supsalv sends - naval sea systems command · supsalv sends in this issue faceplate is published by...
TRANSCRIPT
2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
SUPSALV SENDS
In This Issue
FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisorof Salvage and Diving to make the latest andmost informative news available to the Navydiving and salvage community. Discussionsor illustrations 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
Captain Mark Helmkamp, USNSupervisor of Diving
Editor In [email protected]
LCDR Jim Bladh, USN (Ret.)Managing Editor
NDCM (MDV) Danny Boyd, USNNDCM (MDV) Fred K. Orns, USN
NDCM (MDV) Brian Pratschner, USNFleet Liaison Editors
[email protected]@navy.mil
Zoya GorbunovaProduction Editor
Diving Supervisors, muse on this one: How can “success” be our adver-
sary?
SUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2Crane and Rigging Safety ............................. 3Women Divers: Part of the Navy Team.......... 4Joint Operational Training .............................. 4Divers’ Charity Golf Classic ........................... 5To Be or Not To Be: Continuous Eductor ....... 6Gulf Coast Maritime Domain AwarenessInitiative .......................................................... 7
MWSA Book Review - U.S. Navy Diver:Performance Under Pressure ........................ 8KRASIN .......................................................... 9Kirby Morgan Helmets ................................. 11Sea Hunt ...................................................... 1440th Anniversary of Palomares ..................... 15Crossword Puzzle ........................................ 20Cert Notes .................................................... 21
Salvage OPS ............................................... 22Divers Recall ................................................ 26Hard Hat History .......................................... 27From the Managing Editor ........................... 28The Old Master ............................................ 29Crossword Puzzle Solution .......................... 30Red Diver; Topside ...................................... 31Conference Announcements ....................... 36
Ordinarily, success is an ally. Westrive and work hard to achieve success;it doesn’t come easily. We’re given toughjobs, and we’re frequently rising toovercome what ever challenges get in ourpath to success. So when divers seem toonce again inevitably accomplish theimpossible, and rack up yet anothersuccess, how can that be viewed asadversarial to our Navy Diver community?
Here’s how. Get enough successesunder our belt, and pretty soon we beginto feel entitled to the next success. Webegin to think success is inevitable. Adisease called COMPLACENCY beginsto germinate in the fertile culture ofcontinued operational success. And assoon as COMPLACENCY takes root,success gets easily overwhelmed, andfailures occur. It might be only littlefailures at first – oversights or omissionswhich get addressed as one time eventsand don’t yet really deter from successfulmissions. Or it could be a significant “nearmiss” that everyone on the dive siderecognizes, but since it didn’t result in amajor mishap, it goes unreported, andworse, unexamined. You’ve been therebefore…everyone looks around kind ofsheepishly at each other, and gives silentthanks nothing bad really happened.Or worst of all, there may be no littlefailures to provide any warning…COMPLACENCY may lead to acompromise of safety so suddenand so severe that one of our divers iskilled. It has happened before.
So how do we kill the opportunityfor COMPLACENCY to infect the NavyDiving program? Lots of ways, and youfolks on the waterfront each day are in the (“SUPSALV Sends” continued on p. 26)
best position to accomplish it. So I’moffering this challenge to each divelocker’s senior leadership: Within thefirst week of reading this article, take aseemingly unnecessary “ten foot safetystop” by gathering your entire divelocker together to explore ways in whichyour recent successes may be settingyou up for failure. What tried and trueprocedural steps are getting sloppy? Whatnear misses or close calls happenedthat nobody really identified? Mostimportantly, what informal lessonslearned have “root causes” which werenever identified but need to be fixedbefore you jump back in the water? Ourcontinued success is a great strength, butif not kept in perspective, success rapidlybecomes a liability…particularly if thesuccess masks some of the initialsymptoms (inconsistent procedures,inadequate training, near-misses, etc.)of COMPLACENCY.
So let me lead the way with my own“ten foot stop” by relating a personal nearmiss event…one for which I still thankGod didn’t lead to catastrophe. It wasDecember 1987 in a southeast provinceof the Republic of the Philippines’ LuzonIsland. A Marine Corps CH-53D on amercy mission to provide rice to sometyphoon-stricken villages was forced toconduct an emergency landing in a streambed alongside the village due to a“chip light” alarm in the main rotortransmission. The first recovery attemptthrough “airborne” lift using slingsconnected to a sister CH-53E failed, andthe stricken CH-53D got emergency“pickled” and dropped into a relativelyshallow river bed in the same vicinity.Upon being dropped in the river, the CH-53D rolled over (rotor blades had been
Otto C. AdamsGraphic Designer
Cover Photo: Overhead view of EX-SHADWELL (LSD 15) and T/V STATE OF MAINE following landfall of Hurricane Katrina.
Note: This “SUPSALV SENDS” was written several weeks ago. Just as this edition was goingto the press, we learned of two diving deaths in one of our sister services, and a diving accidentin our own. Read carefully, and think hard about your own diving locker.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 3
On 2 June 2006, a crane team wasassigned to assist the divers with the
installation of a submerged temporaryplatform. The team consisted of twodivers, a Rigger in Charge (RIC), a CraneOperator (CO) and a Dive Supervisor(DS). Diver 1 was to be positioned withthe platform on the bottom and wouldattach the rigging gear to the platform andchafing gear to protect the rigging gear.Diver 2 was to be positioned midship, nextto the hull, to ensure that the rigging didnot come into contact with the hull duringthe lift. The dive team would be utilizingradio communications (Round robin, allteam members have continuouscommunications with each other, whichinclude a Com’s box at the dive controlstation, the RIC’s head set, and head setsin the dive hats) during crane operations.Two wire rope pendants had beensubstituted for the Kevlar slings typicallyused. The substitution was made due tothe wire rope’s strength and durability andthe concerns with the known chafingpoints around the attachment points. Thetechnical work document (TWD) was anon-deviation document and did notauthorize this substitution (Problem 1,Severity Level 2). The team did notrecognize the need to mitigate thepotential risk of the wire rope pendantstwisting during the lift (Problem 2,Severity Level 2). This lift had beenaccomplished with Kevlar slings severaltimes; this was the first time that wire ropependants had been used to perform it.
When the Divers entered the water,Diver 1 proceeded to attach the rigginggear to the platform and install therequired chafing gear. After completingthis, he radioed something to the effect“All clear” or “Good to go” to Diver 2and the RIC. Diver 2 had his left hand onthe ship’s hull and his right hand on oneof the wire rope pendants to verify thedistance between the hull and the wirerope pendant as the wire rope pendantswere tensioned. This was due to the lowvisibility in the water. Diver 2 responded
to Diver 1 that there was at least 6 feet ofclearance between the wires and the shipshull. Diver 1 then directed the RIC tosignal the CO to hoist up and tension therigging gear. As the rigging gear wastensioned, Diver 1 noticed that the chafingpads protecting the rigging had shifted andneeded to be adjusted. He directed RIC tostop the lift and signal the CO to lowerthe rigging.
Kevlar slings in the TWD. A pen and inkchange was made to the TWD reflectingconcurrence with the substitution. CogTech Code recognized that the wire ropecould potentially twist in this con-figuration but did not see a reason forconcern in this application (Problem 2repeated, Severity Level 2).Probable Cause: The team did notrecognize the potential of the wire rope
a. Rigging gear was substituted in a non-deviation technical work document(TWD) without authorization fromthe cognizant technical code.
Assessment of Damages: There was nomaterial or property damage as a result ofthis accident. Injuries to the employeeincluded a pinched right ring finger and abroken right middle finger.
The team did not recognize the potential twisting together ormitigate the risk associated with it.
While Diver 1 was making adjust-ments to the chafing, Diver 2 positionedhimself with his left hand on the ship’shull and his right hand on one of the wirerope pendants connected to the platform.When Diver 1 completed the adjustmentsto the chafing gear, he radioed the team“All clear” and requested the RIC to signalthe CO to come up on the crane hoistagain. Diver 2 acknowledged that tensionwas going to be applied to the rigging butdid not hear the RIC’s response “Comingup” indicating that tension was actuallybeing applied to the crane. As the tensionwas applied to the rigging gear, the riggingin the crane hook began to spin andthe RIC stopped the lift. When the wiretwisted, Diver 2’s right hand was pulledinto the pinch point between the twistingpendants and two of his fingers wereinjured (Event). At this same time, Diver1 heard an abnormal sound from Diver 2and asked if he was okay. Diver 2 did notrespond. Again Diver 2 was asked if hewas okay. Diver 2 then replied “No” andwas headed towards the surface. When hearrived at the surface he was assisted ontothe barge and given First Aid untilemergency medical personnel arrived andtransported him to the hospital.
Engineering was later contacted aboutsubstituting wire rope pendants for the
pendants twisting together or mitigatethe risk associated with it.
b. Team used the lift sketch but had notthoroughly reviewed the text of theTWD.
c. Supervisor frequently used TWD’sthat allowed for substitution of longer,stronger gear.
d. Team thought that the wire ropependants were a good substitution forthe Kevlar slings due to the knownchafing points on the load.
e. First time lift made with wire ropependants in this riggingconfiguration.
f. Lack of visibility.
g. Lack of experience with small angle,long pendant rigging configurations.
Contributing Factors:
4 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
The Naval UnderseaMuseum in Key-
port, WA, opened a newexhibit “Women Divers:Part of the Navy Team”on July 21, 2006.Fourteen of the diversfeatured in the exhibithave been inductedi n t o t h e n a t i o n a lWomen Divers Hall ofFame. Captain BobbieScholley, USN (Ret.),an experienced Navydiver who has com-manded afloat and shoreNavy diving units, wasthe principal speaker atthe opening.
All Navy divers, male and female,are extraordinarily capable people.
EMCM/MDV Mary Bonnin, nowretired, is the only woman toqualify as a Master Diver.
Captain (Sel.) Bette Bolivar Bush, formerMDSU 1 CO, is currently deployed toAfghanistan in support of Operation EnduringFreedom.
Women first qualified asNavy divers in 1975.Since that time they haveworked a full range ofdiving activities fromroutine cofferdam workto ship and aircraftsalvage to the advance-m e n t o f u n d e r s e amedicine. The exhibituses diving equipmentand wet suits, photo-graphs, video, and oralhistories to describe,in the women’s ownwords, the challengesthey have faced and theaccomplishments theyhave achieved.
“Women Divers: Part of the NavyTeam” will be on exhibit through
July 30, 2007. Admission is free.For additional information, please
call (360) 396-4148 or visit our websiteat http://naval.undersea.museum.
USCGC GEORGE COBB (WLM 564)and Navy Divers from Southwest
Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC),Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit OneDetachment One and Explosive OrdnanceDisposal Mobile Unit Three recentlyparticipated in a joint Service divingexercise off the coast of San Diego, CA.
This joint training was the firstof its kind with U.S. Navy diversutilizing a Coast Guard buoy tenderas a diving platform. The four-dayoperation encompassed the on-load andset-up of the EODMU Three Recom-pression chamber, MDSU One DetOne Light-weightDiving System,a n d U S C G CCOBB laying atwo point moori n t h e v i c i n i t yof the sunkenC a n a d i a n D e -s t r o y e r H M SYUKON.
CWO4 Rick Armstrong is Diving BranchHead at SWRMC Code 990.
Numerous surface-supplied divesranging in depths of 90 to 120 FSW wereconducted with a total bottom time of 487minutes. Master diver candidates andadvance dive supervisors were evaluatedand trained along side Coast Guardsmenwho observed Navy deep sea divingevolutions for the first time.
The officers and crew ofUSCGC GEORGE COBB providedsuperb support and demonstratedexpert seamanship during all seaand anchoring evolutions. USCGCGEORGE COBB’s Commanding OfficerLT Pete Niles commented on the
professionalism and“Espirit de Corp”of the Fleet divingcommunity, statinghe would gladlyserve with MasterDivers Hugh Scullyand Vern Malone onany diving and salvagemission.
This joint service operation provideda theory of concept for future diving andsalvage training using Navy and CoastGuard assets and could prove to be a costsaving, inter-service operational missionconcept of the future.
Bill Galvani is the Director of the NavalUndersea Museum in Keyport, WA.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 5
The 4th Annual DC DiverCharity Golf Classic was
a huge success. The eventwas organized by a group ofWashington, DC area NavyDivers and those who sup-port or work in the NavyDiving community and washeld at Andrews Air ForceBase. We get together once ayear to golf, have a goodtime raising money for aworthy cause, and catch upwith old friends. Althoughthe event is not sponsored byNAVSEA or the U.S. Navy, traditionallythe majority of golfers are NAVSEA per-sonnel and retired Navy Divers living andworking in the DC area.
The golfers assembled early in themorning to register with Miss KristinaMann from the Virginia Class Submarineprogram office and purchase their “Mul-ligans” and support the numerous rafflesand drawings available. Golf committeemembers MDVs Steve “Fore” Smith andBrendan “I’ll Take My Mulligan Now”Murphy did an outstanding job sellingthese opportunities to the golfers. Steve’s“Yard of Rope” was a prolific seller andprovided a mighty advantage to many ofus golfers possessing exorbitant handi-caps. Additionally, we raffled off an offi-
Current and past NAVSEA 00CSystem Certification Authoritiescaught in the act stealing golf balls.
Golf committee member Paul McMurtriepresents a check for $3,000.00 to Ret. BrigadierGeneral Fritz Warren of the Navy MarineCorps Relief Society.
Golf committee members McMurtrie, Smith,and Murphy selling Mulligan tickets behind the“Captains Cup Helmet.”
Paul McMurtrie is currently Deep Sub-mergence and Saturation Diving SystemsCertification Manager at NAVSEA 00C.
cial Naval AcademyGolf Bag that wasdonated by Mr.Grant Thornton,who works in theSSGN program of-fice at NAVSEA.
Sponsorshipsare essential to thefinancial success ofthe tournament, asall net proceedsfrom this tourna-ment go directly tothe Navy-Marine
Corps Relief Society (NMCRS),www.nmcrs.org. The NMCRS has helpedjunior Sailors and Marines with familyemergencies and assists families of Sail-ors and Marines when a service memberis injured or wounded in the line of duty.Additionally, the NMCRS played a lead-ing role in the support and relocation ofNavy and Marine Corps families displacedby hurricanes in the Gulf area.
Last tournament’s sponsors were ex-tremely generous. Their contributionsadded a touch of class to our humble eventand provided the lion’s share of ourcontribution to the NMCRS. Our divingcontractor sponsorships were the verygenerous. Their cash donations surpassedour loftiest expectations. We would alsolike to especially thank Retired NavyDiver Mark Dickinson, from Legg Masonin Baltimore, who came through for usagain this year by providing golf balls and“goodie bags” for the players.
After lunch and some socializing, theaward ceremony followed as the “Masterof Ceremonies” Retired Sat Diver AlPorteus entertained us with his wit duringthe presentation of the awards. Prizes forlongest drives and closest to the pins wereawarded. The winning team each yearearns their names engraved on plaqueattached to the “Captains Cup”, anauthentic MK V helmet that resides in theSUPSALV’s office. Last year’s winnerwas a team of “ringers” from outside the
Navy Diving community (no sour grapeshere). This year it is imperative that a teamof Navy Deep Sea Divers be assembledto reclaim the Captains Cup for theNavy Diving Community and regain ourdignity.
After all earnings were counted, wewere honored to present a check for$3,000.00 to Brigadier General FritzWarren, USMC (Ret.), of the Navy Ma-rine Corps Relief Society. BGEN Warrengave a moving speech on the accomplish-ments of the NMCRS this past year andassured us that our efforts were for a trulynoble cause. BGEN Warren closed witha heartfelt thanks for the donations andfor remembering the NMRCS.
This year, the DC Divers Charity GolfClassic will again be held at the coursesat Andrews Air Force Base on October 6th,2006. Enclosed you will find a flyer, sign-up sheet, and sponsorship form. Mark yourcalendars and join us for a round of golfto raise money for the Sailors, Marines,and their families in need. If you know ofany potential sponsors, we would appre-ciate all the help we can get.
