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UCT ONE on the diveside

Photo By Nicholas Tenorio | Builder 1st Class Carlos Hernandez, assigned to Underwater Construction Team One (UCT...... read more read more

ATLANTIC OCEAN, AT SEA

09.22.2014

Courtesy Story

Expeditionary Combat Camera

ATLANTIC OCEAN – The smell of diesel fuel lingers in the wet, pre-dawn air on the weather deck of the USNS Apache (T-ATF-172). The humming melody of the ship’s engine is accompanied by the hiss of scuba bottles being charged and the staccato rhythm of chains being taken off 10-foot-tall steel storage boxes. The divers of Underwater Construction Team One (UCT ONE), shout a chorus of “bleeding down!” and “charging!” as a safety precaution when preparing their diving equipment.

Several miles off the coast of Georgia, a collection of eight towers, bone-yellow and weathered from the constant swells of the sea, stand in solitude like skeletal sentries. Each one of the now defunct Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) towers is equipped with a helicopter pad and up to four main support pilings, each one stretching roughly more than 180-feet high.

”They served as training aids for aircrews,” said Equipment Operator 1st Class Matthew Bobinchak, project crew leader for the mission. “That technology is now obsolete and we’re looking at removing them.”

UCT ONE traverses a 40-hour cruise through rough seas to assess the towers’ structural integrity and determine a course of action for the removal of the structures.

Bobinchak said, “The overall goal of this mission is to conduct an inspection of the TACTS Towers in regards to future operations of demolishing and removing them.”

Constant exposure to the ocean has degraded the structures’ ability to safely be repaired and is a potential danger to seagoing vessels.

“Looks like this one has seen better days,” said Lt. Thomas Hallam, executive officer of UCT ONE. “[The towers] are functionally obsolete and they’ve become a hazard to navigation.”

Demolishing a large structure comes with its fair share of risks and challenges. The risks and challenges become potentially deadly factors when 120-feet of water, currents and swells are added to the mix. UCT ONE integrates working knowledge and training into their daily routines to mitigate these deadly factors.

Construction Mechanic 1st Class Brandon Burrow said that to conduct a project of such magnitude the team must constantly train to provide emergency care for a dive related casualty. Arterial gas embolism and decompression sickness are two of their primary safety concerns, however anything can happen in an instant. The team has to be prepared at a moment’s notice to respond to any life-threatening situation.

“Demolition can be a very risky operation when dealing with structures that large,” said Hallam. “This is a very remote site. We’re about 40 or 50 miles off the coast of Georgia. We have to bring all of our emergency medical gear with us. We have two recompression chambers. We’re very cautious of our dive plans whether it’s the swells, current or the depth."

As responsible stewards of the sea, UCT ONE remains committed to protecting the environment in addition to being cautious with their dive plans. The marine life is assessed before demolition takes place, and if the project is to commence, the structure would either be recycled or turned into an artificial reef for marine life.

Bobinchak explains that the mission is significant and could mean future employment of a similar nature.

“We’ve come here ready for the unknown. No one has ever dove on these towers so no one really knows what’s down there,” says Hallam. “But we are prepared to overcome any obstacle.”

UCT ONE provides responsive inshore and ocean underwater construction, inspection, repair and maintenance to ocean facilities for Navy, Marine Corps and joint forces engaged in military operations.