2 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

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 Richard Hooper, USNDirector of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and DivingNAVSEA 00C

richard.hooper@navy.mil

Captain John Gray, USNSupervisor of Diving

Editor-In-Chiefjohn.g.gray@navy.mil

NDCM (MDV) Danny Boyd, USNNDCM (MDV) Fred Orns, USN

NDCM (MDV) Brian Pratschner, USNFleet Liaison Editors

danny.boyd@navy.milfrederick.orns@navy.mil

brian.pratschner@navy.mil

Zoya GorbunovaProduction Manager

SUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2USS NEWPORT NEWS Repairs ................... 3SEABEE Divers Train the World .................... 5PMS Corner ................................................... 7La Maddalena Cleanup ................................. 8USS RONALD REAGAN ............................. 10Minneapolis Bridge Collapse ....................... 12

Centerfold .................................................... 14ORCA Update .............................................. 16MDSU ONE Receives U.S. Coast GuardMeritorious Unit Commendation .................. 17Deep Submergence Unit Diving Capabilities18Atmospheric Diving Systems 2000 (ADS) ... 19Salvage of the “Widow Maker” .................... 20

Captain Rich Hooper

Topside Decompression Monitor Future ...... 21Command in the Spotlight: MDSU TWO ..... 22Osborne Artificial Reef Cleanup .................. 24New Air Decompression Procedures ........... 26From SUPDIVE ............................................ 27DC Divers Charity Golf Classic .................... 28Conference Announcements ....................... 28

Cover: MDSU TWO Diver during Minnesota bridge recovery efforts.

Greetings Navy Divers. A quicknote from SUPSALV this issue

focuses on NAVSEA’s effortsto support Diver safety andfleet priorities.

First, our team haslogged many weeks awayfrom homeport since ourlast issue supporting theintroduction of diver lockin/lock out facilities aboardthe SSGN and VIRGINIAClass submarine programs.Due to a focused team effortby the submarine crews, NAVSEA 00Cand a host of stakeholders from bothsubmarine programs, the Navy and thewarfighting commanders worldwide havea more robust ability to insert SpecialForces covertly in the war on terror. Thefirst submarines from both programs arenow certified and are proceeding towardtheir first operational deployments.SUPSALV’s efforts will continue withthe certification of the follow ships fromboth programs.

Similarly, SUPSALV direct supportfor fleet operations included efforts arehighlighted by a number of articles inthis issue. Salvage efforts associatedwith the departure of the USS EMORY S.LAND from La Maddalena, Italypresented an excellent opportunityto utilize the ORCA to support inwater decompression with oxygen.This high visibility operation dictatedthe diving profiles for which the newair diving decompression tables wereintended. SUPSALV provided directtraining, certification, and materialsupport that enabled the tremendousaccomplishments of the Emory S. LandDive Locker, MDSU TWO detachments,and other dive lockers to salvage tons ofaccumulated debris.

A number of notable diving missionsare also documented in this issue in-

cluding salvage efforts on twosubmarines. The real worldvoyage repairs of the USSNEWPORT NEWS by Diversfrom the numerous Navydive lockers including theUSS FRANK CABLE andNAVSEA’s diving supportcontractor Phoenix Interna-tional show the indispensablerole that Navy Divers played inreturning a severely damaged

submarine to a safe condition thatallowed her submerged return to home-port for permanent repairs. Similarly,MDSU TWO has accepted a valuabletraining event in raising a formerJuliett-Class submarine which founderedat its moorings in Providence, RI duringan April 2007 nor’easter. Rarely, is theNavy afforded a major salvage oppor-tunity that can be performed in adeliberately planned manner like this.The training opportunity is enormousand the lessons learned potential evenlarger. MDSU TWO leadership hastaken on this significant mission withsupport from U.S. Army Divers andengineering support from the SUPSALVWilliamsburg ESSM Base.

Second, when not deployed support-ing fleet operations, your NAVSEAteam is focused on the priorities youhave identified for us. These prioritiesincluded:

Fleet introduction of the ExtremeLightweight Diving System(XLDS), which is completing theApproved for Navy Use (ANU)process and will be rolled outat the 2008 Working DiverConference.

Otto C. AdamsGraphic Designer

oadams@roh-inc.com

(“SUPSALV ” continued on p. 7)

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In January of 2007, USS NEWPORTNEWS had a collision at sea with a

civilian tanker, Mogamigawa, in theStraits of Hormuz. The Mogamigawa, aJapanese owned tanker, was built in 2001and is classified as a Very Large CrudeCarrier (VLCC). This super tankerdisplaces 300,000 tons of water, 3 timesthe amount of water of a modern aircraftcarrier. USS NEWPORT NEWS displaces6,900 tons of water. The tanker’s bladecaused extreme structural damage tothe Main Ballast Tanks (MBT) on thestarboard side of the submarine. Eighteendamaged areas were found, sixteenvertical gashes and two large dented areas.

A quick response dive team fromUSS FRANK CABLE responded onscene to begin the damage assessment.Additional dive teams and personnel fromNAVSEA 00C5, Phoenix International,USS EMORY S. LAND, and SWRMCwere dispatched to assist with voyage re-pair.

When USS FRANK CABLE diveteam arrived on site in early January, theybegan by mapping out the damaged areain order to form a complete picture of theoverall damage.

This mapping was to be used toformalize a repair approach. The entireNavy dive team, lead by MDV Clouse

of USS FRANKCABLE begantemplating theentire damagedarea (40 ft. by17 ft.) with her-culite covers.The use of theherculite coversas a templatewas a uniqueand clever idea.We were ableto get accuratemeasurementsof t he extent ofthe damage be-low the water-line. This newinformation wasprovided to Newport News Shipbuilding,the planning yard, so it could be incorpo-rated into a finite element analysis of theship’s structure.

Five days were spent performingvideoed inspection dives so all repairactivities stateside could form a completepicture for structural analysis repair op-tions.

The original repair approach involveda bolt on plate design for all damagedMBT area below the waterline. After fur-

ther analysis this approachwas deemed not structurallysound. The next plan was toreturn a certain percentageof ballast control by wetwelding doubler plates overcertain areas (Tears 1-4). Toincrease the structural sup-port, 5 doubler plates werewelded over tears 9, 12-15.Additionally stiffeners werewelded below tears 5 and 7.

The wet welding wasperformed by Phoenix Inter-national Incorporated (PII)Divers. Phoenix Dive Super-visor, Lance Shupe, was the

lead supervisor for both day and night PIIdive crews. He also was the primary onsiteadvisor for the doubler plate configura-tion. His repair knowledge coupled withthe PII engineering team back in Largo,MD, and the structural requirement direc-tives from NAVSEA 05P made it possibleto properly design, size, and shape all ofthe doubler plates. PII, NAVSEA 00C5,and NAVSEA 05MP2 determined the ap-propriate welding procedure and weld sizefor strength concerns.

USS FRANK CABLE dive locker,Phoenix International, USS EMORY S.LAND dive locker, and the SWRMC deltacrew, worked around the clock removingspecial hull treatment (SHT), rigging andremoving metal debris, and grinding andprepping the damaged area for welding.Torpedo tubes 1 and 3 shutter doors wererigged and removed and 300 ft2 of SHTwas removed.

The U.S. Navy dive team recorded500 hours of bottom time.

PII recorded 430 hours of bottom timeand 212 pounds of nickel electrode wereconsumed for a total of 117.7 linear feetof weld.

USS FRANK CABLE (AS 40) Divers before in-water damage assesment.

USS FRANK CABLE (AS 40) Diver returns from Ballast Tankinspection.

4 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

Upon completion of allwelding and initial NDT,USS NEWPORT NEWSconducted at-sea tests whichincluded an emergency blowto insure the safety and com-pleteness of all repairs. Anadditional visual inspectionwas conducted upon theship’s return to the forwarddeployed site. All welds weresound and all doubler platesand stiffeners intact. A tem-porary SUBSAFE certifica-tion was given to the ship andshe sailed back to homeportfor permanent repairs.

The total repair time forUSS NEWPORT NEWS wasover 60 days. It was the firsttime such a robust repairwas undertaken in such a lo-cation with so many teamsinvolved. All four dive teamsworked and performed asone team. All teams becamea cohesive unit that worked and performedoff of each other’s work and made the en-tire evolution an outstanding success.

The fact that we were able to weldsuch large doubler plates over a contouredarea was a special feat. This was some-thing that had not been performedbefore. Plates A and B (forward two

doubler plates), were the largest doublersthat NAVSEA had installed on a sub-marine. Most doublers plates are 1 ft by1 ft. By the end, we had partially or fullyrestored M B T’s 1, 2, and 3 func-tionality. This permitted a success-ful submerged transit for USS NEW-

PORT NEWS. The damageassessment, repairs,and re-cer t i f ica-tion of USS NEW-PORT NEWS wasa combined effortfrom ent i t ies allacross the globe.The dive teams wereat the forefront ofthe global effort,providing the onsiteeyes and manpowerto evaluate, repair,

LCDR Carl Parks is an EngineeringDuty Officer/ Diver currently working asa Project Manager at the UnderwaterShip Husbandry Division at NAVSEA00C in Washington, DC.

and return the ship to limited service fortransit back to its homeport.

This collision sparked a review ofemergent voyage repairs for our subma-rine assets. NAVSEA is currentlyresearching the design of a fly-awaykit for SHT removal, underwater map-ping, and underwater metal cutting. Thiskit will greatly assist the proper andefficient assessment of underwaterdamage so an accurate and completetechnical review of repair options can beconducted.

Repair Team; NAVSEA, USS FRANK CABLE, USS EMORY S. LAND, & PII.

ND1 (DSW/SW) Williams work on SHT removal and mapping.

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From 9-22 July 2007, Seabee Diversand support personnel from Under-

water Construction Team ONE (UCTONE), based at Naval Amphibious Base(NAB) Little Creek, VA deployed toOdessa, Ukraine to participate in themultinational training exercise SeaBreeze 07 as an element of the MaritimeComponent Commander of CTF 167.In its tenth year, Exercise Sea Breezeinvolved 13 different countries withover 2,400 participants includingnearly 750 U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, andArmy personnel. The annual EUCOMPartnership for Peace exercise focuseson NATO interoperability of maritime, air,and ground task forces in addition topeace support operations for the BlackSea Nations such as Ukraine, Moldova,and Turkey.

UCT ONE’s mission was to trainDivers from the Ukraine Mobile DivingUnit, Latvia Explosive Ordinance Dis-posal, and Macedonia Combat DivingUnit in surface supplied diving operationsand underwater cutting/welding tech-niques.

