APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL)

“News from the Front”

OPERATION DEEP BLUE

74th Engineer Dive Detachment

Major Edward O Ziembinski 

CALL LNO to ARCENT

December 18, 2015
[1]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

Introduction/Background

The United States (U.S.) Army recognizes that controlling inland waterways and ports is vitally 

important in the contemporary military environment. For this reason, the U.S. Army established 

Engineer Dive units during World War II. Since then, U.S. Army Engineer Divers have served 

in every major U.S. conflict and fulfilled the role of providing underwater reconnaissance, 

demolition, and salvage for the U.S. Army.

The 74th Engineer Dive Detachment is currently deployed to Camp PATRIOT, Kuwait in 

support of U.S. Army Central Command (USARCENT) under the Brigade Special Troops 

Battalion (BTSB), as part of Area Support Group (ASG) Kuwait. The two main focuses of the 

74th Engineer Dive Detachment are Anti-terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) and Vessel 

Husbandry. ATFP involves diving to clear vessel berthing slots of obstacles, obstructions, and 

potential threats. Vessel husbandry includes conducting maintenance and repairs to vessels from 

all the services.

U.S. Army Engineer Divers conduct two methods of diving: self-contained underwater breathing 

apparatus (SCUBA) and surface-supply. Scuba diving involves a diver carrying air tanks, while 

surface-supply diving involves a diver using a diving helmet that is supplied with breathing gas 

and communications through an umbilical from the shore or from a support vessel. 

The three main capabilities of U.S. Army Engineer divers are:

1) Army Engineer divers are swift water diving SMEs; superior to all other services.

2) Divers have recompression chamber, which is significant capability for treating pressure 

related injuries.

3) First and foremost, they are engineers, and divers support all branches and are integral part 

of the combined arms team.

The U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) Corinth is a Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessel designed for 

amphibious operations. The USAV Corinth is capable of transporting equipment and troops to 

harbors or beachheads, and has supported several training exercises for other U.S. forces in the 

past, including the 185th Theater Aviation Brigade (TAB) and SEAL Team 10.

OPERATION DEEP BLUE

Operation DEEP BLUE was a three-week exercise that ran 23 November 

through 11 December 2015, during which the 74th Engineer Dive Detachment, 

supported by the USAV Corinth, conducted deep-sea dive training in the 

North Arabian Gulf (NAG). 

Purpose – Conduct deep-sea dive training to prepare the 74th Dive 

Detachment’s staff sergeants to become dive supervisors, dive qualified at 

the command level, and prepare for the Senior Leaders Course (SLC) and 

Master Diver evaluations. 
[2]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

Key Tasks –

1) Movement to NAG training area onboard the USAV Corinth

2) Deploy surface-support dive team in 15 fathoms (90 feet) of water

3) Conduct deep-sea surface-support dive training

4) USAV Corinth remains on-station

5) Recovery of dive team

6) Movement back to Kuwait Naval Base (KNB)

7) Conduct recompression chamber training

End-state – Staff Sergeant Engineer Divers properly trained to be dive supervisors, 

and prepared for SLC and Master Diver evaluations.

Each day of Operation DEEP BLUE began with the diver equivalent of a range briefing. For the 

training conducted on 1 December, the training planned included surface-supply diving and 

recompression chamber training. The surface-support dive briefing covered the roles and 

responsibilities of everyone involved, as well as the specific training tasks to be conducted. This 

included the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the dive site, the dive-bill (dive plan), the e-bill (the 

evacuation plan), primary dive entry and exit methods, and tasks to be conducted, and the depth 

and time limits for the day’s instruction. The roles included the stand-by diver (in case of 

emergency), the tenders (who hold the umbilical air lines and manage the divers ascent and 

decent), the console (controls main air supply and routing to the divers), the log/communications 

(who records all of the details of each dive and controls the communications system to the 

divers), the inside tender (who goes inside recompression chamber with divers in an emergency), 

and the extras (available manpower).

After the initial dive briefing, the NCOIC conducts abbreviated briefings prior to each individual 

dive in the event there have been any changes. Everyone involved in the dive is also required to 

carry a dive supervisor’s book. These books feature full dive tables that support multiple modes 

of dive operations, altitude diving, treatment for all types of pressure related injuries such as gas 

embolisms and decompression sickness, etc. Diving operations are extremely complex and 

require not only a great deal of skill on the part of the divers, but also significant proficiency in 

problem solving on the part of the support crew. The first training exercise conducted on 1 

December was surface-support dive (SSD) scenario #10.
[3]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

