOHE 31 08:23

MIYAKO 38 08:30

KESENNUMA/OSHIMA 18 03:36

TOTAL 87 20:29

NUMBER OF 

DIVES

TOTAL BOTTOM 

TIME IN MINUTES 

(hours)

HACHINOHE 13 :254 (4.23)

MIYAKO 51 :821 (13.68)

KESENNUMA/OSHIMA 42 :726 (12.1)

TOTAL 106 :1801 (30.01)

LINEAR METERS 

SCANNED

SQUARE METERS 

SCANNED

HACHINOHE 30,700 4,605,000

MIYAKO 20,800 3,120,000

KESENNUMA/OSHIMA 30,600 2,679,000

TOTAL 82,100 10,404,000

SSS OPERATIONS: SSS operations were conducted by UCT TWO and 

MDSU ONE.

SSS operations were conducted using Marine Sonic SSS units provided 

by either MDSU ONE or UCT TWO. Swaths scanned were either 150 

meters wide or 80 meters wide depending on model and settings.

ROV OPERATIONS: ROV operations were conducted by MDSU ONE.

All diving operations were conducted using SCUBA. Dives were made 

to verify targets identified during SSS operations or to rig objects for 

removal.

ROV operations were conducted using SEABOTICS LBV 300-5 Remote 

Operated Vehicle provided by MDSU ONE.

DIVING OPERATIONS: Diving operations were conducted by EODMU 5, 

MDSU ONE, AND UCT TWO

DEBRIS REMOVED: 15 tons of debris removed including small boats, 

cars, work-trailers, fishing nets, and telephone-pole sized logs. In addition, 71 

targets were positively identified and marked for possible removal by local 

commercial salvage assets.

SUMMARY OF DIVING AND SALVAGE STATISTICS FOR OPERATION TOMODACHI

MV in Hachinohe Harbor. (By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

Floating Debris removal by USNS SAFEGUARD in 

Miyako Harbor. (By: LCDR Derek Peterson)

Underwater object identification in Miyako Harbor.
18 March 2012

Our Navy Diver community manning is now over 100% and 

continues to grow with our current retention rates. Our participation in Perform To Serve (PTS) is an effort to ensure advancement and career progress is 

maintained at a healthy rate throughout a 

Diver’s career.

PTS is a Navy-wide program for designated E3-E6 personnel with 14 years or 

less service (zones A thru C) and whose 

End Active Duty Obligated Service as 

extended (SEAOS) is 15 months from 

the expiration.

Historically the ND rating has participated in PTS with 100% of our quotas 

being approved due to our NECs being 

deemed critical and manning levels remaining under 100%. Since becoming a 

rating, the ND rating overall manning has 

significantly improved across the board. 

As our economy changes, the retention 

behavior of our divers change. We are 

now experiencing record high retention 

and record low attrition. Not everyone 

can stay to ensure long-term community 

health. 

This coupled with the fact that the 

Navy is aggressively trying to get within 

its authorized end-strength has caused our 

community to participate in PTS. There 

have been and will be some Sailors that 

will not get approved due to loss of NEC, 

performance, etc. Leadership needs to be 

up to speed on Navy PTS policy and their 

Sailors’ status as it could have far reaching effects on their ability to stay Navy. 

The best way to track PTS is to ensure 

your Command Career Counselor has 

Fleet RIDE access and provides you with 

monthly status updates.

There have been a lot of issues regarding PTS in the last few months so I 

wanted to address some of these issues 

and hopefully provide some level of clarification.

Significant Problems (SP) or Progressing 

evaluations: If one of your Sailors gets a 

SP or Progressing evaluation, their PTS 

application will be denied (or revoked if 

By: OPNAV N16 Fleet Introduction Team in coordination with NPC BUPERS-32 

they had prior approval) unless they have 

had two periodic evaluations above Progressing (i.e. Promotable or higher). This 

is because a SP or Progressing evaluation requires that the Sailor not be recommended for advancement/retention. 

If the member has two periodic evaluations above the level of Progressing, the 

request will be submitted via Fleet RIDE 

for consideration. This is not to say that 

commands should avoid giving their 

Sailors SP or Progressing evaluations. 

Writing evaluations that honestly identify 

personnel with performance deficiencies 

is a must if we are to protect our Divers 

who are making all the right decisions on 

and off duty. PTS does not discriminate 

between the command’s number one 

ranked Promotable Diver and the number 

fifteen Promotable Diver who has been 

counseled repeatedly but has no trait 

marks that identify deficiencies, all other 

performance factors being equal. PTS is 

a good tool for trimming the fat when it is 

necessary to do so. At the end of the day 

if the Navy states we have 20 excess Sailors in a particular Year Group, 20 of our 

Divers are going to leave the community. 