EO1(SCW/DV) James Igoe of AirDetachment Charlie,UCT ONE, was the ex-ercise planner and wastasked to deploy to theWestern Naval Base inUkraine with 20 tons ofgear to include the MK-III Lightweight DivingSystem for surface sup-plied diving, underwatercutting and weldingequipment, hydraulictools, side scan sonar,and a Remotely Oper-ated Vehicle (ROV). Heensured that all 47Divers were trained andunderstood the rigoroussafety procedures that had to be followedin order to have a safe and productivetraining exercise. All foreign Divers at-

SSTG Ivars Kuznecovs (Latvian Diver) entering the water.

tended classroom training covering thediving and underwater construction tech-niques that are used by the UCTs. PettyOfficer Igoe stated, “Previously I haveparticipated in three multinationalDIVEX’s in easternEurope, so I was veryexcited to be given theopportunity to planand return for a fourthtime. It’s always niceto see familiar facesand work with friendsI have made over thelast few years. As al-ways this DIVEXwent off without ahitch, thanks to thehard work and trueprofessionalism of allthe partic ipants.”

The language bar-rier was eliminatedthanks to the assistance of our translator,Sergeant Igor Zolotushkin, from the De-fense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).He interpreted all diving subjects and diveside terminology which greatly increased

the learning process allowing for more inwater training time for the participants.When asked about his participation, Ser-

geant Zolotushkin replied, “Great exer-cise. Sea Breeze 2007 exercise was a greatexperience for me as an interpreter andas an NCO. I’ve gotten a lot of great

practice and useful experience by work-ing with the U.S. and national dive teams.”

To increase training value and utilizeall diving skills and equipment, severalrealistic scenarios were employed, such asretrieval of a downed helicopter, locatingand recovery of jettisoned ordnance, andrepair of pier side piping system damagedby exploding ordnance. Once the foreignDivers completed the classroom phase,they performed a dive with a qualifiedUnderwater Construction Technician toensure they understood the procedures andfamiliarize them with the equipment suchas the MK-21 diving helmet in the water.

During the pier-side operationalphase at the Western Naval Base, the divesstarted at 10 feet for gear familiarization,progressing to underwater cutting andwelding. While some Divers were work-ing pier side in the water, other Diverswere involved with using side scan sonar,which is used to identify objects on thesea floor. This training proved even morevaluable when they located a sunkenboat inside the harbor in addition to the

EO1 (SCW/DV) James Igoe exiting water.

(“SEABEES” continued on p. 6)

6 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

training project. The remote operatedvehicle (ROV), which has two cam-eras on board, was then used to viewships underwater. Following thatevolution, the bathymetric systemwas used to identify the depths andslopes of the sea floor bottom toverify contours and bottom profile.

Another test of interoperabilitywas communications. The UCTtechnicians did a fantastic job ofmaintaining the mission criticalSATCOM, HF, and VHF nets dur-ing the entire exercise to transmitall reporting requirements to theCTF 167 headquarters at the West-ern Naval Base, the Maritime Com-ponent Commander embarkedaboard USS DONALD COOK(DDG 75), and other various U.S.and foreign units. In addition tothe diving scenarios, we included acommunications related scenario to con-duct a contingency related damageassessment of a pier facility and transmitdata for further engineering analysis. Wesuccessfully accomplished this reach back

capability via INMARSAT transmissionto NAVFACLANT, Contingency Opera-tions Engineer Division in Norfolk, VAto analyze the data and provide a notionaldesign for the repair. This reach back ca-pability exercised our ability to commu-

nicate across the globe from anywherein the world for contingency engineersupport during any hour of the day ornight. We received positive responseswithin minutes of transmission. Thanksto James Gale and his staff atNAVFACLANT for their assistance

and prompt re-sponses.

LCDR JurijsT i m o f e j e v s ,C o m m a n d i n gOfficer of theLatvia ExplosiveOrdinance Dis-p o s a l Di v i n gTeam explainedhis goals. “Thisis the 5th DiveEx we have beeninvolved with,three in Baltic,one in Georgia,and this one inU k r a i n e . O u rgoal is to trainto dive in hot

weathe r envi ron ment and to t ra inUkrainian Divers, with rebreathers.Also participate in surface supplieddive training and underwater cutting andwelding with the UCT Divers”.

C P T F i l l i pCvetkoski, Com-manding Officerof the MacedonianSpecial ForcesSCUBA div ingteam, was veryhappy with thet r a in ing . “F ivestars for the SeaBreeze exercise!This is more thana great thing fora l l o f u s f r o mthe Macedoniandiving team. We,the Macedonian“Wolves”, are verymuch excited tobe here and workwith all of the

Divers from the USA,Ukraine, and Latvia.This is a very new way of diving for us,but with all of the help and teamwork thatwe get around here, everything is so easy.Everything is perfectly organized, safe towork, and it is just the right place and theright time for everybody to be here. All ofus working here together, we unselfishlycombine and share to each other theexperience that all of us have, and in thisway we learn more and more every day.We also do have some fun working andmade a lot of new friends every day. Atthe end “Two thumbs up” for everythingand I hope that we will continue themutual cooperation in the future!”

As Sea Breeze progressed, so didthe depth and complexity. While at 80feet of seawater in the Black Sea, em-barked aboard Ukraine based ship UPNKREMENETS, the previous tasks wereperformed in addition to light salvageoperations using underwater liftinggear. As training for the downedhelicopter scenario, the Divers movedmore than 1000 pounds of concrete andsteel along the bottom with lift bags andused underwater hydraulic tools to drill,grind, and hammer. This proved challeng-ing but successful. The diving experienceat sea was the pinnacle of the coordina-tion efforts for all four nations involvedand cemented our bonds as diving

EA1 (SCW/DV) Sang Park conducts pre-dive brief to intergrated multinationaldive team.

(“SEABEES” continued from p. 5)

EA1 (SCW/DV) Sang Park instructs Divers from Ukraine, Latvia andMacedonia while SGT Igor Zolotushkin, U.S. Army, interprets.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 7

professionals. Complete interoperabilitywas achieved.

“Sea Breeze 07 has been a uniqueopportunity for a variety of Sailors, Air-men and Marines from around the globeto train and operate together. The Diverswere a combination of Ukrainian, Latvian,Macedonian and U.S. (UCT ONE). Theyfound that even though their language andequipment were somewhat different, withtraining and a little help from assignedinterpreters, they were able to achieveinteroperability. As it turned out, a Diveris a Diver, regardless of nationality,” statedCDR Daniel Daglio, Fleet Diving LiaisonOfficer from NAVEUR for CTF 167 dur-ing Sea Breeze 07.

In closing, the exercise was a success-ful mission. LCDR Daniel Stoddard,Commanding Officer of UCT ONE, wasgrateful for the hard work and dedicationby everyone. “Sea Breeze 07 was a re-sounding success thanks to the unparal-leled cooperation and participation by theUkrainian, Latvian, and Macedoniandiving units. I would also like to commendAir Det Charlie for their detailed planning

LCDR Daniel M. Stoddard is currentlyCommanding Officer of Underwater ConstructionTeam ONE located in Little Creek, VA.

U.S. UCT ONE, Ukraine Mobile Diving Unit, Latvia Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team andMacedonia Combat Diving Unit conducting diving operations on UPN KREMENETC.

leading up to and incredible profession-alism during the exercise…a truly fantas-tic effort by everyone. Additionally, theamount of knowledge transfer from myDivers to the other countries involvingnew diving techniques, equipment, andtechnology was tremendous. Many newfriendships were created along withprevious friendships renewed. Inthe spirit of the Partnership for Peaceprogram, I know the positive impactsof the enhanced interoperability willbe felt for many years to come. As theonly NCF unit to participate in SeaBreeze, my Seabees were not only ashining example of the great things theUCTs do daily, but also fully demon-strated the Can Do spirit resident inevery Seabee. I am extremely proud ofthem,” stated LCDR Stoddard.

If you are interested in Sea-bee Divers, please visit https://www.seabee.navy.mil/.

· Contaminated Water Diving.Numerous developments goingon here. Interim revision to theUSN Contaminated Water DivingManual was promulgated earlierthis year and is the precursor to acomplete rewrite of the manual.NEDU is testing modifications tothe KM37 helmet which willallow diving in Category I andCategory II contaminated waterconditions.

· Dive Computer. As with theXLDS, the USN Diving com-puter is nearing the end of theANU process and is proceedingtoward a 2008 Working DiverConference roll out.

Air Monitor. Another significantprocurement and fleet outfittingprocess will allow deployed unitsto effectively test and utilize com-mercially available diver airsources. The introduction of theair monitors will significantly de-crease the logistics required fordiving operations in remote areas.

PMS Corner

The KM-37 Underwater BreathingApparatus (UBA) is now authorized forNavy use. All commands having KM-37UBAs must submit a PMS Feed BackReport requesting addition of MIP 5921/163. All commands using the KM-37 andneeding PMS prior to the issue of the nextforce revision can contact the Diving LifeSupport System ISEA, Mr. Kerry Duffyto request this MIP. Mr. Duffy canbe contacted at (850) 230-3100 orkerry.duffy@navy.mil.

(“SUPSALV” continued from p. 2)

Looking forward to seeing many ofyou at the 2008 Working Diver Confer-ence to discuss these efforts and solicityour feedback on your needs.

Until then or until the next issue ofFACEPLATE, dive safe.

8 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

F

For 35 years the U.S. Navy stationed asubmarine tender at the Italian Navy

base on the island of Santo Stefano inthe La Maddalena Archipelago NationalPark, located directly off the north eastcoast of Sardinia. In light of the impend-ing base closure it was decided inDecember 2005 that prior to the departureof the last U.S. Navy vessels it would beappropriate to clean the debris from the seafloor and leave the harbor floor in a con-dition befitting a national park. Soon, thisnoble, and seemingly modest, idea wouldturn into the largest salvage and recoveryoperation of underwater debris since WorldWar II.

Initially, the decision was made to uti-lize Divers attached to USS EMORY S.LAND (AS 39) in order to complete themission. However, this quickly proved tobe a case of over optimism. The first snagappeared early in the operation as plannersrealized that the primary mission of USSEMORY S. LAND (AS 39) Dive Locker

was to support submarines and other SixthFleet ship repair, not salvage recovery.More importantly, following detailed re-connaissance dives of the debris field thetrue scope of the job became apparent - a14-acre industrial-style junk yard was sit-ting under 135 feet of sea water, and someserious help was going to be needed tocomplete the mission.

Following the resolution of budgetconstraints, help finally arrived when adetachment from Underwater Construc-tion Team ONE and anOcean Facilities Programofficer from the Naval Fa-cilities Engineering ServiceCenter (NFESC) took onthe task of a detailed bot-tom survey. This team at-tacked the task of complet-ing a bathometric and sidescan sonar survey of theharbor area, in addition totaking video footage alongthe seafloor with the use ofremotely operated under-water vehicles. Their effortsprovided a critical visualpicture of the extent of thedebris field, the undersea terrain, andconfirmed that additional help wasneeded.

