2 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

SUPSALSUPSALV SENDSV SENDSV SENDS“Are our last salvage ships REALLYgonna get transferred to MSC?”

rescue towing of surface combatants, and(b) harbor clearance/channel clearancepermitting rapid throughput of strategiclogistics.

COST EFFICIENCY – Careful exami-nation confirms that converting the SAFE-GUARD Class salvage ships to MilitarySealift Command operations will be lessexpensive to the U.S. Navy than retainingthem as commissioned vessels. And thereis little doubt that if MSC recognizesthese specialty ships are not simplysmaller ships of the logistics force, but arepurpose-designed and built for the haz-ards of combat-salvage, then MSC coulddevelop, fund, and implement a “salvageship master” training program to ensurecivilian mariners are trained as profes-sional salvors to competently operate oursalvage ships. But the greatest unknownremains determining the critical size of theuniformed salvage force aboard salvageships for actual wartime salvage.

For years, our T-ATFs have beenmanned by 16-person Mobile Diving andSalvage Unit detachments. However, therecent experience of USS GRAPPLE (ARS53) supporting the DDX Weapons EffectsTests (WET) on EX-USS PETERSON (seerelated article) revealed that every memberof GRAPPLE’s 100-person crew was re-quired (directly or indirectly) to controland contain fires and flooding on EX-PETERSON after intentionally exploding awarhead – and even with careful limita-tions on hull damage to keep this testship from severe flooding. The EX-PETERSON operation was a wake-up callto an increasing demand on our afloat sal-vage force manning, especially as our war-ship crews become much smaller - evenwith the advanced, autonomous damagecontrol and fire fighting systems demon-strated on EX-PETERSON.

(“SUPSALV SENDS” continued on page 13)

That’s the most frequent question Ihear around the salvage Fleet today. Andit is not surprising. The U.S. Navy salvageforce has continuously included commis-sioned salvage ships since before WWII.During the last two decades, however, theNavy has reduced the number of activeduty salvage ships from greater thantwenty ships all the way down to the fourships of the USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50)Class. As of this writing, CFFC andOPNAV are in the midst of determiningwhether ARS 50s remain commissionedvessels or are converted for Military SealiftCommand (MSC) operations.

Those discussions principally in-volve two issues: (1) what are the U.S.Navy’s wartime requirements for afloat sal-vage platforms, and (2) what is the mostcost-efficient means to meet that wartimerequirement?

WARTIME SALVAGE SHIP RE-QUIREMENTS – Due to the classified na-ture of this issue, not everything can besummarized in FACEPLATE. What I cansay is that the official campaign analysisused to address future force requirementsfor salvage ships makes assumptionsabout the number of battle-damaged sur-face ships in need of salvage/rescue tow-ing. And it omits completely a second criti-cal role of salvage ships – harbor clear-ance and opening of blocked navigationchannels – an Achilles heel of our relianceon “rapid strategic logistics” supplied byU.S. and allied shipping. Until the SEAPOWER 21 vision is no longer dependenton access to channels, ports, harbors, andberths, a capable salvage force is still re-quired. What’s missing is a quantificationof the near-simultaneous, wartime require-ment for both (a) battle damage recovery/

In This IssueSUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2Military Sealift Command ............................... 3From the Editor .............................................. 4Battle Damage Repair at Sea ........................ 5USS Hartford Grounded ................................ 7Navy-Trained Divers Commercial Cards ....... 8

Both Divers Leaving the Bottom! ................. 10“20,000 Jobs Under the Sea” Museum ....... 11Propeller Hub Removal ................................ 12Rapture of the Deep .................................... 14Diving System Certification Corner ............. 15Hard Hat History .......................................... 16

Command in the Spotlight ............................ 17The Old Master ............................................ 18Jake’s Corner ............................................... 18From the Supervisor of Diving .................... 19

FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisorof Salvage and Diving to make the latest andmost informative news available to the Navydiving and salvage community. Discussions orillustrations of commercial products do notimply endorsement by the Supervisor ofSalvage and Diving or the U.S. Navy.

Articles, letters, queries and comments shouldbe directed to the Commander, Naval SeaSystems Command, NAVSEA 00C, 1333Isaac Hull Ave. SE Stop 1070, WashingtonNavy Yard, DC 20376-1070. (Attn:FACEPLATE). Visit our website at http://www.supsalv.org. To view an electronicversion of Faceplate in PDF format go to ourwebsite and click on the word “Faceplate”located in the left hand column. This link willdirect you to our list of Faceplate issues.

Captain Jim Wilkins, USNDirector of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and DivingNAVSEA 00C

wilkinsjr@navsea.navy.mil

Captain Mark Helmkamp, USNSupervisor of Diving

Editor In Chiefhelmkampmt@navsea.navy.mil

LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret)Managing Editor

jimbladhsr@aol.com

BMCM (MDV) Steve Smith, USNBMCM(SW/MDV) Fred K. Orns, USN

Fleet Liaison Editorssmithss@navsea.navy.milornsfk@navsea.navy.mil

Zoya GorbunovaProduction Editor

zgorbunova@roh-inc.com

Otto C. AdamsGraphic Designer

oadams@roh-inc.com

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 3

Towing, salvage, and diving is achallenging profession requiring

unique knowledge and an extensive skillset. This business comes with inherentoperational risks that add greatly to thechallenge. Long lists of lost or floodingtows, parted lines and wires, Diveraccidents, etc., can make for entertainingbarroom sea stories or tragic reading ininvestigative reports.There has beenmuch speculation why these types ofaccidents happen, and to what extent theywere attributable to inexperienced officersin executive and command positions. Wecan also debate how much experience andtraining is enough. While experience doesnot guarantee accidents will not occur,data does show a clear correlation be-tween safety and experience. Regardlessof the arguments, experience counts, andthe Navy must keep it a manning priority.

In this article we will try and stayaway from the debate of “intangibles” andstick to presenting a case for transitioningthe ARS 50 Class salvage ship to MilitarySealift Command as the best way toensure the Navy maintains its organictowing and salvage capability. Simplystated, Military Sealift Command, with theappropriate Mobile Diving and SalvageUnit (MDSU) augmentation, can operatethe ARS at full mission capability with farmore bridge and deck experience whilegreatly increasing the operational availa-bility to Fleet Commanders and reducingcosts to the Navy.

BACKGROUND PERSPECTIVE

Throughout the years the experience levelin Navy salvage ships has varied for anumber of reasons. Today our manningpolicy results in the lowest level ofexperience in the primary mission areassince before World War II. The SpecialOperations Community (1140) providedthe experienced diving and salvageofficers to man and command salvageships for the past twenty years.

By: CAPT Mike Freeman, Navy Harbor Pilot, and CAPT Mike Herb, USN

W e , t h eauthors, bothcommandedARS 38 andARS 50 Classsalvage ships,and each wasa q u a l i f i e dNavy Diverwith 10+ yearsat sea andthree differentsalvage shiptours beforetaking com-mand of ourrespective ARS 50 Class salvage ship. Wepoint this out not to sell our resume, butrather to show what the typical experiencelevel was for a commanding officer. TheSPECOPS community is no longer willingor able to provide qualified salvageofficers in XO or CO billets. The currentcommand assignment policy provides acommanding officer who is well qualified inthose aspects common to all surfaceships, but who must rely on members ofhis or her crew for knowledge andexperience in the towing, diving, andsalvage business.

Another problem that exacerbatesthe lack of experience on salvage ships isthat strong “back-up” is no longerassured. In the eighties, it was notunusual to have a Master Diver who wason his 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th salvage shiptour; a Bos’n with decades of experienceand many other of our senior enlisted hadmultiple salvage ship tours. With onlyfour USN salvage ships throughout thepast 8 to 10 years; this is no longer thecase.

In our Navy we strive to assign themost qualified officers to command. Thisqualification is the result of years oftraining and experience. Submarinequalified officers command submarines.Surface warfare officers command surfacecombatants. In the aviation community, it

USS GRASP (ARS 51).

gets more specialized. Helicopter qualifiedofficers command helicopter squadrons,P-3 aviators command P-3 squadrons,fighter/attack aviators command VFsquadrons. “Know your stuff” is one ofthe foremost qualities of a leader. Yet, on acyclic basis, we assign officers tocommand salvage ships that have neverperformed an open ocean or rescue tow,never planned and supervised a divingoperation, never retracted a grounded ship– the primary missions of their newcommand.

MOVING FORWARD TO FUTURE

A best solution for today and into tomor-row – transfer operation of the ARS 50Class ships to Military Sealift Command(MSC).

This concept is not ground breaking.With the transfer of last AOE 6 this sum-mer and the decommissioning of the lastAOE 1 in FY’06, MSC will be operating theNavy’s entire Combat Logistic Fleet. Othernon-combatants such as submarine ten-ders and even command ships are understudy. The four ARS 50 Class salvageships are a natural fit. MSC already oper-ates the five T-ATF Class ships, with a pri-mary mission of ocean towing and second-

Proven capability

Military Sealift Commandin the Future of Shipboard Diving and Salvage

A p r i l 2 0 0 4

ary mission of salvage. During diving andsalvage operations using the T-ATF, theMSC Master retains full responsibility forthe safe navigation and maneuvering ofthe vessel, but a qualified Navy Officer inCharge is responsible for planning and ex-ecution of diving and salvage operations.Two of the T-ATFs, USNS MOHAWK andAPACHE, with MDSU TWO detachmentsand fly-away DLSS regularly deploy as thesalvage asset to Sixth Fleet. Like the Com-bat Logistics ships and T-ATFs, the ARSwould remain Government Owned andGovernment Operated, or GO/GO, andwould be operated by Government ServiceCivilian Mariners or CIVMARs.