I must stress to our leadership to take an 

active role in identifying the Divers that 

are not cutting the mustard or the Navy 

will select them.

Loss of NEC: If a ND loses their NEC 

for other than medical reasons, they will 

not get a PTS quota to reenlist as a Navy 

Diver. The Sailor will need to cross-rate 

to a rating that will accept them or be 

force converted (needs of the Navy). If 

the loss of NEC occurred due to performance reasons the individual could also 

be separated IAW MILPERSMAN 1910-

156 (Separation by Reason of Unsatisfactory Performance), item 2.d.

Reenlistment Intention: If the member’s 

application states that they do not intend 

to reenlist the PTS quota will automatically be disapproved. Some have erroneously checked this block because they 

do not intend to reenlist immediately. If 

the member intends to continue on active 

duty at all they need to state is that they 

intend to reenlist.

Lack of evaluations in package: The PTS 

application should have the members last 

five evaluations included in the request. 

If the member has not been on active 

duty long enough to have five evaluations, submit all they have. A large number of applications have had only one or 

two evaluations included for personnel in 

zones B or C. This will cause the application to be disapproved until the missing 

evaluations are submitted.

Security Clearance: IAW MILPERSMAN 1220-100 personnel in the ND 

rating must have at a minimum a Secret 

security clearance. NDs that do not have 

at a Secret security clearance will not be 

approved for PTS.

Late Submission: IAW NAVADMIN 

352/10 and MILPERSMAN 1440-060 

PTS should be submitted 15 months prior 

to the member’s EAOS or PRD (if additional OBLISERV is required for orders). 

There have been several instances where 

commands have placed the initial PTS 

submission within weeks of a member’s 

EAOS. Needless to say these are difficult 

at best to get approved. 

Note: If your command has submitted a 

proper PTS request at the 15-month mark 

it may not get immediately approved. 

There is a rack and stack process. There 

are only so many PTS approval billets 

each month, so PTS requests are routinely moved to the right. This does not mean 

it will not get approved. 

PTS will help ensure all our Divers 

have an opportunity to advance at the 

same rate or better than the rest of the 

Navy though their career. As your PTS 

window approaches, work closely with 

your chain of command and Command 

Career Counselor to ensure that you are 

the best possible candidate for reenlistment approval. 

Remember: It is called Perform To Serve 

for a reason! Preparation starts the day 

you report to the command.
March 2012 19

Crossword Puzzle

Crossword answers on pg.23

ACROSS

1. The maximum ______ rate for the MK 16 MOD0 is 30 feet per 

minute.

4. The partial pressure of oxygen within the recirculation system is 

monitored by ____________. 

6. A reserve pressure of 500 psig is ________ to drive the reducer.

7. The MK 16 MOD 0 UBA has two ________ that provide continuous 

information to the diver about ppO2

, battery condition, and oxygen 

sensor malfunction.

8. ___________ is removed from the breathing circuit in a watertight 

canister filled with an approved carbon dioxide-absorbent material.

10. A diaphragm assembly or counter lung is used in all closed circuit 

_____ to permit free breathing in the circuit. Add ‘s’ to UBA

12. The MK 16 MOD 0 __________display is designed to provide 

quantitative information to the diver on the condition of the breathing medium, the primary battery voltage and the condition of the 

secondary batteries.

14. The dive depth and time limits are based on considerations of 

working time, decompression __________, oxygen tolerance, and 

nitrogen narcosis.

15. The oxygen flask _________ volume (fv) is 0.1 cubic foot (2.9 

liters).

16. When selecting the proper ______________ table, all dives within 

the past 18 hours must be considered.

17. _____________ UBAs efficiently use the available gas supply to 

extend underwater duration by recirculating the breathing gas.

DOWN

1. The partial pressure of oxygen in the system is ____________ controlled throughout the dive to a preset value.

2. Lines used for controlling the depth of the diver(s) for decompression diving shall be marked. This includes tending lines, 

____________, and lazy-shot lines.

3. If the canister is improperly filled, channels may form in the absorbent granules permitting gas to bypass the __________ material 

and allow the build-up of carbon dioxide in the UBA.

5. The closed-circuit ___________ has a removable cover, a center 

section attached to the fiberglass equipment case, a flexible rubber breathing diaphragm, and a CO2

 scrubber assembly.

6. The __________ system consists of a closed loop incorporating 

inhalation and exhalation hoses, a mouthpiece or FFM, a carbon 

dioxide-absorbent canister, and a flexible breathing diaphragm.