SSD Scenario 10: Two repeat divers leave 

surface to inspect a section of pipeline for 

damage. They surfaced from their previous 

dive to 115 feet of seawater (FSW) for 55 

minutes 12 hours ago. The previous dive was 

an in-water air/O2 dive. The pipeline at a 

depth of approximately 120 FSW runs along 

an underwater trench with a depth of 200 

FSW. Divers are inspecting the anchoring 

system for the pipeline and stability of the 

foundation along the trench. The deepest 

depth for the dive is 177 FSW. Twenty-nine 

minutes into the dive, red diver will report 

that he has cut his leg on one of the anchor 

points and is bleeding profusely. If directed to 

apply pressure to the wound, green diver can slow the bleeding. During ascent, red diver 

indicates that he feels a little dizzy at approximately 40 FSW. Green diver will let topside know 

that the bleeding has been slowed, but red diver is still losing a little blood. If the diving 

supervisor elects to perform a Sur D O2 dive, ascent from 40 FSW to the surface, the undress 

time, and recompression to 50 FSW in the chamber are normal. Five minutes into the first 1/2 

period on O2 at 50 FSW in the chamber, green diver will experience a convulsion. If the diving 

supervisor elects to complete an in-water air/O2 dive, the bleeding will continue and red diver 

will become lethargic over the communications line.

Solution: If the diving supervisor makes attempts to stop the bleeding during the undress phase, 

or locks in the medic to stop bleeding in the chamber, the bleeding will be stopped. The divers 

should be decompressed using a 120/40 sur D O2 table/schedule. Following the convulsion at 50 

FSW in the chamber, the diving supervisor should remove both divers from the O2 BIBS and 

wait for all symptoms to subside and for green diver to be fully relaxed and breathing normally. 

Both divers will ascend in the chamber to 40 FSW at 1 foot per minute (FPM). Oxygen will be 

resumed at the shallower depth at the point of interruption.

The 74th Engineer Dive Detachment repeated numerous scenarios like the situation presented 

above throughout each day of training. In order to attain the level of proficiency required to be 

an Army Master Diver, divers must be capable of responding to these types of complex 

situations. They must also be capable of reacting quickly and precisely, as the smallest detail of 

the scenario can affect the proper action or treatment for the divers.

Figure 1 Assisting a Diver with His Helmet
[4]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

Swift Water Diving

There is a considerable difference between ocean diving, where U.S. Navy divers predominately 

operates, and inland water diving, where U.S. Army Engineer divers predominately operates. 

U.S. Navy divers operate primarily in open water, are equipped with mixed gas breathing 

apparatuses, and can operate at much 

greater depths than U.S. Army divers do. 

U.S. Army Engineer divers have an 

operational limit of 190 feet, are 

equipped for swift water current 

environments, and operate primarily in 

rivers, lakes, swamps, tidal zones, ports, 

etc. Swift water diving requires items 

such as a specialized face mask that 

moves the purge button to the side, away 

from the direction of current, and allows 

for underwater communication. . River 

currents vary greatly from ocean 

currents, and Army divers are capable of 

operating in currents up to 6 knots. They 

also incorporate mountaineering skills into 

their training to cope with swift water 

currents. When operating in a river with swift currents, U.S. Army Engineer Divers are 

equipped to deploy a static line across the river, a static line to the diver, and a line to move the 

diver’s attachment to the static line across the river. 

One of the key benefits of employing Army divers is that they are highly mobile and can easily 

integrate into other Army units. Since the U.S. Army’s operational concept is Unified Land 

Operations (ULO), U.S. Army Engineer Divers focus on inland waterways and the hazards 

associated with operating in these environments. The normal operating environment for Army 

divers are rivers, lakes, and ports, and they are trained on the tactics, techniques, and procedures 

(TTPs) to overcome the dangers of swift water currents. 

During Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, U.S. Army Engineer Divers were vital to re-opening 

bridges in Iraq over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In 2003, as the Iraqi Army destroyed 

numerous bridges as they retreated. In order to rebuild the destroyed bridges, U.S. Army 

Engineer Divers were employed. The divers commenced their operations by removing debris on 

the river bed at the bridge sites. The divers also assisted in preparing the sites on the riverbed for 

the new bridges to be emplaced. They are also capable of providing underwater surveying, 

providing some repairs such as welding, etc., and can perform inspections on bridge pylons for 

the engineers.

The main reason why the U.S. Army has its own divers is to go to the places where the U.S. 

