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The Official Newsletter for the Divers and Salvors of the United States Navy Volume 6, No. 2 / November, 2002 USS MONITOR TURRET RECOVERY

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The Official Newsletter for the Divers and Salvors of the United States NavyVolume 6, No. 2 / November, 2002

USS MONITOR TURRET RECOVERY

2 November 2002

In This IssueSUPSALV Sends ........................................... 2USS MONITOR Turret Recovery ................... 3Navy Saturation Diving .................................. 6Miner Miracle .................................................. 7Diving Equipment Issues ............................... 9PMS Corner .................................................. 10

Ulithi Atoll ..................................................... 13Change of Command ................................... 1400C Website Update .................................... 1500C Welcomes Brendan Murphy ................ 15Command in the Spotlight ............................ 16Historical Notes: Sealab .............................. 17

Editor’s Note: The March 2002 issue of FACEPLATE had an editorial error in the Underwater Ship Husbandry Advisory entitled, “DivingAround ICCP Systems”. The error appeared in the caption of the third photo. The term frequently used to describe this discolorationabove an ICCP anode is “flaming” vice “floating”. The anode depicted shows the typical flaming pattern found on hull coating directly abovean ICCP anode. This is a normal bleaching effect.

MDV Pre-Screening ..................................... 18The Old Master ............................................ 19Jake’s Corner ............................................... 19From the Supervisor of Diving .................... 20

FACEPLATE is published by the Supervisorof Salvage and Diving to bring the latest andmost informative news available to the Navydiving and salvage community. Discussionsor illustrations of commercial products do notimply endorsement by the Supervisor of Sal-vage and Diving or the U.S. Navy.

Articles, letters, queries and commentsshould be directed to the Commander, Na-val Sea Systems Command, NAVSEA 00C,1333 Isaac Hull Ave. SE Stop 1070, Wash-ington Navy Yard, DC 20376-1070. (Attn:FACEPLATE). Visit our website athttp://www.supsalv.org.

Captain Jim Wilkins, USNDirector of Ocean Engineering

Supervisor of Salvage and DivingNAVSEA 00C

[email protected]

Captain Chris Murray, USNSupervisor of Diving

[email protected]

Mark WhitakerManaging Editor

[email protected]

HTCM (MDV) Chuck Young, USNBMCM(SW/MDV) Fred K. Orns, USN

Fleet Liaison [email protected]

[email protected]

F. Scott LassiterGraphic Designer

[email protected]

SUPSALV SENDSIt occurred in a location that nobody in

the U.S. had ever heard of – Massawa,Eritrea, (North Africa). The year was 1941.The Italian military, then members of theNazi axis, were on the run, retreating fromtheir former naval facility in this small har-bor town on the western bank of the RedSea after defeat by the British. But inspiteof their hasty retreat, the Italians left an in-capacitating surprise. Advance membersof the Royal Navy (who desperatelyneeded this isolated, protected harbor as adepot level repair yard for their Mediterra-nean Fleet) found twelve scuttled (and in atleast one case booby-trapped) shipsblockading both entrances to the port, andtwo former floating drydocks – of almostinestimable value to battle-damaged Brit-ish warships – lying on the harbor bot-tom, damaged and sunken. Although theItalians were retreating in North Africa, theJapanese were attacking in the Pacific, andin December of 1941 and early 1942, U.S.Navy salvage forces were heroically en-gaged and nearly entirely consumed byeffort to recover from Pearl Harbor, a fullhalf-world away from Eritrea. With USforces simultaneously joining the globalwar in both the European and Pacific the-aters, resources were thin, and only onesalvage officer was sent to Eritrea to assistin this strategically critical, but littleknown, salvage operation. LCDR EdwardEllsberg, USNR, engineer and diving of-ficer of S-51 salvage operations fame, aftera death-defying transit to North Africa,found himself the sole military salvage of-ficer in Massawa, with a small band of

commercial salvors and some local Eritreannatives for his salvage team. With virtu-ally no infra-structure other than the sabo-taged and battle-damaged facilities left bythe fleeing Italians, Ellsberg rose to thechallenge, scoped out the situation, devel-oped a plan, and compartment by compart-ment, ship by ship, drydock by drydock,accomplished what everyone else declaredimpossible – he salvaged Massawa Harborwithin weeks, and opened the port for in-theater depot level repairs. The entirestory of this miracle of human ingenuityand persistence is engagingly docu-mented in Ellsberg’s book Under the RedSea Sun.

So why, you’re asking yourself, is thenew SUPSALV starting off his first FACE-PLATE article retelling a long-forgottenchapter from the dusty old SalvageChronicles? To inspire us to reach deepwithin, and be prepared for the certain sal-vage heroics which will be required of ourcommunity in the future? Not really –though that’s not a bad idea. The real pur-pose is to lay the backdrop for what I’mthinking about regarding our current pre-paredness – or lack of preparedness – formajor salvage operations our Nation maysoon require of us.

Our current war on terrorism startedwith an attack on one of our warships, andby a combination of God’s grace, superbresponse by the crew and salvage forces,and extraordinary damage-tolerant designfeatures, the ship was saved and is back

Cover: ENCS(DV) Vern Geymon prepares to cut the 7” x 14” pine decking during the USS MONITOR turret recovery. Photo by Fleet CombatCamera, Atlantic.

(SUPSALV SENDS continued on page 12)

November 2002 3

White caps dotted the seas and aslight swell rocked the huge barge.

The divers reported 20-foot visibility and a2-knot current. Not ideal conditions to liftthe MONITOR’s 140-year-old turret fromits resting place 240 feet below. A tropicalstorm was threatening from the south,promising 50-knot winds and 12-foot seasthat would threaten the eight-point moorand time was running out. The lift had tobe today.

The USS MONITOR, best known forits heroic stand against the CSS VIRGINIA(USS MERIMAC) in the battle of theironclads during the Civil War, sank in aNew Year’s Eve storm in 1862. It came torest upside down on the sandy bottom 14miles from Cape Hatteras in what is com-monly known as the graveyard of the At-lantic. Since its discovery some 30 yearsago, the National Oceanographic and At-mospheric Administration (NOAA) hasmaintained the site as a historic monument.Recent archeological surveys showed adramatic increase in the hull’s decay. Therecovery of parts of this famous warshipfell to US Navy Divers.

In recent years NOAA in coopera-tion with Naval Sea Systems Command00C3 (SUPDIVE), Mobile Diving and Sal-vage Unit TWO (MDSU 2), and NavyDivers from around the fleet have recov-ered portions of the ship including theshaft, screw, and steam engine. Onceagain this successful team prepared forsalvage of the MONITOR’s most recogniz-able feature, the 22-foot diameter, nine feettall, 160-ton cylindrical turret. Unknownwas the integrity of the eight inch thickiron turret bulkheads, or the contents re-maining inside. High hopes envisioned theentire turret, two Dahlgren cannons andother period artifacts being recovered inone lift.