9. Aside from mixed or diluent gas addition during descent, the only 

gas required at depth is _______ to make up for metabolic consumption.

11. Should the oxygen-addition valve _____ in an OPEN position, the 

resulting free flow of oxygen in the MK 16 MOD 0 is restricted 

by the tubing diameter and the orifice size of the piezoelectric 

oxygen-addition valve.

13. The ____ uses an integral oral-nasal mask or T-bit to reduce dead 

space and the possibility of rebreathing carbon dioxide-rich gas.

CHAPTER 17 - MK 16 MOD 0 Closed-Circuit Mixed-Gas UBA Diving
20 March 2012

NSWC PCD Employee Earns 

Federal Laboratory Consortium Award 

for Technology Transfer

For offering a clearer vision for U.S. Navy Divers, a Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) employee was named 

the Federal Laboratory Consortium 

(FLC) 2012 Excellence in Technology 

Transfer award recipient. 

Dennis Gallagher, lead project engineer and 

inventor of the 

Advanced Diver’s 

M a s k - M o u n t e d 

Display System in 

the NSWC PCD 

Underwater Systems Development 

and Acquisition 

branch, earned 

the award for his 

work on the Advanced Diver’s 

M a s k - M o u n t e d 

Display System. 

The display system 

was made available for commercial and military 

use in December 

2011. NSWC PCD 

initiated a technology partnership 

with Sound Metrics Corporation through a Cooperative 

Research and Development Agreement 

(CRADA) agreement, and partially exclusive licensing agreement between 

NSWC PCD and Sound Metrics Corporation, based in Lake Forest Park, Wash. 

Gallagher initiated the system’s patent 

which the government now owns. After 

the system was patented, the CRADA 

and a license agreement were reached 

and the technology transitioned to production manufacturing.

Gallagher said the original idea for 

this mounted display system came 

from simply listening to the customer.

“The original idea for the diver mask 

mounted display came many years ago 

from a test with several underwater sonars and a very rudimentary underwater 

display monocle that was being used. 

After a test dive with the sonar and monocle, we were reviewing the sonar images the diver had recorded during the 

dive. When looking at the images on the 

computer, the diver remarked, ‘Man...if I 

could have seen the images with this resolution down underwater, I would have 

known what the items were.’ That’s when 

I knew we had to develop an underwater 

diver display equal in quality, color, and 

resolution to a computer laptop screen. It 

wasn’t an easy task, but we did it.”

NSWC PCD and FLC representative 

Edward Linsenmeyer and Underwater 

Systems Development and Acquisition 

Branch Head Karen Borel agree that Gallagher’s work to successfully transition 

the mask to Sound Metrics, who is now 

manufacturing the Navy design as a commercial product 

available to military and civilian 

divers, is nothing 

short of transformational. 

Borel said. 

“Until now, divers working in 

dark, murky 

waters haven’t 

been able to effectively survey 

and assess their 

s u r r o u n d i n g s , 

but with the Advanced Diver’s 

Mask-Mounted 

Display System, 

it’s a new underwater world. The 

transformational 

flip-up, flip-down 

device is like 

an ‘underwater 

night vision’ system that allows divers to see what they’re 

doing, whether they’re looking for 

mines, scanning for intruders, inspecting 

ship hulls, recovering a body, searching 

for evidence, or studying fish behavior.”

Gallagher, a native of Phoenixville, 

Pa. who also calls Tallahassee, FL, home, 

joined NSWC PCD after he graduated in 

1984 from Florida Atlantic University 

with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical 

engineering. A diver himself, Gallagher 

brought his technical expertise and experience to conceptualize, deliver, and 

By: Jacqui L. Barker, Public Affairs Specialist, NSWC PCD

A scientist tests the Advanced Diving Mask created at Naval Surface Warfare Center 

Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) in July 2010 in a local test pond. The mask was 

transitioned to the U.S. Navy for Fleet diving use in December 2011. The inventor, 

Dennis Gallagher, was named the 2012 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer awardee. Photo by Chad Edmondson, NSWC Panama City Division.
March 2012 21

ultimately manage the successful transition of a mask’s mounted system able to 

withstand depths of 300 feet, and quickly 

transition it for use.

The 800 x 600 super video graphics array (SVGA) screen incorporates 

organic light-emitting diode (OLED) 

displays that are color-balanced and 

contrast-matched, giving the diver an 

astonishingly clear and actionable view. 