In June 2007, more assistancearrived from Mobile Div-ing and Salvage UnitTWO. Eighteen Salvorsin the form of a MobileD i v i n g an d S a l v a g eCompany led by CWO2Dale Kasztel and NDCM(MDV) Arne Phillipswent to work. At thispoint, since all wereaware of the scope ofthe job, USS EMORYS. LAND (AS 39) DiveLocker was assigned thedebris removal operationas their only mission.Additionally, a four-man

company from Explosive OrdinanceDisposal Mobile Unit EIGHT assistedwith hyperbaric chamber support andLCDR Jeff Mathis was assigned asOfficer in Charge of the entire operation.

Fortunately, Poseidon was smilingdown, when CWO3 Ray Schubert andNDCS (MDV) Rotan joined the team.

With this combined team of diving andsalvage experts the decision was made toutilize one shore-based and one sea-based

dive side working, simultaneously; themission would be completed mid-Decem-ber 2007. The one problem with the planwas that there was no platform from whichto set up the deep-water dive side, no as-set in La Maddalena, and nothing readilyavailable in or out of theater. The answerto this issue was to have the folks at ESSMLivorno and Cheatham Annex design andbuild a suitable platform. The finishedproduct consisted of a 100 ft. x 30 ft. ba-nana barge with a hyperbaric chamber(FARC) and Morgan Crane to be used asthe required diver’s davit.

A major constraint to achieving aquick clean up is that the island of SantoStefano is an Italian national park, so nodredging equipment could be used andevery effort had to be taken to minimizedisturbing the bottom which basicallymeant each item had to be picked up byhand. Simultaneously, the shore-baseddive stations from MDSU TWO had tobe customized by manufacturing laddersto fit various pier side insertion/extractionpoints while lifting points capable of hold-ing 10,000 lbs. (when filled) salvage bas-kets had to be identified in order to con-duct recovery operations. The Divers used

Typical debris field.

MDSU TWO Diver prepares to go to work.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 9

lift bags to move the baskets up and downthe slopes into these identified areas.Some of the slopes went from 55 fsw to110 fsw and many times the 5K lift bagswere filled to capacity and debris had tobe removed to facilitate the up and overphase. A majority of the diving was ac-complished using a descent line in depthsdown to 120 fsw but there was plenty ofstage diving to be done as well. The divesupervisors flexed their watches whileusing both standard air and SURDO

2 de-

compression tables while completing thetransition to the VVal-18M tables whichprovided much appreciated flexibility forthe supervisors.

Additional forces arrived in mid-August when USNS GRASP (T-ARS 51)arrived on-site with MDSU DET SIXembarked. Det SIX quickly commenceddiving operations with a second deepwater dive side from GRASP fantail whichcorresponded with a flurry of activity withthe bottom line being the shifting of theend date by two months. There would nowbe 75 Divers working simultaneously onfour dive sides with four separate craneequipped dive platforms. An LCM wasconverted into a garbage scow so it couldrotate between dive sides to pick up anddrop off salvage baskets, two 80-ton piercranes and three forklifts were constantlycarrying debris-filled salvage basketsdown the 30 ft. wide pier to properlydispose of the refuse. As the work tempo

picked up, support personnel from USSEMORY S. LAND and NSA LaMaddwere utilized and NAVFAC EURSWAbrought in the Crofton Divers and ShawEnvironmental for technical assistanceand additional resources. The three pillarsof the salvage community, MDSU,NAVSEA and independent contractorswere in full swing.

With everything in place, on 7September 2007, Operation Catfish lit offfull steam. It was intense. On average, 75

Divers dove to their maxlimit everyday to depths of130 ft. Each available Diverdove: Second Class, FirstClass, DMTs (it’s true),MDVs, Diving Officers, andDMOs. The team recoveredan average of 23,000 lbs. ofdebris per day; scanned it forradiation, and the processcontinued through missioncompletion on 27 September2007, three days ahead ofschedule.

Operation Catfish was atruly unique event. The diveoperation had many ob-stacles to overcome and its

success is attributed to all personnel whoparticipated. This was also the first timeseven decompression chambers were lo-cated on one site in continuous operation.Almost every community in the divingNavy was represented: Salvage, OFP,EOD, UCT, Medical, civilian Navy, andNEDU. Their combined hard work en-sured the largest salvage project sinceWW II was a success. Fourteen acres and1,147,594 lbs. of debris removed, 1,415incident free dives totaling 1,311 hours ofbottom time and a total of 88,000 manhours expended during the operation.Items picked up from the bottom rangedfrom Military ID cards from the 1990s to5,500 pound steel pier structures.

People ask what the most HOOYAHitem found was …well being DEEPSEAI have to say the MKV dive boot has thatdistinction. Though at the end of the dayit wasn’t what we were picking up thatwas impressive but the enthusiasm andcan do spirit of the Navy Divers who ac-complished an epic mission!!! Dive Safe.

Grided survey area for LaMadd Harbor cleanup.

Picture of typical bottom.

Submitted by Naval Expeditionary CombatCommand, Public Affairs Office, Norfolk,VA.

1 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

On May 1, 2007, SWRMC Divers(Code 990) commenced waterborne

repairs on USS RONALD REAGAN(CVN 76) to include installation of 36(200 lbs . - 1000 lbs.) separate largecofferdams with NAVSEA 00C5 flood-ing sensors, wet welding zinc anodesonto sea chests in various location, wetwelding two large ropeguards, single valve repair/replacement standby diveteam and replacementof two of four 32-tonpropellers.

The complexities ofsafely removing and rein-stalling a propeller of thismagnitude while under-water is difficult at best,and conducting two water-borne simultaneously isunprecedented on theWest Coast. This repairwork was expertly super-vised and manage byNDCS(MDV) AnthonyS h e p a r d , N D C ( D S W )G r a d y M o r r i s , a n dN D 1 ( D S W / S W ) K e nMcCormick of SWRMC dive lockerCode 990, and Mr. Jack Meirs of PugetSound Naval Shipyard (PSNS). They su-perbly led a 25-person dive team consist-ing of SWRMC, PSNS and militaryDivers from Yokosuka, Japan, and Everett,

WA, during one of the most complex Un-derwater Ships Husbandry (UWSH) re-pairs attempted by West Coast Divers.NAVSEA 00C5 UWSH on-site represen-tative was Mr. Scott Heineman who pro-vided superb technical oversight duringthese arduous and technically difficult pro-peller replacement evolutions.

Divers first set up various tools andheavy rigging equipment on a 34-foot by100-foot YC barge requisitioned fromNAVSTA, San Diego, CA with an assort-ment of NAVSEA 00C5 UWSH andrented equipment to support this huge

undertaking, including a smallcrane to transport gear from thebarge to the waters edge, a uniquefloodable CONEX box and lift-ing beam used to counter balancethe weight of the propeller as itwas transferred to and from theshaft to the barge, and pneumatictuggers used to transport gear toand from the work site utilizingrigging tunnels and snatch blocks.Divers from SWRMC Code 990

wet weld crew first removed ropeguards utilizing hydraulic grind-ers. This allowed access to thegland seal ring. Next SWRMC

Code 990 Alpha and PSNS Dive teamremoved fairing plates from the dunce capand placed a balance beam and a five tonchain fall to assist in removing the duncecap.

Once the ancillary gear was discon-nected, the boss nut (used to secure thepropeller once pressed on) was removed

from the shaft utilizing a me-chanical lifting bridle andthe pilgrim nut method (hy-draulic press) gear was po-sitioned using the same lift-ing bridle utilized to removethe boss nut from the shaft.The pilgrim nut was threadedonto the shaft and dual threefoot by four inch studs werethreaded into the propellersaft hub face. A five-ton back-ing plate was rigged in con-junction with the studs andtwo 20-pound fasteners wereused to secure the plate inplace against the end of theshaft. The pilgrim nut waspositioned against the back-ing plate and pressurized inintervals up to maximum de-

signed pressure to unseat the propeller offthe shaft taper. Numerous attempts byDivers to unseat the propeller provedunsuccessful to the point that explosivesbecame the last option to successfullyremove the propeller.

This endeavor required many meet-ings with USS RONALD REAGAN,PSNS, COMAIRPAC, NASNI andNAVSEA; e-mail exchanges and numer-ous naval messages written and answeredto ensure the explosive event went offsafely as planned. Navy Divers success-fully used less than half a pound of primadetonation cord in conjunction with thehydraulic pilgrim nut to unseat the pro-peller from the tapered shaft (the forceimpact from the explosion shocks thepropeller while the pilgrim nut applieshydraulic pressure on the propeller). Af-ter the explosive event, the pilgrim nutprocedure was operated two more times

SWRMC Code 990 Divers along with PSNS dive and NAVSEA 00C5 UnderwaterShips Husbandry representative Scott Heineman take time before Divers enterthe water to commence rigging the new propeller for USS RONALD REAGAN.

ND1 McCormick briefs SWRMC Diver NDCS /MDV TonyShepard and PSNS Diver DW Adams prior to the nextwaterborne rigging evolution on USS RONALD REAGANdouble propeller change out.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 1 1

the new propellers arrived they werevisually inspected and “Ready for Issue”(RFI) and installation on USS RONALDREAGAN’s shafts.

The damaged propellerwas rigged off the bargeand the new one set inplace on the lifting beamwhich had a 50-ton chain-fall rigging to receive the32-ton propeller. This allowsto Divers to move the pro-peller from the barge to the50-ton chain-falls rigged insaddles above the shaft(Yard and stay). The bargewas moved back into placeutilizing NASNI Port Op-erations Pusher Boats ontothe starboard side of USS RONALDREAGAN. As the new propeller wasrigged in place the removal process isreversed as the new propeller was care-fully rigged onto the shaft using the 50-ton chainfalls. This evolution requiresextreme skill by Divers on-site, damageto a keyway or the threaded shafting(wrapped with fiber line and lead sheet-ing) can set back the diving operationsfor days if not weeks. The new propellerwas walked up the shaft onto the taper.However, after the pilgrim nut (usedto push the propeller onto the shaft andseat it) was pressed up and retracted, thepropeller followed the hydraulic press(pilgrim nut) back down the taper. Numer-ous attempts to press the new propelleron the shaft proved unsuccessful. Afterconsulting with NAVSEA and PSNSengineers, number one propeller wasremoved and placed back on NASNIKilo pier. Divers then shifted their effortsto removing the number four propeller,which was much more cooperative andcame off using the pilgrim nut procedure.

