Photo By Samantha Jenkins | 190228-N-CJ362-0019 NORFOLK, Va. (Feb. 28, 2019) Air Traffic Controller 1st Class...... read more read more
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Darkness. You can’t see anything. Your headlamp is the only source of light and it just barely cuts through the emptiness. All you can feel is the cool metal of ladder rungs under your hands and the chilly air surrounding you. You see your breath in front of you every time you breathe out. All you can do is keep moving. One step down, two steps down, and into the void you go, submersing into a metal fishbowl of nothingness.
Some Sailors find themselves in voids more often than others. These Sailors are level one coating surveyors, but are often referred to as void divers. They are trained to climb into tanks, bilges and ventilation shafts to inspect for corrosion and coating (paint) failure.
“On this boat and all the other ships on the water front, void divers go into tanks and voids and vents to inspect the corrosion in the spaces to make sure it’s not at a level that will harm the ship while we are underway,” said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuel) 2nd Class Roger Panek-Mcnemar, a certified void diver since 2017.
According to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson’s, Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority, the Navy is looking to train more Sailors in areas like this to create a more talented and self-sustainable fleet.
To become void divers, Sailors go through a five day Shipboard Corrosion Assessment and Reporting (SCAR) course. After the course, they must complete at least 50 inspections totaling 100 hours or more.
“I received my certification as a SCAT in 2010 and became a corrosion control specialist,” said Josh Elliott, a civilian Shipboard Corrosion Assessment Technician (SCAT). “Our job involves the instruction and oversight of Sailors performing level-one surveys.”
Elliot says his favorite part of being an instructor is the interaction with Sailors and getting different perspectives from his students on corrosion control.
“Elliott was a great instructor,” said Panek-Mcnemar. “For a class that should have been really boring, he was able to keep us entertained and teach us everything we need to know for our tank and void inspections.”
After the SCAR course, the requirement of 100 corrosion inspection hours still looms over future void divers’ heads.
Panek-Mcnemar said the hardest parts of the training for him were learning how to properly perform the corrosion assessments, which cover more than 100 check-points, and writing the Corrosion Control Information Management System (CSIMS) reports.
“It can be overwhelming due to the scope of the inspection,” said Elliot. “But, it’s always been interesting to me to see areas of an operational ship that most people will never see.”
“This job is rewarding to me because I always seek out the hard tasks,” said Panek-Mcnemar. “This is one of the hardest jobs you can do. It’s so dark that you can’t really see anything. You have to bring all your own gear and if you forget something it’s a long way back up to the top.”
Panek-Mcnemar advises anyone who want to become a void diver to wear coveralls and get a headlamp.
“I remember the first time I was coming out of a void,” said Panek-Mcnemar. “ We had just spent about 45 minutes down there inspecting everything, taking notes and pictures. All I kept thinking was that most people say don’t go towards the light. The only thing I could think of while climbing out of the tank was seeing that light up at the top, and it being my goal to reach it.”
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2019 11:06 |
| Story ID: | 315453 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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