D.C. Divers Charity Golf ClassicCommittee Members are Paul McMurtrie,Al Porteus, Brendan Murphy, Steve Smith,and Kristina Mann.
Every year this tournament has continued to grow in size and stature. The committee members put in many hours of hard work, on their own time, toensure all of the golfers have a great time, while helping out the Navy and Marine Corp community. On behalf of the Office of the Supervisor of Salvageand Diving, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those people who made this tournament a great success last year, and are continuing theirsacrificial service this year. Sincerely, Capt Jim Wilkins, SUPSALV
6 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
Four years ago it was brought to myattention that a direct conflict existed
between the NAVSEA Underwater ShipHusbandry Manual (Chapter 16,Cofferdams) and the NAVSEA SSN 688Class Ship Systems Manual (MainBallast Tank Topside Access Procedures,OI 637-12). The OI 637-12 requirescontinuous eductor operation to confirma seal on the main ballast tank grateblanking patches. Chapter 16 requiresthat patch eductors be secured after de-watering is complete and a differentialpressure seal of the patch is achieved. Ibecame a student of the history of main
ballast tank blanking patch applications atmany different maintenance activities.My assessment was that the establishedprocedure (OI 637-12) was basedon historic need tocontinuously de-waterleaking patches which hadnever been designed to fitthe SSN 688 hull formto achieve a differentialp r e s s u r e s e a l . I w a spolitely told by many withexperience in main ballasttank blanking that I wasnuts!
Four years and a chal-lenging patch design andfabrication effort later, I amhappy to report that, at leastas regards to main ballasttank blanking patches, I amnot nuts! Recently-com-pleted test application of the
purpose designed and built patches forblanking the forward main ballast tanksdemonstrated an excellent differentialpressure seal with all de-watering educ-tors secured. Three days after de-water-ing eductors were secured topside entryinto main ballast tanks 3A and 3B con-firmed water level in each tank wasroughly six inches above the deepest sec-tion of flood grates. Topside entry in mainballast tanks 2A and 2B confirmed slowleak flooding to roughly five feet abovethe deepest section of flood grates. Al-though slow, I was initially troubled bythe greater leakage in tanks 2A and 2B.After de-watering again during topsideentry, we were able to confirm the leakpath was through a temporary seal on twounused J-bolt holes. The seven lower floodgrates on main ballast tanks 2A or 2B are
covered withone long patchassembly madeu p o f f o u rpatches boltedtogether on thepier. I decided itwould be easierfor the divers toinstall the longpatch assemblywith just twoJ-bolts one ineach end ofthe assemblyr a t h e r t h e nneeding to fishthe two middleJ-bolts into their
Geoff Healy is currently assigned as PropulsionSystems Program Manager of the Underwater ShipHusbandry Division.
Diver handling bouyant patch on the surface.
Large four section patch assembly on thesurface.
corresponding grates. I authorized use ofa simple through-bolted plate compress-ing foam rubber to seal the unused J-boltholes. Unfortunately at depth the tempo-rary hole seal rubber was given justenough additional compression to causethe slow leakage through each unusedJ-bolt hole. These unused J-bolt holeswill be welded closed for future opera-tions.
Future plans include revision ofOI 637-12 to require use of the newblanking patch configuration and pro-
curement of additional patch sets to sup-port issuance from our East Coast, WestCoast and Pearl Harbor ESSM bases.
I would like to thank those who helpedme achieve the objective of developingproper main ballast tank blanking patches:Jim Robbins and Mike Putnam of NorfolkNaval Shipyard for completion of the newpatch designs for the SSN 688 Class,
NAVSEA Engineer going into MBT.
Typical MBT 3 water level with eductorsecured.
CWO Frank Perna of SUBLANT for hisefforts to arrange the new test opportu-nity, Mike Dastous and the MARMCAlpha dive team for their support of thetest installation, and USS BOISE ( SSN764) and crew for their support.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 7
Pascagoula, Miss. – The humidMississippi heat embraced Sailors
from Explosive Ordnance DisposalMobile Unit (EODMU) 12, Det. 10, asthey participated in the Gulf CoastMaritime Domain Awareness Initiative(GCI). This six-man EOD team embarkedon Naval Station Pascagoula after leavingtheir home at Naval Weapons Station,Charleston, S.C.
The Navy is continually pushingthe one Navy concept for full integra-tion between active-duty and reservecomponents. However, EOD teams havealready been doing just that. They relyheavily on each other while workingside-by-side to meet team goals.
“EODMU-12 is the active duty com-ponent responsible for training the reserv-ist,” explained Senior Chief ConstructionMechanic (EOD) Anthony Uzzi. “Themobile unit has five reserve detachments.Each detachment consists of six highlytrained divers, who are cross-trained todo other things outside of diving. We de-
pend heavily on each other to carry outour assigned duties because we are all thatwe have and when one of us fails our sur-vival rate is diminished. Survival is thename of the game when you are a self-contained team.”
Integration becomes more importantto EOD teams as overseas commerce con-tinues to blossom in the United States.Ships move about ninety-five percent ofall trade acquisitions made in the UnitedStates, thus making our coastal waters
high-traffic areas and hotspots for terrorist activity.Active-duty counterpartsdepend on the reserve com-ponent to step-in and pro-vide professional support,and because of the special-ized duties that they performthere is no room for error.
“Navy EOD divers arelooked upon as the bestin the business,” said LTJGKevin Grant, EOD officerin charge. “We are theunderwater bomb squad forthe Navy. We operate on landand sea. Our major purposeis the disposal of ordnance,which is a little differentfrom the active duty compo-nent, which is trained to dis-arm ordnance with a processreferred to as a Render SafeProcedure. They actually goin and ‘stop time’ which means to render
the explosive device inoperableand eradicate any possible highorder explosion. The procedurethat the reserve component uses incalled Blow in Place. This is whereyou use a small explosive chargeto detonate the ordnance in acontrolled explosion. In short weblow the bomb in place with asmaller explosive.”
Ordnance Clearance Detach-ments (OCD) are tasked withaugmenting EOD teams whichare responsible for the detection,and identification of explosive
ordnance and related devices. This in-cludes foreign ordnance, chemical weap-ons, biological weapons, nuclear weapons,clandestine improvised devices and allordnance/devices that may be encounteredunderwater and on land. EODMU diversare capable of removing ordnance such asmines and other explosive devices, whileutilizing SCUBA or MK 16 rebreather.
This unit continues to remain busyand forward deployed and continuallytraining.
“We spent four-weeks in Bahrain sup-porting the Global War on Terrorism,” saidChief Hull Maintenance Technician(EOD) Jeff Bailey. “While in Bahrain wereceived training we could not get any-where else. We trained in the desert as wellas in the water, while protecting foreigninterest. After spending a little time inBahrain, it is good to see that our militaryassets are also interested in things here athome.
Gulf Coast Maritime Domain Aware-ness Initiative is a Homeland SecurityExercise specifically focusing on protect-ing my country, my people, my brothersand sisters. This exercise will help tocoordinate efforts between the CoastGuard and the Navy to achieve a betterstate of readiness as well as protect ourway of life and our freedoms fromterrorist activity.”
“Anytime we get a chance to get inthe water it is training for us,” said EODLt. Jeffrey Myers.
“This is also an opportunity to trainwith new equipment,” said Uzzi. “Theequipment that we will be using is the MK7, which is a deep water lift system for
EODMU 12 Divers during the setting of the MK 7Deepwater Lift Kit.
Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Mobile Unit Twelve Det 10prepare to guide the Cerberus Swimmer Detection System intothe water at Naval Station Pascagoula.
8 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
mine recovery, the AGA 2G, a fullface scuba mask and also wirelessin-water communications. Thewireless communication systemallows crew members top-sideto communicate with personnelunderwater.”
OCD teams will not only beable to assess their unit capabilities,they are also key players in theoverall operation of GCI.
“Our main purpose in thisexercise is the deployment of the‘the egg’ (Cerberus Swimmer De-tection System),” said Myers. “Theegg is a device that is designed tobe a high-tech watchdog protectingour ships and coastline from terror-ist insurgence. We will see how wellit detects swimmers beneath the wa-ter and how well those monitoringthe system can differentiate be-tween terrorist (swimmers) andother creatures that travel underwa-ter as we play out our scenarios.”
With the efforts of EODMU-12 Det 10, members of this exer-cise will be able to explore techniques andthe interaction of federal (including DoD),state and local agencies preparing for andresponding to terrorism in a maritime en-vironment. In addition, the exercise is de-signed to provide a dynamic learning en-vironment at both the management andtactical levels in support of local, state andnational response plans.
“We will be able to examine theeffectiveness of our ability to monitor andprevent potential terrorist activity on ourcoastal waters and against our assets,” saidAviation Ordnanceman 1st Class RichardSteele, EOD operations officer. “Theseguys, outside of deploying the egg, willact as the bad guys and try to infiltrate anti-terrorism detection devices and test the
Navy’s ability todetect enemy swim-mers. This is impor-tant to force protec-tion and making surethat our coastline andfleet is safe.”
“Training likethis is invaluableto the reservist ofEODMU-12,” saidInterior Communica-tions Electrician 2nd
Class Robbie Young.“This gives us theability to coexistwith our active-dutyc o u n t e r p a r t s . Wework hand in hand,like brothers.”
EODMU-12 Det 10 Diver, enters the water to test the recentlydeployed Cerebus Swimmer Detection System, which is able todifferentiate between marine life and swimmers.
Author: Mark V. LonsdalePublisher: Best Publishing Company
Reviewer: Bill McDonald (MWSA President)
United States Navy Diver:Performance Under Pressure
The Most Complete Book On Navy Divers!
Military Writers Society of America’s TOPRATING - FIVE STARS
MWSA BOOK REVIEW
Originally published onwww.militarywriters.com website.
LTJG Kevin Grant of EODMU-12 Det 10 tends adiver line during the insertion of the CerberusSwimmer Detection System into the water.
Author Mark Lonsdale has done a greatservice to the Navy diving program
with his coffee table sized book “UnitedStates Navy Diver –Performance UnderPressure.” This isthe most completeand comprehensivebook on the subjectthat can be found.It truly honors thetraditions and gloryof the entire Navyd iv ing programfrom hard hat diving to SEALS.
This book is packed with great photosand lots of history, data, trivia, facts, andanecdotal information. There is enoughinformation in the book to give the readerone of the richest educational experienceson the subject of the diving programs thatone can have without actually having tojoin the U.S. Navy. The book takes thereader through the early history of U.S.Naval diving and the equipment. It tacklestraining and operations, including deepsubmergence and submarine rescue, to thewar on terrorism. The reader will get aneducational look at all aspects of thediving programs.
It is evident that this book was wellresearched and documented. It obviouslywas a labor of love for the author.Lonsdale really pays great homage andtribute to all those who have served in theNavy diving program. He treats the readerto an insider look at what we normallynever see, or know little about. This is abook you would be proud to display onyour own coffee table. The photos aloneare well worth going through the book tolook at. The text only adds to the fullexperience!
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 9
Think back to when you were inschool and learned about Antarctica.
It’s where the South Pole is; it’s really,really cold, ice everywhere and home topenguins. I’m here to tell you that readingabout it in books, or even seeing it on theDiscovery Channel is not the same asbeing there.
A brief history lesson; McMurdoStation is Antarctica’s largest communitybuilt on bare volcanic rock of Hut PointPeninsula on Ross Island, the farthestsouth solid ground that is accessible byship. Established in 1956, it is the logis-tics hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program,with a harbor, landing strips on sea iceand shelf ice, and a helicopter pad. Its 85or so buildings range in size from a smallradio shack to large, three-story structures.The station takes its name from McMurdoSound, which James Clark Ross namedin 1841 after Lieutenant ArchibaldMcMurdo of the ship Terror.
The station accommodates 1200people in the summer and 200 in thewinter. Research is performed at andnear McMurdo in aeronomy and astro-physics, biology and medicine, geologyand glacial geology, and oceanclimate systems. The National ScienceFoundation (NSF) is the U.S. governmentagency responsible for the operation ofMcMurdo.
The station receives major supplies,cargo and fuel to operate just once a year,
in the summer by ship. If these suppliesdon’t reach the station, the entire opera-
tion would be in jeopardy. These shipsmust transit through 20 miles of sea ice toreach McMurdo. This transit is madepossible by icebreaker. The U.S. CoastGuard has been the normal provider oficebreaking capability, but this year wasdifferent. NSF contracted the Russianowned Far East Shipping Company(FESCO) to provide icebreaking servicesto McMurdo. It was during these dutiesthe Motor Vessel Icebreaker KRASINexperienced a substantial vibration fromtheir starboard shaft. The ship returned toMcMurdo and NSF divers, yes they havedivers there, inspected the ship andreported that one of the 12,000 lb bladeswas missing from the starboard shaft. Theship has three propellers (port, stbd and
centerline), each havingfour bolt-on blades. Theloss of this single bladereduced the ships abilityto break ice substantially,so much so that emergentrepairs were needed.
NSF contacted 00Cto make repairs. 00Chad previously been toMcMurdo to make bladerepairs to USCGC PO-LAR STAR (WAGB 10).Since welding repairswere likely in support ofthis operation, 00C con-
tracted Phoenix International, Inc, 00C’sdiving services contractor to travel to
McMurdo to replace the missingpropeller blade and ESSM to pro-vide hydraulic tools and the HytorcSystem. KRASIN carried onboardreplacement propeller blades andbolts. All that was needed was adiving capability, and a means totravel 14,000 miles from the U.S.to Antarctica.
NSF has logistics fine-tuned to ascience, no pun intended. RaytheonPolar Services is responsible forthe transport of all personnel andequipment to and from the ice.All you need to do is get to
Christchurch, New Zealand; where theUnited States Antarctic Program is based.
Once there you are completely out-fitted with all the Antarctic gear you need.Even though the weather in New Zealandwas summer, and 75 degree’s, they won’tlet you on the plane unless you are fullydressed out in Extreme Cold Weather(ECW) gear. You board an U.S. Air Forceplane, a C-17 in this case, for the 2,000-mile flight. You land on an ice runway, ofcourse. Then it’s onboard a monster truckcalled Ivan the Terra Bus that takes youthe one hour ride to McMurdo. Everyvehicle at McMurdo is beyond heavy duty.Some of them even have tank tracksinstead of tires. Once you arrive, you aregiven indoctrination on life at McMurdo,where everything is, and keys to yourbarracks room. One thing I forgot tomention. The sun is up all day, 24 hours aday. It just circles the sky. Makes you alittle crazy after the first few days. Beatsbeing there in the winter when it’s totaldarkness for about four months.
We got right to work. The shipwas pierside, although pierside atMcMurdo is different than anywhereelse. The pier is made of, you guessedit: ice. It’s 400 ft long, 300 ft wide and 21ft thick with wire rope running throughit like reinforced concrete. It’s a man-made ice cube. It’s covered in volcanicdirt. You would never know it was ice
Diver working on starboard CPP propeller.
Rigging blade off ship.
1 0 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
or that it floats unless you are told so, orsee the signs that say “Ice Pier”.
The NSF folks were there to supportus every step of the way: without them,working in this environment would be im-possible. They built us a shack on the iceto run the dive station, provided us withtwo sources of electrical power, heatingblankets and heaters to warm up the fro-zen compressors, machine shop services,cranes, forklifts, and even a backhoe. Weneeded the backhoe to break a hole in theice for diver access. The forklifts pickedup all of our air, water and hydraulic hoseseach night and put them inside a heatedwarehouse so they would not freeze, thendelivered them to us each morning. Weeven had a phone line in the shack with
numbers to all the movers and shakers atNSF. You have to admire these folks thatspend six months at a time, even throughthe winter, to support all that happens here.They are experts in every sense of theword, and many of them come back hereyear after year.