The new number four propellerwas safely rigged onto the shaft andsuccessfully pressed on after 10 days ofarduous diving in near zero visibility,with heavy currents and five-foot swellsfrom passing ships. This evolution wasa testament to the skill and determina-tion of the SWRMC and PSNS Diversworking on USS RONALD REAGAN

bringing the propeller off the shafts taper.The pilgrim nut assembly was replacedwith heavy rigging (two 50-ton chainfalls)for the next stage of the evolution, remov-ing the propeller.

Divers positioned the 50-ton chainfalls onto two lifting tunnels built in USSRONALD REAGAN’s hull design spe-cifically for the purpose of propeller re-placement. These heavy rigging pieceswere used to take the weight off the shaftand yard and stay the 32-ton propellerslowly the Divers YC barge. The term“Yard” (to move) the propeller from theshaft, off the tapered end and onto a pre-

positioned 50-ton chain fall “STAY”,which was rigged onto the heavy liftingbeam which was positioned on the YCbarge with the floodable CONEX box(counterweight). During the transfer ofweight from USS RONALD REAGANshaft to the YC, the empty CONEX boxwas filled with 80,000 lbs. of water, safelycountering the 32 tons of weight transfer.Once the weight had been successfullytransferred to the Divers YC barge, thebarge was carefully towed with the oldpropeller secured just 10 feet below thewater line to NASNI Kilo pier forswap out with the new propeller. After

USS RONALD REAGAN damaged propellercoming out of the water as Divers look on.

to ensure this job was successfully andsafely completed.

In the meantime, number onepropeller was cleaned using pressurewashers and the shaft power washed andscrubbed as the propeller change outbarge rigged the new propeller onto thelifting beam and was moved into positionon the starboard side of USS RONALDREAGAN. The propeller was rigged andsuccessfully pressed onto the shaft taperwithout incident using the heavy rigginggear and pilgrim nut.

After 37 straight days of workingfor 12 to 16 hours with heavy waterbornerigging and topside personnel conductingprep work for Divers, this repair evolu-tion encompassed over 340 hours of safediver bottom time without accident or in-jury to personnel. SWRMC and PSNSDivers completed the task of changing two32-ton propellers on schedule. Thesecomplex Underwater Ships Husbandryrepair efforts saved the Navy andCOMNAVAIRPAC over 10 Million dol-lars (conservatively) in limited Fleetrepair funds and returned this nationalasset to full duty. The exemplary effortsof SWRMC and PSNSY Divers wereinstrumental in safely and efficientlycompleting one of the Fleet Diving Navy’stoughest underwater rigging intensiverepairs on time and under projected cost.

Divers enter the water to commence rigging the new propellerfor USS RONALD REAGAN.

CWO5 Rick Armstrong is Diving ProductionDivision Head of SWRMC Divers (Code 990)located in San Diego, CA.

1 2 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

August 1, 2007, began as just another normal summer day in Minneapolis

- bridge construction, bumper to-bumpertraffic - when the 40-year-old, I-35Wbridge collapsed, cutting the city in halfand dropping the vehicles crossing it 65feet into the Mississippi River.

The bridge collapse caught the cityand the nation by surprise, triggering rapidrescue response from the military as wellas bridge inspections across the country.

After the bridge collapsed, commut-ers driving home from work becamerescue workers, and city police and emer-gency personnel faced the daunting taskof trying to save people in cars that weresinking into the river. By the end of thenight, five people lost their lives and 79were injured. Eight were still missing.

Local officials began working torecover the missing while looking forwhy this disaster occurred.

After a couple days of searching,officials determined the local SCUBADivers were not equipped to dive inthe tight areas around the debris. TheHennepin County Sheriff in charge ofthe recovery operation requested theassistance of Navy Divers.

“There came a point where we maxedout our capabilities and had to ask foradditional assistance,” said HennepinCounty Sheriff Richard Stanek. “That’swhen we asked for the Navy Divingand salvage team. They are performingbeyond our expectations of what they

could do operationally in terms of debrisremoval, the equipment they broughton site and the speed in which they de-ployed.”

Members of Mobile Diving andSalvage Unit (MDSU) 2and Underwater Construc-tion Team (UCT) 1, bothpart of Navy Expedition-ary Combat Command,Naval Amphibious BaseLittle Creek, Virginia Beach,Va., arrived August 6, andby 2 a.m., August 7, thefirst Navy Divers enteredthe water to survey the areaaround the wreckage.“We’re taking our time totry to be as safe as possible;it’s really dangerous down

there,” said Navy Diver 2nd Class SeanMcCann, MDSU TWO. “There were alot of hazards in the water; rebar,cement, automobiles, and sharp metal.It’s a tough job, but at the end of theday, I’m really glad to be here helping.”

For the next week, the Divers workedin two teams, each standing 12-hour shifts.Their biggest obstacle was visibility. Themurky water of the Mississippi was sothick they could see only a foot in someareas and had to feel their way throughthe wreckage.

“Underwater there was zero-to-onefoot of visibility; you had to find yourway around by touching,” said ChiefHospital Corpsman (DSW/SW) DeanDelfavero of MDSU TWO. “This is whatwe do for a living, and these are the con-ditions we deal with all the time. It’s veryhazardous down there with lots of looseconcrete coming down around you andscraping your helmet. With these obstaclesit’s very dangerous.”

MDSU TWO has experience work-ing in difficult conditions. As experts inexpeditionary combat salvage, MDSUTWO has earned its reputation duringcombat salvage operations to open the AlFaw waterway in Iraq and through uniqueoperations, such as the recovery of TWAFlight 800, the Challenger and ColumbiaSpace Shuttles, Swiss Air Flight 111, re-

Navy Divers prepare to enter the water of the Mississippi River.

The site of the I-35 bridge collapse over the Mississippi River with a diver line visible justunder the surface.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 1 3

floating of YFU-83 in Puerto Rico, thedeep salvage of USS Monitor wreckage,and recovery of Haitian ferry victims.MDSU TWO also responded to HurricaneKatrina.

“When I first saw this site, I thoughtthis is Hurricane Katrina all over again,”said Navy Diver 2nd Class (DSW/SW)Noah Gottesman, MDSU TWO. “Therewas devastation, cars, metal, and concreteeverywhere.”

After a few days into the operation,Divers found some areas more difficult tonavigate than their gear would permit.

“The area we searched on Aug. 8included under the bridge platforms andI-beams,” explained Cmdr. Dan Schultz,Commanding Officer of MDSU TWO. “Itwas so restrictive that Divers had to re-move their dive gear to crawl into theseareas, some as narrow as 12 inches wide.”

While the Divers were searching theriver, Minnesota’s Secretary of Transpor-tation Mary E. Peters visited the site for athird time to meet the Divers and thankthem for responding in the state’s time ofneed.

MC2(SW/AW) Elizabeth Merriam isassigned to Fleet Public Affairs Center At-lantic in Norfolk, VA.

“I think theDOD response hasreally made thecommunity appre-ciate how muchthe military ... sup-ports our nation,not only in a timeof war, but in atime of humanneed and crisis,”said Peters. “DODcame in with Sol-diers and Sailors toreally help thiscommunity outimmediately.”

F i n a l l y, o nAug. 9, the Divers found the first victimin the water. During the course of theirsearch in Minneapolis they would recoverall eight of the missing.

“This is what we are trained todo,” Delfavero said. “We bring closure tofamilies, recover things that are lost inthe water, provide humanitarian aid, andbe Navy Divers. This is what it’s all about.

This is our job.”Even though their task was grim,

the Divers felt it was their duty togive closure to the families of themissing.

“Helping the people out inMinnesota is a privilege for me,and it’s a privilege for the Navy,”said NDC(DSW/SW) Justin M.Scarbourgh, MDSU TWO. “It’s nota glorious job that we’re doing, butit’s an honorable job. “I am a Divernot a hero, but I do what I can formy country and the community.”

Another Diver, Electrician’sMate 1st Class (SS/DV) John Miller,is not a member of MDSU TWO.He is stationed on fast attack sub-marine USS NORFOLK (SSN 714)but he volunteered to work with theteam because of a personal need tohelp his home state.

“It was one of those things thatfelt crazy – I must have driven over

that bridge a million times,” Miller said.“So I called around and learnedthat MDSU TWO was coming to Minne-apolis. Then I called the XO and told himI wanted to come and help, too.”

Miller was not trained in hard hatdiving but after his arrival he helped inevery way he could; such as manning thedive station, charting dive times, tendingto the Divers and their equipment.

“Being in the Navy and from Minne-sota, I never thought I’d be coming backhere to work,” Miller said. “This is some-thing that has to be done to help bringclosure to the victims’ families.”

While the Divers worked in the river,mourners gathered at a nearby bridgeto watch. Some even found ways tocontact the Divers and express theirappreciation. “We had a small containerof baked goods brought down to thesite one morning and there was a noteon it from the mother who made them,”said Lt. Li Ping Sung, diving officer fromUCT ONE. “Her note said, ‘Please lookout for our loved ones, and expressedhow grateful her family was. For me itreally struck home what we were doingand the significance of our mission.”

Navy Divers prepare to enter the water of theMississippi River.

Automobile being lifted from the river.

1 6 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

W

With the release of USN DivingManual Rev 6 planned for this

summer, I want to update you on theORCA program. To support the re-quirements of AIG 07-07 (New AirDecompression Procedures), NAVSEA00C procured and certified four ORCAunits. These are held at the Emergency

ORCA with MK-III. ORCA-II with FADS-III.

ORCA-II connections.

Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) depot inVirginia. These original ORCA are sentto a command for a specific mission thatrequires the use of in-water oxygendecompression. Upon completion of thespecific job they are returned to ESSM.It was never intended that these units beissued permanently to Fleet units.

A new design of ORCA, the ORCA-II has recently completed the first Fleetcertification at Mobile Diving SalvageUnit ONE (MDSU ONE). 00C has asufficient number of ORCA-II for theinitial delivery to both MDSUs and theUnderwater Construction Teams. Theseare historically the commands performingthe majority of the decompressiondiving. 00C will procure additionalORCA-II based upon Fleet demand.

The combined dive teams fromMSDU ONE and Pearl Harbor NavalShipyard (PHNSY) all preferred theORCA-II over the ORCA for ease of set-up and use. In the near future SUPDIVEwill release an AIG 239 detailing the Fleetimplementation plan for both the DiveManual Rev 6 and ORCA-II delivery tothe Fleet.

I want to thank the Divers fromMDSU ONE for their work in makingthis certification go off without a hitch. Iespecially want to thank MDV JohnKlukas for his flexibility and efforts inworking to certify the ORCA-II.