Experience

Placing all towing and salvage platformsunder a single Type Commander createssynergy. Under MSC, crews of profes-sional licensed and unlicensed mariners,whose experience in towing and salvage isnot measured in months, but in years ordecades, will operate all our salvage ships.Having a sub-critical mass of only the fiveT-ATFs creates a challenge for MSC inmaintaining the optimum experience levelamong their deck officers in towing andsalvage. With the addition of the ARS 50Class, MSC would have nine ships,greatly enhancing the development oftheir cadre of deck officers to optimallyoperate these ships. MSC CIVMARs arelicensed and experienced mariners and T-ATF Masters already carry Coast Guardtowing endorsements on their licenses.MSC wants to improve on this base and isfinalizing a training course for Masters andMates assigned to the tugs. This training,which will be expanded for the ARS, in-cludes towing and salvage uniqueshiphandling, operational planning,MDSU and SUPSALV operations. Thetraining will consist of classroom, simula-tor, and underway training.

Increased OPTEMPO

A significant benefit of MSC operation ofthe ARS 50 Class salvage ships is that realoperational availability would more thandouble. MSC guarantees their ships to the

Fleet for OPCON 270 days a year for task-ing as the operational commander desires.Transferring the Diver billets from theARSs to the Mobile Diving and SalvageUnits provides for more deployable de-tachments, with an increase in flexibility torespond to diving and salvage require-ments worldwide.

Providing T-ATF and T-ARS plat-forms on a rotating basis to supportMDSU training requirements will keep thereadiness edge sharp, both for the MDSUdetachments and the T-ATF/T-ARS crews.The really good news is that you get thisincreased operational availability and im-proved readiness at a reduced cost to theNavy.

Cost

Although secondary to operational readi-ness, fiscal realities cannot be overlooked.From the CNO Guidance for 2004, it is clearthat we must pursue smarter ways to opti-mize readiness at lower cost. MSC can op-erate the ARS 50 Class salvage ships atlower cost and the increased operationalavailability allows us to more effectivelysize the salvage force structure. The Cen-ter for Naval Analysis (CNA) published apreliminary report in December 2003 thatshows a potential savings of $14M to$24M per year. These saving estimatestake into account the additional manningrequired at MDSUs. They are somewhatconservative in that potential additionalsavings from force reductions resultingfrom increased employability are not ac-counted for.

This article is the opinion of the authors anddoes not represent the position of SEA 00C.

mand experience and skills. Transitioningthe ARS 50 Class salvage ships to MSCoperation and the resulting partnershipwith the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unitsis the best way for us to ensure our war-time and peacetime operational salvage ca-pability is preserved for the future.

Both Freeman and Herb are Naval Academygraduates, qualified Surface Warfare Officers,Special Operations Officers, and Divers.Between the two of them they served on andcommand nine different salvage ships.

It is a true pleasure to be back assisting theSupervisor of Diving, Captain MarkHelmkamp, as the Managing Editor forFACEPLATE. Our purpose is to get theword out about the support and accomplish-ments provided by Navy Divers. As youread through these pages, bear in mind thatthe stories published in FACEPLATE areonly a fraction of the work completed byNavy Divers. Much of the work will neverbe known due to its classification or the re-luctance to record it. Help us remedy thissituation by sending us articles relating yourexperiences, successes, lessons learned andwhat it takes to get the job done. Faceplate islimited only by the input that we receivefrom you in the Fleet. Let us hear from you.

We recently received from Mr. DougHuff, Director of the Museum of Man in theSea, Panama City, Florida, copies of pastFACEPLATEs, dating back to May 1956.We are exploring ways to make them easilyavailable to you. They contain a lot of his-tory and interesting reading and should proveto be excellent reference material.

I wish to thank all of you for yourcontinued interest and support. Remember:When you submit an article, we are lookingfor photos with captions and a brief bio ofthe article’s author.

From The Managing Editor

By: LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret)

All things considered, it is the right thingto do. Sailors who have spent years sail-ing on Navy salvage ships feel in theirheart that there should be a Naval Officerin command and dungaree Sailors at thehelm. History and traditions of Navy div-ing and salvage run long, deep, andproud; however, our first priority must bereadiness. The intangible benefit of havingpure USN salvage ships is not worth therisks associated with the perishing com-

BOTTOM LINE

Michael D. Freeman holds a Master, Oceans,Unlimited Tonnage license and is currently aFirst Class Pilot with the U.S. Navy. He retiredfrom the Navy in 1998 with the rank of Com-mander. CAPT Michael C. Herb is currentlyDeputy Program Manager, Naval Fleet Auxil-iary Force at MSC.

4

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 5

A ll Navy ships spend hours training on defensive systems and response tobattle damage. Damage control efforts arealways manpower intensive, but are par-ticularly so when faced with damage as-sociated with the explosive capability oftoday’s high-powered missile systems.As weapons become more powerful andcrew size is decreased, manpower fordamage control will become a major con-cern on board Navy ships. Ships will al-ways need an organic fire fighting anddamage control capability but smallercrews will become more dependent on sal-vage assets for fire fighting and damagecontrol support and relief. The ability ofan ARS to respond to such a situationwas partially tested during Weapons Ef-fect Test (WET) conducted onboard EX-PETERSON in January. The crew of theUSS GRAPPLE (ARS 53) was tasked withproviding fire boundary monitoring, firefighting, damage control, and salvage ef-forts to prevent EX-PETERSON from sink-ing or failing to meet established return toport criteria during the WET evaluation.Blast and fire damage are severe and un-predictable and a real life salvage and firefighting situation takes even more man-power and time to get under control thana WET. GRAPPLE had the advantage ofstudying the specifics of the test sce-

Hull damage from blast. Crack arrestors (external hull stiffeners)were installed previously to limit damage based on pre-testpredictions.

nario, pre-test dam-age and fire spreadpredictions conduct-ing fire boundaryt eam rehea r sa l s ,a n d p r e - s t a g i n gsome fire fightinga n d d e w a t e r i n gequipment.

The purpose ofthe WET was to testthe ability of an Au-tonomic Fire Sup-pression System ind e v e l o p m e n t f o rpossible use in theDD (X) program. Athreat representativesized warhead was placed inside the hullof EX-PETERSON and detonated to simu-late an ASCM casualty. EX-PETERSONwas rigged with sophisticated test equip-ment to monitor and record the effects ofthe explosion, and corresponding re-sponse of the fire fighting system. A postexplosion survey was also required aspart of the WET. In order to accomplishthis survey all fires would have to be ex-tinguished and required damage controlactions completed to keep the ship safelyafloat. This challenging task was as-signed to the crew of USS GRAPPLE.

Providing off-ship fire fighting atsea to EX-PETERSONwas no easy matter.Boarding the dam-aged ship from USSGRAPPLE with the re-quired salvage andfire fighting equip-ment required care-ful planning. Muchof the equipment waspre-staged to maximizepersonnel safety inconducting the fireboundary monitoring.Still, the salvage crewneeded to be familiar

with small boat operations and transfers atsea, then familiarize themselves with thelayout of the ship and the extent of thedamaged area. Equipment transferred in-cluded fire fighting hoses, de-smokingequipment, Scott Air Packs, Fire FightingEnsembles (FFEs), and life jackets. Lastly,the response team needed to extinguishall fires and patch external hull damage.

EX-PETERSON was towed over fiftymiles off the coast of Florida and posi-tioned where depths exceeded a thousandfathoms. GRAPPLE was stationed 2 milesfrom EX-PETERSON when the warheadwas detonated. After detonation, the on-scene test conductor waited for test sys-tems response. After this response periodwas over, the GRAPPLE team was calledin. GRAPPLE Commanding Officer LCDRKevin Robinson established commandand control in GRAPPLE. The responseteam was lead by GRAPPLE’s ExecutiveOfficer LT Matt Rick using rigid inflatableboats to ferry the response team to theseverely damaged ship. GRAPPLE de-ployed three salvage and rescue teamscomposed of twelve to fifteen personneleach for the fire fighting and damage con-trol efforts. These teams were composedof personnel from all divisions inGRAPPLE, temporarily assigned person-nel from MDSU-2, SIMA Mayport, and

Damage Control and Planning Leaders for the recovery operation.

FRONT ROW: LT Matt Rick, ENS Lori Bentzel, LTJG Sean Kido, DCCS (SW) Jeffery Yaun,HTC (DSW/SW) John Coffelt, LCDR Kevin Robinson (CO).BACK ROW: DCCS (DSW/SW) Randy Duncan, BMCS (DSW/SW/MDV) Mark Leet,LCDR Brian Lawrence, DC1 (SW) Steve Rose.

6 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

LCDR Onofrio Anastasio is the Diving andSalvage Officer at CLF/CNSL.

USS GRAPPLE along side EX-PETERSON while moving hull plating into place.

Mayport fire fighting school. LTJG SeanKido, MDV Mark Leet, DCCS (SW) Jef-frey Yaun, DCCS (DSW/SW) RandyDuncan, and DC1 (SW) Steven Rose ledfire fighting and assessment parties.

Once on-board, the teams immedi-ately established smoke and fire bound-aries and established a command post.Next the response team deployed investi-gators to conduct damage and fire sur-veys. Despite the ship being offloaded offuel and equipment that would normallyignite under explosive conditions, numer-ous fire hazards existed including threehundred forty-five gallons of heptane tosimulate onboard fuels and unspentrocket fuel. Investigators encountered se-vere fires, dense smoke, and a significantamount of debris blocking passages andladder wells. In addition, investigatorshad to overcome bowed and jammed wa-ter tight doors and hatches, damaged anddestroyed decks along with a dangerousamount of sharp metal debris scatteredthroughout the detonation area. Once ini-tial investigations were complete, theGRAPPLE response team spent the nexttwelve hours putting out residual fires,overhauling the fires, and setting re-flashwatches. Two teams combated the fires.These teams alternated efforts every twohours until all fires were extinguished.The third team rotated boundary watchesand conducted routine investigations tomonitor flooding and damage. Some mem-bers of the fire fighting teams expendedup to fifteen forty-five minute SCBAbottles in their efforts.