Early on we discovered the rootcause of how and why the ship lost one ofits propeller blades. Each blade is held inplace with eight bolts. Each bolt is fiveinches in diameter, weighs 88 lbs each andis torqued in place with up to 27,000 ft/lbs. This presented another problem for00C engineers. How to interpret the draw-ings for the 40-year-old ship that was builtin Europe, and were printed in Russian.Each hex head bolt had two metal plates,keepers, which were cut to fit the head of
the bolt and were welded in-side the blade palm. Thesewelded keepers prevented thebolts from backing out. Eachrecess for the bolts was alsofilled in with concrete. In manycases on the remaining blades,most of the concrete was miss-ing, and many of the keeperplates were missing as well.The high stress of ice break-ing had taken its toll on theblades and hardware that keptthem in place. Once the keep-ers failed, the bolts startedbacking out. Once enough bolts came out,the remaining bolts were ripped right outof the hub. This was key in determining
our repair course of action.Since four of eight boltholeswere wiped with little or nothread material remaining, re-installation of bolts as part ofinstalling a replacementblade would be impossible.The minimum torque to holdeach bolt (12,000 ft/lbs)would never be achieved. Itwas decided not to in-stall a blade, removeall remnant bolt ma-terial, and fabricatekeeper plates andweld them on boltheads on the other
propeller blades. 00C also recom-mended with NSF to FESCO, theship owner that we should removethe opposite blade, so the shaftwould be in balance. FESCO re-jected this option as getting theship out to sea sooner to break icewas more important. Keep in mindthat two ships were still waiting 20 milesout for passage to McMurdo, so the clockwas ticking.
The KRASIN fabricated the keeperplates, and Phoenix divers went to workwelding the plates in place. We also usedthe Hytorc machine to check the torqueon the bolts that did not have any keeperplates on them. No movement wasobserved on any of the bolts. All workwas completed on our seventh day of
operation. KRASIN got underway imme-diately once we cleared the water; weeven handled lines and cast off the ship.The ship went to sea for several hoursand returned so we could inspect ourwork. All keepers were intact and nofurther damage resulted. KRASIN left forthe last time to start her escort dutiesand get McMurdo Station filled withgroceries, gas, spare parts and morescientists.
We packed our bags and left thefollowing day the way we arrived; dressed
in 25 lbs of foul weather gear. We evenfound time to get a few souvenirs andpolish our sea stories for years to come.If you ever get the chance to go to “TheIce”, go. You won’t regret it. It’s worththe 28,000 miles you have to travel toget there and back, even if you are flyingin the middle seat!
The KRASIN crew.
KRASIN in the ice.
Phoenix diver up and over.
Scott Heineman is the Underwater Ship Hus-bandry Operations Specialist at NAVSEA 00C.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 1 1
K
K
Kirby Morgan designs and manu-factures a line of commercial/
military diver’s masks and helmetsthat are in use throughout the world.The development of the present dayequipment has taken place in the last 40years.
The Kirby Morgan Corporation wasfounded by Bev Morgan and Bob Kirbyin 1966 in Santa Barbara, California. Thepurpose of the Corporation was (and is)to manufacture high quality commercial/military diving equipment. Prior to thestart of the Corporation, Bob Kirby andBev Morgan were commercial divers.Kirby was a former U.S. Navy diverbefore that. Both worked as abalone diversalong the California Coast. They bothbelieved that better masks and helmetswere possible and had independentlybeen working on designs of their own.Morgan made his first demand maskin 1949 and Kirby made his shortly afterthat.
The first products manufactured bythe Kirby Morgan Corporation wereheavy gear helmets. The transition fromtraditional helmets to the Kirby Morgan37 and the Super-Mask 48 is filled withinteresting underwater mask and helmetinnovations that are shown and describedbelow. The mechanical products are pre-sented here.
Copper & Brass
KMAH-1. The Kirby MorganCommercial Air Helmet.
This helmet was manufactured from1965 to 1967 (Kirby and Morgan wereworking together as partners prior to the
Both of the above helmets weremanufactured by Yokohama DivingApparatus from 1966 to 1990. Kirbyand Morgan could not economicallyproduce the helmets in the United States.Yokohama Diving Apparatus is no longerin business.
Composite Helmets
Kirby Morgan began development ofa line of light, fiberglass based masks andhelmets which have culminated in thecurrent (2004) state of the art masks andhelmets produced by Kirby Morgan DiveSystems, Inc. today. These masks andhelmets have a long and varied history,which is briefly touched on below. Theendless research and testing continuestoday, ensuring that the Kirby Morganproducts of today are the best and safestequipment to be found anywhere in theWorld.
KMHeH-2. The Kirby MorganCommercial Helium Helmet.
This helmet was manufactured from1965 to 1967. The design was the same asthe air hat with the addition of apermanently mounted canister andventuri recirculator system. A standardSodasorb® CO
2 absorbent chemical
cartridge was utilized in the canister. Thishelmet was the first practical commercialhelium helmet with a venturi. Mr. H. DanWilson was the first designer and user ofa commercial helium helmet that used ademand system, not a venturi. His helmetpreceded this hat by two years. The U.S.Navy was the pioneer of gas diving,starting in the ‘30s.
MCSHX-3. The Morgan Clam Shell.
Ed: The editors of Faceplate feltthat this history would providevaluable education for our youngerdivers who might be interested in howdiving equipment developed over thepast 40 years. The Mask section willfollow in the next issue of Faceplate.We plan to include information onother equipment manufacturers infuture issues.
Kirby Morgan Corporation formation).The breastplate was made by YokohamaDiving Apparatus. The helmet was spunfrom two sheets of copper by HummelProducts in Santa Barbara. The formingand assembly was done by Kirby Morgan.The helmet had several improvementsover previous designs. The viewingports were made of one inch plexiglass,threaded to screw into the helmet andsealed with O rings. This eliminated theneed for grills over the former glass ports,and thus improved visibility. Incoming airwas more effectively silenced, improvingcommunications and preventing a loss ofhearing to the diver.
KMCSHX-4. Kirby Morgan ClamShell Helmet.
The Kirby Morgan Clam Shell Hel-met was designed and made in 1966 un-der contract with the U.S. Navy Experi-mental Diving Unit. The helmet was de-signed for use with semi-closed circuitbreathing systems. The rear of the helmetwas free-flooding. Only one prototype wasmade and tested.
This hat was designed to be dry over theentire head with a neck seal. It was notimmediately successful and was not usedbeyond tank testing. The primary problemwas leaking in the joint between the frontand rear of the hat. By the time this wasfixed, other designs had been created andthis hat was abandoned.
1 2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
KMCSHX-5. Kirby Morgan ClamShell Helmet.
The next progression in clamshells, this helmet used a demand regu-lator as a back up breathing system. Themain breathing system was a backmounted semi-closed recirculator. Thisphotograph shows Kirby suited up fora test, using a chest mounted breathingbag on a venturi recirculator. This hel-met was free flooding in the rear andwas made of fiberglass. Only one wasmade in 1967.
KMCSH-6. Kirby Morgan ClamShell Helmet.
This was the final version of theearly Kirby Morgan Clam Shell Hel-mets. The hinge point was at the front.It was made of fiberglass and was free-flooding in the rear. Twelve of these hel-mets were made in 1968 for the U.S.Navy and eight for commercial use.Several dry head versions of this hel-met were tested, but were not success-ful. The wet head version had limitedsuccess.
KMSLH-7. Kirby Morgan Semi-Light Helmet.
At the same time the clam shell se-ries was being made, the Semi-Light fi-ber glass helmet was designed andmanufactured. A face seal separated theface area of this helmet from the back.The first was made in 1966. In all, 36Semi-Lights were made and sold. Thehelmet was discontinued due to lack oftime and funding. This helmet was thedirect forerunner to the Kirby MorganSuperLite-17.
KMSLHX-8. Kirby MorganExperimental Semi-Light Helmet.
One modified version of the Semi-Light was made and tested. The balancewas not right so the helmet was notmanufactured.
MHX-9. Experimental Helmet.
This unnamed helmet was designedto be used with a rubber mask sectioninserted into the forward part of the hel-met. One was made and tested.
MH-10. The Morgan 10Recirculator Helmet.
This hat was designed in 1971to be used with the General ElectricMark 10 closed circuit breathingsystem. The side mounted tubeswere connected to hoses that ranbreathing gas to and from the backmounted recirculator. A unique hoodthat was easily removable and ad-justable was used on this unit.
MH-11. Morgan 11 RecirculatorHelmet.
This helmet was similar to theMH-10 with the addition of a de-mand regulator which was used asa backup breathing system. It dif-fers very little from the Band Maskdesign in appearance. The gas flowtubes are provided for use with theWestinghouse supplied U.S. NavyMark 11 breathing system. Thediver’s head was dry in this hat.
MHX-12. Morgan 12Experimental Dry Helmet
Design To Attach To A BandMask.
A rubber hood liner inside thehard helmet provided a dry environ-ment for the diver’s head. Two ver-sions were made. This design led tothe KMH-16.
KHX-13. The Bucket Hat.
This helmet was made as a joke,but several important findings weremade as a result of water testing thisunit. The helmet dives quite welland is surprisingly comfortable.
MHX-14. Morgan Helmet,Experimental 14.
This hat had a rubber insert inthe front which isolated the diver’sface from the rest of the helmet toimprove the operation of the de-mand regulator. Water tests were notfavorable, so work on this hat wasstopped.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 1 3
KHX-15. The Kirby Helmet,Experimental 15.
One was made and sold to the U.S.Navy. It was made of fiberglass and fit-ted with a simple steady flow breath-ing system. This hat was used as a plat-form on which to test a new neck damand yoke system. The rubber neck dam(seal) is attached to a metal band thatis clamped with a cam lever around thecircular neck area of the helmet. Theyoke system provides a closure at thebottom of the helmet that is smallerthan a diver’s head and securely fas-tens the hat to the head.
KHXD-15. The KirbyExperimental Demand 15.
This helmet had several featuresthat were new. A silenced servo demandregulator was positioned on the side ofthe hat. One was made and tested. Theoverall size of the helmet requiredcounter balancing weight that made itheavier than we liked.
KMH-16. The Kirby MorganHelmet 16.
This helmet was an add on hat forthe KMB-10 Band Mask. A rubberhood inside the fiberglass helmet pro-vided a dry head environment to thediver. The neck seal clamped in placewith a cam-action band similar to theSuperLite-17.
KMSL-17A/B. Kirby MorganSuperLite-17B.
The SuperLite-17B CommercialDiver’s Helmet was introduced in1975. It was the culmination of all theyears of testing and alterations by KirbyMorgan. This helmet set the workingstandard for the commercial diving in-dustry worldwide for many years.Many thousands of underwater hourshave proved the design to be depend-able, comfortable, and extremely safe.The 17 continues to be the most widelyused commercial diving helmet in theWorld.
KMSL-27. Kirby MorganSuperLite-27.
The SuperLite-27 was intro-duced in 1991. Advances in metalmachining that allowed cost reduc-tion of the matched neck ring-neckdam ring designs. This enabled us tomake improvements to that area ofthe helmet to improve sealing fromwater leaks and make the locking sys-tem simple but more secure. We alsoreduced the size of the helmet shellto reduce the buoyancy and weightof the hat.
KMSL-17K. Kirby MorganSuperLite-17K.
We received many inquiriesfrom divers with larger heads to makethe improved neck ring, neck sealsystem on a larger hat. We combinedthe standard 17 shell design and the27 neck ring design to make the 17K.This gave the divers who preferredthe 17 the improved next ring at nochange in the 17 size. However, therewas some customer confusion andmany of our customers did not real-ize the 17K was a very different hatfrom the 17B.
KMH-37. Kirby Morgan Helmet37.
The model 37 Kirby MorganHelmet made it clear that this newhat was an improved model and notjust another 17. A new and very ad-vanced exhaust system, the Tri-ValveExhaust, was added to the 17K tomake it the 37. The new exhaust sys-tem made the 37 very dry and yetlowered the breathing resistance.
KMH-47. Kirby Morgan Helmet47.
As yet not released for sale, thishat has by far the lowest breathingresistance of any mask or helmet onthe market. The new, “Rex” regulatorsystem incorporates a balanced valveregulator that has proven rugged,reliable, and low maintenance.Testing continues on this hat.
1 4 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
MMM
My brother Greg and I were stationedaboard the USS Hartley (DE 1029)
in the early sixties. Even though I was theone that ended up being a Navy SaturationDiver, my brother Greg was the one thatfirst got into diving. I remember hepurchased or traded for an old wet suit,regulator, mask, fins and a set of double38s. Neither of us knew the dangers ofdiving but we were both fully aware ofthe mystique and challenge of diving.After all we both made sure we nevermissed a SEA HUNT show. Mike Nelsonwas our hero.
Anyway, Greg and I were in charge ofthe mechanics of the motor whaleboat anda boatswain mate by the name of Butler(I think that was his name) was in chargeof the boat itself.
The three of us decided to go diving.We got all of Greg’s gear together andfound an old drysuit in the boatswain’slocker. It was the two piece king thatrolled together with a large o-ring.
We got underway and went out into themiddle of the bay. I think we even tied upto a buoy (real knowledgeable sailors).We decided I would try out Greg’sequipment first. I put all the gear on anddived head first into the bay. Needless tosay the first thing that happened was I lostthe mask. I tried to swim after it but myears were in the process of imploding. Ialso had way too much weight on andstarted sinking. I thought I was going todie. I finally managed to make it to the
Captain Gary Windhorst, Commanding Officerof the Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposaland Diving (CENEODD) presents a belatedNavy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal(For Heroic Action) to Gregory J. Sullivan forhis act of heroism while stationed aboard theUSS Hartley in 1967. Greg’s wife Janet ob-serves.
(“Sea Hunt” continued on p. 22)
put a little air in it to make sure he wasbuoyant. Butler told us he didn’t knowhow to swim but wanted to try it anyway.Seems to me he just wanted to trybreathing underwater, even though we hadlost the mask. We tied a line around hiswaist. He dove in the water headfirst also.When he hit the water all the air in thesuit went to his feet, which kept his headunderwater. Greg and I got a big laughout of that sight. But we figured he wasfine cause he had SCUBA on. Pretty soonhe started thrashing around in the waterand ended up spinning around andwrapping the line around himself like atop. Greg and I finally realized he was introuble. We started pulling in on the linereal fast and Butler just started spinninglike a top being unwound. Finally we gotdown to the knot and pulled him out ofthe water. He never had a clue thatanything was wrong but did say hecouldn’t understand why we would wantto learn to SCUBA dive. As far as he wasconcerned, it wasn’t very much fun.
The reason I write about this isalthough my brother Greg was not a NavyDiver, approximately 40 years ago whilestationed on the above mentioned ship, heperformed an act of heroism that went un-recognized until a couple of Navy Diversgot involved. I told the above story toCaptain Helmkamp about my first diveduring a sea story telling session a fewyears ago. Later I remembered somethingelse Greg had done that I felt needed
surface. I just wanted out of the water andinto the boat. Greg was ready to try it butI had lost his mask. So we suited up Butlerin the drysuit. We really didn’t know whatwe were doing here either. We finallyfigure out how to roll the top and bottomtogether with the o-ring. But our biggestmistake was assuming the “DEFLATOR”hose was an “INFLATOR” hose, so we
KMH-57. Kirby Morgan 57. major motion picture productions suchas, “Sphere”. Other designs have beenused in many other television anddocumentary productions.
Many of our original designs havebeen copied by the current crop ofcompetitors. Some of the copiers areso bold as to claim our designs astheirs. Unfortunately this prevents usfrom showing all of our experimentalmasks and helmets. Hopefully, the patentprocess will keep them at bay.
Bev Morgan worked as acommercial diver for manyyears. Shortly after be-coming a diver, he starteddesigning and makingequipment and formed Kirby Morgan inthe early 1960’s. Through continuedresearch and innovation, KMDSI hasdeveloped the world’s leading line ofdiving helmets and full face masks.
The next helmet to be introducedwill be the Kirby Morgan 57. In additionto several other improvements, thishelmet will have a new stainless steelregulator that has extremely lowbreathing resistance.