DOD Legacy funds, allocated byCongress for realistic military training mis-

sions, were appropriated at SUPDIVE’s re-quest. Commanding Officer MDSU 2 wasassigned as On Scene Commander (OSC).Planning teams went to work and soon asalvage plan began to take shape. Uniqueequipment had to be designed and manu-factured, manning for the entire 45 day op-eration had to been allocated, and divingprocedures had to be identified.

Diving offshore to 240 feet in one ofthe most hostile weather locations in theworld to recover a historic artifact buried

beneath 100 tons of wreckage is no job fora conventional Surface Supplied DivingSystem. Use of one of only three US Navycertified Fly Away Mixed Gas Systems

(FMGS), combined with a commerciallyleased, Navy diver operated SaturationDiving System would provide the safestand most effective tools for this project.Lacking a suitable platform, MDSU 2looked to Phoenix Marine, the Navy’sprime salvage contractor, to locate a liftbarge capable of an estimated 300-ton liftand large enough to accommodate thesalvage and diving equipment. TheManson Gulf barge WOTAN used lastyear during the engine recovery with its

500-ton crane capacity, onboard berthingand messing, and spacious 300 x 90 footdeck fit the bill. Since the project’s mainmission was to train US Navy Divers in

(USS MONITOR continued on page 4)

By: Chief Warrant Officer Rick Cavey

Surface supplied diver operating hydraulics on turrent lifting system spider. Photo by FleetCombat Camera, Atlantic.

4 November 2002

salvage and diving procedures, MDSU 2opened enrollment to all fleet diving com-mands. One hundred and sixty two Diversfrom twenty-five separate commands in-cluding three from the British Royal Navyresponded to our call. Twenty-one USNavy saturation (SAT) Divers respondedto provide the commercial saturation sys-tem with divers and watchstanders.

Enjoying calm seas and little windthe WOTAN dropped the first anchorover the site at 0330, 26 June 2002. Surfacesupplied divers splashed the first set ofdivers exactly six hours later and MONI-

TOR Turret Recovery 2002 got underway.Dive teams from both the saturation sideand surface supplied side worked in twoshifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.While many of the divers rotated throughevery two weeks, a core of 12 surfacesupplied divers and all the saturationdivers remained for the entire forty-fiveday operation.

The immense task of raising the tur-ret to the surface required some “refining”of current salvage procedures. NOAA sci-entists and historians required certain ar-cheological procedures be used through-out the entire recovery. Any areas dis-

turbed had to be thoroughly searched forsmall artifacts. When found, small artifactshad to be “mapped in” to the site by tak-ing precise measurements and video.Large eductors and airlifts, used to removeover 100 cubic yards of sediment and coal,had to be discharged into salvage basketswith an eighth inch mesh to prevent smallartifacts, such as coins or buttons, frombeing scattered around the site. Any hu-man remains found would require specificprocedures for removal and shipment toU.S. Army Central Identification Labora-tory in Hawaii.

Working side by side, SAT diversand surface supplied divers worked toclear the deck and armor belt from atop theturret. Using a variety of tools, divers cut,sawed, pried, and hydroblasted deckingand armor plate, hoisting sections asheavy as 70 tons until the turret was fi-nally exposed for the first time in 140 years.The elation at accomplishing that phase ofthe operation was short lived. The turretwas full of sediment and half-buried insand and coal. SAT divers went to workremoving the sediment inside the turret,while surface supplied divers removedsediment from around the outside. Theweather forecast called for calm seas for ashort time, so the decision to lower the 25-ton Spider, an eight-legged claw designed

(USS MONITOR continued on from page 3)

(USS MONITOR continued on page 5)

Surface supplied divers going up and over during an average sea state. Photo by Fleet CombatCamera, Atlantic.

Tenders worked harder than usual during thenormally heavy currents encountered offCape Hatteras, NC. Photo by Fleet CombatCamera, Atlantic.

November 2002 5

for lifting the turret, and place it aroundthe turret was made. While internal turretexcavations continued, divers attemptedto sink the claws in and around the turret.Some of the legs had to sink as much asfour feet into the sand, soil, and coal thatlay against the turret sides. Divers en-countered iron plating and stanchions,which had to be cut using 36-inchultrathermic rods and lifted out by cranes.This work progressed slowly. Hopes werethat the turret would be ready to lift tendays prior to the deadline date to allow acushion for unfavorable weather. Thesehopes diminished with the discovery ofhuman remains in the turret. From the be-ginning, plans had been in place to ensureproper procedures were used during theexcavation and removal of sailors trappedinside the turret during her descent to thebottom that stormy night. Progress slowedas divers accomplished the time-honoredtask of removing sailor’s remains from theirwatery graves for proper identification andburial.

A few short days before the deadlinethe turret was ready to lift off the bottom.

The human remains had been removedand both Dahlgren cannons were securedinside the turret. The weather forecast wasgrim. Bottom currents had increased be-yond the safe working limits of diving, andsurface conditions exceeded the crane’scapabilities. It was during this lull that theOSC made a crucial decision. CDRScholley ordered the barge to pick up alleight anchors and repositionthe bow into the forecastedseas. Hoping bottom cur-rents would diminish, thisnew heading would lessenthe movement on the bargeand allow the large crane tooperate safely. Optimism pre-vailed and on 6 August 2002,with only three days left inthe schedule and a tropicalstorm headed in, bottom cur-rents lessened and the firstof two lifts got underway.First, the spider with the tur-ret safely ensconced withinits eight legs, had to bepicked up from the bottom

and placed on a platform lying close by.This critical lift was required to contain allthe contents left in the turret prior to bring-ing to the surface. Once attached, the spi-der, platform, and turret would be raised tothe surface and gently placed on deck.

The rigging went taut, Navy Divers,spectators, and reporters jockeyed for thebest view, the water churned, and for thefirst time in one hundred and forty yearsthe USS MONITOR’s 160-ton turret roseslowly from the water. Pride, joy, and pa-triotism washed over the crowd as thebackslapping and congratulations began.Navy Divers had once again proved theircommitment, versatility, and professional-ism in accomplishing one of the most real-istic and challenging training exercisesever undertaken.

Overall, U.S. Navy Fleet Divers com-pleted 507 surface supplied HE-O2 dives,accumulating 286 hours of bottom timeand 213 man-days in saturation. Theyfought through every adversity and met allchallenges to become part of history byrecovering what some consider theMother of the modern naval warship.HOO YAH DEEP SEA!!!

Chief Warrant Officer Rick Cavey is theOfficer in Charge of Detachment DELTA,Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO inLittle Creek, VA. He was the project divingand salvage officer for USS MONITORExpedition 2002.

(USS MONITOR continued from page 4)

MDV Mariano directs side during up and over phase. Photo by Fleet Combat Camera,Atlantic.

Surface supplied divers, affectionately known as sprintdivers, make their way to the turret. Photo by Fleet CombatCamera, Atlantic.

6 November 2002

BMC(DV) Keith Nelson being launched for a 10-hour belldive on the USS MONITOR. He will spend 4 to 5 1/2 hoursactually working in the water during this bell run. Photo byFleet Combat Camera, Atlantic.