Navy does not. While U.S. Navy divers concentrate on operations at sea, U.S. Army divers 

concentrate on operations within inland waterways. Every nation in which the U.S. Army 

operates will have water features with 

Figure 2 Aiding the Dive Team Back On-Board 

the USAV Corinth
[5]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

which to contend. Within the nation of Iraq alone, there are more than 3,000 square kilometers 

of lakes and the lengths of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers encompass more than 2000 

kilometers of waterways, not to mention the thousands of kilometers of tributaries and 

aqueducts. If Blackhawk helicopter was to crash into a lake, or a tactical vehicle were to roll into 

the Euphrates River, U.S. Army Engineer Divers exist to support the recovery effort. 

Recompression Chamber Capacity

U.S. Army Engineer Dive Detachments 

also offer a valuable resource as part of 

their organic capabilities: a portable 

recompression chamber. In respect to 

capabilities with the Recompression 

Chamber, U.S. Army Engineer divers are 

on par with other services. However, the 

main advantage is that Engineer Dive 

Detachments have this capability. A 

recompression chamber, also commonly 

known as a hyperbaric chamber, is used to 

treat or to prevent decompression 

sickness.

The recompression chamber also allows 

Army Engineer Dive Detachments to conduct surface decompression, rather than forcing 

surface-supply divers to conduct decompression stops on their way to the surface of the water. 

Portable recompression chambers allows Engineer Dive Detachments to reduce the risks 

associated with conducting lengthy decompressions underwater, where the environment may be 

extremely cold or present other hazardous conditions. The 74th Engineer Dive Detachment’s 

recompression chamber capability has not only benefited their training, but has also supported 

other organizations in theater. The 74th Engineer Dive Detachment has provided recompression 

treatment to divers, aviators, and host-nation civilians. Medical units do not deploy with a 

recompression chamber, so they are dependent on this vital piece of equipment that U.S. Army 

Engineer Dive Detachments offer. 

Integral Part of the Combined Arms Team

U.S. Army Engineer Divers exist to support the mission and are valuable members of the 

combined arms team. U.S. Army Engineer Divers support every other branch. They provide 

survivability, mobility, and counter-mobility. They also provide force protection. Engineer 

Divers can assist bridging companies, provide support to Army vessels, and conduct remains 

recovery in rivers and lakes. They can support stability operations for Infantry and Armor units, 

and provide mobile assets for medical units. Engineer Divers provide water recovery support 

for Field Artillery units, and support the U.S. Army Engineer mission of providing survivability, 

mobility, and counter-mobility.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Figure 3 Interior of the Recompression 

Chamber
[6]

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

1) Integrating U.S. Army Engineer Divers in to Theater Level Planning: U.S. Army 

Engineer Divers must be integrated into planning at the Army Service Component Command 

(ASCC) and Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF). Army planners also need to understand the 

capabilities of U.S. Army Engineer Divers, and the benefit of their employment in offense, 

defense, and stability operations. Because U.S. Army Engineer Diving capabilities are 

relatively unknown throughout the larger Army community, Engineer Dive Detachment 

commanders must develop relationships throughout their assigned area of operations (AO). 

Even U.S. Navy Central (USNAVCENT) has dispatched Coast Guard vessels to receive 

support from the 74th Engineer Dive Detachment. While scuba provides the benefit of being 

very mobile and quick to respond, surface-supply is required for more dangerous and 

cumbersome missions. Additionally, any recovery operation in water over chest deep will 

require an Engineer Dive Detachment. Army planners must understand the roles and 

capabilities of U.S. Army Engineer Divers. They must also appreciate how to employ these 

units for ATFP and inland underwater operations such as demolition, reconnaissance, and 

salvage.

2) Reciprocal Support Relationships: The 74th Engineer Dive Detachment has developed 

reciprocal relationships with the Harbor Master at Kuwait Naval Base, as well as with the 

majority of the U.S. Army vessel stationed there, to provide vessel husbandry. The dive 

detachment has benefited through vessel support for their training and ATFP missions. The 

74th Engineer Dive Detachment has also focused on developing relationships with other units 

such as the theater aviation brigade to facilitate training for both the dive detachment and the 

other units involved.

3) DEEP BLUE Exercise and SALVAGE Exercise: An identified best practice for U.S. Army 

Engineer Dive Detachments deployed to USARCENT is the execution of a DEEP BLUE 

exercise and a SALVAGE exercise. Given the current operational tempo in the USARCENT 

AO, there is limited time available for dive detachments to conduct training. However, the 

return on investment from these two key exercises is substantial. U.S. Army Engineer Dive 

Detachments benefit from the training for individual divers, diving teams, and the available 

resources to conduct training.

Conclusion

Overall, Operation DEEP BLUE was an excellent training exercise for the 74th Engineer Dive 

Detachment. The 74th Dive Detachment developed their divers, prepared them for SLC and 

Master Diver Qualifications, and developed TTPs for conducting DEEP BLUE exercises in 

theater.