MDV Pratschner is Command MasterDiver at NAVSEA 00C.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 1 7

THE COMMANDANT OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARDWASHINGTON 20593

11 June 2007

The Commandant of the Coast Guard takes pleasure in presenting the COAST GUARDMERITORIOUS UNIT COMMENDATION to:

MOBILE DIVING AND SALVAGE UNIT ONEPEARL HARBOR, HAWAII

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For meritorious service from 19-26 January 2007 while responding to the damaged Chinese MotorVessel (MIV) TONG CHENG. On 17 January, TONG CHENG requested a refuge in Hawaii due to afracture in their number two cargo hold. The vessel was taking on water, leaking diesel oil, and indanger of sinking. The U. S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and the State of Hawaii’sDepartment of Health held the vessel offshore for fear of the vessel sinking and polluting Hawaii’spristine shores. Demonstrating exceptional adaptability, ingenuity, and perseverance, U. S. Navy Mo-bile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) ONE executed superb diving and salvage operations on theTONG CHENG which ultimately prevented the ship from sinking, averted the catastrophic release of140,000 gallons of fuel, and contributed to the strengthening of goodwill between the U. S. and thePeople’s Republic of China. While operating 80 nautical miles (NM) off the southern coast of Oahu,MDSU ONE performed a critical underwater hull survey that confirmed the vessel’s damage. Despitethe challenging sea conditions, MDSU ONE expertly completed underwater repairs that temporarilyrestored the vessel’s water tight integrity. In addition, the team’s follow-on detailed assessments pro-vided important decision-making information to the unified command that ultimately allowed the shipto anchor 1 NM off Honolulu Harbor. With no other means available to dewater the vessel at anchorage,MDSU ONE swiftly conducted diving operations to install three underwater flanges outside the floodedcargo hold which were used to safely remove 210,000 gallons of fuel contaminated water and raise thevessel’s draft. This allowed TONG CHENG to safely enter Barbers Point Harbor to make permanentrepairs. The pride, professionalism, and devotion to duty displayed by Mobile Diving and Salvage UnitONE personnel are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Navy and the UnitedStates Coast Guard.”

The Operational Distinguishing Device is authorized.

For the Commandant,

For the Commandant,Rear Admiral, U. S. Coast GuardCommander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District

CAPT Vincent Atkins, Coast GuardSector Honolulu Commander present-ing the Coast Guard Meritorious UnitCommendation with Operational Dis-tinguishing Device to Commander DanColman, CO MDSU ONE, CMDCM(MDV) Rick Bettua, and crew.

Left to Right CMDCM(MDV) RickBettua (MDSU ONE CMDCM), CDRRoger Laferriere (USCG SectorHonolulu Deputy Commander), CDRDan Colman (CO MDSU ONE), andCAPT Vincent Atkins (USCG SectorHonolulu Commander).

1 8 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

Deep Submergence Unit’s (DSU)mission statement is a bold tasking

for the next generation of Navy Diversin light of changes in manning andequipment. We are in the process ofcertifying the Navy’s newest submarinerescue asset, the Pressurized RescueModule (PRM). The PRM is a tethered,manned Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV)that can hold two Internal Attendants(IAs) and 16 rescuees from a downedsubmarine in up to 2000 fsw. In the future,NAVSEA PMS 394 has plans for aTransfer Under Pressure (TUP) system thatwill consist of two 32-man chambers anda deck transfer lock along with flexiblemanways to allow saturated rescuees to beevacuated and decompressed from asubmarine. The IAs need to be Diversbecause of the disabled submarine’spressure. Meanwhile the PRM descends tothe submarine’s watery vault to retrieveanother load from Davy Jones’ Locker.The transport requires at least two C-5 typeaircraft to get it to the scene of the incidentillustrating its enormity. The entire PRMand TUP system as well as other parts areencompassed in the Submarine RescueDiving and Recompression System(SRDRS). This entire system will take fiveC-5’s to transport it to a rescue site.

In addition to the PRM, we host theonly two remaining Submarine RescueChambers (SRC) in active service for theUSN. Navy Divers and submariners op-erate and maintain these systems. Someof the old salts remember these from theold Submarine Rescue Ships (ASRs). TheSRC is capable of rescues to a depth of850 fsw with a capacity of six rescuees.A large set of air racks and a valve con-sole make this reminiscent of hyperbaricchamber operations, but on a larger scale.This system offers a lightweight andhighly portable alternative to othersystems because it can fit on a single plane.The last remaining active Deep Submer-gence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), called“Mystic”, also resides at DSU and is ex-pected to be relieved by the PRM this year.Divers are required to support the launchand recovery in purportedly the most

perilous SCUBA diving evolution thatthe US Navy performs. Divers have alsobeen used for emergency egress of DSRVpersonnel when a problem occurred.

DSU also hosts all four of the world’sonly 2000 fsw One Atmosphere DivingSuits (ADS). This ADS is portrayed in thepicture on page 19. Each piece of the suitis made of a solid block of aluminum thatis milled out to fit a Diver inside. The mul-tiple pieces allow a Diver to move withmuch more dexterity than would normallybe afforded by a ROV. The ADS suit alsoallows topside to have “live eyes” on theproject with a person in the suit. The Diverenters the suit and is sealed inside at oneatmosphere. Oxygen is trickled in formetabolic make-up and a large scrubberand fan remove the natural by product ofoxygen metabolism maintaining the pres-sure at one atmosphere inside the suit. Lifesupport is monitored and the dive is su-pervised from the surface. The “pilot” fliesthe suit up, down, left and right with theuse of foot controls while the hands re-main free to work on projects through theuse of manipulators. Because of the inno-vative design, the suit affords no-decom-pression diving to 2000 fsw for up to sixhours. This asset is used for intervention,defined as surveying the disabled sub,clearing the escape hatch and connectinga downhaul cable for the SRC.

If the aforementioned “toys” were notenough to entice you, we also haveMK 21 and MK 20 UBA’s as well as asurface-supplied MK 3 Light WeightDiving System (LWDS) system with the600-foot umbilicals and the extra air rackto attain depths of up to 190 fsw. Thisasset is used for intervention in the moreshallow depths and for training and profi-ciency of the Navy Divers who come to

the command. As mentioned before, wemaintain a robust SCUBA locker for emer-gency procedures as well as Mystic launchand recovery and to maintain diver profi-ciency. What command with Navy Diverswould be complete without a recompres-sion chamber? We have a TransportableRecompression Chamber System (TRCS)for treatment, practice, and to serve asa mobile transfer lock for the new TUPsystem. Lifting and rigging evolutions area plenty and we regularly lay legs ofour lightweight mooring systems. Thesidescan sonar system and small ROVsare also used in our operations.

DSU is steeped in tradition. Ourbuilding is named after MMC WilliamBadders who was one of the Congres-sional Medal of Honor recipients fromthe rescue of USS SQUALUS. Our oneatmosphere suits are named after the fourNavy Diver Medal of Honor recipients andthe PRM is aptly named after the salvageship USS FALCON from which the res-cue was mounted. As you can imagine, weare very busy with training and maintain-ing proficiency. There is no shortage ofopportunities to get underwater at DSU.Divers can earn the Deep SubmergenceInsignia for their efforts at the command.If you are up for a challenge and are look-ing for a command that has significantdiving with multiple opportunities to ex-cel, DSU may be for you. You will alsohave the opportunity to learn and use thenewest diving equipment the world hasto offer. At DSU, beyond all other com-mands, pride and tradition run VERYdeep!

LDCR Joseph Dituri is the Deep DivingDetachment OIC at DSU San Diego CA.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 1 9

The following are comments bythe photographer on the above

photo by Eric William Curry. support, but a diving duration of about 6hours is the norm because of pilot fatigueand safety. Maneuvered via foot controls,the pilot “flies” hands free in order to per-form the necessary operations under wa-ter. There are four suits in the world ratedto that extreme depth, two of them are ondeck of this ship now. Compared to an oldbrass diving helmet, or even the far supe-rior modern fiberglass helmets with theability to attach cameras, lights, weldinglenses and the benefit of using an oral na-

This is a photograph of Deep Submer-gence Unit of San Diego, CA and the At-mospheric Diving System 2000 (ADS) onboard the vessel “Kellie Chouest.” Thisphoto is a tribute to the history of NavyDivers with the old-fashioned brass hardhat sitting on the left side.

ADS 2000, made by Ocean-Works ofVancouver, BC, is rated to a depth of 2000feet. Operational limits are 24 hours of life

sal mask for air, the hard suit gives theNavy an ability unimagined previously.

One of the interesting visual ele-ments is that the background sky/hori-zon is super blurry. While photograph-ing all the elements of the suit, Divers,hardware and ship, we all rocked androlled together, camera included, fromthe stormy sea. But the very long 15-sec-ond exposure needed to capture the dark-ening sky and sea resulted in a very softimage.

Pictured in the shot, from left to right are NDCS (DSW/SS) Daniel P. Jackson, NDCS (MDV/SW) David Glidewell, and ND1 (DSW/SW) Kiwini Turner.

Photo courtesy of Eric William Curry.

2 0 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

They say that April showers bringMay flowers, however, on April 17th

2007 the showers that relentlesslypounded the state of Rhode Islandproved to be too much for Russiansubmarine K-77, more commonlyknown as JULIETT 484. In a mere30 hours, the former cruise missilesubmarine went from museum attractionto a storm casualty.

JULIETT 484 belongs to the Sara-toga Museum Foundation. Modifiedin Finland, it was transformed into amuseum to help generate funds to se-cure the procurement of the USSSARATOGA and establish an “Air, Land& Sea Heritage and Technology Park inRhode Island…with the SARATOGAbeing the center piece.” Modificationsincluded the cutting of the forwardand aft weapon loading hatches toaccommodate tourist access into thesubmarine. Though the accesses wereconsidered to be weather-proof, theywere not water tight. A number of factorscontributed by the storm, such as strongwinds, heavy rain, and an abnormallyhigh tide, resulting in a torturous thirty-

hour sinking of the precious piece ofhistory.

The sinking progressed slowly enoughthat it was not initially thought possible.It was documented by a series of photo-graphs which can be viewed at the websitehttp://www.oakhamgraphics.com/K-77/sinking.html. In fact, it was originallyassessed to be onlyswamped. But as thesubmarine tilted awayfrom the pier it wasthought that it could bestabilized by securing itto the pier with heavierlines. In the early morn-ing of 18 April, the dutyofficer of the museumreported hearing a loud“shotgun” blast as linesparted and the submarinerolled over and slippeddeeper into the Provi-dence River. As themorning sun began tobeat the darkness away,it revealed what was left to be seen ofJULIETT 484... just a few remaining

antennae and periscopes, peeking abovethe waterline.