USS MONITOR Expedition 2002 saturation dive team with the GlobalIndustries 1504 portable saturation diving system in-transit to theMONITOR site off Hatteras, NC. Photo by Fleet Combat Camera,Atlantic.

By: CAPT Chris Murray

Once again the US Navy was given achance to use a commercial satura-

tion diving system on the USS MONITOR.The system that was used was the GlobalIndustries 1504 Saturation Diving System;the same system used to recover the en-gine in 2001. After completing the enginerecovery in 2001, NAVSEA 00C enteredinto a maintenance contract with Global tomaintain the 1504 SAT system to specifica-tions, as outlined by NAVSEA SUPDIVEand Certification, in order to assist in amore rapid mobilization for use with theMONITOR or emergency use.

The SAT system was again thor-oughly inspected by NAVSEA Certifica-tion, SUPDIVE and NEDU. After inspec-tion and review, a waiver was submitted toOPNAV for conditional use on the MONI-TOR. The waiver was contingent on sys-tem and operational training and a demon-stration dive prior to final approval for theMONITOR mission. The Global 1504 SATSystem is a two chamber, 1500-foot systemwith a two-man bell. Each chamber wascapable of handling 6 personnel. However,for the MONITOR we had it configuredfor four personnel.

During the MONITOR mission, the

SAT system was manned with 21 satu-ration divers and a SAT qualified Div-ing Medical Officer. They worked intwelve-hour shifts in concert with thesurface supplied divers. Each 12-hourshift consisted of launching a team oftwo divers in the bell, and each divercompleting a four to seven hour diveduring their bell run. Between the twodivers, they would average 10 hours ofbottom time per day. The length of eachdive would depend on the task at hand,environmental conditions, and how thediver felt. At any one time, there wereat least two 2-man teams in saturationto provide for 24-hour a day operations.Each team would generally work forabout nine days prior to being relievedon the bottom and then decompressingfor 66 hours. During the MONITOR 2002 mission,the SAT divers completed 80 bell runsand 641 hours of total bottom time.The saturation diving bell waslaunched and diving for all but about48 hours during the entire mission. Themissed diving time was attributed to ei-ther excessive current (greater than 3knots) or equipment down time. The

Global 1504 systemwasn’t fancy but itproved to be verysafe and reliable. TheSAT diving increasedthe efficiency of thediver almost 4 to 1 oversurface supplied diving,when considering theconsistency of a singledive team, diving every-day for extended peri-ods of time. The three SaturationMaster Divers thatmade this possible wereMDV Chuck Young,MDV Bryon Van Horn,and MDV Lyle Becker.Without these MasterDivers running the

training and operational dives, the MONI-TOR turret would still be on the bottom ofthe ocean. This year’s iron men wereChief Keith Nelson and Senior Chief VernGeyman. Between the two of them, theyalmost accounted for 200 hours of bottomtime. HOO YAH!

Navy Saturation Diving Future

We have an opportunity here. With-out saturation diving, missions like theUSS MONITOR recovery would not havebeen possible. For the amount of bottomtime and tedious and dangerous work thatwas required at 240 feet, it just would nothave been possible with surface supplieddiving alone. A saturation diving system

(Saturation Diving continued on page 18)

November 2002 7

By: LCDR Paul Fleischman

It’s wet, cold and dark…a typical Navydive? No, because it’s 240 feet under-

ground in a coal mine. This was the situa-tion for nine miners, who were trapped inthe Quecreek Mine, a crosshatch of inter-connecting tunnels approximately four feethigh by twenty feet wide, located in west-ern Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Lateon the 24th of July, the miners breached anabandoned mine, which was filled with anestimated 150 million gallons of water,trapping them underground.

The water flooded into the mine soquickly that the miners were unable tomove the 8,000 feet to the mine entrancebefore they were cut off by the rising wa-ter. As the water level in the mine contin-ued to rise, the miners made a difficult re-treat into a captive air pocket at the highestelevation in the mine. The rest of the rela-tively horizontal shaft rapidly flooded andcompressed the trapped air pocket expos-ing the miners to an estimated pressureequivalent to 40 feet of sea water (FSW).It was soon realized they would need re-compression therapy if removed from theirpressurized air pocket.

Topside, the rescue operation had al-ready begun. Mine engineers surmisedthe miners were trapped in the floodedsection, and that if they were alive, theywould be forced to the highest ground.Accordingly, they started drilling a six-inch air shaft above that point. The mineengineers also speculated that providingcompressed air down the shaft could pre-vent the water from rising further, whileproviding oxygen and warmth to the min-ers, since the temperature of the mine andwater was estimated to be 55 degreesFahrenheit. When the six-inch drill brokethrough, the miners banged on the pipe tolet people topside know they were stillalive. This initial contact motivated therescue effort and provided hope to thefamilies and friends of the trapped miners.

As part of the rescue effort, the Indi-ana County Special Medical ResponseTeam (SMART) responded to the site. Dr.Nick Colovos, a member of the SMART

Team and a Naval Re-serve Diving MedicalOfficer, contacted theNavy Bureau ofMedicine and Sur-gery (BUMED) forassistance, in casethe miners requiredrecompression ther-apy. Following aconference call be-tween OPNAV andSUPSALV, all Navydiving commandswith recompressionassets within 18hours of Pittsburghwere alerted.

By 1430 all theavailable recompres-sion chambers werenotified to deployand the first person-nel arrived on site at2230. The first re-compression cham-bers from the Emer-gency Ship SalvageMaterial (ESSM)pool at CheathamAnnex, Virginia ar-rived at midnight. By0600 the next morn-ing there were eightchambers on sitewith more than 50Navy active duty and civilian personnel tooperate them. The equipment was stagedin a large machinery barn on the dairy farm,where the rescue operation was underway.The farm owner graciously and unself-ishly offered the use of his facilities to theNavy team.

The equipment included three Trans-portable Recompression Chamber Systems(TRCS) mounted in standard modularCONEX boxes with air banks and air con-ditioning, four free-standing TransportableRecompression Chambers (TRC), whichare the single-lock components of the

TRCS, one Mobile Transfer Lock (MTL),and a standard Navy two-lock chamber ina CONEX box from UCT ONE. In additionthere were five Emergency EvacuationHyperbaric Stretcher (EEHS) units, knowncommercially as Hyperlites, which are un-dergoing evaluation and certification forNavy use. A mobile civilian recompres-sion chamber had also arrived from Ohioand was made available to the Navy teamif needed.

The Navy personnel representedeight different commands and included ac-tive duty, reserves, and civilians. The ma-

(Miner Miracle continued on page 8)

Graphic provided courtesy of Pittsburg Post Gazette.

8 November 2002

HM1 Jon Carlson and HM2 Christoper Walker from UnderwaterConstruction Team ONE performing the initial examination of a minerprior to evacuation. Photo by CAPT Dale Mole’.

TRCS used on site. Photo by CAPT Dale Mole’.