Several other helmets have beendeveloped by Kirby Morgan overthe years. Over 200 prototypes ofvarying designs have been made.Some of the hats have been used in
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 1 5
O
O
On 17 January 1966, a B-52 bombercollided with a KC-135 tanker
aircraft while refueling over Spain. Thecollision and explosion destroyed bothaircraft. Most crew members of the twoA/C perished, only four crew member ofthe B-52 survived. During AC break-up, four Nuclear (Hydrogen) Bombsdescended as part of the total debristhat rained down on Spain and theMediterannean Sea. Three H-Bombsimpacted on land and were later RenderedSafe by AF EOD personnel. At least oneof the H-Bombs had low ordered andburned, spreading alpha contaminationover a large land area (and the shallows ofthe sea where it rapidly dispersed). Theparachute deployed on the fourthH-Bomb and it descended slowly whilebeing steered by the winds, eventuallysplashing into the Med. and descending tothe depths off the coast of Palomares,Spain.
The A.F. mounted an operation torecover the H-Bombs, the A/C Debris andmitigate the Apha Contamination that wasspread across the rural landscape. TheUSS KIOWA (ATF 12) conducted a two-day surface search for aircraft debrisbefore being released. On January 19, theUSS SAGACITY (MSO 469), USS PIN-NACLE (MSO 462), and a forward-deployed EOD Team from EODU2 starteda near shore search with mine huntingsonar, while the EOD Team conductedshallow water searches in the surf line.The EOD Team recovered two B-52ejection seats.
On January 22, the A.F. requestedassistance from the U.S. Navy. This re-quest set in motion a massive response tolocate, recover, and Render Safe themissing H-Bomb. In Washington DC, theNavy convened a Technical AdvisoryGroup (TAG), Chaired by RADM L. V.Swanson. This group was composedof individuals highly respected in theirchosen field of expertise. Among themwere Dr. John P. Craven (well knownfor his work on deep submergence) andCAPT W. F. Searle, Jr. (former Supervi-sor of Salvage and Director of Ocean En-
gineering at the Naval Ships SystemsCommand). The TAG identified fourresearch submarines along with otherequipment that could be of use during theproposed operation. Action was taken toimmediately start moving additionalskilled personnel, the four submersibles,and other assets to Spain.
I was the Officer in Charge ofEODU2, Charleston, S.C. with the MineForce Command, Atlantic Fleet. EODU2was responsible for EOD Incidents onthe East Coast of the United States andsupported the Atlantic Fleet, including theEuropean Theater. That night I receiveda call from the Duty Captain at CNO,directing EODU2 to respond with person-nel and EOD assets. A general recallbrought all EODU2 in and we were pre-pared to depart early on the morning ofthe 23rd. We departed Charleston on a KC-135 (stationed at Bergstrom AFB, Texas)from the same tanker squadron of thetanker lost over Spain. It was a very sol-
emn start of a demanding operation. Aftera number of weather related and scheduledelays we arrived “Camp Wilson” atPalomares about 0830-25 Jan. The crewset up tents and diving equipment near thebeach and checked out logistics. I was firstbriefed by the A.F. Operations Officer andabout 0930 reported to RADM Guest onhis flagship, USS MACDONOUGH(DLG 8). I was assigned to the staff ofCTF 65 as the Assistant Operations Of-ficer for EOD and Diving. The EOD of-ficers and men at Camp Wilson contin-ued to ready things for diving and were inthe water later that same day. Bouys andjackstay lines were used to ensure that acomplete search would be accomplished.The sea was calm, very little wave action,and visibility about 25 feet. They soon en-countered A/C debris in the shallows.
Soon many other individuals andsurface vessels reported for duty. Therewere Navy Officers, Scientists, Opera-tional Analyst, Technicians, auxiliary
The H-Bomb over USS PETREL (ARS 14) fantail.
1 6 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
ships, amphibious ships, salvage ships,and more divers. Eventually about 23ships and 3,400 personnel were involvedto one degree or another. We worked longhours to develop a viable Operations Planand determine if those unproven systemsthat were offered would work in the harshenvironment of the operating site. TheNavy did not have search equipment orremote control vehicles capable of work-ing at the required depth. As the Op Planwas being finalized, I was also designated:CTG 65.3 – Inshore Underwater SearchGroup. Initially EOD personnel conductedthe search until the USS FORTSNELLING (LSD 30) and UDT 22, Med.Detachment reported in. The EOD/UDTdivers also conducted towed searcheswhen visibility and weather permitted, andcontinued searching until the search areato a depth of 80 feet was covered twice ormore. (After the operation was complete,it was officially reported that EOD/UDTdivers located over 50 tons of debris.) Themission of CTG 65.3 was later ex-panded to include the salvage, re-covery and Render Safe of the H-Bomb. We were also concernedabout possible Alpha contaminationand requested the A.F. monitor theshoreline between our search areaand the debris site. In addition, weconducted Alpha radiation monitor-ing on all ships. The A.F. did findsome contamination and movedpart of the camp complex to a cleanarea. No Alpha contamination wasreported by any CTF 65 ship.
It is impossible to rememberall the dedicated officers and menthat were a part of Salvops Med, butsome of the individuals involvedwith setting up search parameterswere:• LCDR “Brad” Mooney –Designated as CTG 65 AssistantOperations Officer for DeepSubmersibles. He was a qualifiedSubmarine Officer and former OICand Pilot of the Bathyscape TriesteII. He was at the controls of TriesteII when the debris of the SSNThrasher was investigated in thedepths of the Atlantic.
• LCDR Malcom “Mal” MacKinnon –Naval Architect/Engineer, represented theSupervisor of Salvage.• CAPT Ray Pitts USN (Ret.) – CEO ofOcean Systems, Inc. and Senior ContractAdministrator. All civilian contractorsworked through CAPT Pitts.• Mr. Jon Lindbergh, Ocean Systems, Inc.– Underwater and diving consultant.Lindburg had served with UDT Unitswhile on active duty and worked in un-derwater research and diving after leav-ing the Navy.• Dr. Henry R. “Tony” Richardson,Daniel Wagner Associates – OperationsTactical Analyst. Worked on the Threshersearch and was an expert in search theory.(Unfortunately the Navy was in the posi-tion that we may have to prove the nega-tive. In other words, if we did not find theH-Bomb, we had to prove statistically thatit was not there. The Navy was in a reallyhot seat.)
The search effort was divided upaccording to personnel and equipmentcapability. Admittedly, we pushed theenvelope, as it would be easier to becomemore conservative as the operationunfolded and operational constraints wererefined. The search parameters were:• 0 – 80 feet – SCUBA Divers
• 80 – 250 feet – Honeywell Sea Scan-ner mounted on a utility boat. Contactsidentified by SCUBA or Hard Hat.• 80 – 400 feet – PC3B Cubmarine. Con-tacts identified by SCUBA, Hard Hat orphotograph.• Shallow Water – 600 feet – Minesweeps(MSO) with Mine Hunting Sonar. Con-tacts identified by Cubmarine, Hard Hator photograph.• Deep Water – Westinghouse OBSS.Deep Submersibles Alvin and Aluminaut.Contacts in deep water were photographedfor identification.
(One critical incident occurred when
The EOD men were joined by CAPT Page, C of S, CTF 65 and an unidentified A/F officer. Theauthor is third from left.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 1 7
a Salvage Ship, with divers down,was placed at hazard by another ship.The voice net got pretty hot, whenthe Salvage Ships C.O. pointed outthe errors of endangering his divers.The Task Force Commander imme-diately corrected the situation andthereafter the C.O. of a Salvage Shipwould be designated On Scene Com-mander when diving operations wereongoing.)
Deep Search Equipment
In the meantime some of theequipment for deep search startedarriving.
Westinghouse Ocean BottomScanning Sonar (OBSS) is a low fre-quency towed sonar system was de-signed for mapping the geology of theocean floor. The OBSS had some suc-cess, but it was ill suited as a searchvehicle for a small target on an un-even precipitous bottom. Severalships toiled for several weeks (losingtwo tow fish after striking bottom)until the system was returned to CO-NUS. (Experience with the OBSSpointed out the need for a dedicatedhigh speed oceanographic winch anda smaller (lighter) side scan sonar sys-tem for deep ocean search.)
Honeywell Sea Scanner and Bot-tom Profiler gave a visual readout and wasequipped with an over the side transducer.It was mounted on a utility boat and em-ployed in water depth from 80 to 200 feetof water. Targets were checked/identified/recovered by divers. The system had lim-ited success on the larger pieces of debrisand was used through most of the opera-tion. (It’s a great fish finder and manycommercial fishermen used the unit in theGulf of Mexico.) The Bottom Profilergave a nice profile of the bottom, but hadlittle success in locating debris.
Decca Hi-Fix Navigation System isa low frequency system which requirethree stations, one central interrogator an-tenna and two remote stations (responder)antennas about 15 miles North and South.Accuracy reported to be less then 30 yards,but found to be greater during the opera-tion. Navy Oceanographic Office’s Sur-
vey Ship, USNS DUTTON steamed in andwas employed in a underwater surveyfrom which charts were published and theDecca System was surveyed in. DUTTONalso placed some underwater velocitymeters. (Prior to DUTTON charts, the TFhad to depend on some old Spanish chartsdated in the early 1900’s.)
NOTS, Pasadena Underwater Tele-vision Cameras consisted of two TVCameras and UW lights mounted in anover the side cage. It quickly provedunsatisfactory and was shipped back toCONUS.
The first submersible staged to Spainby air was the Deep Jeep which isdesigned to withstand a depth of 2,000 feetfor four hours. DJ was found to be under-powered and after about three attempts todive was returned to CONUS.
The Cubmarine PC3B, (arrived
about Feb. 16) built by Perry Submarinesand owned by Ocean Systems, Inc lookedlike a big torpedo with a two person(operator/observer) compartment on thetop center. It was a great performer inwater depths down to about 400 feet. ADecca Receiver was installed with a trail-ing wire antenna. When debris was sightedthe PC3B would settle on the bottom andif within diving limits, a diver would de-scend to complete the recovery. The PC3Bwas very versatile and rugged like a littlesubmarine. It was easy to maintain andcould be housed onboard and deployed bythe flagships boat crane. (I have workedwith other Perry Submarines since thePalomares Salvops and they have all beenoutstanding performers.)
The USNS MIZAR is an Oceano-graphic Research ship that had located thedebris field of the SSN THRESHER. The
Unidentified A/F officer, MGEN Wilson, the author, CAPT. Page and RADM Guest inspecting thedamage to the aft end of the bomb.
1 8 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
MIZAR had a moon pool and a largewinch system capable of towing instru-ments at great depth. MIZAR was out-fitted to track and direct Alvin andAluminaut, therefore allowing them toreturn to the bomb. Pingers were alsorequisitioned to assist in returning to aspecific underwater location.
Operations
Salvage ships started arriving, amongthem the USS Petrel (ASR 14) reportedin on 1 February. They were employed inidentification and recovery and towing op-erations. The Salvage Ships spent sometime laying and recovering multiple legmoors. Even when in a tight moor over acontact, it was difficult for the hard hatdivers because of mobility, visibility andcurrent. Eventually hard hat divers wereprimarily used in recovery operations.
MGEN Wilson and RADM Guest inspecting the H-Bomb for the benefit of the international press.
Looking back in hindsight, a lot of divingmanpower was wasted, waiting for mean-ingful tasks that were compatible withhard hat diving.
Operations settled down over timeand some ships and individuals weredetached. On 10 February Alvin andAluminaut arrived. Alvin could beused to search the canyon areas, whileAluminaut was limited to the smootherbottom areas. Alvin underwent a shortshake down and then commenced search-ing the rugged underwater slopes. Alvinsighted a skid mark going downslope un-like any of the trawl marks sighted on theflatter ocean floor. Alvin followed the skidmark down, often having to back downwhile increasing depth (sometime paus-ing to let the silt cloud clear) and eventu-ally spotted the H-Bomb. Several unsuc-cessful attempts to send down recoverylines were attempted. We were faced with
the fact that Alvin would havebeen placed in danger and wasunder powered to carry down aline and the ocean environmentcarried away other systems. A rigdesigned by Pitts, Moody andLindbergh, hence the code name“POODLE” was sent down by theMizar and placed close to thebomb. The POODLE tumbledover on the bottom and Alvin wasunable to clear all but one grapple.That grapple was attached to theparachute and a lift attempted byMizar. Mizar drifted towardshore, dragging the weaponupslope. The grapple line failedand the weapon skidded backdownslope. CTF 65 was onceagain engaged in a search effort.The Navy also towed two barges
into the Atlantic Ocean, where air-craft debris that had been recov-ered (ashore and underwater) wasjettisoned in deep water (over6,000 feet). After the barges re-turned to Spain, a small Alphareading was detected. Two EODTechnicians were dispatched tothe Spanish port to supervise thedecontamination of the barges.Capt. Searle had also set the fol-
lowing in motion:
• The Cable-control Underwater Vehicle(CURV) was modified to work in waterdepths of over 2000 feet, after whichCURV and an operating crew deployedto Spain. “Mal” MacKinnon coordinatedthe modification and also deployed toSpain. This was to be the deepest attemptby a remote control vehicle to recover ex-plosive ordnance from the ocean floor.CURV had already recovered a numberof practice torpedoes in water depths lessthan 2000 feet.
• Several 3000 foot coils of braided threeinch nylon line were dispatched to Spain.Lt Herman Kuntz was also ordered toSpain as an escort to insure the line didnot get side tracked. Most nylon lines atthis time were twisted, vice braided. Thismay well have been the first time braidednylon line was used in a deep ocean lift.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 1 9
After a number of agonizing daysAlvin once again made visual contactwith the bomb. In the meantime CURVhad been embarked on the Petrel. Alvinplaced strobe lights and pingers at thebombs location. During the day thelocal winds blew onshore as the moun-tains warmed from the sun. Wave andwind action during the daylighthourswas marginal. After sunset themountains cooled down and the windscalmed accordingly. We conductedmost of the critical operations at nightto take advantage of the calm wind andsea. The Petrel held position over thesite by use of two LCM’s and CURVdescended, homing in on the pingersand attached a grapple to the parachuterisers. This method was repeated twoother times, one successfully attachinga grapple. CURV was scheduled to de-scend and place the third lift line late theevening of 7 April. In anticipation of theattachment and lift, ADM. Guest shiftedto the Petrel with a number of other staffmembers. There was standing room onlyin the tiny wardroom. The atmospherewas tense and when CURV becameentangled, Howard Talkington, CURVProject Manager, fainted from the stress.Dr. Smith, a respected scientist who hadconstructed a scale model of the bottomterrain and an expert in lift out forceswas onboard. Dr. Smith was extremelyconcerned that a lift from such depth inthe ocean could cause harmonics (orattenuation) in the lift lines and cause thelines to fail. He paced back and forth,hands in his pocket, with an intense frown.So much so that we could tell he wasupsetting some individuals in the ward-room. We steered Dr. Smith topside andas gently as possible asked him to eitherstay clear of the wardroom or lighten up.He understood the need to remain calm,gave us a slight grin and was smiling earto ear before the morning was over. Bothof these men were true gentlemen anddevoted to their individual expertise.When it was apparent that CURV couldnot clear itself the decision was made tolift.
Prior to that decision (and basedon hard lessons learned) it had been
decided that undue stress on the lift lineswould not be acceptable. For exampleif the bomb weighed 1 ton – the maximumallowed force on the lift lines would be5 tons – thus giving us a healthy safetymargin. LCDR Max Harrel, C.O. ofPetrel came up with a well designedsystem to lift, dividing the stress equallybetween the two lift lines, with a dyna-mometer placed such that it would indi-cate the total lift force being exerted.This system was excellent example ofMax Harrells years of experience as asalvor. Once the decision to lift had beenmade it was the Petrel’s show. Max hadalready held the Petrel in position for longhours and he continued to do so until thebomb was on deck. The deck forceconducted a slow lift, monitoring the strainconstantly, until the bomb was in sight atbetween 50-70 feet. Two EOD diversdescended and placed wire straps (at-tached to a 3 inch nylon recovery line)around the bomb in such position that itwould clear the water in a horizontal atti-tude. The weight of the bomb was trans-ferred to the recovery line and hoistedclear of the water. The parachute presenteda problem as it acted like a big sea anchorand had to be dealt with. The bomb wasfinally placed in a skid, allowing Lt. WaltFunston and his combined EOD Team(Navy and Air Force) to render it safe
(RSP). The outside case of the bombwas unclassified, so it was paraded pastthe flagship with a number of interna-tional press personnel to prove we hadremoved a nuclear threat. The carcassof the H-bomb now resides in the SandiaLaboratories Museum in Albuquerque,N.M.