While fire fighting efforts were un-derway, a fourth team in GRAPPLE beganplanning efforts on how the external hulldamage would be patched. While the fireparties and repair team tended to EX-PETERSON, a fifth team of eight person-nel maintained a continuous ferry of sup-plies to the damage control party. Thisteam transferred SCBA bottles to andfrom EX-PETERSON along with food,fresh water, and other supplies packagedand prepared by GRAPPLE’s Supply De-partment.

Remaining GRAPPLE crewmemberswere employed on at-sea watch stations.Before all fires were extinguished,

GRAPPLE tied up alongside the driftingvessel and used her Monitor fire fightingsystem to cool the blast area. This eventwas not over when the fires were out.The explosion blew a sizeable holethrough the exterior hull above the water-line, as predicted. After the area wascooled, the fourth team led by HTC(DSW/SW) John Coffelt patched the holeusing GRAPPLE’s boom to position 4’ x 8’sheets of 3/8” thick mild steel over thehole in the side shell for welding. Thiswelding event was necessary to provideenough freeboard to bring the damagedship safely back to port. Upon completingpatching operations, the response teamsand crew were noticeably fatigued, butresponse operations were still required.Stability calculations and a below water-line hull survey remained. After taking ona significant amount of water from hulldamage and fire fighting efforts, stabilityof the ship was in question.

Stability calculations were con-ducted by NAVSEA 00C Salvage Engi-neer LCDR Brian Lawrence. The Programof Ship Salvage Engineering (POSSE) soft-ware was used to develop a dewateringand stability plan. After meeting stabilityrequirements, GRAPPLE safely towed EX-PETERSON back to port.

The GRAPPLE crew executed thishigh-risk exercise flawlessly; completingnumerous personnel transfers, live firefighting and damage control efforts, and

major repairs with no injuries or equip-ment damage; all in an uncontrolled open-ocean environment. The DD (X) WETgave the GRAPPLE crew the opportunityto do what it was designed to do — con-duct at-sea combat salvage operations ona stricken vessel. LCDR Kevin Robinsonapproached the operation as a USS COLEtype scenario with the additional complex-ity of dealing with open-ocean conditionsin 2 to 4 foot swells.

Only necessary accommodationswere made for safety purposes to distin-guish this evolution from a real worldincident yet the most important lessonlearned from this operation was clear: in acombat damage scenario, this evolutionrequires all hands for an intensive andsustained period of time. This wassummed up by USS GRAPPLE’s Com-mand Senior Chief BMCS (DSW/SW/MDV) Mark Leet: “When we get the callto execute, there are no individual ratings.We are all Salvors until the vessel is inport.”

As the next generation of Navy shipsget smarter and crew size decreases, theFleet will benefit from a mobile and highlyskilled response force to enter the combattheater and provide casualty assistance.This force will require ships with theresponse capabilities and dedicated crewsuch as that aboard USS GRAPPLE.

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 7

In October, USS HARTFORD (SSN 768)sustained damage while operating near

Caprera, Sardegna, Italy and returned tothe Naval Support Activity La Maddalenawhere Divers stationed on USS EMORY S.LAND (AS 39) were called to inspect thecondition of the boat. Divers discovereddamage to the lower rudder, hull coatings,openings, and appendages. It was clearthat the extensive damage would requirehelp from many areas of expertise.

NAVSEA 00C immediately mobilizedunderwater cutting and welding equipmentfrom the Emergency Ship Salvage Materi-als (ESSM) bases located in Livorno, Italy,Cheatham Annex, Virginia, and Bahrain.In addition NAVSEA mobilized technicalpersonnel from Washington, DC, Norfolk,VA, and Bayou Vista, Louisiana to coordi-nate, direct, and assist in repairs.

While specialized equipment and per-sonnel were in transit, E. S. LAND Diverscompleted a detailed damage inspection.The results were submitted to the Squad-ron, SUBLANT, and NAVSEA. Back atNAVSEA headquarters in the WashingtonNavy Yard, a team of over 30 engineers re-sponsible for the affected ship systemsgathered to evaluate the damage and de-velop repair requirements to make the boat

By: Mr. Tom McCue (00C55)

(USS HARTFORD GROUNDED continued on page 9)

ready for a safe transit to Norfolk, whereextensive drydock repairs would be ac-complished.

FTSCLANT assisted E. S. LANDDivers and ships force to conduct athorough evaluation of the steering gearand its operation. NAVSEA 00C providedon-scene technical direction and coordina-tion to the team of 14 Navy Divers and 14contract Diver/welders in this rareopportunity for Fleet Divers to work in

c o n c e r t w i t hc o m m e r c i a lD i v e r s . T h ee x p e r i e n c eof both resourcescomplementedeach other andgreatly contrib-uted to the rapidsuccess of thiscomplex repair.Working round-the-clock underintense pressure,t h e c o h e s i v eteam of Diversconducted 213dives and over

466 hours of bottom time inspecting andrepairing the boat in a two-week period.All work was done under the close sur-veillance of NAVSEA’s technical directorfor submarines who, uponcompletion of the repairs,granted permission for the shipto return to CONUS with only afew operational restrictions.

Damage forward includedmain ballast tank grates missingfasteners and hinges, a circum-ferential crack in the non-pressure hull adjacent to theforward ballast tanks, and dam-aged hydrophones. Damagecontinued aft with over 600square feet of tile damage andended with a twisted and torn

rudder, which was hard up on the hull andinoperable.

E. S. LAND Divers were responsiblefor a multitude of tasks includinginspection and documentation of alldamage, repair, and replacement ofhydrophones, removal of damaged tile,removal of a large area of the damagedrudder plating, and the removal of the topsection of the rudder to allow the rudder tooperate without contacting the hull.Phoenix welder/Divers were responsiblefor the trimming and fairing of the damageon the bottom of the lower rudder, thenon-destructive testing of numerouscracks in the proximity of the main ballasttanks, and the welding of the ballast tankgrates.

The lower rudder had the mostcatastrophic damage. E. S. LAND Diversdiscovered that approximately 25 percentof the lower rudder was twisted, torn, anddented. There were multiple areas of platedeformation on the sides of the rudder andthe top of the rudder was contacting withthe hull. Based on these inspectionresults, NAVSEA on-scene technicalrepresentatives developed a repair planconsisting of removal of the top of therudder to increase the clearance betweenthe rudder and the hull, and to remove thedamaged section of the bottom of therudder.

Damage to bottom of rudder.

USS EMORY S. LAND Diver burning top of rudder toincrease clearance from hull.

A p r i l 2 0 0 4

The commercial diving industry of theUnited States is well and prospering.

It is an industry in which the vast majorityof participants has committed to assuringthe highest levels of safety, but is alsocontinually seeking the input of properlytrained and experienced personnel to fillboth operational and managerial positions.

In reality, many commercial divingcompanies owe their longevity to the ef-forts of former U.S. Navy trained Divers –personnel who, while on active duty,served in all the various diving positionsincluding those of Master Diver and Div-ing Officer. That fact is a testimonial to thetraining received, to their can-do attitude,and to their leadership abilities.

In 1999 the Association of DivingContractors International initiated a Com-mercial Diver Certification Card program toserve as documented evidence that hold-ers of such a card had received properformal training, on-the-job training,and had gained the necessary experi-ence to “fleet up” from Entry-LevelTender/Diver (a new graduate of aschool) through Diver and to DivingSupervisor. Further; that process pro-vided for each of the categories of Air,Mixed Gas, and Bell/Saturation diving.These cards are recognized interna-tionally and are referenced in U.S.Army Corps of Engineers Diving Pro-

cedures, in theOSHA definition ofwhat constitutes aproperly trainedand experiencedcommercial Diver,and also insertedinto bid documentsas a required proofthat Divers em-ployed on the jobwill be properlytrained and experi-enced. Beginning in

2000 ADCI discussed with U.S. Navy offi-cial implementation of a system wherebyNavy Divers, or other Divers trained atU.S. Navy diving schools, could also be-come certified under the system and thushave a “leg up” when separating or retir-ing from active duty. That “leg up” wouldbe by the fact that these individuals couldthen seek direct entry into the commercialdiving industry to hold a position appro-priate to their training and experi-ence. The Commanding Officer of NavalDiving and Training Center at the time(now SUPDIVE) Captain Helmkamp wasextremely helpful and enthusiastic in mov-ing to initiate the cooperative relationshipbetween NDTC and ADCI.

As a result of discussions, a letter tothe Navy Diving & Salvage Training Cen-ter on 30 March 2001 stated in part, “bytransmittal of this letter I invite any and all

qualified U.S. Navy Divers to make appli-cation for the appropriate certificationcards in accordance with ADCI Standards.If appropriate, ADCI would also acceptapplication for issuance of the appropriatecards by the U.S. Navy Diving and Sal-vage Training Center prior to graduationof the students so as to facilitate bulk ship-ment of the appropriate cards for issuanceat graduation.”

Unfortunately, as we all know, it wasnot too many months after that letter thatwe experienced an attack on our nationwith emphasis then shifting to the require-ment of further protecting our nation andour way of life. As a result of thataction,coupled with other significantprojects assigned to the U.S. Navy divingcommunity, implementation of the programdiscussed was somewhat overlooked. Af-ter recently discussing this with CaptainWilkins, Captain Murray, and CaptainHelmkamp we all agree that now is the timeto correct this oversight and to move for-ward in a positive direction.

Notice of the program has spread itsway across the diving communities ofthe Navy and Army. Since initiation cardshave been issued in response to applica-tions, however, not in great quantity. It isfor that reason that this information isnow being made available in a better-pub-licized manner.

By: Ross Saxon, Ph.D., LCDR, USN (Ret.)

Navy-Trained Divers Commercial Certification Cards

The Program

It was originally envisioned thatupon graduation from Naval Divingand Salvage Training Center eachgraduate would be furnished a formwith the graduation certificate in orderthat he or she might apply for an ADCICertification Card at the level of EntryLevel Tender/Diver. That form wouldbe submitted to ADCI together with a$25.00 fee, photograph in hard or digi-tal form, application, and copy of thegraduation certificate.