The mask-mounted display system is a 

whole new ballgame when compared to 

anything previously available, offering 

higher contrast, brighter color, smaller 

size, lighter weight, larger eye relief, 

lower cost, and lower power consumption. In addition, a low-magnetic version 

will be available for use by Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Divers.” 

Federal technology transfers are 

the movements of technology, knowledge, facilities, or capabilities from 

one sector to another to promote and 

strengthen technology transfer nationwide. That transfer may occur between 

government entities or government 

and private sector. The results of these 

technology transfers can result in commercialization of new products in commerce, and perhaps even enhance labo

ratories or agency mission objectives.

“This technology transfer achieves 

the “grand slam” of technology transfers, also known as T2. U.S. Navy 

technology is embedded in a new commercial product, which has both military and non-military application, and 

the Navy can turn around and purchase 

that manufactured good economically,” 

said Linsenmeyer. “Thanks to Gallagher’s innovative thinking and perseverance, and the NSWCPCD team, the 

Advanced Diver’s Mask-Mounted Display System has literally changed the 

Joint Diving

By: LT Glenn Moffat

Diving is not just for the Navy anymore. And despite what the average person might think, it hasn’t been 

a solely Navy program for quite some time. The Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Army are 

all actively pursuing diving interests and performing service-specific diving tasks.

Numerous changes are in the works to align these five distinct diving programs and push forward with one 

unified effort as Military Divers. Inclusion of all the different branches is a win-win for the entire military diving 

community and will help standardize our diving force.

The Authorized for Navy Use (ANU) list, a comprehensive tool for service men and women to check for 

approved equipment, has been converted into the Authorized for Military Use (AMU) list so that all the diving 

services can have a stake in it. By standardizing the list of diving equipment that is authorized, the Fleet and sister 

services are given a streamlined process to submit to and check the list for approval. The list is an extremely helpful tool and a living document that is updated on a daily basis and is constantly edited for accuracy. The manager 

of the AMU list, Robyn McGinn (00C39), has been receiving inputs from all of the services and incorporating 

them into the joint list. The AMU list is located at www.supsalv.org under 00C3 Diving.

The Navy Divers Working Group (NDWG), an annual training meeting intended to train Fleet, discuss current issues with diving tactics, techniques, and procedures, has now been changed into the Military Divers Training Continuum (MDTC) with members of all the diving services planned to be in attendance. By expanding the 

purview of this training meeting, members of different services can learn Navy Diving practices and bring a wide 

array of knowledge and expertise to the table that affect all of the diving community. Equipment displays and 

demonstrations enable cross-functionality between the services as well. LT Glenn Moffat is an EOD Officer and 

the Assistant Supervisor of Diving at NAVSEA 00C.

outlook for divers—and for military mission readiness. With this groundbreaking technology, the future looks clear.”

The FLC was organized in 1974 and 

Congress passed the Federal Technology 

Transfer Act in 1986, which officially 

chartered the FLCs. Today, the FLC is 

comprised of technology transfer professionals from more than 300 federal laboratories, their respective agencies, and 

affiliated organizations. Several mechanisms exist in which government technology may transfer to another sector, 

such as Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or CRADAs, collegiate interchanges, or technical assists.

Gallagher will accept the 2012 

Federal Laboratory Consortium for 

Technology Transfer (FLC) award during a ceremony at the FLC national 

meeting scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh, PA., on Thursday, May 3, 2012.
22 March 2012

Top 10 Discrepancies 

During Inspections

Over the last few years the Safety Center and NAVSEA Certification has noted common discrepancies during their visits. The list below is not every discrepancy identified, however it is the “Top 10” of re-occurring problems. 

Most of these are a result of the leadership delegating certification / survey preparations to inappropriate levels and not 

monitoring or reviewing these preparations prior to the NAVSEA System Certification Survey or the Naval Safety Center 

Survey.

1. Systems are not inspection ready: A System Certification Survey is an inspection. Diver Life Support 

Systems need to be correctly set up and cleaned; not just wiped down. Valve tags should be in place; 

grease penciling or duct tape is not satisfactory. Caps with their lanyards need to be properly secured. 

2. Commands not using the current PSOB: All portable and installed systems PSOBs are updated semiannually and maintained on the OOC4 page of the SUPSALV Secure web site https://secure.supsalv.

org/00c4publications.asp?dest=00c4. Commands should ensure that they have downloaded the most 

recent copy before editing their PSOB for certification.

3. Missing Objective Quality Evidence (OQE) for adapter fittings: Adapter fittings commonly found on 

TRCS, LWDS, and some FADS deck hoses should have their OQE available for review during the 

On-Site survey. This includes the Certificates of Conformance for the fittings, hydrostatic testing, and 

cleaning documents. 