(Miner Miracle continued from page 7)

jority of the personnel and equipmentwere from the Norfolk, VA area.

As the Navy presence grew the res-cue effort continued. A 30-inch rescueshaft was started while huge water pumpswere set up near the mine entrance to be-gin dewatering the mine. The rescue planwas to maintain the miners under pres-sure, rapidly decant them on the surface,and recompress them in the Navy cham-bers. Metalworkers fabricated an air lockon site. This air lock would be attached tothe metal shaft lining the top of the rescuehole when the drilling was done. A 22-inch rescue capsule would be loweredthrough the air lock and down the rescueshaft to retrieve the miners one at a time.

At 0130 on the 26th of July, the 30-inch drill bit broke and it took the next 14hours to remove it from the hole. Over thecourse of the delay, the water pumps con-tinued to decrease the water level in themine. The engineers wanted to lower thewater level below the elevation of the esti-mated breakthrough point to ensure therescue shaft would not fill with water. Thedrilling recommenced with a smaller 26-inch drill bit and was stopped approxi-mately 20 feet before breakthrough to al-low the installation of a metal pressureseal on top of the rescue shaft. Uponbreakthrough, the pressure gauge on thepressure seal showed zero. The dewater-ing efforts had lowered the pressure in

the air pocket toone atmosphereand immediate re-c o m p r e s s i o nwould not be re-quired. The mineengineers calcu-lated the pressurehad been reducedby one to one anda half feet sea wa-ter per hour, almostexactly the Navy’saccepted decom-pression rate forsaturation diving. Once the drillbroke through,workers on the sur-face established

communications with the trapped miners,who reported that one miner had severeshoulder pain. The miner had a history ofshoulder pain, but it did not normally in-terfere with his work. He reported the painhad increased during the second and thirdday of entrapment and he believed hecould not use the affected arm. Aboutseven hours after rescue, the decision wasmade to give a test to pres-sure. The miner wasrecompressed in MDSUTWO TRCS, which had beenmoved to the hospital inJohnstown, PA for just such ascenario. He experienced sig-nificant relief on reaching 60FSW and was treated onUSN Treatment Table 6.

The diagnosis was de-compression sickness, super-imposed on a preexisting in-jury. The increase in painduring the natural decom-pression through pumpingdown the water, with the con-siderable relief of pain and return tobaseline during recompression treatment,supported the diagnosis and treatment.

Fortunately, recompression therapyon the scale initially anticipated was notrequired. However, this does not minimizethe contribution of the Navy personnelon site. The Navy team provided tangible

contributions including supervised re-hearsals of the evacuation and decontami-nation procedures, provided technicalguidance and equipment to construct thepressure seal used on the rescue shaft,and Navy doctors and corpsmen con-ducted the initial medical assessment ofthe miners prior to evacuation to the localhospitals. The Navy team’s greatest con-tribution was the most intangible. Asnoted by several members of other rescueorganizations, the Navy team’s presence,timely response, and demonstrated pro-fessionalism, provided hope to the familymembers and contributed significantly to asense of confidence throughout the entirerescue organization.

Equally memorable to the Navy per-sonnel on site were the skill and dedica-tion of all the emergency response person-nel and the generosity of the local peopleand businesses, who provided an abun-dance of food, drink, and equipment. Itwas a privilege to be a part of such an ef-fort, and the best reward was the rescueof all nine miners. To borrow a phrasefrom the SeaBee’s, the Quecreek Mine res-cue demonstrated again that Navy DiversCAN DO!

LCDR Fleischman is currently the AssistantSupervisor of Diving and is the EOD/SPECWAR liaison officer. His previousassignments include tours at Defense ThreatReduction Agency, EODMU FIVE and USSROANOKE (AOR 7).

November 2002 9

From left to right on the picture; HT3 (DV) Draper McBride, OSSN(DV) Andrew Glueck, QM1 (SW/DV) Geoffrey Ives, DC1 (DV)Jeffrey Poulin, and HT2 (DV) Larry Langdon. Photo by Stuart Yee.

View of the inner lock of the SNDLRCS.Photo by Stuart Yee.

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO(MDSU 2) assisted Naval Sea Sys-

tems Command (NAVSEA) personnel intesting and certification of the first Stan-dard Navy Double Lock RecompressionChamber System (SNDLRCS) at CheathamAnnex in Williamsburg, VA. TheSNDLRCS is certified for treatments usingthe U.S. Navy Diving Manual TreatmentTables for the maximum time required, andfor conducting Pressure Tests and Sur-face Decompression.

The SNDLRCS consists of a doublelock recompression chamber installed inan ISO container and an air/oxygen sup-ply system. The recompression chamberwas designed by Fink Engineering andmanufactured by Cowan Manufacturing.It is 54” in diameter and made of stainlesssteel. It has air, oxygen, and mixed gas

BIBS in the innerlock and air and oxy-gen BIBS in theouter lock. It alsohas a CO2 scrubber,an environmentalconditioning sys-tem, communica-tions, and an O2 andCO2 analyzer.

Air is suppliedto the chamber froman Air Supply RackAssembly (ASRA),the same that isused with the FADSIII. Oxygen is sup-plied from 4 bottlesstored in the ISOcontainer or can be supplied from an ex-ternal source (an Oxygen Supply RackAssembly, for example).

The ISO container is 8’ x 8’ x 20’ andhas a vestibule, which can be opened toallow more room in front of the chamberconsole. It has lighting, heating, and airconditioning, storage for four O2 bottles,and reducing stations for air and oxygen.There is also storage space for an ASRA,which is used as the chamber’s air supply.Rollers are provided to allow easy removalof the ASRA for more working roomwithin the ISO container.

MDSU 2 personnel participating inthe testing and certification of the firstSNDLRCS were HT3 (DV) DraperMcBride, OSSN (DV) Andrew Glueck,QM1 (SW/DV) Geoffrey Ives, DC1 (DV)Jeffrey Poulin, HT2 (DV) Larry Langdon,SM1 (SW/DV) Mark Cooper, and HTC(SW/DV) Steve Janek.

NAVSEA personnel involved wereHTCM (MDV) Chuck Young (00C36), RobWarren (00C4), Paul McMurtrie (00C46),and Stuart Yee (00C37).

STANDARD NAVY DOUBLE LOCK RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER SYSTEM

By: NAVSEA 00C Staff Writers

(Diving Equipment Issues continued on page 10)

Kirby Morgan Diving Systems, Inc.(KMDSI), formerly DSI, has advised

us of a potential problem with the regulatorexhaust valve, PN 510-552. As a result ofchanging to a different supplier for the ex-haust valves, a slight difference in theelasticity and stiffness of the valve hasbeen detected. This difference has thepotential to cause a small leakage in thehelmet when in certain helmet orientations.

THIS IS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE ASERIOUS PROBLEM. However, KMDSIhas offered to replace these valves at nocost. The valves in question will show thepart number and a mold cavity number, asopposed to the previous parts which haveno mold cavity number. There have beenno reports of problems with leakage due tothese valves in the Navy. To our knowl-edge, no parts from this new lot have made

it into the fleet inventory. If you do detectthat you have some of these exhaustvalves in your inventory, you may contactKMDSI for replacements at (805) 965-8538.Additional information is available on theKMDSI web site, www.KMDSI.com.