8

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 9

(USS HARTFORD GROUNDED continued from page 7)

Photos provided by: CWO3 Frank Perna(USS Emory S. Land)

In order to increase the clear-ance between the rudder and thehull, a fairing plate had to be trimmedoff the top of the rudder. Divers cutapproximately 13 feet of the fairingplate off the top of the rudder.

Divers descended towards thebottom of the rudder and preparedto remove the extensive damage tothe plating and internal structure ofthat section of the rudder. E. S.LAND Divers installed an elaboratestage to work from while theyburned off the projected and foldedsections of plate and removed anycoating in way of the repairs. Thisproved to be a labor-intensive task.Divers peeled off the coating and cleanedthe base metal to a white finish to facilitatearc gouging the plate and internal mem-bers. With the damaged section of the rud-der prepared, Phoenix welder/Divers pro-ceeded to cut off the plating and internalstructure with an arc gouger. Phoenixwelder/Divers then installed internal

stiffeners and backing plates to theexisting structure, templated the profile ofthe rudder and installed the new bottomplate with the NAVSEA approved under-water wet welding procedure utilizing theSanvek Aquasan 5A nickel electrode andOxy-Lance underwater coating.

Upon completion of all repairs theship conducted a short sea trial, reported

Mr. McCue is the hull cleaning programmanager within the UWSH Division ofNAVSEA 00C.

no significant problems, and re-turned to the site so E. S. LANDDivers could perform a quick rud-der clearance inspection. With sat-isfactory results, the ship immedi-ately departed for transit back toCONUS and is currently in drydockundergoing extensive repairs. The success of this underwa-ter ship husbandry operation wasgreatly attributed to the profession-alism and talents of these twounique diving organizations andtheir ability to work side-by-side toimplement a well engineered repairplan. The future of underwater shiphusbandry can benefit as we bring

similar expertise together in future opera-tions.

Divers arc gouging damaged stiffener from lower sectionof rudder.

An individual that completes the 1st

Class Diver Course would, upon gradua-tion, be eligible for immediate applicationfor the Surface Supplied Mixed Gas DiverCard (if not already in possession by ac-tual performance) based on his or her prior2nd Class Diver training and experiencehaving satisfied the Entry Level Tender/Diver requirement.

Active duty Divers who have gainedexperience in a work environment wouldbe eligible to apply for a Surface SuppliedAir Diver, or Surface Supplied Mixed GasDiver, or Bell/Saturation Diver card bysubmission of the ADCI application form,photograph, $25.00 fee, and a docu-mented record that they had the requisitefield time and actual working dives tomove into the higher level category.

Active duty Divers who have gainedexperience in a work environment whereoperations are of a nature that they couldbe considered equivalent to the conductof commercial activity – such as underwa-ter ships husbandry, salvage, or related

companies seek as primary. Please realizethat your abilities or willingness to be inthe water may at some time decrease butmanagerial and leadership abilities willcontinue. It is therefore important whenseeking civilian employment to stressboth.

Photos provided by:

Ross Saxon is the Vice Chairman ofthe Association of Diving ContractorsInternational.

Detailed information on this programis available at http://www.adc-int.org byclicking on the ADCI home page and thenclicking on “Certification Card Informa-tion Application” link on the left side ofthe page.

In closing, the commercial divingcommunity believes that our active dutycounterparts should be given every op-portunity to become a part of our commu-nity when they separate or retire from ac-tive duty. To that end, it is our responsi-bility to aid and assist each individual totake that course of action, should they sodesire. Not only are you a highly trainedand experienced Diver but also an indi-vidual with a demonstrated ability to man-age and to lead - important qualities many

Information and Application

activities could make application for anADCI Surface Supplied Air, Mixed Gas, orBell/Saturation Supervisor card in thesame manner as above.

Epic Divers of Harvey, Louisiana.

1 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

We will soon mark departure from 300feet on mixed gas here at NDSTC.

This capability, dormant since the early90’s, is only one of the initiatives theschoolhouse is undertaking to improvediver training in support of the Revolutionin Training. The changes we are in theprocess of implementing will build on analready strong program and perfectly alignour training methodology and contentwith the intentions of Sea Warrior.

Under the aegis of the Center forExplosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving,NDSTC is now free to concentrate fully onthe business of providing an underwatereducation in diving. We are theDepartment of Defense’s primary sourcefor entry level, apprentice, journeyman,and master level training in work beneaththe sea. As such, we will continue toprovide training to all the armed forcesand civilians in their employ. In order tomeet the needs of our varied customers,we are working towards several changesto the way we do business.

One of the initiatives we are going toexploit is termed “a la carte” or“modularized” training. This trainingprocess builds on the common trainingelements in most of our courses, and willallow us to tailor training to the specificbillet or job description of the prospective

Diver. As an example, we may offer nearlycontinuous SCUBA training, classing upas minimum class size is obtained.

Upon graduation the newly qualifiedSCUBA Diver either goes to the Fleet orcontinues on to more extensive training insurface supplied diving, EOD, or somecom-bination suiting the graduate’sprospective orders. This method oftraining will reduce the delay for Diversset-back for minor academic or physicalproblems, and to some extent will allowfor variations in the pace at which thestudent can absorb the material; no longerwill a strong prospect need to be droppedfor academic or similar minor deficiencies.

Our training policies emphasize thevalue of time underwater, and we’reexpanding the opportunities to learn viarealistic training environments. Studentsin the near future will experience morebottom time doing a wider variety ofprojects in an expanded range ofenvironments. Weather permitting, we willconduct all open sea diving, includingsurface supplied, over one of the manywrecks available in the nearby Gulf ofMexico. We are exploring several means of

increasing student bottom time overallwithout increasing the time to train andmaking that time underwater moreeffective with a wider variety of assign-ments including port security dives,ship’s husbandry, and surveys.

These are exciting changes we areimplementing to reinvigorate Divertraining. Regaining the capability toconduct deep mixed gas dives after a tenyear hiatus will enable us to provide a“proof” test for all our graduates. Byreturning this evolution to the Divercurriculum we can ensure that Divers canattain their maximum depth of qual-ification, and all qualified Divers canobtain the confidence borne of having“been there, done that.” This processperfectly complements our renewedemphasis on training Divers, and is onlythe first of many positive changes beingpursued by the crew at NDSTC. I invite allto come down and see what we are up toat the Home of Navy Diving.

SCUBA confidence training.

CDR Dave Davis is currently the Command-ing Officer of Naval Diving and SalvageTraining Center.

Technical regulator maintenance training at NDSTC.

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 1

Divers and historical diving enthusi-asts have a new destination in the

Los Angeles Maritime Museum in SanPedro, California — this classic streamline-modern building holds an archive ofSouthern California’s commercial divinghistory, the brainchild of Diver-historianTorrance Parker. Drawing upon his exten-sive knowledge and collection of divinghistory, materials and equipment, and as-sisted by former Navy Divers RigdonCrawford, Jr. and Ed White, Parker hascreated a permanent display documentingthe history of commercial and fisherydiving in Southern California. Along withCrawford, Kenneth Knott, and Dan Booneare the many ex-Navy Divers mentioned inthe exhibit who helped build the infra-structure of Southern California.

20,000 Jobs Under the Sea tracescommercial diving from the developmentof the Deanes’ first practical helmet to usecompressed air up until present time,including oil exploration, pipelaying, rig-ging, and other marine construction.Theports of Los Angeles and Long Beach areresponsible for eight percent of thenational economy; Divers’ contribution to

building the harbor together withSouthern California’s major powerplants, marine outfalls, bridges, anddams cannot be overstated. Between1947 and 1985, Parker worked on morethan a thousand ships and along withhis employees set a record in the twoports by servicing more than 2,500merchant and Naval vessels.

This exhibit is a natural extensionof Parker’s life work. The Dive Lockerwindow is a recreation of a typicallocker: suits, helmets, tools and equip-ment were actually used to constructand maintain the harbor and the SouthBay’s underwater infrastructures. Oneitem of particular interest is a Schraderhelmet dating from the late 1800s. Thelocker also features a pre-1933 MARK Vwith single-spring exhaust valve and acirca 1911 Morse No. 3 air pump, Diver’sdress, gas-driven compressor, com-boxes, underwater lights, and othertools of the trade. Another displaywindow features a 1901 Japaneseabalone Diver — one of the originalgroup who emigrated from Japan tooperate the White Point abalone process-

Torrance Parker and Dr. William “Pete” Lee,the former Director of the Los Angeles MaritimeMuseum. Dr. Lee championed the 20,000 JobsUnder the Sea exhibit before he retired last year.

ing facility. The manikin wears a Japanese3-light helmet dating from the early 1900s,with rare 90-degree inlet. Local artistGuillermo Avalos painted the spectacularbackground mural. Eerie black-light andlifelike abalone sculpture recreate abrilliantly realistic view of the ab Diver’sworld.

The Los Angeles Maritime Museumis located on the main shipping channelin the Port of Los Angeles and isopen Tuesday through Sunday. Forinformation, call (310) 548-7618.

The Fishery Diving Exhibit.

Leslie Jacobs is a freelance writer andphotographer from Redondo Beach, CA.She has written a series of interviews withveteran hardhat divers called “Voices of theDeep” for the HDS Magazine.