The President of the SaratogaMuseum Foundation, Mr. Frank Lennon,began the daunting task of figuring outhow to rescue the famous JULIETT 484which had shared a leading role inthe movie “K-19: The Widow Maker”

with actor Harrison Ford. Contractorswere hired using both Divers and ROVsto survey the sunken submarine andthe river bottom on which it lies. Inthe meantime, NAVSEA 00C informedCommanding Officer MDSU TWO of thescenario and CDR Shultz elected to “jumpon the opportunity to conduct some uniquetraining.” So, in April MDSU TWO MDSCompany TWO conducted a LeadershipReconnaissance of the submarine andsite in preparation for the possibility offollow-on tasking through the Officeof the Secretary of Defence (OSD)Innovative Readiness Training (IRT)program. IRT, a program established in1993 by the Clinton administration, isdesigned to help build and improve civil-military readiness through the executionof joint military training ventures whichsupport civil community efforts. Once IRTassistance is established it allows themilitary to help in civil matters based onthe amount of training opportunities andjoint inter-operability that can be utilizedDiver surveying JULIETT 484.

JULIETT 484 after storm.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 2 1

by the individual commands who canaccomplish certain tasking – a by-productof the training is the end product for thecustomer.

In August of 2007, MDSU TWO andArmy Divers combined forces to conducttheir own joint initial assessment of theJULIETT 484 and to further stabilize herhull. Results of the survey indicated shewas firmly planted in the mud at a 48degree angle, listing to her port side.Decisions were made to further stabilizeJULIETT 484 for additional safety priorto commencing future salvage operationswhich would prevent additional rolling tothe port side. This was accomplished byburying 7,000 lb. Stato anchors into theeast bank and attaching wire rope from theanchors to strong points along the unit.

MDS Companies TWO-FIVE andTWO-SIX (formerly Dets Six and Eight)of MDSU TWO conducted several divesaround the exterior and eventually intothe sunken submarine to assess thecondition of the submarine. The infor-mation acquired from those dive setswill be the basis of the salvage planwhich will ultimately be used whenfloating the submarine. Traditionalresources that would normally be readilyavailable for this undertaking have beendifficult to gather. Technical drawings ordocking plans have been impossible toobtain from the Soviet Union since theyare still deemed to be confidential by theRussian government. Information thathas proven to be helpful has been pre-production movie pictures, videos anddrawings that were developed for themovie “K-19” when the submarine wasslightly modified to accommodatefilming.

Currently plans are underway toreturn during the summer of 2008 andcontinue the salvage of the JULIETT 484.Raising sunken vessels traditionally hasbeen the hallmark of Navy Divers butas years have gone by, opportunities topractice the fine “art” of salvage of thismagnitude have become a rare occurrence.It is one thing to retrieve pieces of aircraftoff the bottom of the ocean but to raisean entire vessel like a submarine is another– it is going to be a great summer!!

“Bottom time is a premium” has beena tenet of U.S. Navy Diving since itsinception. From July to October 2007,HM1 Daniel Stevens and HM1 ShannonJohnson from Mobile Diving and SalvageUnit TWO Companies TWO-ONE andTWO-FIVE worked with HMC MikeLewis from NEDU to bring Navy Div-ing into the new millennium. The TopsideDecompression Monitor system (TDM)was tested providing Divers with real-time decompression obligations in thewaters of Sardinia, Italy. The data gath-ered from the hundreds of dives was acritical element in bringing the TDM tofull integration into Navy Diving. TheTDM consists of a pressure-sensitivetransmitter attached to a cable, which ismarried into a standard surface-supplieddiving umbilical. The sensor and cablefeeds information back to a laptop com-puter providing the diving supervisorreal-time information as to the Diversdecompression obligation.

Current decompression tables use themaximum depth and time to calculate adecompression table and schedule. Thishas been to the exclusion of how long theDiver was actually at that deepest depth.The sea story of a Diver working on theunderside of a ship who drops a toolillustrates this perfectly. The Diver ini-tially on a “No D” dive at relatively shal-low depth drops his tool to the bottomwhich is at 62 ft. he would now owedecompression on a 70 ft. table for theentire bottom time. Logic naturally saysthat with an excursion of one minute tothe deeper depth the Diver would not on-gas enough nitrogen to justify the deeper

By: ????table and schedule. Until now supervisorshad no other choice but to go with thedeepest table and schedule.

Giving Divers even more flexibilitywith how to contend with their decom-pression time are the VVal-18 tables. TheDivers of MDSU TWO performed over400 dives with an average depth of 100fsw on the new tables without a single in-cident. These tables are an integration ofstandard air tables, in-water on oxygentables and SURDO

2 tables into one single

operational table. The integration is pos-sible only because of the Oxygen Regu-lator Console Assembly (ORCA), andnow the lighter and more capable ORCA-II, which provides the capability ofswitching to in-water on O

2 by simply

turning a few valves. This is especiallyuseful for contaminated water divingwhere Divers can now drastically cut theirin-water decompression time then comeup and over for decontamination. Thisgives diving supervisors flexibility fromhaving to obligate to one type of decom-pression and to make a seamless transi-tion between the three types of decom-pression.

In the near future Navy Divers willbe able to integrate both the TDM andVVal-18 tables into a single system. TheVVal tables will provide greater safety andflexibility while diving supervisors moni-tor their Divers in real time on the TDM.Together these two systems will safelymaximize the bottom time while minimiz-ing decompression to only what is neces-sary, because as we all know “bottom timeis a premium.”

MDSU TWO Diver operates ORCA.

MDSU TWO Dive team.

Submitted by Naval Expeditionary CombatCommand, Public Affairs Office, Norfolk, VA. Ross Garcia is Command Master Chief of

MDSU TWO.

2 2 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

LEAD, TEAM, TRAIN, FIGHT. What do those four words

mean? Sound like a mission state-ment to you (the reader)? That iscertainly what it sounded like tome when I first heard them spokenby Commander Daniel Shultz,Commanding Officer of MobileDiving and Salvage Unit TWO.Senior Leadership quickly realizedthat this was not a missionstatement but a roadmap, literally,taken from RADM Bullard’sleadership at Naval ExpeditionaryCombat Command (NECC) tohow we were going to build theExpeditionary Combat Diver with-out losing the long standing skillsets of our mission to be the best atDiving and Salvage Operations.

With the CO’s “Four Words” at theforefront, the command set forth with thedaunting task of achieving the true essenceof their meaning which has culminated in

ground breaking opportunities for NavyDivers that were non-existent until now.Building Expeditionary Combat Salvageskill sets is what NECC leadership chargedcommanders with in order to effectivelyuse the diving community in present andfuture mission sets. Land navigation,skilled marksmanship, communications,anti-terrorism force protection, and

Mobile Diving & Salvage Unit TWOBy: CDR Daniel Shultz

Tactical Combat Casualty Care arejust a few of the training disciplinesNavy Divers were introduced to, andmastered during recent training cycles.With the addition of these capabilities the

MDSU’s now have highly skilled,fully trained Expeditionary CombatSalvage Companies and Platoonsdeployed to every sector of themiddle-east theater.

At present there are sevencompanies (formerly Detachments)consisting of approximately 15personnel, each of which has anOIC, a Master Diver and twoLeading Chief Petty Officers. EachNavy Diver LCPO, orPlatoon Chief, haspersonnel to managethrough the day-to-day

training in required diving,salvage, and expeditionarywarfare disciplines. Thecommand also consists ofv a r i o u s d e p a r t m e n t s t omanage operations, readi-ness and training, admini-strative and medical issues,and additional technicians to

direct and assist thec o m p a n i e s . E a c hc o m p a n y o p e r a t e sindependently duringnormal operations orwhile deployed andcan obviously combineassets for larger mis-s i o n s s u c h a s t h eI-35 Bridge Recovery.Processes developedby our predecessorshave paved the waywe operate and havebeen refined to ensure“Big Navy” receives therequired support and isfully cognizant of ournewly acquired capa-

bilities. Diving and Diving supportsystems range from Light Weight andMixed Gas DLSS to EmergencyHyperbaric Stretchers and StandardNavy Double Lock chambers.

“The primary focus of the CWO/MDV Community is forward progress inNavy Diving while preserving the SalvagePedigree,” stated Command Master ChiefRoss Garcia. This was accomplishedthrough the myriad of real-world salvagework accomplished by the separatecompanies. CWO2 Tim Axline andNDCS(MDV) John Coffelt took Company22 to Panama for a MINEX and werequickly diverted to supply humanitarian

MDSU TWO Dive team.

Divers reach surface, T-ARS in background.

Diver preparing lift bag.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 2 3

relief for those affected by Hur-ricane Felix and at the completionof the relief support, deployed tothe Gulf. NDCM(MDV) ArniePhillips and NDC(MDV) BillyT. Gilbert transported companiesto La Maddalena, Italy to conductlight salvage operations in supportof the San Stefano site clean-up operation. CWO2 DonovanMotley and NDCS(MDV) DaveSchophoerster (Shep) took Com-pany 24 to Broward County, Floridaand removed over 10,000 potentiallytoxic tires from Osborne reef.Personnel led by ND1(DSW)Sawyer completed a successfulCarrier Strike Group deploymentaboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65)while NDC(DSW) Michael Woods ledfour Divers during Deep Dive 2008 to adepth of 1000 feet.

While all of these successful missionsand the accumulation of over ten thousandhours of bottom time is extraordinary, thegreatest opportunities at the command aregaining war fighting knowledge andsuperior level diving qualifications. AirDiving Supervisors, Mixed Gas DivingSupervisors, DSWS, and ExpeditionaryWarfare Specialist are just a few of thequalifications attainable at MDSU.A pair of beneficiaries from the MDSUexperience are NDC(MDV) Billy Gilbertand NDCS(MDV) Michael Sonnenburg.Both checked into MDSU as First Class

Divers, hit the deck running, completedtheir individual qualifications, refinedtheir diving knowledge attended andpassed MDV evaluations – we now call

them Master Diver.Another milestone fora pair of MDSU sailorsis the promotion ofNDC Michael Woodsand NDC Justin Scar-brough to Chief PettyOfficer. A very specialcongratulations goes toND1(DSW) Jason Pottsfor his selection asMDSU TWO Sea Sailorof the Year from anoutstanding, competi-tive group of First ClassPetty Officers.“ L E A D , T E A M ,

TRAIN, FIGHT”; MDSUis a command that cultivates sailorsinto successful Navy Divers and warfighters. From light, expeditionary salvageoperations to weapon skills required toshoot, move and communicate in awarfighting environment, to lifting asubmarine off the sea floor, MDSU is theplace for sailors to test their leadershipabilities, gain advanced watch stationqualification and ultimately make adifference in the Diving Community. Ifyou’re interested in new challenges andtesting your leadership abilities giveone of the Master Divers a ring, they

will answer all yourquestions.