KMDSI has also issued a safety bul-letin relative to the improper installation ofthe oral nasal inhalation valve, PN 510-550.These valves can potentially be installed

UBA MK 21 MOD 1

10 November 2002

• MIP 5921/038, Seatec Life Preserver.The following correction will come outin Force Revision 2-02: MRC 8CEB (R-3) NOTE 5: the weight variance of thestandard should read +/- 4 grams.

• MIP 5921/036 (MAKO 5409 HPAC)now contains maintenance to clean andinspect the final separator semi-annu-ally or in conjunction with filter replace-ment. It has been reported that onsome purification systems, the topplugs have been overtightened. Tightenthe top plugs only until the top cap

“Service to the Fleet”

PMS Corner

contacts the cylinder housing. Also re-ported has been hairline cracks in the oilfilter housing. This is an O-ring sealand is installed hand tight only.

• MIP 5921-019, SCUBA. Additional dis-infectant agents have been approved.SaniZide Plus, Advance TBE, Bi-Arrest2, and Confidence Plus have beenadded. Wescodyne can still be used asa substitute, if local hazardous materi-als policies permit. Also, the R-7, In-spect Regulator and Gauge Hoses,MRC situation requirement has

changed to perform the maintenance re-quirement before each diving day. TheR-6, Rinse Regulator and Air CylinderAssembly, has changed to accomplishafter each day’s use.

• Various MIPs. To preserve the func-tionality of the drying/purification car-tridges in the MAKO/BAUER filtrationsystems, upon completion of chargingevolutions, bleed down the condensa-tion and leave a minimum of 2000 psi inthe system. Periodicities for cartridgechange-out will be revised as follows:

COMPRESSOR PURIFICATION SYSTEMS

(Diving Equipment Issues continued from page 9)

(PMS Corner continued on page 11)

Problems related to compressor purifi-cation systems continue to plague

diving commands. These systems consistof canisters containing desiccant for mois-ture removal, charcoal to absorb odors,and a catalyst for carbon monoxide ab-sorption, such as HOPCALITE. These el-ements, when used properly, provide ex-cellent protection to the HP storage flasks.If these cartridges are not changed atproper intervals, the cartridges becomesaturated with moisture, potentially lead-ing to a catastrophic failure of the car-tridge. Ultimately, this leads to contamina-tion of the HP air system and a very costlyclean up.

Life of the cartridges is a function ofseveral factors; amount of air run throughthe system, humidity of air being com-pressed, ambient temperature, and systempressure. It is difficult to predict how longa cartridge will last because of these vari-ous factors, so it is wise to be very con-servative when estimating the life of thecartridge. When changing one cartridge,all cartridges in the system should bechanged.

Most, if not all, of these systemshave an option for an electronic sensor(s)that will detect excessive levels of mois-ture and carbon monoxide. On some ofthese systems, exceeding the preset levels

of moisture or carbon monoxide will auto-matically shut down the compressor. Thisis a clear sign that the cartridges must bechanged. MAKO has the Cartridge Moni-toring System (CMS) which monitorsmoisture level. They are presently devel-oping a carbon monoxide sensor. Bauerhas the Securus which is a moisture detec-tor. They also have a carbon monoxidemonitor. Use of these sensors can allowyou to greatly extend the life of the car-tridge. In most cases, these sensors canbe added to an existing system and willeasily pay for themselves in extended car-tridge life. Check with the manufacturer ofyour purification system to see what isavailable for your system.

backwards leading to serious problems ifattempting to breathe using the steadyflow valve. As long as proper proceduresare followed as specified in the PMS andthe UBA MK 21 MOD 1 manual, this willnot be a problem. However, this problemhas been detected by KMDSI on somediver-maintained (commercial) helmets.

Another caution issued by KMDSIhas to do with the use of lubricants onthe regulator exhaust valve, PN 510-552.Use of such compounds can deterioratethe physical properties of the valves andcan attract and hold debris causing thevalve to leak. This caution also applies tothe diaphragm. The UBA MK 21 manual

calls for wetting these valves with water iflubrication is needed during installation.The PMS is being corrected to prohibit lu-bricating these valves with anything butwater.

POSEIDON REGULATORS

The new U.S. Distributor for thePoseidon regulator is Trelleborg Vi-

king, Inc. They can be reached at (800)344-4458. Their address is 170 West Road,Suite 1, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

November 2002 11

1. Purification systems without elec-tronic moisture monitoring requirecartridge change-out at 250 hours forBauer and 64 hours for Mako.

2. Purification systems with electronicmoisture monitoring, either BauerSecurus or Mako CMS, require car-tridge change-out annually or whenindicated by the moisture monitor,whichever comes first.

3. Purification systems with electronicCO and moisture monitoring requirechange-out whenever one of the moni-tors indicates.

Also, the shelf life of these cartridges isnow 3 years.

• MIP 5921/162, MK 21 MOD 1UBA. Asmentioned in the Diving Equipment Is-sues article, the oral nasal exhaust, waterdump assembly, and installation valves,should only be wetted with water priorto installation. Do not lubricate thesevalves with grease.

• MIP 5921/034 and other miscellaneousMIPs: Guidance for the recertificationand inspection of flasks, moisture sepa-rators, filter housings, volume tanks/re-ceivers, and purification system hous-ings is being incorporated into a jointprocess instruction NAVSEA-00C3-PI-005. Until approval and promulgation ofthis process instruction use the follow-ing inspection criteria:

NAVSEA certified systems:

1. MIL-F-22606 flasks and moistureseparators use NSTM CH 551.

2. DOT kevlar composite flasks requirehydrostatic testing every 3 years withexception of the new carbon fibercomposite flask which is tested ev-ery 5 years. Steel flasks and alumi-num cylinders are still hydrostaticallytested every 5 years.

3. For all filter housings, volume tanks/receivers, and purification system hous-ings, conduct external and internal vi-sual inspection at periodicity on MIP/MRC. Contact NAVSEA 00C36 for in-terim inspection criteria for these com-ponents.

NAVFAC certified systems:

1. All shore based unfired pressure ves-sels, specifically ASME and MIL-F-22606 HP flasks and ASME LP volumetanks/receivers, must use MIL-HDBK-1152, Inspection And Certification ofBoilers and Unfired Pressure Vessels.

2. DOT kevlar composite flasks requirehydrostatic testing every 3 years, withexception of the new carbon fiber com-posite flasks which is tested every 5years. Steel flasks and aluminum cylin-ders are still hydrostatically tested ev-ery 5 years.

3. For all filter housings and purificationsystem housings, conduct external andinternal visual inspection at periodicityon MIP/MRC. Contact Mr. Rob Smithfor interim inspection criteria for thesecomponents.

• Upon receipt of Force Revision 2-02, allcommands should review their LOP andequipment configuration and update ac-cordingly.

