Text and photos by

Petty Officer 1st Class NyxoLyno Cangemi

Eighth Coast Guard District External Affairs

Students meet challenges to become military scuba divers

US Coast Guard Diver

The surface of the 12-foot pool bubbles like a hot bottom of the pool each student takes his turn float-
ing up, then sinking down. The entire exercise from
tub while instructors below signal to a group of dive
students using a series of hand signals on how to start to finish looks more like a wave at a football
inflate their vest. One by one, each student slowly game set at super slow motion than a dive class.
starts floating to the surface. The instructor signals
the students to deflate the vest and again, one by ABOVE: Students prepare to dive in a 12-foot pool for scuba training
RIGHT: Two scuba students swim to the surface of a 12-foot dive pool
one, they return to the bottom. Lined up along the after performing an emergency-preparedness exercise

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feature
Six students at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in
Panama City, Florida, surface after participating in a training exer-

USCG Diver
cise in the center’s 12-foot pool. Personnel at the training center
offer several underwater diving courses to all branches of the mili-
tary, with the exception of the Navy Seals and the Green Berets

The right stuff

As a volunteer program for the Coast
Guard, any member who meets the
center’s eligibility requirements can
enroll; however, attendance is not a
guarantee of success. Enrollment into
the dive program can be a physically
and mentally challenging endeavor,
requiring a large commitment from
the students.
  “On average, about a third of the
people who enroll in the course don’t
make it through,” Roy said. “We lose
students primarily because of aca-
demics and inability to perform. We
purposely take people out of their
comfort zone while they’re here and
push them to their limit, so when
they’re in the field, if something was A bath of cleaning solution is used to sterilize scuba regulators
to happen, they won’t quit.” used by diving students at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training
  The training is tough, and everyone Center here. The regulators are cleaned after each diving exer-
is held to the same standard. Enlisted, cise at the center
officer, male, female, Navy, Coast

Instructors at the Naval Diving and members from all of the United States mil-
Salvage Center in Panama City, Florida, itary branches (with the exception of the
maintain a serious attitude about the Navy Seals and the Green Berets) come
training they conduct in turning military here to see if they have what it takes to
men and women, into certified scuba become a military certified scuba diver.
divers. Physical dive exercises can be   Prior to 9-11, Coast Guard divers took
physically demanding, and classroom to the water to perform such functions
instruction often mirrors that of a college- as hull-integrity inspections, buoy repair
level chemistry course. and ice research. With the formation of
  “Coming here is like getting your mas- the Maritime Safety and Security Teams
ters degree in diving,” said Coast Guard located throughout the country, the
Lt. Alan Fitzgerald, a student enrolled Coast Guard has increased its efforts to
in the Marine Engineering Dive Officer train and certify more of its own mem-
Course at the dive center. “The academ- bers to perform homeland security mis-
ics alone are pretty tough, because you sions.
get into all aspects of diving including   “Today, the Coast Guard has 112 bil-
physics and medicine. As far as physical lets as certified divers, and we train 40-
fitness, they train you to be strong, so you 50 Coast Guard members each year to
can handle yourself under the surface.” sustain that number,” said Chief Petty
  With courses ranging from the scuba Officer Philip Roy of the Coast Guard
certification course to the BDO course, Liaison Office at the training center.

U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Thomas Brittingham does a push-up during a physical fitness
exercise at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center here. Brittingham is one of seven
Coast Guard members enrolled in the center’s joint-service, scuba-certification course

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feature RIGHT: Coast Guard Ensign Mark Unpingco
adjusts a strap on an oxygen tank while
Petty Officer 3rd Class Shawn Price assists
USCG Diver

Two instructors at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center here test a student’s ability
to stay calm during a confidence training exercise Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006. The exercise is
designed to better prepare scuba students at the training center for real-world emergencies