As CMDCM(MDV)Ross Garcia likes toadvise Navy Divers, “AtMDSU TWO everyonelearns the expeditionaryweapons , communi-cations and mobilityskills required for theshoot, move, and com-municate environmentof expeditionary war-fighting. Everyone getsdemol i t ion t ra in ing ,small craft and TacticalCombat Casualty Caretraining. Divers routinely

achieve HeO2 Mixed Gas Supervisor,

MK-16 Supervisor, Surface SuppliedAir and SCUBA Supervisor, RangeSafety and Demolition Operations Super-visor qualifications; and I mean ALLOF THE ABOVE. Our Coxswain andCraft Master Qualification Programs isalive and kicking, and we are addingvoluntary language training for Arabic,German and Latin American Spanish.Here you have the opportunity toqualify Diving Warfare Specialists(DSW), Expeditionary Warfare Special-ists (EXW), and Enlisted Surface WarfareSpecialists (ESWS). Come to MDSUTWO and take on the Complete DiverChallenge. Hope we have the opportunityto serve together – Dive Safe!”

MDSU TWO Detachment conducting field exercise.

MDSU TWO Detachment conducting field exercise.

CDR Shultz is Commanding Officer,MDSU TWO.

Excerpt from the President ofthe United States’ letters to the menoperating in Minneapolis, MN uponcompletion of the I35 Bridge Recovery.

“It was good to be with you inMinneapolis. Your heroic efforts in theface of terrible devastation representthe best of our Nation. I am gratefulfor your hard work and dedicated service,and I am honored to be your Commanderin Chief. Best wishes, and may God blessyou.”

2 4 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

The crystal blue water and extensivebeaches of Fort Lauderdale, FL seem

like an unlikely spot for old tires. Overthe years tires from a failed artificial reefhave been washing up on Florida beaches.But thanks to the cooperative efforts ofCoastal America, the U.S. Navy MobileDiving and Salvage Unit 2 (MDSUTWO), and other federal and statepartners, the Osborne Reef is finallyevolving from an unsuccessful artificialreef venture to a training opportunity formilitary salvage teams and a recycled fuelsource for Georgia and Florida.

The Osborne Reef, or as it may bebetter known, the Tire Reef, 1.3 miles offthe coast of Fort Lauderdale, wasconceived in 1972 in an effort to resolvean overabundance of old tires that waschoking landfills and creating potentialhealth risks in southern Florida. A groupof local interests, including fisherman,boaters, Divers and politicians receivedthe blessing of the Army Corps of Engin-eers to gather nearly two million old tires,lash them together and anchor them to theocean floor as an artificial reef.

The concept of artificial reefs hasbeen around nearly as long as man hasgone to sea. Artificial reefs have beencreated by ships, army tanks, oil rigsand washing machines. What mostintentionally placed materials havein common is a hard andvaried surface that can pro-vide shelter for fish and asubstrate to which corals,sponges, algae and molluskscan attach.

Tires as reefs wereappealing for two reasons.First, during the 1960s and1970s used tires were ac-cumulating in landfills afterrestrictions on other dis-posal methods were imposed.Second, by grouping largenumbers of tires together, the openingsprovide shelter for fish and other species.

But tires have a certain amount ofbuoyancy, causing them to move andeventually break loose of their restraints.And their slick surfaces appear to bemore attractive to a limited range of algaethan coral and other more beneficial reeforganisms.

As hurricanes moved through eachhurricane season, and other storms andcurrents pulled at the Osborne Reef tires,their nylon and steel lashings eventuallygave way. Within three years of theirplacement, tires had been moved byregional storms. Eventually, the tiresspread over roughly 34 acres, beganwashing up on beaches and, morecritically, damaging nearby natural reefs.

As the tire reef ’s failure becameapparent, scientists and conservationistspondered how to get the Osborne Reeftires out of the ocean. In the simplestterms, the solution comes down to threeissues: Who has the legal authority tomanage the project? Who has the techni-cal expertise to perform the task? Whowill pay for it?

Projects on this scale easily run intothe millions of dollars and no one singleagency or government could finance theoperation.

In 2001, Robin Sherman of NOVASoutheastern University initiated a small-scale tire retrieval pilot program after re-

ceiving a $30,000 grant from the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). Approximately 1,600 tires wereretrieved at a cost of $17 per tire. Thatcost made a full project cost-prohibitive.

Two federal programs that have co-operated on other projects seemed tooffer a possible answer. The CoastalAmerica program is a federal program thatcoordinates resources from variousfederal agencies to help address needsin coastal communities. The Departmentof Defense Innovative Readiness Train-ing (IRT) provides the military with a wayto gain hands-on training while provid-ing benefits to communities.

In 2006, Coastal America projectcoordinator William Nuckols contactedthe Broward County Department ofEnvironmental Protection (DEP). He sug-gested that Coastal America coordinatewith Broward County DEP on a majorproject to remove the tires and in August2006 the NOAA Marine Debris Programfunded a reconnaissance project for de-veloping a tire removal and disposal strat-egy. The project removed only 30 tires,but it enabled the participants to determineprocessing suitability, handling, staging,transportation methods and end uses for

Members of the Osborne Reef salvage training mission.

Navy Diver retrieves tires.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 2 5

the reef tires. It also made clear that aproject of this magnitude can’t just bedone as a volunteer effort and that remov-ing a few tires wouldn’t alleviate the prob-lem.

Nuckols suggested that this type ofproject might fall within IRT guidelinesand proposed contacting the militaryabout the project as a training exercise.He recognized that Navy Divers fromMDSU TWO, located at the NavalAmphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk,VA, had the qualifications and experienceto handle a job of this size and scope.He contacted the MDSU TWO OperationsOfficer to determine whether the tirereclamation project would have valuefrom a real-world training mission pointof view.

The tire reef project offered multipletraining components, including salvagediving at depths of 60 feet or more.More importantly, it offered experiencein logistics and communication coordina-tion (i.e., interoperability) with multiplefederal, state and county agencies involv-ing the Navy, Army, Coast Guard, theState of Florida and Broward County.Each has its own policies, proceduresand terminology, all of which had tobe coordinated for safety and projectsuccess. The ability to develop a coordi-nated approach quickly is critical inemergency situations, such as naturaldisasters.

“By aligningmilitary salvagetraining exercisesw i t h t h i s r e a lworld problem weaccomplish a coralprotection projectthat governmentnatural resourceagencies wouldn o t h a v e b e e nable to accomplishon t h e i r o w n , ”Nuckols said.

Having determined suitability, se-cured funding for travel and completedrequired applications, CWO4 DanMikulski lead a team of six MDSU TWODivers to Fort Lauderdale. Mikulski,along with the other Divers from hisunit, dove the reef and performed a sitesurvey.

“Once we completed the site survey,we came up with a plan to complete themission and determine the number of tireswe could bring up per day,” Mikulski said.

Fort Lauderdale residents have seentires wash up on their shores for almost30 years – not realizing that they werecoming from a reef a little more than a

mile off shore. Once word spread thata cleanup effort was underway, commu-nity volunteers and supporters came tohelp.

“In Broward County where thereef is located, most people including

the dive shops, didn’tknow it existed eventhough it covers al-m o s t 3 4 a c r e s , ”Nuckols stated. A photographerand local reportersc o v e r e d t h e s i t esurvey, resulting inwidespread reportingof the clean-up begin-ning with a MiamiH e r a ld a r t i c l e inAugust 2006 and

continuing through September 2007,every major news outlet in the country hadpicked up on the story.

After the State of Florida committedtwo million dollars to transport and recycle

the tires, MDSU TWO support was ap-proved and the Army and Coast Guardwere onboard. Beginning 1 July 2007,MDSU TWO led a salvage mission toremove nearly 1,000 tires a day. Support-ing the effort were diving and watercraftassets from the Army’s 7th Transporta-tion Group, two Coast Guard detachmentsfrom Homestead, Florida, the BrowardCounty DEP and the State of Florida.Coastal America provided guidance

through the initial stageof the project. During the retrievalprocess, Divers workedin approximately 60-70feet of water and haveto place 50-70 tires in4,000 pound cargo liftnets under water. Then,using inflatable air-bags, floated the tires tothe surface where acrane mounted on anArmy Landing CraftUnit lifted them out ofthe water onto two 48-foot trailers.

The Navy Dive team leader Mikulskipointed out that the rigorous work Diversare performing limits the amount of timethey can stay under water. The heat is alsoa factor, as summer ocean water tempera-tures in Florida reaches 80 degrees.

This tedious cleanup of between500,000 and one million tires from a 34acre area, equivalent to about 31 footballfields, is expected to take nearly sevenyears. Each year, work is slated to beginon 15 May and continue for 90 days tominimize conflicts with the end ofFlorida’s tourist season and avoidworking in rough seas at the beginningof hurricane season. So far, the coopera-tion among the groups has resulted in aseamless project that can continue asplanned at a cost of $2/tire, a significantsavings from the previous $17/tire esti-mate.

An important part of the operation isnot only getting the tires to the surfacebut then being able to dispose of them.The tires are transported to Port Ever-

A MDSU TWO Diver receives instructions anda safety check before submerging to the reef.

(“REEF” continued on p. 26)

The crew observes a bundle of tires emerging from the reef.

2 6 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

I want to take a moment to touch on a topic that will affect all of us very soon

– the release of the U.S. Navy DivingManual Rev 6, which will contain theNew Air Decompression Procedures. Iroutinely receive phone call asking whenRev 6 will be out. I understand why youare calling – it is later than advertised, butfor good reason. Here’s why.

In May 2007, Diving Advisory AIG07-07 authorized the use of VVal-18M,New Air Decompression Procedures. Thisis new Chapter 9 in the Diving Manual.Additionally, it directed these tables be

used for any dives with greater than 15minutes of decompression time. Withinmonths of releasing AIG 07-07 the sal-vage effort in La Maddalena was begin-ning to take shape. (See article on page8.) This was the ideal opportunity to givethe new Air Diving Chapter 9 a Fleetevaluation. It was decided that Rev 6would benefit from the feedback from thisoperation. In order to capture the lessonslearned, a revision to the procedures inAIG 07-07 was planned for.

All necessary equipment, OxygenRegulator Console Assemblies (ORCA)was delivered to USS EMORY S. LAND(AS-39) and MDSU TWO Divers. Train-ing was conducted and system certifica-tion was granted to modify their PSOBsfor VVal-18M. Working with the MasterDivers running the operations in Italy, 00Ckept in constant communication, sometimes answering questions but more of-ten taking their suggestions for inclusioninto Rev 6. This did slow down deliveryof Rev 6, but I believe that this resulted ina much better, Diver-tested, Chapter 9. Iwant to thank all of the Divers involved

in the La Maddalena effort for theirpatience and hard work in helping “fix”Chapter 9. Especially, MDV Sam Mata,MDV Mat Rotan, MDV Arne Phillips, andMDV Billy Gillbert. They made all of thiscome together.