• NAVSEA strives to keep the maintenancerequirements for all DLSS accurate andlimited to that necessary to keep the equip-ment safe and working well. When prob-lems are found with the PMS, it is almostalways the sailor performing the mainte-nance on the equipment that finds themand it is only when the commands usingthis equipment provide feedback toNAVSEA that these problems get re-solved. This is accomplished through thesubmission of feedback reports. There areseveral ways to do this, but probably the

easiest is to submit an automaticfeedback report using the FTSCPACweb site, www.ftscpac.navy.mil.Once on the web site, select Inte-grated Logistics (PMS), then selectCode 401 PMS. Under Services, se-lect Automated TFBR Form. Thisworks for the 5921, 5971, and H012series MIP’s. Feedback for EODMIP’s can be submitted through theFTSCLANT web site.

Points of contact:

Mr. Kerry Duffy/ISEA 059 commercial:850-230-3100, DSN 436-4351 or email:[email protected].

HTCM(MDV) Chuck Young, NAVSEA00C36, commercial: (202) 781-0960,D S N : 3 2 6 - 0 9 6 0 , o r e m a i l :[email protected].

Mr. Rob Smith, Code 07FH, commercial:(202) 433-8772, DSN: 288-8772, or email:[email protected].

Dave DeAngelis, NFESC ECDET Code55DD Shore Based Design/Acquisitioncommercial: (202)433-5480, DSN:288-5480, or email: [email protected]

Technical questions, logistics prob-lems, supply requests, personnel is-sue? Call or contact ANCHOR DESK 1-8 7 7 - 4 - 1 - T O U C H ( 8 6 8 2 4 ) o ro n t h e i n t e r n e t a t h t t p : / /www.AnchorDesk.navy.mil.

Military Handbook 1152, InspectionAnd Certification of Boilers andUnfired Pressure Vessels, can be foundon the internet at http://edlant.navfac.navy.mil/criteria/docu-ments/MH/1152.pdf.

“Service to the Fleet”

PMS Corner

(PMS Corner continued from page 10)

12 November 2002

(SUPSALV SENDS continued from page 2)

in our Nation’s service. But stop and thinkfor a minute of how many close callswe’ve had – USS STARK, USS SAMUELB. ROBERTS, USS PRINCETON, USS TRI-POLI, and now USS COLE. Whether bydeclared acts of war or cowardly terrorism,we are a Navy at constant risk. The recentattack on the commercial tanker LIMBURGis another reminder that our vulnerabilitygoes beyond just our warships, but also tothe lifeblood of our economy — commer-cial shipping — ninety percent of ournation’s commerce is transported by ships.We could conceivably find ourselves notjust fighting to keep a single ship afloat,but simultaneously engaged in several dif-ferent ports thousands of miles from oneanother, in the US and abroad, in a desper-ate battle to recover shipping lanes andnavigable waterways, raising warshipsand commercial ships, and battling the en-vironmental pollution that ensues wher-ever ships are sunk — all the while poten-tially under enemy fire.

This is our salvage heritage – the an-nals of World War II and Vietnam are re-plete with combat salvage and harborclearance operations.

Are we prepared for this call? I willargue no – not sufficiently. Though re-cent past FACEPLATE issues highlightedthe exceptional success of individual sal-vage operations (USS LAMOURECOUNTY, USS COLE, Japanese MarineFisheries Vessel EHIME MARU opera-tion, and this issue heralds the MONITORTurret recovery), our ability to success-fully engage in two or more concurrentmajor salvage operations (each with twoor more ships) could place us much in theposition of LCDR Ellsberg in Eritrea… witha small salvage team of limited resource at-tempting to accomplish the impossible.Our people – the strength of our commu-nity – are not broadly experienced in majorship salvage operations. Our planned sal-vage training exercises are so minor inscope that we don’t know what we don’t

know. Our commissioned fleet has losttwo thirds of its capability in the past de-cade, now with just four “junk boats”,down from twelve not long ago. Our Spe-cial Operations (1140) community is focus-ing on the critical expertise of ExplosiveOrdnance Disposal (EOD) as their princi-pal professional capability, with a subordi-nate focus on salvage operations. This isa double blow to our four remaining ARS-50s as their wardrooms are no longer“grown” up into salvage, but are learningmultiple point mooring, towing, andheavy-rigging ship handling skills whenthey step aboard. The junior ranks of ourEngineering Duty (1440) divers are greatlyundermanned, bringing a near term deficitof both engineering talent and experienceto our salvage community. Our MasterDivers and Warrant Officers are theworld’s best, but the few recent major shipsalvage operations and the limited scopeof salvage training exercises give all of usa false sense of confidence. Our FleetDivers are the professional heart and soulof our salvage community, engrained witha never-say-die attitude that gives us theupper hand against adversity, but they,too, suffer from the same limited experi-ence base in major ship salvage opera-tions. We have a tremendous resource inour Emergency Ship Salvage Material(ESSM) bases, but most of our divers arenot as familiar with the ESSM inventory asthey should be, and even fewer have realoperational experience with much morethan ESSM’s compressors and pumps.

The picture is not all bleak…we havesomehow always been able to dig deepand find a way to get the job done, andthat salvage persistence and ingenuitythat kept LCDR Ellsberg going 60 yearsago is in a sense in our DNA. But we canbe better prepared; we need not rely onmiracles and heroism alone. For instance,when is the last time we tried to find a wayto “exercise” a broader inventory ofESSM equipment, even if “just” for train-

ing? In 1969, the ex-USS HAKE (dieselsubmarine) was intentionally scuttled forthe sole purpose of a submarine salvageexercise – and it was successful! With thereduction in salvage operations experiencefrom the Special Operations community,should we relook at the purpose of theDiving Warrant community and shape it toretain the USN’s corporate salvage opera-tions experience? Or as a Warrant recentlyproposed, maybe we should consider theadvent of Diving/Salvage Limited DutyOfficers. Since major commercial ship sal-vage occurs more frequently than USNship salvage, why not “TAD” some of ourMDVs and Diving Warrants and JOs outto some commercial heavy lift or surf-stranding removal using beach-gear orparbuckling operations so that we lever-age that experience into our own salvagecorps?

As I step into this job, and look outto the horizon, it is not hard to mentallyimagine what until only recently was un-imaginable. I solicit your inputs and ideasfor how we can be better prepared for theforeseeable. As we stand as a Navy, bothin war and ready to go to war, get startednow…review your notes from salvagetraining, hold some special training re-freshers, forward your good ideas, visitthe ESSM bases to get familiar with ourequipment inventory. Don’t wait forsomeone else to do it for you…take actionto improve our salvage readiness posture.Take a lesson from LCDR Ellsberg’s experi-ence. We must be ready when our Nationand our Navy calls.

Dive safe and smart,

Captain Jim WilkinsSUPSALV

“Experience is the toughest teacher. Shegives the exam first, and the lesson later.”