4. REC, Work description and Reason for work: In Block 8 and 10 of the REC form, ensure that the work 

description and reason for work actually reflects the work that is being performed. In many cases it is 

too vague and does not clearly reflect what actually took place. In this block the word ‘replaced’ should 

only be used when a new item is installed. Selecting ‘removed’, ‘repaired’, or ‘re-installed’ should be 

used for existing components that were reused.

5. View port inspection forms: Viewports require an in place inspection every 36 months and must be removed/inspected at 10 years to extend their initial service life per NAVSEA Process Instruction PI-006 

Revision A. Both of these inspections should be documented on the viewport inspection form provided 

in the Process Instruction (PI), and must be available for review during the on-site survey. 

6. UBA REC Procedures: REC Supervisor didn’t thoroughly review REC or understand the UBA maintenance requirement. 

7. UBA REC’s: Too many RECs opened and closed on same date to effectively complete Maintenance 

Requirement Card (MRC), i.e. work hours completed exceeded work hours available. 

8. Maintenance Tools: UBA technicians did not have the required tools and test gauges were not available, 

but Preventative Maintenance System (PMS) was marked completed. 

9. HAZMAT: When hazardous material is dispensed into a non-original container the secondary containers are not properly labeled with material name, manufacturer address, and nature of the hazard. (DD 

form 2522).

10. Recompression Chamber: Chamber logs are lacking the required minimum data, and are not being 

reviewed and signed after watches by the Diving Officer or the Master Diver.

The purpose of these visits is to ensure that commands are maintaining their systems and dive lockers at the highest level of safety while still maintaining operational readiness. The leadership needs to take the time to prepare for these 

visits and set the standard. 

By: MDV Henry Stark
March 2012 23

Brendan Murphy is a Diving System 

Certification Manager at NAVSEA 00C.

ACROSS:

1. Ascent

4. three sensors

6. required

7. displays

8. carbon dioxide

10. UBAs

12. secondary

14. obligation

15. floodable

16. decompression

17. closed circuit

DOWN:

1. automatically

2. marker lines

3. absorbant

5. subassembly

6. recirculation

9. oxygen

11. fail

13. FFM

Crossword Puzzle

Answers

This is a story about a dramatic 

change I observed at a dive 

locker a few years ago. In order to protect the guilty, I removed the locker name 

and any specific person, but both the heroes and villains know who they are and 

should bask in their pride (or shame) as 

appropriate. I traveled to the location 

of this locker to conduct several Diving 

System Certification Surveys. On a Friday at around 1500 I stopped by the XYZ 

Dive Locker, unannounced. I wanted to 

see how Master Diver Hugh Deman was 

doing. First a little background. Some 

would say that MDV Deman, at the time 

a freshly minted Master Diver, was handed a can of worms when he first took over 

the XYZ Dive Locker. I think a viper’s 

nest would be more accurate. The Dive 

Locker he inherited was plagued with 

disciplinary problems, including but not 

limited to DUI’s and drug offenses. The 

Dive Systems had not been adequately 

maintained and morale was in the cellar. Turning that Dive Locker around 

required aggressive professional leadership, leadership akin to that portrayed 

by Gregory Peck in “Twelve O’Clock 

High”. Over the next 6 months, working 

with the Diving Detailer, MDV Deman 

replaced virtually the entire 18 man dive 

locker with Second Class Divers, right 

out of the dive school. He kept one hard 

charging First Class Petty Officer, who 

subsequently was selected as the parent 

command Sailor of the Year. Between 

the two of them, they worked tirelessly 

training the young divers and instilling in 

them the sense of pride and professionalism that has been the trademark of Navy 

Divers. At the same time, MDV Deman 

took every opportunity to increase the 

productivity of his divers and added several Dive Systems to permit his locker to 

better respond to emergent work. MDV 

Deman also extended the command’s 

footprint to include a Light Weight Dive 

System (LWDS) and Transportable Recompression Chamber System (TRCS) 

in a forward location. It wasn’t a smooth 

ride and there were setbacks (we’re talking Navy Divers, not choir boys). MDV 

Deman never lowered the bar. In fact, 

the setbacks seemed to have motivated 

MDV Deman to redouble his efforts. To 

him, the failure of one of his divers or his 

Dive Systems was reflective of a failure 

in his leadership. One of the best tools 

that MDV Deman used to develop his 

young divers was ownership. He would 

assign new Second Class Divers a Dive 

System telling them it was their responsibility to maintain it like it was their own. 

