Photo By Evan Crawley | Passing a five-week course at the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I. — Ryan Beatley, an engineer in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport’s Ranges, Engineering and Analysis Department, has become a certified Navy diver after training at the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Florida, last fall. After five weeks of training, Beatley not only passed the course but graduated at the top of his class — earning the recognition of Honor Man — and a spot on Division Newport’s Engineering and Diving Support Unit (EDSU).
Beatley’s experience would be markedly different from his EDSU teammates as he attended dive school under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that included quarantine.
“Dive school was different this year in that I was restricted to the Panama City base and was not allowed to go off base,” he said. “We wore masks everywhere and were not allowed to march in formation to the schoolhouse. We had to maintain our separation. Other than that, once in the schoolhouse, gloves were off and all was the same. The hardest part of dive school was the quarantine and anticipation before it started.”
In addition to concerns about COVID-19, at age 39, Beatley, a resident of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, was the oldest candidate in the diving program, with most classmates in their early 20s.
“One of my big concerns was getting hurt since I’m a lot older than the military guys,” Beatley said.
Training paid off as Beatley excelled and earned the title of Honor Man. In order to do so, Beatley aced all his written tests and never failed any physical evolution including the first bay swim that typically results in most candidates getting their first fail.
Beatley, who grew up in Texas and Virginia, attended the Virginia Military Institute and after a brief stint in the Navy, he went to work at the Newport News shipyard and Oceaneering International, where he became a technical expert of ships systems with experience that includes troubleshooting, maintenance, repair and modernization of all ships systems (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, structural) as well as new design. On the road, he gained extensive experience overhauling torpedo tubes at various shipyards.
“I knew those torpedo tubes inside and out,” Beatley said.
In 2017, he reached out to Division Newport’s Platform and Payload Systems Department to lend his expertise in torpedo tube repair and soon Beatley and his family made the move to Rhode Island. Not long after starting work at Division Newport, he attended the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise at the Narragansett Bay Test Facility. It was there he met with members of the dive team and the “mudpuppies” – divers in training. He had previously been in touch with Diving Officer Jack Hughes and expressed interest in joining the dive team. After three years of training, Beatley got his chance to go to dive school.
“I was a part of the mudpuppy program for almost three years, training with the EDSU divers, getting to know them, them getting to know me, helping out where I could, learning what I could,” said Beatley. “For actual physical and mental preparation, I swam a lot, ran a lot, practiced some basic skills in the water that I knew I would need, and read the Navy dive manual.”
Passing the Navy diver course and maintaining diver qualifications are part of the job of an EDSU diver; the other part is having the engineering skills to make repairs underwater in an environment with limited visibility, being able to work with a team, and maintaining safe working conditions.
Division Newport’s EDSU is comprised of 17 engineers and technicians from various departments who are also qualified U.S. Navy divers. This highly technical team works on a variety of engineering projects that require complex waterborne engineering solutions as well as land-based technical support and engineering expertise. This unique group of highly skilled individuals has been making significant contributions to a multitude of Navy programs since the 1960s.
When he returned to Division Newport, Beatley was able to participate in his first dive as part of EDSU – installing targets for a test team.
“I loved that I could provide a different perspective and support to the test teams,” he said.
The ability to make repairs underwater comes with practice. Before a dive, the EDSU team will plan what actions are needed to make a repair and practice that repair on dry land.
“We’ll practice start to finish exactly how we’ll make a repair underwater, especially when it comes to lowering heavy objects into the water,” Beatley said. “It’s inherently dangerous. That’s what’s good about pool week, it makes you comfortable in those stressful situations.”
Adding to the stress of attending dive school during the pandemic, Beatley had the unique experience of participating in a job interview during the rigorous pool week.
“I was getting hit underwater in the pool and then 30 minutes later I was in my room interviewing for a branch head job and then heading back to the pool for another session.”
Beatley got the job, and is now the head for Waterfront Operations Branch in the Ranges, Engineering and Analysis Department.
“Ryan is an outstanding engineer with excellent mechanical skills and is also a very hard worker,” Hughes said about the new team member. “I am very happy to welcome Ryan to EDSU where he is already having an impact. His calm presence in the water coupled with his eagerness to learn and exceptional technical ability make him a valuable addition to the team where he will perform at a high level for years to come.”
NUWC Division Newport is a shore command of the U.S. Navy within the Naval Sea Systems Command, which engineers, builds and supports America’s fleet of ships and combat systems. NUWC Newport provides research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems, and countermeasures associated with undersea warfare.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
| Date Taken: | 01.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.15.2021 11:37 |
| Story ID: | 387037 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RI, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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