1 2 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

The need for a new underwa-ter repair procedure may present itself

at any moment. In one such case, a foreignNavy FFG had run aground, creating anurgent requirement for a new propellerhub. A dry dock was not readily availablefor the decommissioned ship identified asthe source of the hub. Mr. Michael Dean,head of the Underwater Ship HusbandryDivision Naval Sea Systems Command(NAVSEA 00C5), saw the need to developa procedure and put together a team todetermine the feasibility of an in-water hubremoval. While the plans for the hub re-moval were being formulated, the neces-sity for immediately supplying a hub wasalleviated. However, the in-water hub re-moval procedure was still worth develop-ing and testing on an inactive ship. If theconcept of in-water propeller hub removalcould be proven on an inactive ship, thenthe procedure could be developed for ac-tive ships. The in-water hub removal pro-cedure would give the Navy an option fora hub replacement other than a costly dry-docking. NAVSEA 00C5 pulled togeth a team ofexperts in the various areas required to de-velop this new procedure while providingoversight and final approval. Naval Sur-face Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama Citydesigned, built, and tested the cofferdam

and equipment associated with the hubremoval. Naval Surface Warfare CenterCarderock Division/Naval Ship SystemsEngineering Station Philadelphia(NAVSSES) reviewed and provided expertguidance in propeller hub mechanics andremoval procedures. Hull integrity wasscrutinized by NAVSEA 05 to ensure thecofferdam would not damage the ship.

NAVSEA Inactive ShipOn-Site MaintenanceOffice (NISMO) Phila-delphia provided the fa-cilities and inside me-chanics for work on thedecommissioned ship.Phoenix International,Inc. provided diving,welding, and designsupport for the hub re-moval. Global PCCI- AJoint Venture (GPC) on-site support includedboth tools and person-nel while design and

Cofferdam being lowered into place.

Upper part of Cofferdam structure coming out of the water.

manufacturing services were suppliedfrom GPC’s Cheatham Annex location.Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility(SIMA) Norfolk’s critical review of riggingprocedures for the cofferdam and ByrdJohnson’s synopsis of dry-dock hub re-moval and installation procedures were ofinvaluable assistance.

The underlying requirement for thein water hub removal was to establish adry environment to protect the internalsof the hub and the shaft from water intru-sion during the procedure.

NSWC Panama City engineers, ma-chinists, and welders had the lion’s shareof the work in designing, fabricating, andtesting the cofferdam that would providethis dry environment. The hub removalfollowed the dry-dock procedure with theexception that all work was performed in acofferdam pressurized to the pressure attwenty feet below the water line.

The worst combinations of riggingloads, hull shape irregularities, and waterpressure that could act upon the coffer-

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 3

dam were modeled to create a robust cof-ferdam and provide a safe working envi-ronment for the divers. The cofferdam de-signed would approximate the work areathat is used by mechanics in dry-dock.Keeping the cofferdam to this relativelycompact size meant it could be installed asa one piece unit around the hub. Thecofferdam’s height left a gap between thetop of the cofferdam and the ship’s hull.The dewatered cofferdam would havenothing to hold it down except the sealaround the strut barrel. An upper structurewith a jack stand at each corner was in-stalled on top of the cofferdam to make upfor the gap between the cofferdam and theships hull. When bolted to the top of thecofferdam the upper structure’s four jackswould extend to make contact with thehull. The upper structure, the seal aroundthe strut barrel, and rigging made the cof-ferdam and the ship react as one systemwhile the hub was being removed from theshaft. NSWC Panama City’s single-pointrigging design used a trolley hoist to re-move the hub from the propeller shaft andgreatly simplified what the divers had tomonitor and operate.

A decommissioned ship presented aunique set of conditions in preparing forhub removal. Piping missing, systemsopen, and equipment removed was part ofthe complication of working on an inactiveship. A great deal of patience, persever-

ance, and system knowledge was shownby NISMO mechanics in preparing theship for the hub removal.

With the ship ready on the inside andthe blades removed, Phoenix Diversstarted the work everyone had come for -hub removal. A 170-ton crane was used topick up the cofferdam from the pier. Thecofferdam was yard and stayed over thepropeller hub using the starboard liftingtunnel’s rigging and the crane. Riggingfrom port side lifting tunnels was used torotate the cofferdam to the upright posi-tion while the crane and starboard side rig-ging were used to control the rotation andact as hold backs. Moving a nine-ton cof-ferdam into place with less than one inchclearance on multiple sides in water withvisibility less than one foot is anything buteasy. The Phoenix crew handled the coffer-dam as if it were a routine operation. With cofferdam in place, the hub wasconnected to the lifting trolley, propellerhub bolts were removed and the hubwas then easily pushed away from theshaft. The trolley and beam methodworked very well and proved an easy andeffective way to move the hub within thecofferdam. The blanked hub was lowered out ofthe cofferdam and sent to the pier. At thecompletion of the work, all five blades andthe propeller hub had been removed fromthe FFG. The ship sits lighter with the ab-

Hub port view.

LCDR Bruce Hamilton is currently assignedas part of the Underwater Ship HusbandryDivision, NAVSEA 00C5.

In summary, a careful determina-tion is still required to understand: (1)the number of salvage ships required toconduct wartime harbor clearance andchannel clearance to permit rapid off-load of strategic logistics ships in addi-tion to the salvage ships engaged else-where in battle-damage recovery andrescue towing missions, and (2) the in-creased demands on salvage ship man-ning resulting from diminishing surface-combatant crew sizes. Our drive forpeacetime efficiency must not over-whelm our requirement for war-fightingeffectiveness.

During the last two Gulf wars, ourNaval losses (and therefore our require-ments for salvage ships) were extremelylimited due in part to the enemy’s ineptand ineffectual use of mines. And therewas virtually no effort by enemy forcesto scuttle ships to block channels andharbors. Our next enemy will not likelybe so foolish. Our biggest issue is notwhether we’re aboard ARSs or T-ARSs,but whether our Navy’s salvage forces(both ships and Salvors) must be prop-erly sized and properly trained.

SUPSALV SENDS

sence of 52,000 pounds of weight; other-wise, the ship was left as it was found.The removal of the propeller hub was agreat success. The efforts by all membersof the team performing this operation wereexemplary. The in-water hub procedure isfaster and less expensive than the equiva-lent dry-dock procedure. No extensive shippreparation for and recovery fromdry-docking is required. The ship can staypier-side with no disruption to its normalin-port routine. The development of an in-water hub replacement procedure foractive ships will be of great value to theUnited States Navy, once again provingthe worth of underwater ship repair.

(...continued from page 2)

Captain Jim Wilkins

1 4 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

This page is designed to give the readers the latest “Buzz” on various topics to USN diving and its systems.Compiled and written by MDV Steve Smith (smithss@navsea.navy.mil)

Standard Dive Systems: Standard lifesupport dive systems such as the LWDS,FARCC, SNDL, TRCS, EEHS, and FADSare just that, “standard”. NAVSEA has agood and sound policy that keeps thesystem configurations and OPs/EPs thesame. So regardless of where you getstationed, your system configuration andOPs/EPs should be the same. If a“standard” system configuration or OPs/EPs is substandard in your eyes, thenplease submit a change request to MDVFred Orns or myself and we will test andevaluate. If it is a change that will benefitthe Fleet or has substantial cost savings,we will generate the change for all theaffected systems so that all can benefit.

Process Instruction 006: PI 006“Viewports in Hyperbaric Systems” is nowsigned and approved. It is applicable to allmanned hyperbaric chambers that are builtIAW ASME and PVHO standards. This PIcovers chambers with flat, conical frustum,and double bevel disc windows for allpressures. This PI cancels AIG 03-05 andis available on our web page at http://www.supsalv.org/.

Compressors: Recently there have been anumber of problems with the purificationsystems of MAKO and Bauer com-pressors. We have found that one of theproblems is not maintaining pressure inthe purification system at all times. We aremaking a change to 5921/063 5921/36 PMSthat will reflect a bi-monthly check, tocheck and maintain appropriate pressurein the purification system when not in use.Some other steps to help avoid theseproblems are: don’t count on the auto-matic drain alone, manually bleed downperiodically, remove filters whencompressor is not going to be used for anextended period of time, maintain pressureon the purification system at all times,keep a compressor log, and change filtersregularly.

MK-21 MOD 1: It has come to ourattention that over the years KirbyMorgan has made three different lengthsof neck clamp adjustment stud on theSuperlite 17/MK-21 MOD 1 helmets, someas short as 2-1/2 in. If too short, this canpossibly create an “over tightening” effecton the shell of the MK-21 MOD 1 helmet.If the neck clamp handle on the neckclamp/yoke assembly requires excessiveforce when donning a MK-21 MOD1helmet, then it requires attention. It couldbe a simple matter of adjusting the nut.However, in at least one case, the nut wasbacked all the way out and enough forcewas applied to crack the helmet shell.During normal MK-21 diving this shouldnever be a problem, but when using thehelmet with dry suits with the integral neckdam that are approved for contaminatedwater diving, this could become a problem.

MK-21 EGS: When diving with an EGSthat has a J-Valve, ensure that it is in thedown position prior to starting the dive.This requirement will be reflected in thenext Dive Manual revision.

Choices: NAVSEA has recently approvedthe use of CPV valves and TESCOMregulators as alternatives for the LWDSand the FADS III systems. Reviseddrawings reflecting these changes havebeen issued for the FADS III. Reviseddrawings reflecting these changes for theLWDS will be issued soon. The LWDS

“Service to the Fleet”

manual has been changed to reflect this.Changes to the FADS III manual are inprocess and revised manuals will be issuedwhen ready.

Mishap Reporting: Everybody is familiarwith Appendix A6-M (Diving Mishap withHyperbaric Treatment) of OPNAVINST5100.19D, but what about Appendix A6-Nof the same instruction? Appendix A6-Nrequires reporting of all Class B or Class Cdiving mishaps that don’t require hyper-baric treatment. Class B mishap is identifiedas: The total cost of reportable propertydamage is $200,000 or more, but less than$1,000,000; an injury or work-related illnessresulting in permanent partial disability;or a mishap resulting in the hospitalizationof three or more people. A Class C mishapis identified as: The total cost of reportableproperty damage is $20,000 or more, butless than $200,000; or an injury preventingan individual from performing regularlyscheduled duty or work beyond the dayor shift on which it occurred; or a nonfatalillness or disability causing loss of timefrom work or disability at any time (losttime case). For more information, pleasesee the instruction.