He then gave the diver detailed instructions on what that responsibility entailed. 

MDV Deman, and his senior Divers, 

rigorously and without compromise ensured his instructions were carried out. 

Back to my unannounced visit. As 

it turned out MDV Deman was TAD 

when I arrived. But, by this point in his 

tenure he didn’t need to be there. His 

locker now had an outstanding LCPO. 

And if the LCPO was gone, the LPO 

was also a MDV Deman trained leader. 

And it was easy to tell that if all three 

senior divers were out of the locker, 

each diver knew exactly what was expected of them and the work would still 

get done the right way. Why? Because 

the leadership in this Dive Locker put 

forth the effort and time to train the divers and instill each diver with responsibility for their own actions. This was a 

team that was good, and they knew it.

Now we all know that liberty goes 

down pretty early on Fridays for most 

of the local area. That is not the case in 

MDV Deman’s Dive Locker. Whether 

his divers are working the waterfront or 

TAD, liberty goes down when the work is 

done, the dive station is squared away and 

training is complete. So when I entered 

the XYZ Dive Locker on a Friday afternoon, I was not surprised by the steady 

hum of activity. The Chief was planning a repair on a submarine with a new 

Dive Supervisor, the LPO was training 

a young Diver concerning tag-outs and 

the Work Center Supervisor was updating schedules. I said a quick hello to the 

Chief and stepped back outside, deciding 

that this was a story that needed to be 

told. What I found was a group of divers 

working to ensure perfectly maintained 

dive systems at 1500 on a Friday afternoon, in paradise; as if their lives depended on these systems – because they do. 
24 March 2012

Another Day in Paradise

By: ND2 Michael Christensen

On one hot August day in beautiful Groton, Connecticut everything was in place to begin work on 

the SPM (Secondary Propulsion Motor) 

replacement for the USS TOLEDO (SSN 

769). After weeks of planning and preparation by our leaders, NDC Counts and 

ND1 Larsen, it was time to go to work. 

With a fairly green dive locker there were 

few divers that had any experience with 

this particular job. Furthermore, a newly 

designed cofferdam was being utilized 

for the first time on the East Coast for 

this job, and this team of divers were 

given the opportunity to validate its fit, 

form and function. These added additional challenges to the already difficult 

task at hand. As with all major dive jobs 

there was a buildup of excitement and increased motivation to prove we could get 

this done on time. ESSM was here, materials were in place, we were all briefed 

on the job, and everything was going 

smoothly until the work actually began.

All husbandry Divers and particularly the ones stationed at NSSF Groton 

are all too familiar with Murphy’s Law: 

“Anything that can go wrong, WILL go 

wrong”. The job was scheduled to take 8 

days, a modest timeline given the amount 

of work we were to perform but we got 

off to a bad start. The TOLEDO couldn’t 

meet our requirements for isolating the 

ASW (Auxiliary Seawater) due to issues 

with the ship’s AC and the cooling of 

equipment. It took a couple of days for 

the ship to execute a plan that ensured 

diver safety during the SPM replacement. We took this time to become more 

knowledgeable on the procedure and 

equipment to be used over the next week 

and a half. 

After a 3 day delay we splashed 

divers to install the flat patch and 5,000 

pound cofferdam. With three divers 
March 2012 25

Old SPM coming up and over.

ND2 Michael Christensen graduated Concordia College Moorhead, Minnesota 2009 majoring in Sociology and joined the Navy November, 2009. Graduated Navy Dive School August 

2010 and reported to Naval Submarine Support 

Facility Dive Locker September, 2011.

jocked up and eager 

to get the SPM replacement underway, 

we encountered another issue that had to 

be addressed; we had 

no one with previous 

experience installing 

the cofferdam. With 

a lack of personnel to 

choose from, MDV 

himself dusted off 

the old wetsuit and 

left surface with two 

younger divers. 

The newly designed cofferdam 

went on with no major issues. The flat 

patch designed to 

cover Main Ballast 

Tank 4 forward grate 

and the aft Bottom 

Sounder was more 

difficult, and took 

some motivation to 

get a good seal. The 

next order of business 

was to take apart the “cow’s tongue”. 

The SPM cables run through the cow’s 

tongue and through the top of the SPM 

column. The amount of salt water corrosion on the hardware plus the size of 

the cables proved to be a challenge that 

would require additional time.