After a demanding (and successful)operation, most participants returnedto normal activities. Shortly there-after some critics of ADM Guest madesome remarks about his leadership styleand ability. They apparently thought hewas too tough, abrasive and ill preparedfor such an operation. I flatly disagreewith those critics. He was challengedwith the toughest, first and only deeprecovery of a nuclear weapon in ourhistory. I found him to be demanding,but fair and sensitive about the condi-
tions that his Task Force experienced andthe hazards faced by the hard workingpeople assigned. If you knew your job,worked hard and performed like a profes-sional, he in turn respected you. That isone of the aspects of salvage and recov-ery in the sea that may not be clear to oth-ers untrained in such matters. Salvage inthe sea is a difficult and demanding task.Divers for years have been known for theirability to accomplish the toughest of tasksunder extreme conditions. When you addexplosives in the mix (particularly nuclearbombs) the risk factor takes a huge leap.I salute all those skilled divers (past andpresent) who put up with tough leaders,tough operations and got the job done.This can be attributed to the people, thetraining and the “Can Do” spirit all upand down the line. During the operationsituation reports (SITREP) weresubmitted daily. One such SITREP thataddressed the thinking of most diversstated: “The individuals engaged inSALVOPS MED diving operations havebeen enthusiastic, devoted and tireless.They could be capable of much moreversatile roles if they were furnishedadequate systems with which to work.An integrated man-in-the-sea programencompassing all continental shelf depthscould optimize the usefulness of thetalented people.”
H-Bomb on the ocean floor, completely covered byits parachute.
2 0 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
DOWNACROSS4 We’re Home! (2 words)7 Salvage Diver (2 words)12 GMs (slang, 2 words, plural)13 Those That render explosives safe (abbr.)14 Junk Food (slang)15 Man Overboard17 Die-Lock or _______ (2 words)19 Creamed hamburger on toast (slang)20 Plague Stopper (2 words)22 Merritt-Chapman and _____23 On a whale and an anchor26 Measure of water depth29 Safety valve on a MK V diving helmet31 Early abbreviation for lab at Panama City32 Side sonar system, also constellation of
the hunter33 Enlisted rating badge35 T-ATF 17136 Type of anchor (abbr.)38 5 Short39 CONREP Sys (abbr.)40 Dip the _____
Note: For a fee, you can use Crossword Weaver to print a nice copy of this puzzle (one that doesn’t look like a web page).You can check it out for free by downloading the demo from www.CrosswordWeaver.com . For puzzle solution, see page 30.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
1 Popular Supervisor of Salvage, Black _______
2 More Than Full3 Stern (slang)5 CVN (slang, 2 words6 Bogus Cleaning Agent (2 words)8 Main Space Engineer (slang, 2 words)9 Repetitive Dive Consideration (abbr.)10 Senior Here (abbr.)11 Stairs16 Navigation instrument18 DD (slang, 2 words)19 Skivvie Waiver21 Popa Topside22 1939 sub lost, later salvaged by divers24 Sewer Pipe (desig, old)25 Sick List reported to the CO27 Propeller28 At the Dip30 Type of underwater patch31 Most senior diver designation (abbr.)34 Number of view ports on a MK V37 “You can trust your keel to the man
who wears the wheel” (abbr.)
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 2 1
Some of the recent observations fromthe system certification folks in
response to visits are recurring and othersare unique. We have listed some recurringproblems and some one-of-a-kindproblems that we thought might beinteresting to you.
5. DIVE SYSTEMS: All dive systemsmust have their own assigned gas supplyand vice versa, each gas supply rack must
9. Dive System/DFS: When a com-mand orders a spare or replacement partfrom a vendor and the part received comesin with a part number other than that calledout in the drawing, a Departure FromSpecification (DFS) must be submitted to00C3. This must be done when the com-mand decides it must use the part receivedbecause there is no longer the availabilityof part (number) called out for in draw-ing. Do not wait to submit DFS until theon-site survey team is conducting survey.
Paul McMurtrie is currently Deep Submer-gence and Saturation Diving Systems Certifi-cation Manager at NAVSEA 00C.
1. Number ONE recurring problem thatstill persists is the lack of significant MDVinvolvement prior to and during thecert visit. Without exception, all the cer-tification surveys have gone smootherwhen the MDV has been significantly in-volved.
2. TRCS/LWDS: Using a 5000-PSIcompressor for jamming a 3000-PSIFlasks without a relief valve on compres-sor or whip has been noticed at some com-mands. This is extremely dangerous andis also ignoring a requirement IAW TRCSTechnical Manual OP-8 and LWDS Tech-nical Manual OP-7. As an option, theLWDS Roof Rack Assembly has a 3300-psig relief valve and is designed for jam-ming bottles that are in this exact circum-stance.
3. TRCS: BENT POPPET VALVESTEM ON NATO MATING RING IN-TERLOCK: When mating the TRC to theTL, caution must be taken when turningthe NATO manway ring. When rotatingthe ring closed, do not “slam” the NATOring “into the stop.” Doing so has dam-aged a number of poppet valve stems,which has resulted in a leaking valve.
4. TRCS: MATING THE SYSTEM:This seems to be a common hurdle duringTRCS certification surveys. It is evidentthat many lockers are not regularly per-forming this task as part of their TRCStraining. It is not only frustrating to theSCA representative to witness repeatedmating attempts during the survey, but weare sure a bit embarrassing for the divingcommand. This is and always will be partof the certification demonstration so en-sure your locker is trained on this proce-dure.
6. TRCS Bulk O2 Supply: If you are
going to use bulk O2 (i.e. O
2 from any
other source but your rack assembly), thewhip from Bulk O
2 to Rack Assembly
must have clean/hydro documentation andcheck valve or properly sized relief valveto prevent inadvertent over-pressurizationof bulk O
2 sources. In addition, a sketch
of the whip assembly and associated ma-terial must be approved by 00C3. The rea-son for this requirement is the possibilityof over pressurization and the possibilityof using unauthorized materials in an O
2
system. These same rules will apply forany future use of the ORCA.
7. Missing OQE: During recent re-views of some REC packages, we havebeen unable to find material OQE for partsreplaced. Where material OQE is re-quired, it must be available for review.For example, the required OQE for an O
2
valve replacement is:- Hydrostatic test data to 1.5 times the working pressure of the system- Valve seat tightness test- Valve cleanliness IAW Mil-Std 1330D or other NAVSEA approved cleaning procedure- Requisition forms and supporting COC’s demonstrating that the valve ordered is in fact the valve received- Proper torque requirements followed and accomplished correctlyRequisition forms or purchase ordersthat have a supporting COC. If thecommands or contractors requisition formstates that the ordered valve will becleaned and tested as previously statedand the supplier or manufacturer of thevalve provides a COC stating the part or-dered under the specific requisition num-ber meets those requirements then the req-uisition form and supporting COC willsuffice as adequate OQE.
be assigned to, and certified as part of anentire DLSS. Gas supply racks cannot beused in any certified DLSS unless thoseracks are part of that system or part ofanother already certified system.
8. Umbilical: Hydro and pull test notaccomplished IAW PMS periodicity.
10. Dive System/PMS: Commands arenot submitting PMS feedback reportswhen they find maintenance problems orinadequate PMS Coverage. Do not leaveit to the SCA rep to ask why a particularmaintenance action has not been accom-plished as required in the quarterly sched-ule, or where the MIP is for a particularpiece of equipment.
Items of interest:
a. On some of the Bauer VT26-E3 com-pressors that provide 3000 psi service forthe FARCC, the inline check valve justprior to the BPR has developed a crack inthe inlet body where a ¼ NPT adapter isthreaded into it.
b. On some Swagelok hoses (stainlesssteel wire braided hose used on LWDS andCAOS gas racks) we have seen StressCorrosion Cracking taking place in theswaged portion of the hose. Swagelok didnot advertise the fact that the swaged por-tion of the fittings is CRES 303.
c. When using a Haskel Pump, themanufacture recommends using DiverQuality Air for your drive air. This be-came evident on a Haskel pump that wassupplied unfiltered service air as its driveair, and the pump became completely in-operable due to moisture contamination.Another safety concern is not mixing hy-drocarbon contaminated service air withoxygen in the event that the seal separat-ing the oxygen and air-drive pistons fails.
2 2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
Salvage Master Dale Springer (DONJON Marine Services)observing repositioning of Dredges during effort to refloat EX-SHADWELL (LSD 15).
recognition. I told CDR Dave Davis (CONDSTC) and Captain Mark Helmkamp(Supervisor of Diving) about the act andasked what they would recommend for anaward if the act were performed undertheir command. They both said it wouldbe a Navy and Marine Corps Medal. I thenasked what they thought the chanceswould be for an award forty years afterthe fact. CDR Davis said good luck andCaptain Helmkamp said, what can I do tohelp. That started a year long endeavor byCaptain Helmkamp and myself to gatherofficial deck logs and affidavitsconcerning the event. EventuallySECNAV awarded the Navy and MarineCorps Commendation Medal (for heroicaction) to my brother Greg. An awardceremony was conducted at NDSTC andthe medal was presented by Captain GaryWindhorst, Commanding Officer of theCenter for Explosive Ordnance Disposaland Diving (CENEODDIVE).
The citation read as follows:For heroism while serving as a member
of the damage control fire party onboardUSS HARTLEY (DE 1029) on 9 February1967, Naval Station Newport, Newport,Rhode Island. As a result of routinemaintenance work, a Class Bravo fire brokeout in the Operations berthing compartmentand quickly became out of control. Thesituation was critical, as the adjacent ship’smagazines were at risk of exploding due tothe intense heat. After the primary hosemanwas unable to enter the burning compartmentdue to the unbearable heat, flames andsmoke, Petty Officer Sullivan volunteeredto assume hoseman duties. Without regardfor his own safety, he entered the engulfedspace without any team members to assisthim and commenced fighting the fire. Withthe ship developing a three-degree list fromthe large amount of firefighting waterexpended, Petty Officer Sullivan steadilyfought the fire, despite being temporarily
knocked unconscious when making contactwith a 440 alternate current power panel.Knowing that the ship’s magazines were injeopardy of exploding, he shook off theeffects of the electric shock and was able toextinguish the fire. The fire’s intensity wasso severe that nearby tugs moved USSHARTLEY to a remote location in the harborto minimize potential damage to othervessels. Petty Officer Sullivan’s bravery,initiative, and willingness to risk his ownlife in the face of extreme danger were atrue testament to his character. By hiscourageous and prompt actions in the faceof great personal risk, Petty Officer Sullivansaved USS HARTLEY from extensivedamage and saved the lives of hiscrewmates, thereby reflecting great creditupon himself and upholding the highesttraditions of the United States NavalService. Albeit forty years late, a Deep SeaHOOYAH to Greg Sullivan.
Standing on the dock observing the ris-ing sun, it was hard to imagine the
events that had occurred more than 7months ago that brought SUPSALV andthe salvage team to Mobile Bay, AL. On29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struckthe Gulf Coast with devastating resultsfrom Louisiana to Florida. In Mobile Bay,sustained winds were measured at 58 mphwith gusts to 90 mph and a tidal surge of12 feet. The damage to the local area wasextensive and recovery work was still be-ing done more than 6 months after the hur-ricane.
At the north end of Mobile Bay, in acove on Little Sand Island, EX-USSSHADWELL (LSD 15) and T/V STATEOF MAINE (T-AP 198) were serving asfire research and test platforms for theNaval Research Laboratory and US CoastGuard, respectively. On the morning of the29 August, the forces of the hurricane weremore than their mooring systems couldhandle and the ships were drivennorthward.
EX-SHADWELL was moved approx-imately 100 yards north and rested on thebeach at the north end of the cove. T/VSTATE OF MAINE was driven 20 yardsnorth and 150 yards east until it rested ona sand bar at the mouth of the cove.
An initial survey was conductedin September byS U P S A L V a n dDONJO N Mar ine(US Navy East CoastSalvage Contractor).Of immediate con-cern was the materialcondition of EX-SHADWELL’s hull.Decommissioned in1970, the ship had notbeen dry docked sincethen and had minimalmaintenance on theexternal hull belowthe water line. Thecondition of T/VSTATE OF MAINE
was significantly better, due to the ship’scontinuous usage through 1997.
From the initial survey, a notionalsalvage plan was developed which calledfor the use of dredging to reducegrounding forces and refloat the ships.An opportunity was also identified to
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 2 3
conduct a joint salvage operation betweencommercial assets (DONJON Marine andlocal subcontracted assets) and US NavySalvage Forces (SUPSALV, ESSM, andMOBILE DIVING AND SALVAGEUNIT ONE, DET ONE), which wouldreduce the cost of the salvage operationto the US Government and providevaluable salvage training and experienceto the US Navy participants.
USS GRAPPLE (ARS 53), in theaterparticipating in the Gulf Coast recoveryfrom Hurricane KATRINA, provided thefirst post-hurricane depth survey of thecove. This depth survey provided anindication of the amount of dredging workthat would be required to refloat the ships.GRAPPLE also provided additional input
on the material condition of the ships anda situational report on the surroundingwaters.
Due to the poor material condition ofthe hull, an in-depth survey of EX-SHADWELL’s hull, including ultrasonictesting, was conducted by GPC/PCCI (USNavy contractors for ESSM support andPOSSE Modeling) in November 2005.The survey documented considerablecorrosion of the hull below the waterlineand found that the longitudinals in thissame region were completely wasted at thehull. This loss of the longitudinal stiffenersmeant that much of the bottom plating wasunsupported between the frames andsusceptible to buckling under compressiveloads.
Both hulls were modeled in SUP-SALV’s Program of Ship SalvageEngineering (POSSE) to calculate hullstresses and to estimate the groundreaction. POSSE’s versatility allowed forhull corrosion and loss of structuralsupport to be figured into the strengthanalysis of the hull girder. In EX-SHADWELL’s case, buckling of thebottom plating in compressive loading wasthe dominant failure mode of concern andthe ship was estimated to be 4088 LTaground. T/V STATE OF MAINE wasestimated to be 1800 LT aground and theanalysis yielded no significant concern forthe strength of the hull girder.
Concern for the potential of localfailure through plate buckling resulted
View of EX-SHADWELL (LSD 15) stern as dredge work proceeds on the port and starboard side of hull. Note channel created on port side tofacilitate salvage work to refloat ship.
2 4 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
in the development of a system tomonitor very small deflections of EX-SHADWELL’s hull. This system, the HullGirder Laser Monitoring System, uses asurveyor’s laser level and a laser sensingtarget to measure changes in the hull atmultiple defined points, which are thenused to calculate stress in the hull. Thissystem proved to be simple to operate,produced reliable data, and was accurateto within 1/16 an inch over the length ofthe well deck.
With the completion of a hydrographicsurvey of the bottom topography andsoil core samples, the Salvage Plan wasfinalized. In general, the salvage plancalled for a commercial dredge to removebottom material from around the hulls,allowing the ships to settle into the water,and thereby reducing the ground reaction.T/V STATE OF MAINE was grounded aftwith the bow cantilevered over the ship’sprevious mooring position. After firstdressing up the mooring with the dredge,
Salvage Team survey’s underside of EX-SHADWELL (LSD 15) in preparation for start ofsalvage ops.
the stern was to be dredged until theground force was estimated to be 150 LT.This would allow beach gear to pull theship free of the bar and then berepositioned it in its moor by tugs.
EX- SHADWELL was to first have themid-section of its hull freed from thebottom via a combination of dredging andjetting by MDSU Divers, then to have thestern dredged. Dredging at the stern wasdesigned to roll the ship upright from its7.75° starboard list and then to lower thestern into the water. Once the stern wasfree or lightly supported, the bow wouldbe freed from the beach. This sequence ofdredging was intended to maintain thebottom plating in tension for most of thesalvage operation and to minimize themagnitude and time the bottom platingwould be in compression.