Future: We are in the process of securingfunds, designing, and eventually buildinga portable O2 suitcase console that willhave the capability to be hooked up toany existing dive system. We have talkedabout actually converting existingsystems, but our analysis is that it wouldbe too cost prohibitive. The suitcaseconsole gives us a flexible and affordablealternative. This will enable us to supply100% O2 to the Diver in the water column,helping us to minimize the chances of DCS.Once built, we will provide O2 suitcaseconsoles to select commands to evaluateand obtain data on new procedures andtables that are designed to decrease theprobability of diving related illnesses.

Superlite 17/MK-21 MOD 1 helmet.

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 5

cedures. So the PSOB youused for your last certifi-cation may not be the mostcurrent version.

SystemCertificationStatus Report:

The System CertificationStatus Report is nowupdated quarterly, and isavailable on the 00C4website.

System CertificationManual (MAN-010):

but will be added to the 00C TechnicalPublications CD at the earliest opportu-nity.

Read the manual, paying particularattention to Chapters 2 (AdministrativeProcedures of the System Certification Pro-cess), 3 (Initial Certification), and 5 (Repairand Overhaul), as these pertain tothe Fleet certification process. Also, Ap-pendices A (Categorization of Scope ofCertification Materials and Components),H (Divers Handling Systems), and I (RECprocedures) provide required proceduresfor the Fleet user.

On a bigger picture, most of the cur-rent Appendices will be taken out ofthis manual for incorporation into aNAVSEA Diving Life Support SystemsGeneral Design Manual. Currently theREC, OQE, Diver Handling Systems,and those appendices that apply only tocertification, will be kept in the Certifica-tion Manual.

Over the next year we ask for yourcomments and suggestions to improvethe manual. We look forward to your feed-back on the revised manual, as this is yourguide to successful certification. Withoutyour input, we cannot respond to Fleetneeds.

The standard PSOBs on the 00C4webpage are the only ones authorized forsystem certification. Each command is re-sponsible for downloading the most re-cent version of the applicable PSOB andfilling it out prior to the System Certifica-tion Site Survey. We continually updatethese PSOBs to reflect the latest technicalrequirements and system certification pro-

There are four recently updated TopsideTech Notes on the 00C4 webpage:

• Filters – Vol IX, Issue 2 (Jan 2004) • Moisture Separators – Vol V, Issue 3 (Jan 2004) • Relief Valves – Vol I, Issue 2 (Jan 2004) • Flasks – Vol IV, Issue 3 (Feb 2004)

All diving commands should periodicallycheck the 00C4 webpage and downloadthe most recent issue of all applicable tech-nical publications. We strongly encouragedive lockers to use these Topside TechNotes to assist in Division training.

Standard PSOBs:

The 00C4 webpage also contains sixstandard PSOBs:

• LWDS (15 Nov 2003) • SNDL (17 Apr 2003) • TRCS with OL scrubber (15 Mar 2002) • TRCS without OL scrubber (15 Mar 2002) • Standard SSDS (1 Nov 2001) • Standard Chamber (15 May 2000)

Additionally, we are in the process of de-veloping standard PSOBs for FADS III andFARC systems. Until these standardPSOBs are completed and put on the00C4 webpage, continue to use the Stan-dard SSDS or Standard Chamber PSOB forthese systems.

Topside Tech Notes:

The revision of the Safety CertificationManual or “Orange Book”, as it has be-come to be known, was completed in Feb-ruary 2004. Hopefully you will find this ver-sion is easier to use with clear and up-to-date certification procedures and technicalrequirements. The responsibilities and re-quirements of certification are clearlyspelled out and the searchable CD formatmakes it easy to find answers to yourquestions. Currently it is a stand-alone CD,

The first major revision to the MAN-010 isin for final Fleet review. We are hoping toissue the revised MAN-010 by the Work-ing Divers Conference (or shortly thereaf-ter). We will issue an AIG 239 to inform theFleet when the MAN-010 revision is issued.A limited number of manual CDs will bemailed out to Dive Commands. The manualwill be available for download from the 00C4webpage.

Certification ManualRevision:

Standard Navy Double Lock Chamber (SNDL).

1 6 A u g u s t 2 0 0 3

The Navy’s Contribution to DivingThis is an excerpt from “20,000 Jobs Under the Sea, A History of Diving and Underwater Engineering” by Torrance R. Parker

Like underwater burning, much ofAmerica’s early diving development

was the result of U.S. Naval divingoperations. An example of Naval Diversand their contributions to diving is thework of Master Diver Frank W. Crilley.Crilley made record air dives to depthsover 300 feet during the 1915 salvageoperations on the sunken submarine F-4.President Calvin Coolidge awarded Crilleythe Congressional Medal of Honor for hisheroism in rescuing fellow Diver William F.Loughman when he became entangled inthe steel sweep wires during operations tosalvage the F-4. Loughman survived, butsuffered permanent paralysis from thebends.

Another Navy Diver who helpeddevelop modern diving methods wasGarland Suggs. Suggs, designated aMaster Diver in 1928, participated in theNavy’s early oxy-helium diving test work,and eventually served as chief instructor atthe Navy’s Diving and Salvage School inWashington, D.C. Once, on specialassignment by the Navy, Suggs salvagedHoward Hughes’ record-breaking aircraftfrom Lake Mead’s deep water. Impressedwith Suggs, Hughes offered him a job uponretirement from the service. Suggsaccepted, and worked the remainder of hislife for Hughes after retiring from diving.

Master Diver Frank W. Crilley.

Master Diver Garland Suggs.

A u g u s t 2 0 0 3 1 7

The sun was shining, the seas werecalm and crystal blue on the island of

Crete. Detachment Alpha of Mobile Div-ing and Salvage Unit Two (MDSU TWO)was hosting the 2003 Joint U.S./HellenicDiving Exercise, better known as theGreek DIVEX. This was a continuation ofa joint NATO diving and salvage exer-cises MDSU TWO has been conductingwith Hellenic Special Forces and FleetDivers for a number of Mediterranean de-ployments. With Master Diver Mike Babinrunning the dive site, Detachment Alphawas ready to show Hellenic Navy andSpecial Forces Divers the U.S. Navy sur-face supplied diving protocol.

Topics such as MK-21 familiarizationand underwater cutting and welding werethoroughly covered in a classroom settingand then put to use within the clear watersof Souda Bay.

This team of 15 U.S. Navy Divers,stationed TAD aboard USNS Mohawk(T-ATF 170), were in the final stages of aMediterranean deployment in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom andCOMSIXTHFLT, when they were re-quested by the Hellenic Navy to givetraining to their Greek counterparts.

The Greek Diverswere impressed withthe ease of set up anddeployability that wasafforded to U.S. NavyD i v e r s u s i n g t h eFA D S 3 S S D S. Somuch so that they in-quired about the pos-sibility of buying one.Of course, when toldthe sticker price, theywere a little less eagerto make the purchase. The Greeks quicklymastered the MK-21SSDS rig and were ea-

ger to pursue underwater cutting andwelding. They were taught waterbornecutting techniques with the Broco oxygensystem and wet welding with a Millerwelder fortified with a power converter. Apiece of quarter inch thick plate steel wastaken down on the stage and clamped to ahome-made work bench previously fabri-cated by Det Alpha Divers. The Hellenic Divers then attempted tocut the practice plate utilizing the methodspreviously taught to them by MDSU TWODivers. There were varying degrees ofsuccess, as with any Diver thathas attempted to use this systemfor the first time. The cuttingtorch was pulled up and thewelding stinger was lowered tothe Divers and they attempted tofill in holes and run beads onwhat was left of the steel plate.

During the DIVEX, a callcame from COMNAVEUR forNavy Divers to evaluate a poten-tial salvage of a sunken cargoship in the main port of war tornMonrovia, Liberia. The Detach-ment OIC CWO4 Armstrongand MDV Babin were quickly

dispatched by COMSIXTHFLT for thismission.

This left Detachment Alpha and theGreek Divers in the capable hands of De-tachment LCPO, MMC(DSW) AndyDegitz. Dive training was resumed withunbridled enthusiasm.

For ten days the Divers of Det Alphaand their Greek counterparts continuedplunging to the bone-crushing depth of 30feet beneath the sleek hull of the USNSMohawk to train. The result was 22 suc-cessful dives with over 870 minutes ofbottom time safely accomplished.

At the conclusion of the exercise, DetAlpha hosted a Bar-B-Q for their Greekcounterparts and in return the GreekDivers invited the U.S. Navy Divers to acelebratory dinner of traditional Greekfoods. Det Alpha enjoyed the octopus andsquid and learned a greater appreciation ofGreek cuisine and hospitality. The eveningconcluded with the presentation of certifi-cates and trading of dive pins by all partici-pants.

It was mutually agreed that the exer-cise was a great success and that futurediving and salvage exercises should beplanned to further the cooperation andtraining between the two countries.

LT Col Mataras going “up and over”.

WO (MDV) Kantzios and HT1 (DSW) Valentine posingfor the camera.

By: HMC(DSW) Kenneth R. Meler

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO Det Alpha

1 8 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

First of all, in response to BMCM(MDV)Fred Orns’ (Faceplate Vol. 6, Number 2,

November 2002) claim that he’s good look-ing. Have any of you seen Fred when hegets up in the morning? Where did he getthat mirror? Just kidding Fred!