Our strongest Divers spent hours 

working breaker bars and pipe wrenches 

to get the cables free. A new set of Divers 

went in and climbed the three stories to 

the EHF to discover the work area would 

only support one small diver. Looking 

down at a 25 foot fall that would lead 

to serious injury, things started getting tricky. After many failed attempts 

to break the cables free from the EHF 

we resorted to chisel and hammer. This 

proved to be the most effective way to 

break the fitting and if used by a trained 

diver wouldn’t damage the cable. We 

freed the cables and lowered them 30 

feet out through the grate into the cofferdam and finally up and over.

The SPM came free without much 

persuasion from MDV Brodeur and Warrant Officer Smith. We slowly lowered 

the SPM using chain falls, disconnected 

the cables from the SPM, and continued 

lowering the SPM into the deep dark 

abyss known as the Thames River. As the 

SPM came up and over the side a week 

later, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment. All the man hours and strategy 

had finally paid off. But the job wasn’t 

done...it all had to go back together. 

Yeah we knocked that out too. Hoo-Yah!

When it was all said and done we 

spent just short of two weeks, working 

day and night to get the job done. The 

divers accumulated over 120 hours of incident free bottom time and gained a significant amount of valuable experience. 

The TOLEDO got underway on time 

and everyone was happy. The NSSF dive 

locker took on a huge task and came out 

on top. The NSSF Divers’ determination 

and ability to adapt and overcome obstacles was paramount. Over twenty Divers 

added a key experience to their diving 

career and all learned a valuable lesson 

on how to get the job done no matter how 

great the challenge. Remember - there is 

no job too big for a US Navy Diver.

The Dive Team:

CWO2 Smith

MDV Brodeur

NDC Counts

ND1 Larsen

ND1 Smith

ND1 Soria

ND1 Putman

ND1 Verhagen

ND2 Christensen

ND2 Faieta

ND2 Touranjoe

ND2 Finch

ND3 Smith

ND3 Young

ND3 Pink

ND3 Husky

ND3 Friars
26 March 2012

From my time here at NAVSEA, coupled with my prior assignments, I have had the opportunity to visit the 

majority, if not all, of the dive lockers in the United States. What I have seen in my limited time is nothing 

short of incredible. I have over twenty two years in the Navy, my son joined the Navy and became a Navy Diver, and 

my daughter will be attending college next year with hopes of going into marine archeology. I have been married to a 

wonderful woman for over 23 years. All of these blessings and I get up each day looking forward to the next challenge.

My first command aboard USS Edenton while serving under Master Diver 

Ernest, I looked into a rumor that I had heard of Navy Divers becoming a rate. 

That was 1991, and he told me he had heard the same rumor when he was 

young second class. This was coming from a Master Chief that had in 25 plus 

years in at the time. 

We have most certainly become a rate with not only strong leadership and 

workforce but a rate that is actively sought out to see how and why we are so 

successful. That answer is easy, and it goes back centuries to common Navy 

practices. Take care of your people and your community. Once you make the 

senior ranks it is no longer about yourself, for most it never was, it is about insuring the careers of those who depend on us. This goes with every Chief lesson 

ever mentioned. Navy Divers have not just provided lip service, but live it day 

in and day out.

The advice I give to Chiefs who want to become Master Divers is to simply tell them to be ready for this to 

become your life, this job will define you. You can join the Navy and do four years and go to college. You can come 

in and do more and retire as a job. For others it is a career and big part of them. For some Navy Divers it goes beyond 

that, it becomes who you are. To some it may sound very shallow and go against popular thought. Even our vernacular 

gives a glimpse to this life with phrases like “that is Deep Sea” and “Hooyah” to express exemplary accomplishments 

or a work ethic. As I took the time to put pen to paper, I remember when I competed in the Louisville Ironman in 2010. 

I was asked; how did you do it? The answer to me was simple, I just did it. Don’t get me wrong, there was training 

involved, but stopping was never an option. Whenever there is an endurance event I compete in, I always figure in the 

Deep Sea factor. Quit is not in us.

We as a community have to protect what is ours, and that is our way of life within the Navy. A life that says you 

work hard and strive to do your best everyday and the reward is you get to do it again tomorrow. We are a tiny community within the military of millions but one that has risen from obscurity to be a model for others to follow. Trust 

me when I say that we are the world’s best. Attending many multi-national functions, I find that we are considered 

the standard of excellence. That is not a boast or sign of arrogance, but a label of responsibility. Our community has 

spawned legends and inspired innovations that test the sanity and bounds of science.

I can honestly say I enjoy going to work everyday. There are many career rates that provide great career opportunities in the civilian sector. All Navy Divers qualified for those rates, but chose a path that proves to test us daily. To 

each and every one of you I challenge you to find that test and push yourself and our community to the next level.

