Deep dark dives

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Fernandez | Divers from the 86th Engineer Dive Detachment sit and listen to the supervisor’s brief, before they dive for their training mission, Thursday, July 22 on the Arabian Gulf. The Deep Blue Exercise training reinforced the leadership skills of the dive supervisors. With the divers’ lives on the lines, trust and competence are key components in their daily operations. The readiness of the unit depends on their consistent training and evaluation process.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

07.26.2016

Story by Sgt. Jonathan Fernandez 

U.S. Army Central   

ARABIAN GULF – The low light, the dark night and the deep sea barely revealed the two silhouettes in the water. Two other figures firmly held their life lines at the bow of the boat.
As quickly as they had jumped in, the divers disappeared into the 180-foot deep water.
U.S. Army divers from the 86th Engineer Dive Detachment, from Fort Eustis, Virginia, trained overnight from Thursday, July 21, 2016 until the early morning light, Friday on the Arabian Gulf.
The Deep Blue Exercise training reinforced the leadership skills of the dive supervisors. The primary mission of the exercise is to certify leaders in diving medicine, emergency protocols and mission essential tasks.
“It’s important for our dive supervisors to keep on expanding their knowledge,” said Spc. Fred Bible, a second class diver in the 86th EDD and native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands. “If there is an emergency, they’re able to handle it calm, cool and collected in order to keep the divers safe.”
Each scenario started with two divers patiently waiting, in their water-tight neck dams, for the supervisor’s brief and a standby diver, “in case the mission called for a backup,” said Bible.
The scenarios, which were briefed to the divers and the rest of the in-play personnel before the mission, consisted of diving in and around a downed helicopter, recovering sensitive equipment and saving a diver with a broken air hose.
With the divers’ lives on the lines, trust and competence are key components in their daily operations.
“You have to be able to trust your supervisor at all times,” said Bible, “Your life is literally on the line and they’re at the top holding it. You have to be able to trust everyone up there from the guys holding the line to the guy running the console. If you know that your supervisor is trained very well, you’re able to get to work and do your job faster and better.”
The dive supervisors, typically staff sergeants and sergeants 1st class who are certified first class divers, need to know how to accomplish various aspects of a mission, said 1st. Lt. Ayman Andrews, the executive officer of the 86th EDD.
All of the missions have a set time for “mission complete” because of the limited oxygen supply. Any errors in calculating mission time, oxygen levels or descent and ascent times can have a devastating effect.
One of the problems with a fast ascent is air bubbles. At depths below sea-level, pressure on a person is higher than on the surface. If small air bubbles form in a person where they normally do not, they can grow during the ascension damaging the body, or causing “the bends,” or caisson disease.
“They’re given a tremendous amount of responsibility,” he said, “because diving is pretty high risk. The supervisors complete the op order, plan all the logistics. They need very minimal support from their chain of command. They get to be very autonomous as an E6.”
After their brief, the supervisor ensures every person knows their position for the mission and is prepared to execute their duty when the time arises. In the back of their minds, they know, they have two lives to keep.
“They know what to do,” said Sgt. Daniel Passmore, a second class diver with the 86th EDD.
The unit trains as hard as they train to perfect their craft, he said. “When [the supervisors] are put to the test, they immediately know how to react to the situation without spending too much time having to think about it.”
The evaluations, which eventually lead up to a master diver evaluation, ended with a pass or fail. The readiness of the unit depends on their consistent training and evaluation process.
“We can get all of our gear set up and ready to go for any situation or tasks that we’re put to,” said Passmore.
That is how they prepare; that is why they are always ready.

• Date Taken: 07.26.2016
• Date Posted: 07.26.2016 08:31
• Story ID: 205052
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW
• Hometown: FORT EUSTIS, VIRGINIA, US
• Hometown: ST. CROIX, VI