U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Philip Roy

Guard—it doesn’t matter. Everyone here is Roy. “They want to get through this pro- leads a class of 25 scuba students on a run
an equal and is expected to live up to the gram, and being surrounded by that level Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006, near the Naval Diving
same physical fitness standards set forth by of energy is inspiring.” and Salvage Training Center here. Roy is a
the training center.   As with any type of military training, certified, military scuba diver and works at the
  Prior to the start of class, candidates the US Coast Guard trains its divers from training center to assist students in obtaining
must be able to successfully complete the ground zero. Regardless if students arrive their scuba certification. U.S.
minimum fitness standards, including a at the school with a recreational dive
timed fitness course. certification, they must still complete the can’t draw too many parallels between
  All aspects of training are taken very course. Previous dive experience is not a civilian and military training.”
seriously. When underwater, if an emer- requirement for school, nor will it ensure a   Lt. j.g. Rachel Beckmann recently com-
gency occurs, a diver must go through the student’s success. pleted the basic scuba course and is
proper decompression before reaching   “The level of training the students now enrolled in the Marine Engineering
the surface or he could suffer grave conse- receive is comparable to what a recrea- Dive Officer Course. “The goal of the five-
quences, yet despite the inherent dangers tional diver would,” said Roy. “But because week scuba course is to basically take
associated with underwater diving, the our student’s are training to become mili- someone with no diving experience and
atmosphere remains positive. tary divers, they have much more dive train them to be a certified diver. The
  “Being a volunteer program, the stu- time and exposure to the water than one whole course was really intense, but it felt
dents who are here, want to be here,” said would receive recreationally. You really very rewarding to complete it,” she said.

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feature USCG Diver

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Clifton Dillehay awaits instruction to begin a diving execise in a 12-foot dive pool at the Naval
Diving and Salvage Training center. Dillehay is one of 25 students at the training center enrolled in the scuba course

On the job dive teams can work independently US$150 to $240 each month while sta-
Upon completion of the course, stu- from the ship, reducing response time tioned at an operational dive unit.
dents move on to perform certain and cost, Roy said. The teams can per-   The challenge for anyone wishing to
job functions most people only read form all of the same functions as the become a military certified scuba diver
about—diving under polar ice in the tender crew can and are often flown to is great, but with successful completion,
Arctic, sweeping for explosives in the remote Pacific island locations to repair a career as a US Coast Guard diver can
nation’s ports and locating sunken and replace navigational aids dam- be a rewarding one.
buoys in a field of coral off the coast of aged by typhoons or listed in discrep-   Those strong enough to complete the
Hawaii. ancy reports. course walk away with a sense of pride
  Assignments to dive units are rate and accomplishment and will forever
specific, and a certified diver can Compensation be known as a member of the elite
be assigned to any of the US Coast Certification as a Coast Guard scuba corps of US Coast Guard divers. ■
Guard’s MSSTs, any of the service’s diver also carries with it the added
polar-class icebreakers and fourteenth benefit of a pay increase. Because of
district buoy tenders. the nature of the job, divers receive an Scuba Students await instruc-
  While stationed aboard buoy tenders, incentive pay ranging anywhere from tions on how to inflate their vest
at the bottom of a 12-foot pool

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feature

Students at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center here gather and wait for a briefing on their
next dive exercise. Twenty-five students are enrolled in the training center’s scuba course, and if they suc-
cessfully complete the course, they will re-enter the fleet as military-certified scuba divers

Do you have what it takes to be a US Coast Guard Diver?

To enroll in the Coast Guard 500 yard swim (side or breast
dive program, you must: stroke) within 14 minutes
10 minute rest
• Be an active-duty member and vol- 42 push-ups
unteer to participate in the program 2 minute rest
50 sit-ups
• Be under 35 years old 2 minute rest
6 pull-ups
• Have an ASVAB score of 10 minute rest
AR+WK=104 and MC=50 1.5 mile run within 12 minutes, 45 seconds

• Have no marks less than four Eligible candidates undergo an inter-

within the last six months view process, medical exam, physical
screening and pressure tolerance test.
• Be in any rate other than aviation Lastly, a command endorsement com-
pletes your application package.
• Be able to complete a physi- For more information on the program,
cal fitness course as outlined: please contact the US Coast Guard
Liaison Office at (850) 235-5244.

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