November 2002 13

On February 4, 2002, U.S. Navy Diversfrom Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit

ONE (MDSU 1) and Explosive OrdnanceDisposal Mobile Unit FIVE (EODMU 5)headed for Ulithi Atoll, Federated States ofMicronesia, where they spent 10 days as-sessing an oil leak and the condition of theEx -USS MISSISSINEWA (AO-59).

The 553-foot MISSISSINEWA, com-missioned in May of 1944, was anASHTABULA Class auxiliary oiler, dis-placed 25,440 tons, and had a capacity tocarry 146,000 barrels of fuel oil. On theearly morning of November 20, 1944, theship was torpedoed by a Japanese Kaitensuicide submarine, becoming the first andonly documented sinking of a U.S. Navyship by this weapon. The ship burst intoflames and quickly sank taking with it 3 of-ficers and 47 enlisted men. Today, the shiplies inverted at a depth of 130 ft. in theUlithi Atoll.

Ulithi Atoll, 330 miles southwest ofGuam, was a secret anchorage for hun-

dreds of Pacific Fleet ships throughoutWWII. The U.S Naval Base at Ulithi was

for a time the world’s largest andmost active naval facility in theworld and was a major staging areafor the campaigns at Leyte Gulf,Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Its reefruns roughly twenty miles north tosouth by ten miles across, enclos-ing a vast anchorage with an aver-age depth of 80 to 100 feet – theonly suitable anchorage within 800miles. About 700 people live on theatoll, which is made up of 49 is-lands. It has a land area of 1.79square miles wrapped around thefourth largest lagoon in the worldand engulfs 183 square miles. Since WWII, theMISSISSINEWA’s exact positionhad been in question, despite nu-merous attempts by both Americanand Japanese dive groups to findthe wreck. On April 6, 2001, an in-dependent dive team from SanFrancisco located the wreck andwas the first to dive on the vesselin nearly 57 years.

Today, the lifeless twisted ship ishome to large schools of fish and othersea life. The remainder of the ship lies up-side down with its bow section separatedand lying on its port side 50 feet forwardof the hull.

The first oil leak occurred when astorm jarred the wreck on August 6, 2001.Later that month, a mission was funded byChief of Naval Operations EnvironmentalProtection, Safety and OccupationalHealth Division (CNO N45) for divers con-tracted through the Navy Supervisor ofSalvage (SUPSALV) to stop the leak with atemporary concrete patch over a deterio-rated 4-inch gate valve. The NationalOceanographic and Atmospheric Admin-istration (NOAA) reported that the envi-ronmental impact from the leak was mini-mal.

The leak reappeared on 23 December2001. In early February, a 12-member diveteam from MDSU 1, EODMU 5, along withfour SUPSALV technicians, were deployedon a contracted salvage ship to again sur-vey the source of the leak.

The Navy dive team, led by MMCM(MDV) Jim Nickels (MDSU 1) and HTCS(MDV) Bob Barker (EODMU 5), quickly

By: HTCS (MDV) Bob Barker

(Ulithi Atoll continued on page 14)

Diver going over side.

Collecting sand on uninhabitedisland for cement. Ulitihi Atoll.

14 November 2002

found two leaks, one coming from theships port wing tank and the other fromthe previously patched 4-inch gate valve.Divers, using surface supplied MK-21,sealed the leaks using expandable plugs,epoxy cement and blank flanges. The

presence of fueloil contaminationon the water sur-face caused thedivers to decom-press in the waterusing the U.S.Navy StandardAir Decompres-sion Tables andprocedures.

The Navy Diversfrom EODMU 5and MDSU 1logged over 86dives totaling

more than 139 hours of dive time, and re-claimed 3470 gallons of fuel oil.

The Ex -USS MISSISSINEWA wasnearly full at the time of the attack and anestimated 3 million gallons of fuel oil stillremain in the vessel. This oil represents apotential economic and ecological disaster

for the island residents of Ulithi, who relyheavily on the lagoon for their food andincome. Accordingly, the U.S. Navy hasmade plans to remove the remaining oil.Representatives from the FSM and YapState governments, as well as U.S. StateDepartment and appropriate embassy per-sonnel, were advised that the optimal timeframe for the oil offload is between No-vember and May. The oil removal opera-tion is moving forward as planned, withthe actual oil removal operation scheduledto begin in February 2003. The oil offloadis expected to take approximately sixweeks.

HTCS(MDV/SW) Barker is currentlyassigned as Command Master Diver atExplosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile UnitFIVE. HTCS Barker served as on site MasterDiver during the Ulithi Atoll pollutionabatement operation 4-16 February 2002.

For over thirty-five years, the Office ofthe Supervisor of Salvage, USN

(NAVSEA 00C) has quietly transferred thehelm of responsibility for Navy diving andsalvage from one officer to another. Au-gust 8, 2002 was just such a transfer, butthis time, for the first time, it occurred withthe full formality of an official Change ofCommand, as SUPSALV is now formallydesignated a Major Shore Command, re-porting directly to Commander, Naval SeaSystems Command. On the 8th of Augustduring the inaugural SUPSALV Change ofCommand, Captain James R. Wilkins III,USN, relieved Captain Bert Marsh, USN,during a ceremony conducted at the NavyHistorical Museum, Washington NavyYard. RADM Denny Dwyer, Program Ex-ecutive Officer for Aircraft Carriers (PEOCarriers) was the guest speaker and offici-ating officer. Captain Marsh received hissecond Legion of Merit for operationsconducted during his tour as SUPSALV,

including Egypt Air990, Alaska AirlinesFlight 261, EHIMEMARU, USS COLE(DDG 67), USSRADFORD (DD 968),U S S L A M O U R ECOUNTY (LST 1194),and MONITOR Recov-ery Operations (2001and 2002). Upon reliefand detachment, Cap-tain Marsh is now serv-ing as the Pacific FleetNEMAIS ProgramManager with NavyEnterprise Team Shipsand SUPSHIP San Diego. This is CaptainJim Wilkins’ third command assignment,having recently detached as Major Pro-gram Manager of the Amphibious WarfareProgram Office. His previous toursspanned both a ship design and acquisi-

CHANGE OF COMMANDBy: CAPT Jim Wilkins

tion career path and three previous toursin diving and salvage including Com-manding Officer of the Navy ExperimentalDiving Unit and SEVENTH FLEET Divingand Salvage Officer.

(Ulithi Atoll continued from page 13)

Dive Station

RADM Denny Dwyer salutes as CAPT Jim Wilkins relievesCAPT Bert Marsh as the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving.

November 2002 15

The goal for the re-design of theS U P S A L V w e b p a g e

(www.supsalv.org) was simply to add asmuch functionality as possible from theuser’s point of view while maintaining aclean, well-organized, and friendly inter-face. The various 00C departments andtheir functions are listed at the top of eachpage, making them easily accessible fromall the main pages of the site. The drop-down menu adds to the “one-click away”functionality and the ease of use guide-lines that we have followed from the be-ginning. Headed by the search engine, im-mediately visible in the upper left corner,the left section lists more general options,as well as FTP access and Calendar. Fi-nally a “New on our Pages” section flanksthe right section of the page. The main

page is designed tofit the widely used800 by 600 resolu-tion which elimi-nates any left-rightscrolling. For thosewho may get lost, a“you are here” atthe top of each pageindicates the user’sprecise where-abouts.

