Photo By Bill Mesta | Petty Officer 1st Class William Davis, attached to the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay,...... read more read more
By Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Five sailors aboard Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Cuba are part of a worldwide brotherhood of Navy divers who live by the motto "we dive the world over.”
The sailors, NDC(DSW/SW)Hajduk; ND1(DSW/SW/SCW)Roberts; ND1(DSW/SW)Davis; ND1(DSW)Lutz; HM2(DSW/FMF)Guernsey; ND2 McBride; perform a wide variety of tasks in support of the Naval Station's mission.
“The types of diving services rendered include sonar dome and hull inspections, ships husbandry repairs and cleanings, light salvage operations, pier and security inspections, reef surveys,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Brent Roberts, navy diver, the GTMO Dive Locker LPO.
“We conduct various other diving oriented tasks that require professional divers," said Roberts, “our primary mission is to support the base and fleet assets within our diving capabilities.”
Some of the missions that GTMO’s Dive locker performs include searching for missing divers or swimmers, lost underwater ordinance, buoy placement and tending.
GTMO’s Dive Locker is equipped with a wide variety of dive equipment.
“Our inventory includes a Recompression Chamber, Surface Air Supplied Light Weight Diving System with MK-20 AUGA Mask, MK-21 hard hat and SCUBA,” said Roberts. “Some of our auxiliary equipment includes underwater camera/video system, underwater metal detector and underwater hydraulics.”
The dive locker’s secondary mission is to operate and maintain the Recompression Chamber.
“Our Secondary mission is to operate and maintain the recompression chamber to support recreational diving in GTMO,” said Roberts, “the next closest chamber is in Florida. Any time the recompression Chamber is secured, diving in GTMO is secured.
The Recompression Chamber provides treatment for Navy divers and recreational divers stricken with Pulmonary Over Inflation Syndromes or Decompression Sickness.
In the past year the chamber has been used twice to perform hyperbaric treatments.
The sailors attached to GTMO’s Dive Locker conduct an intense training program that includes weekly training sessions on operating the recompression chamber
“We are very proficient on chamber maintenance and operations,“ said Roberts, “chamber operations are something that we have to be very sharp at, "lives depend on it."
“We train as much as we can,“ said Roberts, “and maintain focus so we don’t become complacent.”
Outside of medical emergencies, the chamber is to conduct pressure test for Diver, EOD and SEAL candidates.
“Candidates have to prove they can handle the pressure their body will be subject to as a diver,” said Roberts.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2010 12:27 |
| Story ID: | 53276 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 737 |
| Downloads: | 156 |
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