On 2 April 2006, personnel from ESSMarrived on the scene to receive and off-load Salvage Gear shipped from the ESSMFacility in Cheatham Annex, VA. Workingwith US Coast Guard Fire Safety andTest Det, Mobile, the equipment wastransported to the site of operations onLittle Sand Island. During this same time,MOBILE DIVING AND SALVAGEUNIT ONE, DET ONE arrived to assistin beach set-up, conduct dive surveys,and commence removal of knownobstructions to dredging.
Dredging commenced on 11 April2006. From the beginning, it was evident
Jetting in-progress from utility barges moored next to EX-SHADWELL.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 2 5
Rick Thiel is currently the Salvage Engineerat NAVSEA 00C.
that the amount of debris on the bottomwas going to have a significant impacton the progress of dredging operations.MDSU Divers were in the water nearlyevery day removing obstructions andunfouling the dredge. Each job couldtake from a few hours to a few days.
As dredging proceeded on T/VSTATE OF MAINE, the clay bottomcomposition began to have a significantimpact on the operation. Not only wasthe clay more difficult than sand to cutthrough and pump with the dredge, thecompacted clay underneath the hull wasable to continue supporting the weightof the ship. Only after achieving cuttingdepths to 30 ft and angling the cut toextend under the hull, was an extremelow tide able to adequately load thecolumn of clay under the hull and causeit to collapse. On the morning of 5 May2006, T/V STATE OF MAINE was freedfrom its strand by beach gear set up andoperated by MDSU. Local tugs were thenused to move the ship to its previousmooring location.
Emphasis now shifted to EX-SHADWELL. Two weeks earlier,MDSU ONE began jetting under themid-section of the hull from a utilitybarge loaded with jetting pumps and
support equipment, and moored alongsidethe ship. MDSU ONE Divers jetted usingtraditional Navy equipment and weresuccessful in quickly removingthe bottom material com-posed of sand. The task provedmore daunting when all thatremained was the Alabamaclay. Undeterred, the Diversdeveloped numerous methods tosuccessfully complete removal ofthe clay.
The next phase of the planinvolved removal of materialalong the port side of the hullusing an extended arm excavator.To accomplish this, a large hillof spoil material needed to bemoved more than 80 yards to thenorth. This allowed the trench tobe widened so that a small dredge couldbe employed to create a channel on the portside
The plan worked so well that the bigdredge was able to move into the newlycreated port channel and remove materialat a depth of almost 30 ft. Dredgingcontinued for 6 weeks, progressivelylowering the stern into the water. Onthe morning of 26 June 2006, EX-SHADWELL floated free. The hull was
MDSU-1, Det 1 works to set up beach gear to assistrefloating of T/V STATE OF MAINE.
MDSU-1, Det 1 divers prepare to descend on debris fouling dredge involved with work onT/V STATE OF MAINE.
moved by a team of local tugs to its newmooring location at the south end of thecove.
A temporary 8 point mooring systemwas established using the ship’s bowanchors and 6 mooring legs. The mooringlegs were created from existing anchor andchain that was on the island and with 10”line provided from ESSM.
The salvage operation of EX-SHADWELL and T/V STATE OF MAINEtook 13 weeks to complete and success-fully combined commercial assets and USNavy Salvage Forces to refloat the two testships. MDSU ONE provided criticalservices to the project at a substantial costssavings to the US Government. MDSUONE statistics for the operation included220 man-hours of diving, over 20,000 lbsof debris removed, mobilization of 65 tonsof ESSM equipment, and the successfulsafe rigging and employment of 2 legs ofbeach gear.
This salvage operation was successfulin that it returned assets back to the Navyand Coast Guard for continued use andprovided valuable training and experience
to US NAVY Salvage Forces. This salvageoperation also demonstrated and rein-forced the ability of US Navy Salvage torespond to domestic natural disasters witha robust multi-compositional salvage teamthat is adept at performing difficult largescale salvage.
2 6 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
Who we are and what we do is bestexplained by our mission state-
ment. “To provide a friendly annualgathering of Deep Sea Divers, commer-cial and military, retired and active tofoster and maintain the camaraderie thatwe all uniquely share that is inherent tothe occupation to which we are proud.”
We hold an annual reunion thatcontinues to grow each year. Since 1993,our Reunion attendance has increasedfrom approximately 100 to over 500attendees. Held in Chesapeake at theFleet Reserve Association Branch 40,we provide a camping area for tents,“pop-ups”, and RV’s. The gates openat noon for food, beverage, games, andentertainment. We sell Divers Recall
merchandise and provide display areasfor our invited guests, local divingorganizations. During the day we have aDJ and tournaments such as horseshoes,volleyball, and tug of war. During theevening we have a live band with adancing area and ask that all children beoff premises. To provide shelter, there aretents covering the dining area, band, anddancing area. We have a drawing for anauthentic Mark V Diving helmet. Ticketsare available through our web sitewww.diversrecall.org for a $10 donation,and you need not be present to win. Wewill ship the helmet to your choice ofdestination at no cost to you. We haveattendees from all over the U.S. and otherparts of the world. The reunion is open
to ALL divers, not just military andcommercial.
Admission at the gate is as follows:Single $20Couple $25Family $30
To raise funds for our annual event,we hold a fundraiser the last Friday ofeach month. Additionally, we requestsponsorship from various diving compa-nies, dive lockers, and business. The spon-sor receives advertisement in the form ofa “hot link” from our website to theirs.We also display banners if sponsors wishto provide at the Reunion.
For more information please visit ourweb site, www.diversrecall.org.
SUPSALSUPSALSUPSALSUPSALSUPSALV SENDSV SENDSV SENDSV SENDSV SENDS(“SUPSALV Sends” continued from p. 2)previously removed) due to topsideweight, and it sank unceremoniously“wheels up” in the soft river mud. Twoweeks later, I was on scene with a smallSCUBA team assembled from availabledivers from SRF Subic and Diego Garcia.We’d arrived by T-ATF towing a lift-barge(with a 40-ton crane temporarily weldedaboard) and two pusher boats to maneuverthe barge up the shallow river and deploythe four mooring legs. There was a degreeof military urgency to the mission asmembers of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA– a Filipino communist rebel group whichseveral months earlier assassinated U.S.military members) were reported in thearea, and we only had small arms defenses.
Our salvage plan consisted of usingour four member SCUBA dive team toplace a wire-rope “choker” around themain rotor head of the inverted helicop-ter, then take tension and slowly rotate thehelo out of the mud with the crane, lift itclear of the river and on deck. But duringthe two weeks prior to our arrival, the ro-tor head sank into the soft mud of the riverbottom, and on the first dive it becameclear that we’d have to tunnel through themud to get to the rotor head. HT1 “Brick”Bradford was our first diver who uponsurfacing reported the bottom conditionsand that the rotor head was sunken below
arm’s reach into the soft mud. Soon afterwe began constructing a make-shift jet-ting capability he recommended we makethe lift instead by attaching slings to theaccessible landing gear. I decided againstthat plan, as I didn’t believe the landinggear would support the mud-suction loadsassociated with freeing the rotor head andupper fuselage. So Bradford went to worktunneling in soft mud to get to the rotorhead. In SCUBA. After repeated “cave-ins,” and reverse tunneling to free him-self, we still had made little progress. Isplashed next to give it a try. I should havelistened to Bradford’s advice. It was anear-impossible task with the tools andequipment we were using, and it was a vio-lation of both common sense and the NavyDiving Manual. After a short but futileeffort, I finally exercised some better judg-ment and changed plans. We rigged to thelanding gear instead (as previously rec-ommended), and sure enough – slowly –the CH-53D broke free of the mud andwe landed her on deck. Upside down,damaged by the effort, but out of the riverand with no diver casualties.
Lessons learned? Several that I’vekept front and center since: (1) Don’t getso mission-focused that you ignore orviolate established procedures and goodjudgment (in short, don’t be stupid). (2)Listen carefully to the collective wisdom
of the assembled dive team. (3) Be will-ing to risk further damage to an alreadybroken airplane to protect diver safety.There are plenty of others, but I’ll neverforget those.
Elsewhere in this edition of Face-plate, you’ll find an article regardingan underwater injury that occurredduring heavy-rigging supporting under-water ship husbandry operations. Themessage? Even in the midst of missionsuccess, take stock around you, anddon’t let any mishaps or close calls getignored. Identify them, analyze themfor root causes, establish root causecorrections, and advertise them throughNaval Safety Center’s new WESS, andFACEPLATE so others can learn. Aggres-sively attack all opportunity for COM-PLACENCY to get a foothold into yourdive locker.
Have you held your dive locker’s“Ten Foot Safety Stop” yet…or are youtoo successful?P.S. Hard as it is to believe, it hasbeen my privilege and honor to bea Navy Diver for the past 25 yearsand in the Navy for almost 3 decades.I’ll be turning over the SUPSALVreigns on 29 September 2006 toCaptain Rich Hooper, an outstandingleader and diving and salvage officer.Hoo-yah, Deep Sea!
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 2 7
Navy pioneer’s life,career led by determination
444...MDV Brashear...444
NNORFOLK — Even while dying, CarlMaxie Brashear seemed unwilling to
let go of a life built on determination.
“Even though his lungs failed him,man, his heart was still beating,” PhillipBrashear said Saturday at his father’sfuneral.
Carl Brashear, who died Tuesday at theage of 75, defied racism tobecome the Navy’s first blackdeep-sea diver. He lost a leg ina shipboard accident, thenbecame the first amputee toreturn to active duty as a diver.His story inspired the movie“Men of Honor.”
About 780 people filledthe Little Creek AmphibiousBase Chapel for Saturday’sservice.
Retired Master Chief K.Lemount King told the con-gregation that a television showon Brashear’s accomplishments inspiredhim as a teenager to become a master diver.
“Carl showed us what a human beingis capable of when he’s faced with over-whelming odds,” he said.
The service even attracted those whonever met Brashear. Wally Cotten came fromhis home in Suffolk and sat in the back ofthe church in an extra row of chairs.
“I had to be here,” Cotten said. “I knowwhat he went through.”
Cotten joined the Navy in 1956 - eightyears after Brashear - and said he often dealtwith racism as the only black man in outfitsof 100 or more sailors.
Brashear’s perseverance was only partof the story . A grainy black-and-white photoon the back of Saturday’s funeral programmade this clear.
In the photo, Brashear is jogging inshorts and a hooded sweatshirt. His head isdown. He appears to be struggling. Thephotographer caught him as the shoe on hisprosthetic leg is about to hit ground.
Under the picture are Brashear’s words:“I ain’t gonna let nobody steal my dream.”
Such single-minded focus came out ina story that Brashear’s son DaWayne toldabout Sept. 11, 2001. DaWayne said he wasworking as a flight attendant that day forUnited Airlines. After hearing of the attackson the World Trade Center, Brashear calledUnited Airlines and stayed on the phone foran hour and 45 minutes.
“He wouldn’t let them hang up thatphone until it was confirmed thatI was OK,” DaWayne said.
In the eulogy, retired MasterChief Conley White recalled hisfirst impression of Brashear, backin 1984. “When he entered thebuilding I knew he was someoneof enormous stature and impor-tance,” White said.
Brashear carried himself assomeone who demanded respect,but in a way that wasn’t over-bearing or arrogant. He washumble yet oozed with confidence,White said.
“The amazing thing about him was, aman of his stature, yet he was approachable,”White said.
Brashear never turned down anopportunity to inspire a young sailor, saidHakim Diaz , Command Master Chief at thebase. In retirement he became a pen pal toamputees. “It’s OK to fall down, as long asyou get back up,” he liked to tell his sons.
“He stood for what we all shouldbelieve in our hearts,” Phillip Brashear said.
Reach Dave Forster at (757) 222-5563or dave.forster@pilotonline. com.
The Virginian-Pilot © July 30, 2006 By David Forster
How did the “black fish,” which ispainted on the bow of only one type
of ship in the U.S. Navy, the SubmarineRescue Ship (ASR), come to be used?What is the true history of this insignia?
Efforts to find answers to thesequestions have created quite a puzzle!No official directive authorizing thisinsignia can be located. After a searchof Naval Historical Records, the filesof the Submarine Force Library andMuseum in New London, and Library ofCongress, nothing more than a picture ofone the first commissioned ASR’s couldbe found. Finally, bits and pieces ofinformation, collected from some of thosewho had served on these ships, were puttogether to form answers.
Although the following story isnot recorded as true documentation,it represents our facts collected on theevents concerning the history of the“black-fish insignia.” After you haveread our version of this historicalinsignia, perhaps you will verify this ordrop us a line and tell us your version.
* * *In 1882, a diving school was
established at the U.S. Naval TorpedoStation in Newport, Rhode Island bya retired Chief Gunner’s Mate, JacobAnderson. At that time, the Chief trainedvolunteer divers by recovering practicetorpedoes fired from the station’stubes. As the story goes, the divers devisedand displayed a flag from their boat tosignify the recovery of torpedoes. Atfirst, this flag was a black torpedo-likesymbol against a white background witha red border. It wasn’t long after thisthat the divers called these torpedoes bythe nickname “fish,” because these“fish”were all over the bottom of theriver, and they did resemble a longfish-like objects. Logically, it followsthat the symbol on the flag was replacedby a fish-like object, with a torpedo-likeshape.
The Black Fish
2 8 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
II recently attended a briefing in Wash- ington at the Army and Navy Club to
hear about the Ocean TechnologyFoundation’s upcoming search for theremains of the Bonhomme Richard, whichwas captained by U.S. naval hero JohnPaul Jones. On September 23, 1779, Jonesengaged HMS SERAPIS in one of themost memorable battles in U.S. NavalHistory. It was during this three and a halfhour fight, most of it taking place at pointblank range, that Jones shouted hislegendary words, “I have not yet begunto fight!” Ultimately, he emerged victori-ous and took control of Serapis. BonhommeRichard had served him well, but 36hours later Jones watched his ship disap-pear beneath the waters of the North Sea.
I was impressed with this event’soutstanding presentations by PeterReaveley, expert on the battle of theBONHOMME RICHARD and HMSSERAPIS, and Evan Thomas, author ofthe bestselling book John Paul Jones:Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navyand Assistant Managing Editor atNewsweek. The expedition is gettingunderway in July and I understand fromCAPT Jack Ringelberg, President of theOTF, that funding is sufficient to operatefor three weeks at sea. Their probabilitynumbers indicate that six weeks is idealfor best search success. I commend thiseffort to you all, remembering that JohnPaul Jones is the Father of the United StatesNavy and if you read Evan Thomas’s book,you’ll discover that Jones seemed topossess many of the traits that deep-seadivers are known for when conductingthemselves ashore. Articles about theupcoming expedition have been featuredin Naval History magazine, theSurface Navy Association’s SurfaceSITREP, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’sBulletin and other publications, but fora complete description, please visitwww.bonhommerichard.org.
NOTE: Captain Jack Ringelberg was thefirst Commanding Officer of the U.S. NavyExperimental Diving Unit at its presentlocation in Panama City, FL.
Jim BladhManaging Editor
FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR
At the start of the twentieth century(about October 1900), our first submarinewas commissioned as the USSHOLLAND (SS-1). When the submarinewent to sea to conduct trials, it wasescorted by a small craft. The mission ofthis escort was: to standby in case of anemergency while the submarine wassubmerged; to act as a safety vessel bypatrolling the operational area to warnships and other smaller craft to keep clearof the submarine operating area; and, torecover practice torpedoes fired by thesubmarine.
At this time in history, therewas no international flag signal tosignify that a submarine was conductingoperations. Seemingly, because of thelack of any other flag signal, the small sub-marine escort displayedthe same “black-fishinsignia”as was displayedat the Newport torpedofiring range.
