United States Navy diver A United States Navy diver or ( within the US Navy ) navy diver refers to a member of the community of unrestricted line officer ( URL officers ) , Medical Corps officers and enlisted personnel in the United States Navy who are qualified in underwater open / closed circuit breathing apparatus , deep sea type diving apparatus and saturation diving . Personnel in the navy diver ( ND rating ) are part of the Navy Special Operations ( NSO ) community . Navy divers serve at several diving platform types including ; Navy Expeditionary Combat Command ( NECC ) , Navy Special Operations / Special Warfare commands , Marine Corps dive teams , rescue / salvage and repair diving detachments , saturation diving commands and diving research / development to name a few . Some of the mission areas of the navy diver include ; deep sea underwater salvage , harbor clearance operations , in - water ship / submarine repair , demolition operations , submarine rescue , SEAL Delivery Vehicle deployment / recovery , saturation diving , experimental diving , underwater construction / welding as well as serving as diving technical experts at SEAL / Marine Corps / and United States Navy EOD diving commands . In 2006 , the U . S . Navy established a new navy diver rating . Navy divers are the foremost experts in all types of diving operations in the U . S . military and serve as the single resource managers for diving technical knowledge and training across the entire Department of Defense . Training and ratings . Navy divers are trained at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center ( NDSTC ) in Panama City , Florida . Initial training is an arduous 8 - 10 month process from when someone enters " boot camp " until they are rated as a navy diver . Although rated as an ND , navy divers are not authorized to wear the second class dive pin until they qualify as diving and salvage warfare specialist ( DSWS ) at their first assignment — this normally takes an additional 1 – 2 years . The navy diver works in extreme conditions , performing various underwater tasks ranging from underwater ship repair , underwater salvage and special operations / special warfare type diving . Because their area of operations are so varied , they can be required to utilize any type of diving equipment for use in any depth or temperature in any part of the world . Certain diving qualification allows NDs to live and work at extreme depths for days or weeks at a time , a discipline known as saturation diving . Personnel that graduate from second class or first class dive school ; and ultimately master diver comprise the rating navy diver . NDs are the in - water operators and supervisors for the various mission areas mentioned previously as their primary day to day mission is that of in - water operator and / or supervisor . There is also the diving officer designation / badge for commissioned officers . There are three enlisted diving badges / qualifications in the ND rating : Personnel in the Seabee ratings can qualify as underwater construction technician ( UCT ) . Like navy divers , UCT operators are primary in - water operators that conduct underwater construction . They also have three qualification levels with similarities to those in the navy diver rating . Navy hospital corpsmen can qualify as a diving medical technician ( DMT ) , where they are given training in medical aspects of diving . Primary responsibilities are to provide medical advice and treatment to diving personnel . They also instruct members of the diving team in first aid procedures when the presence of diving medical personnel is indicated . Additionally , there is a SCUBA diver qualification primarily for those stationed on submarines to serve as sub divers in a limited capacity . Navy SCUBA Divers are also trained at NDSTC at a 5 week course . Their duties consist primarily of conducting occasional inspections on the submarine they are stationed on . SCUBA divers maintain their Navy rating such as ET or MM as their diving NEC is a collateral duty not their primary one . U . S . navy diver physical fitness test . Diving medical personnel evaluate the fitness of divers before operations begin and are prepared to handle any emergencies which might arise . They also observe the condition of other support personnel and are alert for signs of fatigue , overexposure , and heat exhaustion . The test consists of the following carried out in the order given : Note : The times and quantities listed are for passing the screening test only . Each candidates scores are submitted and the candidates with the top scores along with ASVAB exam scores will be selected and given a navy diver contract . Passing the physical fitness test is necessary but by no means guarantees the candidate a contract . Ratings . The navy diver rating was announced in Naval Administration Message 003 / 06 and consists of sailors with the following Navy Enlisted Classification ( NEC ) designators : The effective date of the rating establishment is June 1 , 2006 for E6 - E9 sailors ( petty officer 1st class and above ) and October 1 , 2006 for E1 - E5 sailors . Enlisted rating designators . This is a listing of the paygrade , rating designator , and full rating name for Navy Divers : Officer designators . 119x - URL Officer in training for special operations qualification 114x - URL Officer qualified as a special operations officer by virtue of training in diving salvage , explosive ordnance disposal , etc .