Well shipmates, I have given fourline-pulls and I’m coming up and over. It’stime to step down and let the talent thatWE have been cultivating and allow themto take the side. Myemphasis for this ar-ticle is the future, notthe past. I, as muchas anyone in theFleet, spend a lot oftime looking backfondly at the “GoodOle’ Days” and tell-ing sea stories thatget better and betterwith each passingyear. But I will tellyou all this - I havenever been moreproud of Fleet Diversof today and theiraccomplishments. Why? Becausethe Divers of todayare just as motivated and dedicated as weever were, but their level of knowledge andhunger for more is exponentially higher.When I was a young Diver, the MDV hadthe one and only copy of the DivingManual under lock and key in his office.We were too proud to show our shipmatesthat we didn’t have the manual memorizedand we “needed” it to get smarter. Today,there are more manuals in print, on CD, orwebsite than can be held by Barnes andNoble. The numbers of 2nd Class Diversthat are Diving Supervisor qualified isamazing. As a DORA inspector, I get outquite a bit to see it first hand. In fact, lastyear I witnessed (along with others) thebest neurological exam I have ever seen,and it was done by a first term 5343!

So, how do we take this hunger, talent,motivation, and expertise, and apply it toSea Warrior (you need to read up onthis)? It will not be easy, my friends. Muchof what the senior enlisted diving leader-ship has been wrestling with these pastmonths has been trying breakdown whatwe do into its smallest parts, so we candetermine the best way to train our Divers.No salvage job or ship repair evolution I

have ever done cancompare to this taskin terms of planningfor the unknownand the absolutenecessity to wipethe slate clean andnot hang onto the“that’s the way wehave always doneit” mentality. But Iliken this to a sal-vage or UWSH job.Our job is not tocomplain that wecan’t do it, or that itwon’t work! Ourjob, our forte thesepast 120 or soyears, has been ac-

complishing the impossible. We are theultimate problem solvers! Yes, this task isuncomfortable and mind numbing on itsbest day, but we must prevail.

It has been an honor and a privilegeserving with you and for you these 20 orso years. Rest assured I will continue tosupport the Fleet diving community in anycapacity I can in the years to come. I amcomforted in the fact that the watch willbe relieved, and relieved well. Theprocess of Sailors moving on and othersstepping up to fill the void is tried andtrue.

In closing, I would like to recognizethe Master Divers that helped “make” me:

MDV Scott Heineman.

ENCM(MDV) Ray Straining,

MDV Scott Heineman prepares to enter thewater for a dive on USS MONITOR.

These men have had the greatest im-pact on my career. I hope in some way thatI have had the same effect on some ofyou.

JAKE’SCORNERBy: Otto Adams

Drawing was created by CWO4 Rick Armstrong.

HTCM(MDV) Donnie Laurin,

HTCM(MDV) Rudy Watts,

BMCM(MDV) Mike Einhellig,

ENCS(MDV) Clifford Ellis,

HTCM(MDV) Rick Armstrong,

BMCM(MDV) Oly Olson,

MMCM(MDV) Rusty Hunt,

HTCM(MDV) Lino Matteoni.

A p r i l 2 0 0 4 1 9

Topside; Red Diver...From the Supervisor of Diving Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN

Twenty-four years ago, the currentSupervisor of Salvage, Captain Jim

Wilkins, the former Supervisor of Diving,Captain Chris Murray and I were allengaged in training at the new Naval Div-ing and Salvage Training Center inPanama City, Florida. We trained in thevenerable MK V, MK I, MK-12, JackBrowne, and of course, SCUBA.

In SCUBA, we dove with ModifiedUDT or Fenzy life preservers; state of theart, we were told. We always thought weshould wrap our arms through the strapsand hoist the doubles over our head, thenslide them down our backs into positionwhen donning the gear. We learned thistechnique from our hero, the great MikeNelson, played by Lloyd Bridges in thetelevision series Sea Hunt. We assumedeverything we learned at the school inthose days was cutting edge technology,and if Nelson donned his bottles in thatfashion, so should we. MDV Wes Gummelhad a different opinion, but nevercorrected us, quietly smiling as heallowed us to break our backs. MDVGummel knew Divers had to learn somethings on their own, and he enjoyed theentertainment brought by successiveclasses of mud puppies.

Twenty years later, while I was incommand of the Dive School, we deter-mined to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofNDSTC in Panama City. We dedicated theschool to VADM “Swede” Momsen withthe assistance of our guest speaker,former USMC Commandant, General AlGray, sponsored a BBQ, street rod and bigbike show, equipped and dedicated the“Hall of Heroes” for our Medal of HonorDivers, and built a Master Diver “Wall ofFame.” We also sponsored, with theassistance of one our great diving prede-cessors – GENESIS and SEALAB DiverBob Barth – a fish fry for former SEALABand Deep Submergence Sailors. It was agreat party.

It was during that festive occasionthat Bob introduced me to Bev Morgan, ofKirby-Morgan fame. Bev cut LloydBridges his wet suits for the Sea Hunt

series. It was during that conversationwith Bev that he laughingly mentionedhow they had made a set of balsa woodSCUBA cylinders (doubles) for Lloyd sohe could easily throw them over his headin the fashion we desperately tried to copywhile at NDSTC.

A valuable lesson was recorded thatday...

Now we are in a fairly critical time inour Navy diving history. Captain Wilkins,Captain Murray and I never expected 24years ago that we would be so positioned,and through our collaborative effortscould advance Navy Diving-we justwanted to survive and graduate. But herewe are and we understand completely ourobligation to our Navy Diving community.It’s payback time. We cannot afford tomake assumptions regarding our futureDivers and the equipment they will em-ploy. Our underwater capabilities are atstake, and it is up to us, Navy Divers, topreserve our valuable diving skill-set forour Fleet.

Captain Gary Windhorst, commandingthe Center for EOD and Diving, and Com-mander Dave Davis, commanding NDSTCin Panama City, heavily engaged throughthe Revolution in Training, are completingthe analysis leading to formation of FleetDiver and EOD Diver ratings. Training effi-ciency is a paramount consideration forthem and that means that Fleet Diving re-quirements must be explicitly detailed andcatalogued. Fleet involvement is integralto this process, and must be supported byexperienced Fleet Master Divers. Onlythrough quality Master Diver input canCaptain Windhorst and Commander Davishope to complete this monumental taskand provide dive training that is efficientand responsive to Fleet requirements.Neither Captain Windhorst nor Com-mander Davis can rely on mere assump-tions to execute their training plan... as fel-low Divers, we are all obliged to supportthem, and without emotion.

We at 00C3 understand a need to re-view our Fleet diving program. We havetargeted four areas for review where we

expect to (1) improve efficiency, (2) im-prove responsiveness and enhanceinteroperability, (3) advance technology,and (4) better engage with the Fleet.

In future issues of FACEPLATE I willshare more detail in each of these areas,but I do want give you a brief example ofone initiative for your consideration.

Under the heading of improve effi-ciency we will replace our current air de-compression tables with tables and proce-dures based on the VVAL-18 decompres-sion algorithm. Bob Kilpatrick of our officeand MDV (Ret.) Paul Schadow have de-veloped the concept for the required hard-ware to give our Divers in-water O2. Wehope to prove the concept, including certi-fication, by July. Captain (Dr.) JohnMurray and Dr. Ed Flynn are preparing aplan for implementation of the new AirTables.

Some advantages of the new tablesinclude SurDO2 capability to 190 fsw,longer No-D times between 120 and 190fsw, and fully integrating a single table for-mat for air/O2, and AirSurDO2 dives.

I view the VVAL-18 tables as an inter-mediate step toward our ultimate goal offielding a “probabilistic” model vice ourcurrent “deterministic” dive tables in oureffort to “optimize” bottom time and de-compression obligation. After we havegathered sufficient data, using computerscoupled with digital depth measurementsystems, Drs. Flynn, Murray and Drs.Gerth and Southerland at the ExperimentalDive Unit will expand our diving capabilitywherein we maximize our allowable BottomTime and minimize a correspondingamount of safe Decompression Time. Weshouldn’t be penalized in decompressionfor “square” dives we do not make. Re-member: time is money, and we can not af-ford to spend unwarranted time “cooking”in the round house, nor can we afford tocut short, in aggregate, our TBT.

There has been concern over theloss of bottom time at 40 fsw on the VVAL-18 Table. I believe we will eventually in-crease our available bottom time at thatdepth when we “drive the dive” by com-

REVISIONS

GENERAL NOTES

BU.NO.S9400-921583

REV. DATE DESCRIPTION APPROVED

A

B

C

D

APPROVED BY CAPT MARK V. HELMKAMPU.S. NAVY SUPERVISOR OF DIVING“NOT A CERTIFIED DIVING APARATUS”

PC 77 ADDED TO GENERAL NOTE NO. 1

1114

41

1114

44

1214

44

LOCKING DEVICE AND GEN. NOTES NO.’S. 1, 3, 4. AND 8 ADDED.ALTERED LEGEND ON NAME PLATE ALSO ON NOTE NO. 1 TO 11 ADDITION OF NEW SHEETS NO.’S 2 AND 10 TO SET. PAGE NUMBERSCHANGED FROM 007 TO 008. TITLE ALTERED TO COVER ADDITIONALSHEETS. CORRECTIONS MADE TO DRAWING, ADDED PCS 13, 74, 76, & 78.

PLAN NUMBER CHANGED FROM BU.NO. 417976 TO BU.NO.S9400-921583.7

2947

E PLAN NUMBER CHANGED FROM “STANDARD PLAN” TO “HULL STANDARD PLAN.”12

1556

______________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRINCIPLE ENGINEER

N

____________________________________________________________________

FOR CHIEF OF BUREAU

REV D

______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

HULL STANDARD PLAN

NAVY STANDARD DIVING HELMETMARK V MOD. I

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT

10 SHEETS SCALE 6” 1 FOOT SHEET I

BUREAU OF SHIPSWASHINGTON, D.C.