When our Navy beganto operate more sub-marines further and furtherfrom their home bases, wecame to realize the needfor Submarine RescueShips. These ships wouldhave to range far andconduct submarine rescueand salvage operationswhenever needed. To meetthis need, the U.S. Navy converted sixminesweepers (the AM type) andcommissioned all six of them on 12September 1929. As soon as these ASR’sjoined the Fleet, they assumed the role as“guardians of submarines,” and theyadopted the “black-fish insignia.” Itbecame traditional to paint this insigniaon al the ASR-type ships.
During World War I and the yearsimmediately after, this insignia stoppedappearing on most of the ASR’s probablydue to the heavy work schedules duringthe war and the mass reduction ofmanpower that followed. The insigniabegan to reappear in the early 1950’s.(A former officer on one of theASR’s remembered the insignia beingrepainted on the bow after a noticeableperiod of absence. He recalled the FirstLieutenant finding guidance on thesize and location of the insignia in thePainting Instructions for the ASR type.)
A recent letter from the CommandingOfficer of the USS KITTIWAKE (ASR13), LCDR R.F. James, USN, advised thatguidance for displaying the insignia iscontained in the NAVSHIPS Technical
Manual, paragraph 9190.152, andNAVSHIPS Plan No. S-2804-860-342.
Today, the “black fish,” which hasexisted “on” and “off” for almost a centuryin our Navy, can be seen on the ASR types.This insignia represents the proud heritageof our Navy divers from their earliest daysin small boats to the ocean-going ASRtypes of the present.
How did the “black fish,” which is paintedon the bow of only one type of ship in theU.S. Navy, the Submarine Rescue Ship(ASR), come to be used?
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 2 9
Recently, I traveled to the SalvageESC in Washington, DC where
SUPDIVE asked if I would write an articlefor this column. My first thought was “Oh,hell no,” only the ole guys retiring get towrite those articles, then SUPDIVE po-litely reminded me that I am not gettingany younger.
I toiled over what to write about forquite some time. I really wanted to writeabout one of my past dive jobs, but to behonest it has been several years since theNavy has used me in that capacity. Justlike the day will come that I will retire,the day has passed that I am as smart orsharp as the newest breed of Master
Divers. How-ever, the weath-ering of and thetarnish on mydive pin hasprepared mefor my last jobin the Navy, asa CommandMaster Chief(NEC 9580).Therefore, thetopic I chose towrite about isleadership, anddoing the rightthing! Throughoutour careers wemake choices.It may seemthat early ont h a t t h o s ec h o i c e s a r emade for us.As a young 2nd
Class diver, Iwas arrogant,cocky, and mymouth was al-ways gettingme in trouble.In doing so, Ialways seemedto land theworst set of or-ders, or at leastso it seemed.The Chiefs and
By MDV Richard Bettua
Master Divers who I thought were doingme a disservice by getting me ordersonboard ships and in overseas dive lock-ers were in fact setting me up for successearly on. These Supervisors of yesteryeardid not pamper young sailors by con-stantly saying yes. In retrospect, they didthe “right thing” and prepared sailors forfuture assignments. Therefore, eventuallyreplacing themselves.
Recently a friend and co-workerof mine went to the Senior EnlistedAcademy, and while there, he noticedthat since the school’s opening, only5 Master Divers had attended. I wouldlike to say this to those who are eligiblebut have not yet attended, how canyou ask our young divers to go aboveand beyond if you are not willingto do so? Master Divers are short-changing themselves and our com-munity by thinking they do not needthis additional leadership training. Ourqualification as the “Technical Master”in the field of Navy Diving is just astepping stone. The writing is on thewall that future advancements willrequire College Degrees and AdvancedLeadership Training.
With the advent of the NavyDiver Rating (ND), our communityneeds to align so that young sailorswill always have upward mobility. It isimperative that we have more SeniorLeaders grasp the reigns and assist indriving the Navy Diving program. Ourthree new Command Master Chiefpositions are just the beginning andhopefully soon we will get a ForceMaster Diver position at Fleet ForcesCommand. After that, the sky is thelimit and a Master Diver may somedaybe the Master Chief Petty Officer of theNavy!
MDV Bettua fishing!
MDV Bettua is currently assigned toMDSU 1
3 0 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
CROSSWORD PUZZLE SOLUTION
Jake’sC o r n e rC o r n e r By Rick Armstrong
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 3 1
Red Diver; Topside...From the Supervisor of Diving Captain Mark Helmkamp, USN
My Last Faceplate...
On 27 October at 1300, aboardUSS Wisconsin (BB-64) I will retire,
ending 26 years as a US Navy Diver. Thatdate will also mark the beginning of mynew career as Class Manager for the T-ARS and T-ATF class ships for the Mili-tary Sealift Fleet Support Command inNorfolk. Hopefully, we will have coolweather for the ceremony aboard theWhisky Boat; I initially considered a datein September, but that idea was soundlyrejected by the little lady and my daugh-ter “The Gator”. Gator is a bright youngwoman but (to paraphrase Cory Farley)she can pack four syllables of abuse intothe word “hot” in a way that makes mequestion our rejection of corporal punish-ment.
Since you are reading this, you mustbe on Faceplate distribution (or stole themagazine – and that’s OK) and are in oran extended member of the Navy Divingfamily – and as such, please consider your-self invited to my retirement ceremony,even you Faceplate thieves out there. Atfirst, I planned on slipping out without aceremony, but MDV Paul Schadow andMDV Steve Smith both informed me thatI was a numbskull and would soon regretthat decision. And since I respect the opin-ion of all MDVs (well, maybe not MDVBrick Bradford – JK, JK) I decided to dothe deed, but only if SUPSALV, CaptainJim Wilkins, agreed to yap as guest yapper.Besides, MDV Fred Orns put me in a head-lock until I agreed to have a ceremony.After a few seconds of a close-up visit withthe die-lock chain (NOT stud-link younon-salvage pukes) tattooed around his bi-ceps, I figured heck, why not? We’ll meetat Jillian’s after a brief ceremony andshake hands and slap backs. Please joinme.
It’s been a great deal of fun organiz-ing and putting together this magazine(especially the crossword puzzle in thisissue) and I reluctantly turn over editorial
and management responsibilities to JimBladh. But I will remember fondly the bilerising in Jim Wilkins’ throat and the con-striction of his pupils after I told him I puta centerfold in my first Faceplate. Thecolor returned to his face after I told himit was of the MK V hat plans rather thanMDV Storment in a studded, leatherthong.
A hearty “Thank You” to all of youDVs out there “on the side” that toleratedmy incessant whining for articles and“hi-rez” photos of diving operations – youwere very convincing and I almost believeyou didn’t mind my nagging – goodjob, I’m at peace. Also, I appreciateComradette Zoya Gorbunova’s tireless ef-forts in keeping up with my maddeninghabit of constantly changing articles, lastminute edits and selection and placementof photographs – thank you, Zoya (andGeoff, Otto and the U-Boot Kommandertoo!).
It’s been a genuine blast being aUS Navy Diver these past 26 years - I havegreat friends, I’ve had great experiencesthroughout the world, I’ve stored avast compilation of unabridged -
well...embellished sea-stories in my pea-brain, and I have the requisite tattoo; timeto move on. I am very excited about work-ing with the Military Sealift Command andthe professional civilian mariners thatcrew our USNS ships. They love to go tosea and one, Captain Tom Schwinn, hasalready offered great insight through hisdefinition of the term ocean; “A large bodyof water surrounded by trouble.”
Thank You: To “My Name is RobertAugust Barth”, the only guy I will everknow who actually was on the televisionshow “What’s My Line?” (thanks for the“Barth Burgers”), Diamond Jim Bladh,Coop the Deep-Sea Weasel and theNOAA/Aquarius gang (THANKS for theopportunity to SAT with ya’ll), MDVFrederick the Great (YOU should fightcrime!), Christopher Cyrus, K2, KL,Sully-Mon (you really should ride a BMWK1200GT instead of that loud, nastyhawg), Super Dave, Uncle Dave, Bosn’Ed (of “Delanoy Shoals” fame), Ragman(in Heaven’s Dive Locker), Richard Scottand Krissy (Masters of His Most RoyalFatness, Bosco), Capn’ Gym (the greatestCO of Reclaimer ever...except for me, andMAYBE Paul Bruno), Woody, Joel theRambling Wreck, Silas (throwing nickelsaround like they were man-hole covers)EOD Paul (he retained ALL ten digitsthroughout his career!), EOD Dru (yea,EOD divers ARE better looking than hard-hats, OK?), Dr. Ross, Dr. John, Dr. Ed,Doc “Bobbie”, Captain Fleck-man, Bru(NO partying with you; Bad Dog! Sit!),Doc “Row-He-Lee-Oh” Garcia, JR, “ArcMan” Glennster Rubin, Xerx the Deep-Sea Bubble-Head, JPJ, “Piggy”, Butch,Trombone Frank, Mark V, MDV Chuck,MDV Pete, TK, Deep “C” Mikey Ward,UK Mike, Brit Dave, my British counter-part Chris, Speedster driver Buck the Brit,Walker the Stalker and his naturally aspi-rated big block, Fraulein Anke, YoungDeep-Sea Citizens Vanzant & Griffin,Kasler (where’s your Rolex?), RangerGriz, Ed the SEAL, Junky, Leet the Great,
A neophyte Deep-Sea Diver circa 1980.
3 2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
Furr the Lesser, Herby, MDV Paul“Aloha”, MDV Skeletor, Starky, CaptainBobbie S, Bubble Bob, the other“Kamper”, MDV Lyle, Capn’ Terry,
Vinchenzo Frag my gumba, Neil-Bobin P’Cola, Red-Light Sandy, Sweat-Pump,Glennster, Chip Chase (the most efficientdive re-qual organizer in this sector ofthe galaxy), and finally my Dive SchoolSCUBA partner from 26 years ago,Gentleman Jim Wilkins, my Miss Kathieand many, many others up and downthe umbilical and over and around the sidefor all these years – thanks for the memo-ries!
honorary Navy Divers at the Green DerbyBar & Grill were not “official” and there-fore, Cuba Gooding, Jr. was still the first,I thought MDV Brashear was going tohave a stroke he was laughing so hard.
Certainly MDV Brashear had astrong case for being bitter, but afterhaving met him, I must to tell you that heexhibited nothing of the sort, and insteadwas a supremely pleasant and personableman. I’m glad I met him; rest in peaceCarl.
tell you about things they did that‘till this day they can’t talk about,although others can write about.Their tales would be something to hear.There’s not a one of us who at one time oranother hasn’t experienced something thatwill remain in our memory bank for therest of our life.
High excitement memories are whatmakes for great stories, however I havefound that as you approach old age, (ap-proach it hell, when you’re smack in themiddle of it) you begin to think about theone thing that makes for far better memo-ries than a dive in some far away place.No, what slowly begin to show up in yourthought process are the folks you have metand worked with during your career.
I have had one of the best diving ex-periences anyone could ask for. I got todo stuff that few were able to do, go placesthat few had gone before, and now thatit’s all over, I take great delight in remem-bering those who traveled that road withme. I would probably never tell you toyour face what a great person I thoughtyou were, I won’t reveal to you the re-spect and admiration I had for you, and Isure as hell would never tell you of thethings you did that I will fondly remem-ber. If I thought of you as one great indi-vidual, I sure would never tell you to yourface. Hairy-chested Navy deep sea diversjust don’t do that kind of thing.
As my life gets simpler, as I have lessto do, I have more time to reflect on thefolks I worked with and what an impor-tant part of my life they were. I worked
MDV Brashear...4-4-4
About the time I was ready to sendthis issue to press, I received wordthrough MDV Ken Brown and others thatMDV Carl Brashear had been hospital-ized and was near death. By now most allof you know that MDV Brashear left bot-tom on Tuesday, 25 July and made hisascent to the great Dive Locker in the sky.We received permission from the VirginiaPilot to copy his obituary in this issue.
In 2000, when I was CO of the DiveSchool, I was fortunate to have met MDVBrashear in Washington, DC at a premiershowing of the movie “Men of Honor”.On stage with SECDEF, SECNAV, andthe CNO, I proudly presented him the newand improved MDV certificate we devel-oped while down in Panama City. Alongwith our CMC, MDV John Schnoering, Ipresented Cuba Gooding, Jr. a certificatemaking him an honorary US Navy 2nd
Class Diver. MDV Schnoering jabbed a2C pin on Gooding’s lapel while Iremarked that Gooding was the firstofficially so honored. When I mentionedthat the bar maids previously made
Just before going to press, the Insti-tute of Diving (IOD) has decided to focustheir effort on erecting a Jake at NDSTCin Panama City instead at the old locationof the NSDS and NEDU at the Washing-ton Navy Yard. This decision was basedon the high cost associated with site prepa-ration required to support the combinedweight of the statue and pedestal. See BobBarth’s letter below for an update on theproject and how you might contribute.
Meanwhile, the Homeland SecurityPolicy Information Group (HSPIG) isforging ahead with plans to erect a Jake atthe WNY location. Ken Dreger of HSPIGwrote me providing details on their efforts,including production of a film to docu-ment the process. Ken’s letter is belowand within it you’ll find their website andassociated links. Initial, conceptual archi-tectural renderings of the WNY locationare pretty impressive.
To both groups, I say: “Give ithell!”
Letters to the Editor...Sea Stories and Great Memories
from Bob Barth
WNY and NDSTC “Jake” Projects
alongside some giants, not many of themcould earn the title of “Simple Men”; theywere far from that. But loyalty and dedi-cation seem appropriate; great shipmatessort of fit in there someplace. Some of themare still alive today, some are still in theNavy, some are retired and working in thediving fraternity someplace or another butfar too many are gone and I never had achance to tell them how much their friend-ship meant to me. We seem to be spendingtoo much time putting them in the groundor spreading their ashes off the fantail ofsome vessel. What remains is, they are stillalive in my mind and have a lot to do withproviding the best memories I could everhope for.
The one thing that Navy divers arefond of is telling stories. During a careerin diving, it is certainly no problem find-ing things to spin yarns about. Diving hasits mystique, excitement and in a lot ofcases the experiences that make for somegreat tales – and on special occasions –some of these tales are even known to betrue. There’s not a one of us that can’t tellgreat stories about events we were in-volved with during our underwater career;there’s even a group out there that could
A wizened Deep-Sea Driver, circa 2006.
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 3 3
Not too far from where I live is acemetery where my best friend is buried.I drive down the road several times a weekand seldom do I not say out loud as I passby “Hey Wilbur”, then after a short pauseI might add “I miss you, pal.” Then, forsome reason I added, “Say hi to every-one.” Those of you who knew Wilbur willsurely understand why I have some greatmemories of him – Wilbur Henry Eatonwas just that kind of a guy and I can tellyou one thing, he is the great provider ofmany things I think about.
A few weeks ago we took FrankBuski out to sea to spread his ashes. It wasa windy day, not the kind of weather forspreading ashes. After a short ceremony,Fernando Lugo kneeled over the side andlet Frank back into the sea. With the windlike it was, a lot of us went home withsome of Frank on our clothes. No oneminded and I swear I heard Frank andWilbur chuckling somewhere close by. Alot of young sailors have a lot to thankBuski for. Come to think of it, they arenot young sailors any more. Frank Buskiis another provider of good memories.
A few years ago I passed through BatCave, North Carolina and stopped by thegraves of Doctor and Mrs. George Bond.They are buried side-by-side in thechurchyard not too far from the clinicwhere, as a country doctor, he practicedmedicine. Now, here is that giant of a manwho has provided material for greatmemories, a big bunch of memories fornot just for me but a hell of a lot of peoplewho were part of the things George FooteBond wanted to do in life. Bond was theman who provided me the most excitingexperiences I could have ever imagined.I had a lot to say as I stood there and wassad because I don’t think I ever took thetime to tell him when he was alive, whathe did for me, what I thought of him, letalone thank him. My life and memoriesare chock full of neat things we did whenwe worked for that man.
Some many years ago I was at thereal NEDU in Washington, DC andworked with a guy known as Andy.Memories, my God, have I got some sto-ries to tell about Lester Everett Anderson– some I could even write about in thisarticle. Andy left a lot of memories with a
lot of divers. He and I made a 200-footdive together with a bottom time of a bitover 16,000 minutes, all of which gener-ated stories that have given me many asmile these past 41 years. Tell me the nameof one man who couldn’t tell the same kindof story about Andy. Lester Anderson diedin his sleep a few short years ago.
