United States Navy Diver

A United States Navy Diver refers to a member of the community of officer and enlisted personnel in the United States Navy who are qualified in underwater open/closed circuit breathing apparatus and Deep Sea Diving. This branch of the Navy's Special Operations Community conducts underwater salvage, harbor clearance operations, in-water ship/submarine repair, submarine rescue, SEAL Delivery Vehicle deployment/recovery, saturation diving, experimental diving, underwater construction/welding as well as serve as diving technical experts at SEAL/Marine Corps/and EOD diving commands. In 2006, the U.S. Navy established a new rating, Navy Diver (ND), in the Navy's special operations community. Navy Divers are the foremost experts in all types of diving operations in the U.S. military.

Training and ratings

Navy Divers are trained at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in Panama City, Florida. The Navy Diver works in extreme conditions, performing various underwater tasks ranging from underwater ship repair to underwater salvage. They are capable of going to bone-crushing depths with saturation diving qualifications.

The Navy Experimental Diving Unit, (NEDU) also located in Panama City, conducts experiments that keep the Navy Diver on the cutting edge of hyperbaric knowledge and sets the standard for civilian divers.

After obtaining the Navy Scuba Diver badge, divers may progressively qualify for more experienced diving badges as a Second Class Diver, First Class Diver, and ultimately Master Diver. Commissioned officers may obtain diving badges such as Diving Officer and Diving Medical Officer.

Navy Hospital Corpsmen can qualify as a Diving Medical Technician (DMT), where they are given special training in hyperbaric medicine and diving. They provide medical advice and treatment to diving personnel. They also instruct members of the diving team in first aid procedures and participate in diving operations when the presence of diving medical personnel is indicated, as when particularly hazardous operations are being conducted.

US Navy Diver Physical Fitness Test

Diving medical personnel evaluate the fitness of divers before operations begin and are prepared to handle any emergencies which might arise. They also observe the condition of other support personnel and are alert for signs of fatigue, overexposure,and heat exhaustion.

The test consists of the following carried out in the order given:
#Swim 500 yards (457 m) in 14 minutes or less, using sidestroke or breaststroke. (Candidates can use both strokes during the swim and are allowed to push off the sides when turning.)
#10 minute rest period.
#Perform 42 push-ups within 2 minutes, with the chest touching the ground on each repetition.
#2 minute rest period.
#Perform 50 sit-ups within 2 minutes.
#2 minute rest period.
#Perform 6 pull-ups with palms facing out. (No kipping or swinging is allowed and the chin must clear the top of the bar on each repetition.)
#10 minute rest period.
#Run 1.5 miles (2.414 km) in 12 minutes and 45 seconds or less.

Ratings

The Navy Diver (ND) rating was announced in Naval Administration Message NAVADMIN 003/06 and will consist of sailors with the following Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) designators:

* NEC 5341 — Master Diver
* NEC 5342 — Diver First Class
* NEC 5343 — Diver Second Class
* NEC 8493 — Diving Medical Technician
* NEC 8494 — Independent Duty Corpsman Diving Medical Technician

The effective date of the rating establishment is June 1, 2006 for E6-E9 sailors (Petty Officer 1st Class and above) and October 1, 2006 for E1-E5 sailors.

Rating designators

This is a listing of the paygrade, rating designator, and full rating name for Navy Divers:
* E1 — NDSR — Navy Diver Seaman Recruit
* E2 — NDSA — Navy Diver Seaman Apprentice
* E3 — NDSN — Navy Diver Seaman
* E4 — ND3 — Navy Diver Third Class
* E5 — ND2 — Navy Diver Second Class
* E6 — ND1 — Navy Diver First Class
* E7 — NDC — Chief Navy Diver
* E8 — NDCS — Senior Chief Navy Diver
* E9 — NDCM — Master Chief Navy Diver

References

* Supervisor of Diving, Naval Sea Systems Command, 2007. "US Navy Diving Manual" .(UK): AquaPress Publishing. ISBN 1-905492-06-5. Revision 5. Hardback. The complete manual for equipment, procedures and operations established by the Department of Navy.
* Supervisor of Diving, Naval Sea Systems Command, 2007. "US Navy Diving Manual" .(UK): AquaPress Publishing. ISBN 1-905492-00-6. Revision 5. Looseleaf. The complete manual for equipment, procedures and operations established by the Department of Navy.

See also

* Diving Badge
* Military diving
* Carl Brashear
* Master Diver

External links

* [https://www.npdc.navy.mil Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center]
* [http://www.navy.com/about/navylife/onduty/navydiver/ Navy.Com recruiting page]
* [http://www.necc.navy.mil/diver/index.htm NECC Diver recruiter page]
* [http://naval.undersea.museum Naval Undersea Museum]