To close out I leave you with this thought “we are like everyone else in the world. We get up and put our pants on 

one leg at a time. The only exception is that before and after that, we are Deep Sea Divers and the rest of the world is 

not.”

NDCM (DSW/FMF/MDV) 

James “Bill” Costin
March 2012 27

I write this article on the day that 

the war in Iraq has been officially declared over. In its wake comes the 

hope that we will move past being the 

United States Army’s Navy and become 

Sailors/Divers again. With it comes the 

chance to take a good look at the status 

of the Navy Diving program and equipment. Go ahead and look at your current 

dive gear. It’s the same stuff invented by 

Jacques Cousteau 70 years ago. We have 

since made it 2 pounds lighter and painted it black. That’s not innovation. That’s 

the technological equivalent of inflation. 

Where is Sealab 8 on the ocean floor at 

3000 fsw? Where is the rebreather that 

gets its oxygen and CO2

 scrubbing from 

seawater? They don’t exist due to a fundamental flaw with the “Hooyah” diver 

attitude. Navy Divers can accomplish 

anything. When handed a roll of duct 

tape and a snorkel and tasked to repair 

an aircraft carrier and recover a downed 

plane, the Navy Diver says “Hooyah” 

and gets it done. The Fleet loves that 

about us. However, guess what appears 

under the Christmas tree the following 

year? A new roll of duct tape and another snorkel. Divers never say “can’t” 

and never ask for tools to help them accomplish their mission. Thus there are no 

new tools. Or more often, NAVSEA has 

to guess and equipment is developed that 

never moves past the prototype because 

no Fleet customer asked for it and never 

budgeted for its outfitting and maintenance. This needs to change. We can’t 

afford to waste time and money on unsupported programs. The Navy Diving 

Program has developed a strategy that is 

centered around one goal: “To increase 

the actual work time of the diver”. Everything points back to that simple statement. To make it work, you, the operator 

must determine what it is you need in order to meet that goal. You need to define 

what your capabilities and shortfalls are 

now and what you want to do 2 years, 5 

years, and 10 years from now. You then 

need to feed these requirements up your 

chain of command so that we at NAVSEA can sponsor and manage RDT&E 

that will meet these requirements. For 

example, do you want to reduce the cost 

of mixed gas diving? We can fund R&D 

for things like: Helium recirculators, trimix or other gas mixtures, schedules that 

increase bottom time and reduce decompression so you can get more evolutions 

in during a fixed period of time. Do you 

want to extend the duration of a rebreather? Then we can R&D new scrubber material or higher pressure air flasks. Would 

you like to improve your mobility and reduce your dive station footprint? We can 

R&D an inflatable 2-man recompression 

chamber that fits in a large suitcase or 

an IV bag with perflurocarbons that can 

absorb excess nitrogen in the blood. But 

unless you tell us what you need, we at 

NAVSEA can only guess. The combination of 10 years of desert warfare and a 

budget crisis means the RDT&E funding 

is severely constrained. NAVSEA needs 

to prioritize what gets done and what has 

to wait. We need your input so we don’t 

waste precious funding on systems that 

don’t serve your requirements.

2011 Effective Diving Advisories

11 - 02 UNAUTHORIZED ITEM CIVILIAN CLEANING PRODUCTS ON DIVERS LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

11 - 03 MANUFACTURING DEFECT IN LIMITED NUMBER OF TRCS TESCOM 44F5627T108 REGULATORS 

11 - 04 CHANGE TO OPNAVINST 3150.27B (DIVE JUMP REPORTING SYSTEM) 

11 - 05 CHANGE TO OPNAVINST 3150.27B (SAFETY SURVEYS) 

11 - 06 LIST OF EFFECTIVE DIVING ADVISORIES 

11 - 07 DIVING WORKING GROUP (DWG) 2011 

11 - 08 SUPPORT FOR PARTICIPATION IN DRDC EXPERIMENTAL DIVES USING TRIMIX 

11 - 09 AUTHORIZATION TO USE STANLEY DL07 SERIES UNDERWATER HYDRAULIC DRILLS 

11 - 10 PROCEDURE CHANGE FOR KM 37 NS 

11 - 11 KM-37NS AND MK-21 REGULATOR DIAPHRAGM 

11 - 12 ISSUANCE OF NEW AUTHORIZED FOR MILITARY USE (AMU) INSTRUCTION 

11 - 13 SUPPORT FOR PARTICIPATION IN DRDC EXPERIMENTAL DIVES USING TRIMIX 

All Effective Diving Advisories are located on the SUPSALV secure website: https://secure.supsalv.org/aiglist.asp