NAVY DEPARTMENT

APRIL 6, 1948

DATE

1. PC. NO. 1 & 68 SHOWN ON SHEET NO. 2 BU.NO.S9400-921591 “ “ 2 & 3 “ “ 3 “ “ “ -921584 “ “ 4 TO 11 INCL. “ “ 4 “ “ “ -921585 “ “ 12 20 “ “ “ 5 “ “ “ -921586 “ “ 21 39 “ “ “ 6 “ “ “ -921587 “ “ 40 50 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -921588 “ “ 51 55 “ “ “ 8 “ “ “ -921589 “ “ 56 59 “ “ “ 9 “ “ “ -921590 “ “ 60 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -921588 “ “ 61 65 “ “ “ 6 “ “ “ -921587 “ “ 66 67 “ “ “ 9 “ “ “ -921590 “ “ 68 70 “ “ “ 10 “ “ “ -921593 “ “ 71 72 “ “ “ 8 “ “ “ -921589 “ “ 73 77 “ “ “ 7 “ “ “ -9215882. DIVERS AIR AND EXHAUST VALVES SHOWN ON BU.NO.S9400-921580 SHALL BE FURNISHED AS PART OF HELMET CONTRACT.3. WELDING LENS FACE PLATE SHOWN ON BUREAU NO S9400-921582 SHALL NOT BE FURNISHED AS PART OF HELMET CONTRACT.4. FOR DIVERS DRESS SEE BUREAU PLAN NO’S. 583407 AND 583408.5. METHOD OF FASTENING ATTACHMENTS TO HELMET SHELL AND COLLAR: THE HELMET PC.1 AND THE COLLAR PC.56 ARE TINNED IN WAY OF THE FAYING SURFACES OF ALL PARTS INTENDED FOR ATTACHMENT. THE WINDOW FRAMES PCS. 6, 21, AND 16; THE AIR DUCT PC.2; THE TELEPHONE CUP PC. 43;THE PAD FOR WELDING CLIP PC. 68 AND THE SCREW RING (FEMALE) PC.4 ARE SECURED TO THE HELMET SHELL PC. 1 BY TINNING AND SWEATING TIGHT. THE SCREW RING (MALE) PC. 5 IS SECURED TO COLLAR PC 56 IN THE SAME MANNER. THE GOOSENECKS PCS. 40 AND 41 TOGETHER WITH THEIR WASHERS PC. 42 ARE FIRST TINNED AND AFTER SECURELY FASTENING THEM TO THE HELMET PC. 1 BY COPPER RIVETS, THEY ARE SWEATED TIGHT. THE COLLAR RING PC. 51 IS FIRST FORMED TO FIT THE COLLAR SHELL PC. 56 AND BOTH ARE TINNED. THE SKIRT OF THE COLLAR SHELL IS THEN WORKED NEATLY AROUND THE OUTER EDGE OF THE RING AND THE TWO SURFACES SWEATED TOGETHER. BEAD PC. 71 SOLDERED ON TOP OF RING. THE OUTLET EXHAUST BODY PC.25 AND ITS THREADED WASHER PC. 27 ARE FIRST TINNED. THE AFTER END OF THE VALVE BODY IS SECURELY COPPER RIVETED TO THE HELMET SHELL PC. 1 AND THE THREADED WASHER PC. 27 IS SCREWED ON AND SWEATED TIGHT. THE WHOLE BODY THEN SWEATED TIGHT. THE BALL SPIT COCK PC. 28 AND ITS THREADED WASHER PC 32 SHALL BE SECURED IN THE SAME MANNER. THE SAFETY LOCK BRACKET PC. 34 AND THE WASHER PC. 37 ALSO, THE EYELETS PC. 46 WITH THEIR WASHERS PC. 47 SHALL BE FIRST TINNED, THEN RIVETED UP AND SWEATED TIGHT. THE STUDS PCS. 36 AND 39 SHALL PASS THROUGH THE COLLAR RING PC. 51 AND THE HEADSSHALL BE SOLDERED TIGHT ON THE INSIDE OF THE COLLAR SHELL PC. 56. THE NAME PLATE SHALL BE SECURED BY BRASS RIVETS MADE WATER TIGHT BY SOLDERING ON THE INSIDE. THE SOLDER USED CONSISTS OF MIXTURE OF EQUAL QUANTITIES OF LEAD AND TIN.

THIS PLAN SUPERSEDES BU. NO.417976.

DRAWN BY:

EXAMINED BY:

IN CHARGE OF: DATE:

DATE40 42 46 48 301

35

2

27

25

21

22

54

57

26

9

8

7

10

59

14

13

12

20

6

1

22

56

5

11

23

24

46

47

66

67

A

A

4

30 49 44 42 41

161273 74 75

A

76

40 42 45 48 50

18

6

20

17

13

12

14

8

18

26

5

4

11

46

47

56

54

51

2

1

41

42

44

49

50

73

74

73

76

A

10A 61

624

8

11

34

35

36

3756

24

39

23

52

51

52

21

22

53

18

25

27

43

34

35

36

37

6

15

12

A

13

20 55

57

18

17

16

43

6

15

14

68

56

22

19

12

13

20

26

29

30

31

32

33

46

47

38

53

39

A

63

64

65

A

SEE GEN.NOTE NO. 2

7

10

=

53

2 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 4

(continued)Topside; Red Diver...Here’s my address:

Captain Mark Helmkamp, USNSupervisor of DivingCode 00C3B1333 Isaac Hull Ave, SE Stop 1073Washington Navy Yard, DC 20376

If you’re the impatient sort, my emailaddress is helmkampmt@navsea.navy.milOK, Red?

puter. “Table-jumping” is becoming morecommon and clearly indicates a faulty pro-cess; we must forge ahead and update ourair decompression procedures.

The intervening period using theVVAL-18 tables will require the dedicationof all Master Divers to ensure data is con-sistently and accurately collected. If wehave any hope of advancing our profes-sion, we need to collect this data accurately.

As always, I am counting on you,the Fleet Master Diver, as your supportand personal involvement is critical to thesuccess of this endeavor. You are kiddingyourself if you are comfortable with thestatus quo; a visit to DEMA or ADC willquickly reveal that Navy Diving has roomto improve, both in safety AND efficiency.Let’s do it.

In future issues, I will discuss ourother initiatives, including our Fly-AwaySat System, Dive Manual changes, inter-agency diving, advanced air quality moni-toring, diving computers and data loggers,contaminated water diving, and future EODand NSW diving systems.

As your “Supervisor Topside” Iam very interested in hearing your “bot-tom reports” – from the working Diver.LCDR Paul Fleishman, MDVs Smith andOrns are standing by to hear your adviceand concerns and are eager to serve. So farI’ve heard from MDVs Balesi, Furr,Stogdale, Westbrook, Wiggins, Bradford(MDV Brick always provides interestingfeedback) and Van Horn and am alwaysinterested in hearing and learning from ourFleet Master Divers. Don’t be shy aboutcalling and giving me your bottom report!OK, Red?

USN Diving history. In this issue, the MKV print was prepared by Mr. Brian Deitz ofNDSTC. I’m told Brian worked over aweekend to meet my admittedly inflexibleand unreasonable demands. ThanksBrian… and great job! Our centerfold for afuture issue is already in the works andwill give a glimpse into the inner workingsof one of Navy’s greatest contributionsto the science of diving…Any guesses?OK, Red?

The Age of Aquarius…

The Underwater Swim School Reunion is scheduled for 7 - 9 May, 2004 in Coronado.Contact Don Stone for more information at stonefish7@cs.com or call (561) 391-6727.

This year’s Sealab/Man-In-The-Sea Reunion will be held in San Diego, CA on May 9-11,2004. A special invitation is extended to all of our friends from the various Deep Submergencecommunities. This year’s festivities will be held at the Holiday Inn Bayside. For reservationscall (800) 662-8899 and ask for the “Reunion 2004” rate.

Letters to the Editor…

Feel a burning desire to sound off andwant to be heard by our diving com-

munity? Square your shoulders and sendme a letter or email and tell me about it.And if I deem them appropriate for thispublication, I will publish them and pro-vide a response where warranted. Contro-versial issues are acceptable, but don’tbother me with anything offensive.

How many of you out there served in or graduated from the Naval School of

Diving and Salvage at the WashingtonNavy Yard? How many of you choked onexhaust fumes and dodged DC traffic dur-ing morning PT, experienced AnacostiaRiver muck, and recall the ThomasO’Malley? The school is gone of course,but there is nothing to mark the site wheremany great Navy Deep-Sea Divers earnedthe right to wear the hard-hat. CaptainMike Herb and I discussed a bronzed“Jake” to mark this hallowed ground. Isthis a worthy project? I think so, and I willinquire with Chuck Micele of the ARS/ASR Society to see if there is interest theretoo. Let me know what you think. More tofollow…. OK, Red?

Old Copperhead…

It seems to me that we should recognize

our senior active duty Officer and En-listed Hard Hat Divers. In our next issue, Iwill introduce our “Old Copperhead” -both officer and enlisted. Do you knowwho they are? OK, Red?

Faceplate Centerfold…

Centerfold? Now don’t have an embo- lism…calm down; take a vent. Occa-

sionally, we’ll provide something that willgive you a little insight into our fabulous

WNY Dive School Memorial…

Aquarius is an underwater ocean labora- tory located in the Florida Keys na-

tional Marine Sanctuary. The laboratory isdeployed three and half miles offshore, ata depth of 60 feet, next to spectacular coralreefs. Scientists live in Aquarius duringten-day missions using saturation divingto study and explore our coastal ocean.Aquarius is owned by NOAA and is oper-ated by the National Undersea ResearchCenter at the University of North Carolinaat Wilmington. Our Undersea Medical Of-ficers have been supporting Aquariusmissions since 2000. These diving doctorsreceive valuable real-world saturationdive training and Aquarius receives top-notch medical assistance. This symbioticrelationship will be expanded this year toinclude 1st and 2nd Class Divers acting insupport roles. UMO’s are coordinatedthrough CDR (Dr.) Ross Levine atNDSTC. 1st and 2nd Class Divers will bescheduled through MDV Steve Smith ofour office. I have dove Aquarius and wasin sat there in December – a fantastic expe-rience – an experience I would like asmany of our Divers as possible to takeadvantage of as we look ahead to ourown fly-away saturation diving system.Want to know more? Go to: http://www.uncw.edu/aquarius/ OK, Red?