Fortunately, a lot of the people whomade an impact on my life are still around.They continue to add chapters of thingsto remember and their thoughts, as mine,travel back those many years and give usa lot of great stories to tell when we seeeach other. I am blessed to have knownthem all. Late at night I can push the“Great Memories Button” and entertainmyself for hours with things that happenedwhile I was a Diver in Uncle Sam’s Navy.My list of notable men could go on forhours and even then only a small groupwill have been covered. I mentioned four;they are gone now and deserve honorablemention. But there are hundreds who havealso made that contribution.
I am told that elders have the respon-sibly to pass on words of wisdom to thosewho follow in our footsteps. I never con-sidered that I had a great deal of wisdomthat I could pass on. But I can tell you forsure that what you do today, how you con-duct your life, what you personally con-tribute to your diving career will make abig difference to someone some day asthey begin to look back on their life as aNavy Diver. The more you put into it, thebetter it gets. What you do today is some-thing that someone most likely will re-member down the road. If you make itworthwhile and honorable, you will be re-membered for the good you did and theesteem in which you are held by yourpeers.
Last year when I encountered my sec-ond Navy retirement, it had been 55 yearssince I got into this racket. Can you imag-ine all the great stories I could tell? Nowif I could just remember the damn things.For those of you who are still at it, stopfor a moment and think about it: is whatyou do today going to provide someonewith fond memories? How you presentyourselves can make a big difference tonot only yourself but everyone aroundyou. Whether you realize it or not, yours
is a story that might be told inyears to come by those aroundyou right now, give them some-thing they will proudly remember. I havea lot of good stories to tell but most ofthem are about guys who are still alive andI don’t want to embarrass them, more im-portantly I would never want them to thinkI held them in a special place. Divers don’tdo that kind of stuff.
You are a Diver because at one timeor another in your life you saw a Diver atwork, were witness to his daily routine asa Diver, saw a diving movie, saw someDiver sitting around with his UDT shortson doing nothing inspirational, whateverit was, you decided that you had to be partof all. Whatever your motivation, you be-came a diver and it is now that you mayinspire someone else who might want tofollow in your footsteps, what he sees inyou might make a big difference to his fu-ture. And while I’m talking about future,you are tasked with making someone’smemories good ones, too. A diving pin onyour chest does not necessarily make youa Navy Diver; that distinction has to be inyour heart.
As you look back on your life makesure that when you get into the last part ofit you can feel comfortable in thinking “Imade that bunch of guys glad they weredivers and glad they knew me.” Tomor-row when you show up for work make itthe best day you ever had and give yourshipmates some great memories.
Bob Barth
Anniversary of DSS Mishaps...fromRDML Timme
Twenty-four years ago, on 16 Janu-ary 1982, men from the USS GRAY-BACK (SS 574) were performing routinedive training operations. Such operationshad been conducted safely for over a de-cade. Inside one of the boat’s two largediving chambers, six divers awaited re-entry into the submarine. During an im-properly conducted chamber drain-down process, the divers lost conscious-ness when a vacuum was created, and fivesubsequently drowned. One man survivedwhen his arm hooked over a valve, keep-ing his head out of the water after he col-lapsed. The Navy review concluded that
3 4 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
“the accident...was the result of a combi-nation of design deficiency, material de-fect, unsound operating procedures, andpersonnel error.”
Thirty-three years ago, on 17 June1973, four men were operating the pri-vately owned submersible Johnson SeaLink. The vessel had safely completed 129dives. On this day, however, the submers-ible became entangled in wreckage on thesea bottom in 360 feet of water. By theafternoon of the next day, when a salvagevessel raised the submersible, the two menin its after compartment had died. One ofthem, Edwin C. Link, was the son of thesubmersible’s inventor. The U.S. CoastGuard Marine Casualty Report identifiedthe causes as pilot error, inadequate res-cue capability, poor submersible design,and casualness of operations.
Thirty-eight years ago, on 17 Octo-ber 1968, Deep Submergence VehicleALVIN was preparing for dive number308. With three men aboard and the hatchopen, a hoisting cable parted. The occu-pants were able to escape with minor in-jury before ALVIN dropped to the bottomin 5,000 feet of water. The Advisory Com-mittee Report cited the following causes:corroded lift cables, poorly designed hoistequipment, contaminated hydraulic fluid,uneven lift cable loading, and unsafe op-erating procedures.
Currently, NAVSEA is experiencinga rapid growth of new Deep SubmergenceSystems (DSS), from new submarine res-cue systems to integrated systems onboardSSGN, SSN 23, and VIRGINIA Class sub-marines that provide lockout capabilitysimilar to USS GRAYBACK. At the sametime, we are challenged by the demandsof downsizing, rapid technology change,aggressive schedules, and diminishingdollars.
Recent events such as the near lossof the Russian submersible AS-28 remindus that, despite these challenges, we mustmaintain our vigilance, intensity, and in-tegrity in all matters involving the DSSProgram. Our outstanding DSS safetyrecord since the tragic mishap onGRAYBACK is a direct result of disci-plined compliance with the material andprocedural requirements of the DSS Cer-tification Program.
Has NAVSEA thought of everythingthat can go wrong? Have the DSS build-ers manufactured these systems in accor-dance with the drawings, using only ap-proved materials? Has required mainte-nance been completed properly? Have theoperators been adequately trained, and dothey have a questioning attitude about un-expected indications? Lives depend on the answers to these questions. RDML W. G. Timme, USN Deputy Commander Undersea Warfare Naval Sea Systems Command [email protected]
war-fighting effectiveness,and captures efficiencies incommon synergies.• Redistribute current forces throughout
the Navy to better contribute to theGWOT and to temporarily relieve stresson Marine Corps and Army missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Recognize where our Navy must expandcurrent expeditionary capabilities anddevelop new ones for the long war.
With this all-encompassing approach,the Navy will ensure that expedition-ary forces have sufficient capabilityand capacity to meet requirements forthe Global War on Terrorism, majorcombat operations, and HomelandDefense, while maintaining solid corecapabilities that can respond rapidly toevolving irregular-warfare missions.
Nearly 40,000 highly skilled Sailorsare part of NECC including Divers,EOD technicians, security specialists,cargo handlers and constructionmen.Every day expeditionary combat Sailorsare integrated in the joint maritimeenvironment, filling critical needs towin the long war. NECC is developingour future capabilities so that thereis truly a seamless transition from ourpowerful blue water forces into thegreen and brown water battle space.This includes the capability to contributeat home, as you did during post-HurricaneKatrina operations to open up ports formuch needed relief supplies.
Navy Divers, as part of the expedi-tionary combat team, are flexible, scalableand rapidly deployable. You are self-reliant, self-sustaining and capable in themost diverse environments in the world.I am tremendously proud of the hard work,determination and performance of everySailor who calls themselves: “Diver”. Ithank you for serving your country andalso thank you for the honor to serve withyou.
With Respect,Rear Adm. Don Bullard
Navy Expeditionary CombatCommand...from RADM Bullard
In the short few months since I as-sumed command of the Navy Expedition-ary Combat Command (NECC) I havebeen most impressed with the Navy DiverCommunity’s professionalism and exper-tise. Whether working on NOAA’s under-sea laboratory Aquarius, responding to an“emergent” request from USS Albany,conducting coalition exercises in theMediterranean, or serving with distinctionin the Persian Gulf, you prove every dayhow fundamental Navy Divers are to theNavy’s mission throughout the world.Your performance has been nothing shortof extraordinary.
As the Commander of NECC, I willbring fleet flag advocacy to the DivingCommunity. I intend to help our Navymake the best use of your skills at everylevel. I will need your help and support inmoving the community forward to main-tain readiness for today’s Global War onTerrorism, while looking forward to pre-paring Navy Divers for the challenges ofthe future. All levels of our military havea great need for you’re the experience andskills that Navy Divers bring to the fight.As we move forward with NECC, I amworking on the overall makeup of theentire Expeditionary Force and how webetter meld it together. My three goals forNECC, what I call the three “r’s” to ac-complish this mission are to:• Realign current Navy expeditionary
forces into a structure that increases ca-pacity for GWOT missions, improves
NDSTC “Jake”... from Bob Barth
Most of you know, some of you donot, that we started a program a little overa year ago to take donations toward the
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6 3 5
can contact you. The sale of these willassist us in funding the standing 10’ ManIn The Sea Memorial Monument projectsand ensure that we have the needed capi-tal to build the full size statues! If you oryour organization would like one of theselimited edition standing miniatures, let usknow and get on the list for this pre-cast-ing order. This price will be held for Sixweeks. You will receive a letter for theamount of deduction when you purchaseyour statue, and the proceeds of your do-nations will go towards this project.
If your organization or corporationwould like to make a donation of over$10,000 we will ship you a numberedstatue for your generous donation, alongwith the granite base, a letter of apprecia-tion of your efforts in this fine project anda donation receipt for taxes.
California Entertainment Group, Inc.(www.calentgrp.tv) is assisting in the co-coordinating of the production of “TheMan In The Sea Memorial Monument”documentary series and has informed usthat they are well on their way towardgathering material for the series, and hopeto have more information for all of us inthe near future. They have hopes of inter-viewing many of the divers who we havecontacted, or who have contacted us abouttheir part in diving history. If you have ainteresting diving history story or filmfrom your diving career, please emailus at: [email protected] with the detailsand a short description of your uniquestory. If your corporation is interested inbeing a sponsored advertiser on our TVSeries, please contact us for further de-tails about how you can participate, justsend us a short note with your contact in-formation to: [email protected]
eventual fabrication and installation of an8’ tall bronze Mark V diver that will placednear the location of the Navy DivingSchool and NEDU building at the NavyYard in Washington. As of now we haveabout 100 folks who have put money to-wards this noble project, but we needmore. Funds on hand and in the bank areapproaching 28 K, That’s about 30% ofwhat we need to see this statue installed.You might want to look at our websitewww.markvmonument.org. It will tell youwho the donors are, what we are trying todo, and every two weeks or so the totalfigure will be updated. You will also findon the website bits of interesting info anda place for you to leave us some words. Ifyou might are to join un in the endeavor(designed to honor the thousands ofDivers that attended the school) please do,we need all the help we can get.
Man in the Sea Memorial Monu-ment...from Ken Dreger
The MSMM project is intended formemorial monuments to ALL MILITARYDIVERS and locations where significantmilitary diving events have taken place.Homeland Security Policy Institute Groupwill be taking orders soon for the “Lim-ited Edition” of the official 250 of the 22”tall standing “Man In The Sea MemorialMonument” bronze miniatures. These stat-ues will have an optional 2” thick 12” di-ameter granite-rotating base to allow for360 degrees of viewing. The price for oneof the 250 sequentially numbered bronzestanding statues will be approximately$3,900.00 each, which in today’s marketof bronze statues is in the middle pricerange, plus shipping, handling and tax with50% down and the balance when the statueis ready to ship to the customer. After eachpre-casting order is completed, proceedswill go to support creation of the full size10’ standing monument in Washington DCat the Navy yard. (Details on this can bemade by contacting us). The approximatetime for delivery will be 6 weeks after theinitial order has been placed with HSPIG.These statues will be numbered serially forthis release. If you would like one of thefirst ones, call us today or send us anE-mail to: [email protected] so that we
As Supervisor of Diving,Captain Helmkamp’s office islocated on the historic Wash-ington Navy Yard. Daily he would mean-der through the parking lot that had previ-ously been the location of Naval Schoolof Diving & Salvage (NSDS) and theNavy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU).During one of these daily strolls he hadan epiphany. He realized nothing markedthe location where so many military diversbegan their journey into the small, special-ized community He felt it fitting that abronze version of the classic “Jake” - theMk V Air Diver - be commissioned andrigged along the waterfront at the historicNavy Yard. To memorialize all militarydivers at a location where neophyte diversearned and proudly wore, for the first time,the coveted Dive Pin indicating to all that“I am a professional military diver; I sur-vived Navy Dive School.”
Understanding that he could not en-dorse the project as SUPDIVE he men-tioned it to Bob Barth and that is all it took.Bob got the Institute of Diving (IOD) inPanama City, Florida involved. IOD mem-bers formed a committee to spread theword of the project to divers around theworld and to solicit and manage donationsfor the project. Homeland Security PolicyInstitute Group (HSPIG) volunteered theirservices to assist IOD in bringing theproject to fruition. For the past year theeffort has been to fulfill the vision ofCaptain Helmkamp and place the JAKEat WNY.
In a recent meeting to present the con-cept to the Commanding Officer of theWNY, Captain George Chamberlain, itwas revealed by a prominent Engineering/Architectural firm, HDR, that the cost ofengineering, design and site preparationfor the monument would be in excess of$3,500,000. With this information the IODcommittee determined it would be costprohibitive to place the JAKE at WNY.The IOD committee has decided NavalDiving and Salvage Training Center(NDSTC) Panama City is the proper placeto place the JAKE. Thousands of diverswill see it on an annual basis and studentswill pay homage to it daily.
“JAKE”…from “Deep Sea” DaveSullivan and the Institute of Diving
Since this is the last FACEPLATE thatCaptain Helmkamp will be the Editor
on, the Institute of Diving (IOD) Mark VMonument Committee wanted to thankhim for his many years of service as aNavy Diver and the immeasurable supporthe has provided for divers around theworld.
3 6 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 6
As Captain Helmkamp so eloquentlysaid, “This monument is dedicated toDivers around the world who gave theirlife’s work to underwater construction andthe salvage of ships lost at sea. Theirmethod of training and development ofequipment set standards adopted by theinternational diving community, from thedevelopment mixed-gas diving techniquesused to save Squalus survivors to the satu-ration diving procedures developed bySealab during the Man in the Sea Programthat are now common in the oil industry,Their traditions will last forever..”
You can find out more about theproject and how to support it on the projectweb site markvmonument.org.
HOOYAH Captain Helmkamp…………………….
demonstrations and exhibits of the latestdiving equipment. The packed agendaincluded overviews byNavy and sister servicediving specialties, suchas the comprehensivep r e s e n t a t i o n o nUnderwater Construc-tion Teams and theNavy’s Ocean FacilitiesProgram. Communitymanpower and man-ning issues provided acommon backdrop forlively discussion.
The imminent inte-gration of most Navydiving communi t ieswithin the Navy Expe-d i t i o n a r y C o m b a tC o m m a n d ( h t t p : / /www.necc.navy.mil/)makes opportunitieslike WDC 2006 notonly important butcritical to the futureof our multi-faceteddisipline. Check outhttp://www.supsalv.orgto download copiesof briefs pertinent toyour work. Thanks toSUPSALV for anothergreat opportunity!
Working Diver Conference ...from Captain Karin Lynn
This year’s Working Divers’ Con-ference was held 8-12 May in San Diego.Like those that have gone before, WDC2006 was the latest opportunity for today’smilitary divers to get up-to-the-minuteword on diving operations, medicine,equipment and technology. With over 40presentations and workshops spanning thediverse spectrum of diving-relatedtopics, NAVSEA 00C again providedan unparalleled forum for cross-tell,networking and collaboration among themany sub-communities of military diving.Topics included the most recent updateson diving medicine, and cutting edge
The IOD Mark V Monument Committee(Thanks Dave, I can’t take all of thecredit, Captain Mike Herb and LeeWoolford were there at the beginningtoo, but …sniff…you’re too kind yaknucklehead…sniff…darn, I said Iwouldn’t cry! – Ed.)
The Retirement Ceremony for Captain Jim Wilkins, SUPSALV, will be held on September 29, 2006.
The Retirement Ceremony for Captain Mark “V” Helmkamp, SUPDIVE, will be held on October 27, 2006aboard USS WISCONSIN (BB 64) in Norfolk, VA.
YYou can find out more about theou can find out more about the project and how to supportproject and how to support itit onon
the web site the web site markvmonument.ormarkvmonument.orgg
CAPT Karin Lynn, CEC, USNNAVFACENGCOM HQ