This operation provided anotherpotentially more valuable opportunity, areal world application of VVal-18M. Iknow there are people that don’t thinkwe should change our 50 year old decom-pression tables. Some believe that thesetables have worked fine for years. To youI say, never mind the experimental DATA,

never mind what thestatistics say, com-pare the results ofreal world operationsand it’s obvious wehave made the rightdecision.

The dives per-formed on the LaMaddalena operation

are very similar to those during the sal-vage of TWA flight 800. Using theSURDO

2 tables, as written in US Diving

Manual, Rev 5 we experienced a high rateof DCS, most were serious Type-2,chokes, paralysis, ect. The operation con-tinued by modifying the Rev 5 tables, add-ing up to three “jumps” into theschedule until an acceptable margin ofsafety was reached. The New Air Decom-pression procedures (Rev 6) tables wereused as written with no cases of DCS.See the table for a comparison of divesperformed and incidents of DCS. Thechart lists all dives between 110 fsw and130 fsw, for both TWA 800 and the LaMaddalena site jobs.

Tell the youngest Diver in your lockeryou used to dive MK-12 (or Jack Browneif you’re old enough) then show themone, and they’ll say “What were youthinking?” In five years if you tell thenew Diver you used to decompress with-out oxygen they will say “What were youthinking?”

glades and ultimately shipped to Georgia,typically for processing into either an en-ergy resource for cement kilns or munici-pal solid waste facilities. The tires can alsobe chipped and used as light weight fill-in aggregate for highways or turned intotire-derived fuel, displacing fossil fuelsproviding energy for power plants andpaper mills.

The Miami Herald actually prints itsnewspaper on recycled paper from one ofthe mills to which cut up Osborne Reeftires have been shipped for use as TDF.

“The weirdest connection is that I’mreading a story in Miami, a story producedby the Herald, written on recycled paperproduced by a plant in Georgia where wesend the tires,” Nuckols notes. “It showshow things can come around full circle.”

For decades, tire reefs have been cre-ated near coastal states and around theworld. And though well-intentioned,people now realize the negative effectsthose tires can have on the marine envi-ronment. Fortunately, technology nowallows old tires to be recycled, providingneeded energy sources, reducing wastedisposal issues, and minimizing thepotential for those tires to harm the ocean.With the cooperative efforts of CoastalAmerica, the Navy, and other federal andstate partners, the Osborne Reef is finallyevolving from an unsuccessful artificialreef venture to a training opportunity formilitary salvage teams and a recycled fuelsource for Georgia and Florida.

(“REEF” continued from p. 25)

DISCLAIMER"Reprinted with permission from Currents – theNavy’s environmental magazine. To subscribe to themagazine or browse the Currents archives, visit theNaval Air Systems Command’s environmental website at www.enviro-navair.navy.mil. Currents is alsoavailable on the Defense Environmental Network &Information eXchange at www.denix.osd.mil throughthe “Public Menu” and the “Publications> Navy”link.”

This tiny fish represents one of the few speci-mens of marine life one can find along the reef.

CWO2 Motley is currently assigned toMDSU TWO as OIC Company TWO SIX.

MDV Pratschner is Command Master Diverat NAVSEA 00C.

A p r i l 2 0 0 8 2 7

From SUPDIVE... CAPT John Gray

(“SUPDIVE” continued on p. 27)

The best argument against the 130foot rule is that has no scientific basis. Ispend a lot of time with a lot of smartpeople and I get to look at dive datathat many in our community don’t haveaccess too. Despite our experience withTWA 800, I can tell you that based on38,000 dives or so that there is no signifi-cant increase in the likelihood of DCSbetween say a 120 foot dive and a 140 footdive. We bend most folks on no decom-pression dives. There are a couple of rea-sons for that. First, most of our dives areno decompression. Second, there is noth-ing magical about a 60/60. Two percentrisk is built into the equation. Dive 60 feetfor 59 minutes enough times and you willget bent. So, in summary, no decompres-sion scientist can look you in the eye andsay that there is anything special about 130feet.

Far and away the number one reasonfor having a chamber requirement at 130feet is omitted decompression. Specifi-cally, as we go deeper the odds of acci-dentally getting into a decompressionprofile (for whatever reason: entrapment,poorly executed dive) increases. We allagree that it’s better to have a chamberaround if you are dealing with omitteddecompression.

A case can also be made that if nospecific requirement is articulated, in aworld of limited assets, that we put bothbillets and equipment (chambers) injeopardy. Likewise, I think we all canagree that this could be an issue but arewe defining the requirement correctly?

Finally, many have pointed outthat if no “Top Cover” is given in the divemanual, that many Master Divers andOICs will be prevented from bringing achamber to an operation by their Com-manding Officer. This concern is based onthe assumption that the CommandingOfficer, who may not be a Diver, will notunderstand the safety issues at hand andopt to save the cost associated with trans-port and so forth.

So Fleet, in the end, we are left with afew options.

Maintain the Status Quo – If it isn’tbroke don’t fix it. I personally have a hardtime with that one but it’s an option.

Require chambers for shallowerdives, perhaps 100 feet, perhaps for anydive. A good argument can certainly bemade for this course of action. Aligningwith OSHA would be looked upon by mostas a good thing. If no risk is acceptablethan a chamber on-site all of the time isthe way to go.

The final option would be to linkthe requirement to actual risk of DCS.NAVSEA can develop a simple chart ofsay five percent DCS risk (in practice,most DCS models estimate high, for ex-ample our tables are primarily based ontwo percent DCS and we actually observeabout POINT two percent). Dives abovethe five percent risk would require a cham-ber, those below; it’s up to the command.This is the option I am currently in favorof. I do my best to define the risk, the com-mands actually making the dives decideweather to take the risk or not.

We have been inconsistent formany years. The current dive manual doesnot require a chamber for MK 16 unlessyou are diving greater than 200 feet. Thenew dive manual will suggest 130 feet but,in the end, leaves the decision up to theoperational commander.

Managing the Risk.AGE. Outside of the School House,

Ascent Training, and NEDU, AGE sim-ply doesn’t happen much. It is a very veryrare occasion. When I went to dive schoolthey taught me that you could embolizein four feet of water. Again, nothing spe-cial about 130 feet.

As far as DCS is concerned, you areat higher risk for DCS on a 100 foot divewith a long bottom time then say a 140foot dive for 20 minutes. Again, nothingspecial about 130 feet.As you know, the current Dive

Manual, and even Revision Six, requiresa chamber on-site whenever conductingAir decompression dives to a depth ofgreater than 130 feet. My question tothe fleet is why? Because, honestly,SUPDIVE hasn’t a clue as to the reason-ing behind that number. Why not 129feet? Why not 131? The British have asimilar requirement at 42 meters (roughly136 feet). OSHA requirements are set at100 feet. Some folks, maybe even me,might say that this rule needs to bechanged and let the smart folks in the fleetapply a little ORM vice some staff guy inWashington (me) trying to pretend he isan operator. Stick with me as we walkthrough the history and some argumentson both sides.

Despite a complete search of all thetons of paper work that lines the halls of00C and interviews with folks that haveserved here in excess of 25 years, we cannot find documentation as to why 130feet was chosen. Our best guess is that italigned nicely with the various SCUBArequirements that are implemented at 130feet. In short, we wanted to draw the linein the sand somewhere and 130 feetseemed like a reasonable depth to do that.There are multiple arguments that can bemade on both sides of this issue. I’ll out-line the top three.

Fellow Divers: I am writing you from PortsmouthEngland where we are actively workingwith the United Kingdom, Canada, Aus-tralia and New Zealand to improve our in-tegration. In addition, we are discoveringwhat our allies do best and learning fromit. More on that in a future edition of Face-plate. I would like to take on two issuesfor which I hope you have a strong opin-ion one way or another. Every time I bringthem up a passionate response followssometimes to the point where I feel physi-cally threatened but that’s my problem.

2 8 A p r i l 2 0 0 8

From SUPDIVE... CAPT John Gray

The 2008 Working Diver Conference will be held at the Undersea Museum in Keyport, WA on April 21-25.For more information please visit www.supsalv.org or contact MDV Danny Boyd or MDV Brian Pratschner(see p. 2 for contact information).

The NEDU Change of Command Ceremony will be held on 30 May.

(“SUPDIVE” continued from p. 27)

The 6th Annual DC Diver Charity GolfClassic was successful in raising

over $4000 for The Navy Marine CorpsRelief Society. The tournament wasagain held at the Andrews Air ForceBase West Course on Friday, October 5th

2007. This year the weather cooperatedwith us and we had a mighty fine day forgolf.

Again this year’s sponsors wereextremely generous, and were instrumen-tal in the success of the tournament.After play was completed all the golfersassembled in the clubhouse to enjoylunch and some socializing. This year’s“Captains Cup” trophy, the MK-VHelmet that resides in the Office ofthe Director of Ocean Engineering andSupervisor of Diving and Salvage, willgo to the team lead by 00C’s very own“The Dr. Jim Ruth” and his crew ofringers who shot a score so unbelievablylow that it is unfit to print.

After all our earnings were countedout, we were honored to present the$4,000 check to Mr. John Alexander VicePresident of the Navy Marine Corps Re-lief Society. Mr. Alexander gave a very

Tournament Check-in Table.

Our culture will slowlychange. The Belgium’s, for example, usecomputers and do almost no topside man-agement. Now that’s not us but the way inwhich we alter our routines on the sidewith the advent of dive computers will bedetermined by you and will likely take ageneration.

SUPDIVE.

probabilistic algorithm. Now that’s threeto five years out but the first two steps(VVal-18 and the computers themselves)will happen on my watch. Dive comput-ers running the VVal-18 algorithm, whichis more conservative than the VVal-18Malgorithm in the new dive manual will beavailable in the near term.

moving speech to all of those assembled,on the accomplishments of the NavyMarine Corps Relief Society past year,and assured us our efforts were for a trulynoble cause.

The 2008 DC Divers Charity GolfClassic will again be held at the coursesat Andrews Air Force Base during thefirst week of October. In the next issue of

FACEPLATE you will find a flyer, sign-up sheet and sponsorship form enclosed.Mark your calendars and join us for around of golf to raise money for the Sail-ors, Marines, and their families in need.If you know of any potential sponsors,we would appreciate all the help we canget to increase our donation to theNMRCS.

Dive Computers are currently in fieldtesting. They are coming. Please be men-tally prepared for their arrival as they willchallenge the way we do business.

The NAVSEA vision for diving in theout years is dive computers running on a