Mac Alnakari is theWebmaster for the00C website andworks as the WebDesign Manager forROH Incorporated.

By: Mac Alnakari

00C Welcomes Brendan MurphyWe would like to take this oppor-tunity to welcome BrendanMurphy to the 00C4 CertificationDivision. Brendan was hired inJuly as a System CertificationManager. Prior to his employmentat NAVSEA, Brendan was the Divi-sion Manager of the Diving andMarine Construction Group of J. F.White Contracting Company, amajor heavy civil constructioncompany located in Boston, MA.He was in charge of estimating,bidding, and executing offshoreand inshore projects throughoutthe United States and Canada.Murphy began his diving career in1980 completing Second ClassDive training in Little Creek, VA.Subsequently he completed toursat a variety of commands includingInstructor duty at the SecondClass Dive School in Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii, NRL, USS RECOVERY (ARS 43),MDSU TWO, USS GRAPPLE (ARS 53),and COMLOGGRU TWO. He retired in1999 as a QMCM (MDV/SW) after 22years of Naval service. Brendan’s consid-erable experience, both in the military andcommercial environments, can only serveto complement our Certification Team.

Welcome aboard!

16 November 2002

The FACEPLATE Staff has provided mewith plenty of slack on literary license

for this spotlight article, so I would like tooffer readers, unfamiliar with Mobile Div-ing and Salvage Unit (MDSU) ONE, anopportunity to see inside theCINCPACFLT unit. First, let me give youthe quick history lesson. MDSU ONEevolved from Harbor Clearance Unit(HCU) ONE. HCU ONE was commis-sioned in 1966 to provide rapid, highly effi-cient clearance work in Vietnamese rivers,harbors, and coastal areas to support con-flict requirements. HCU ONE received fiveNavy Unit Commendations and one Meri-torious Unit Commendation during theconflict period. In 1979, the unit took onthe responsibility of providing diving ser-vices for Pearl Harbor based surfaceships; in 1982 the unit had a name changeto better reflect the scope of missions actu-ally performed. In the mid 1990’s, the unitcontinued its evolution into an organiza-tion that now had to fill the void left be-hind when the older ARS, ATF and ATSship classes were decommissioned. As theevolution continues, MDSU ONE, in aneffort to fill this void, has pursued enhanc-

ing mobility, reducing footprint, and refin-ing synergistic operations withCINCPACFLT ARSs, T-ATFs, NAVSEAESSMs, and EOD units.

MDSU ONE is currently authorized88 diver billets. MDSU ONE has MobileDiving and Salvage Detachments (MDSD)that provide a multitude of services as de-fined by OPNAVINST 3501.133D, Re-quired Operational Capabilities and Pro-jected Operational Environment forMDSU. MDSU ONE has one active andone reserve detachment in San Diego,three active detachments in Pearl Harbor,and one reserve detachment in San Fran-cisco and Galveston. These detachmentsrotate through an Inter-Deployment Train-ing Cycle (IDTC) with the ultimate goal ofrapid, efficient, and effective response toCINCPACFLT diving and salvage require-ments. In an effort to provide mission-ready MDSDs to supported commandersthroughout the PACOM AOR, MDSUONE conducts exercises, deployments,and peacetime diving and salvage mis-sions. Throughout Exercises NORTHERNEDGE, FOAL EAGLE, SEA HAWK, andRIMPAC, seven MDSDs provide Under-water Ship Husbandry (UWSH), divingand salvage services and respond to div-ing and salvage scenarios which might beanticipated in the Naval Coastal Warfare,Harbor Defense, and Port Security arena.During the deployment with Task ForceCOOPERATION AFLOAT READINESSAND TRAINING (CARAT), MDSD diversshare knowledge and expertise with diversand salvors throughout Southeast Asia,including Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand,Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.Several MDSU ONE divers, as operators inJOINT TASK FORCE-FULL ACCOUNT-ING, have had the honor of contributingto the repatriation of Vietnam era MIAs. When MDSDs are not deployed, theyremain actively engaged in training or inthe execution of peacetime diving and sal-vage missions. Some of the missions in-

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONEBy: CDR Rob Fink

clude exercise minefield maintenance, un-derwater-sensor range maintenance, har-bor clearance and salvage services forhazards to navigation within Pearl Harborand adjacent waters. The Fleet Mainte-nance Dive Detachment (FMDD) teamsprovide Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard andIntermediate Maintenance Facility repairorganizations with two-thirds of their diverwork force for surface ship and submarineUWSH and inspection work. FMDD usesdive team rotation to provide a 24/7 re-sponse and around-the-clock UWSH toensure fleet maintenance requirements aresatisfied. FMDD is also deployable to re-mote locations for the emergent UWSHvoyage repair.

In closing, if you are interested in achallenging billet working with otherhighly motivated sailors, thenvisit the MDSU ONE website atwww.mdsu1.navy.mil and learn more aboutour team. Aloha!

CDR Fink is currently the CommandingOfficer of MDSU ONE. He has a Master ofEducation Degree in Education andTraining Management from the Universityof Florida.

One Japanese and two U.S. Navy divershold on to a diving stage that will lowerthem to the Japanese fishing vesselEhime Maru. U.S. Navy and Japanesedivers are working together to recovermissing crew member remains andpersonal effects from the ship. Photo byCombat Camera, Atlantic.

Detachment ONE in San Diegopreparing to launch divers during pierrepair operations. Photo by CombatCamera, Atlantic.

November 2002 17

In the late 50s there were many differentprograms in the US exploring new areas

in science and technology. The space pro-gram was beginning to take off, aircraftdesign was quickly expanding into the jetage, ship design was exploring nuclear ca-pabilities, and the world beneath the seawas becoming more interesting to the sci-ence community. In 1957 Dr. George Bondand Captain Jaques Cousteau began a co-operative effort to develop a method ofsending people under the ocean for longperiods of time. The two did not have thepresent knowledge of helium and oxygenbreathing in a saturated state, so they be-gan to draw up plans that would test anddevelop such a concept.

In the initial testing to send humansunderwater for long periods, Bond (whowould conduct the physiological testing,Cousteau would continue with underwaterhabitats with his “Conshelf” program)chose to use laboratory animals, insteadof humans. He chose to use animals be-cause the dangers posed to people insaturation diving were unknown. At thetime, there was not enough research doneto put people down on the bottom forvery long, so the U.S. Navy continued thestudy of helium and oxygen for severalmore years. This project was called Gen-esis and after extensive laboratory testingwith various animals, permission wasgiven to conduct these tests on humans.The first tests were done in late 1962 withno pressure so that divers could exitquickly if there were any bad side effects.After success in zero pressure, tests weredone in 100 fsw and then 200 fsw. Thesethree tests proved that humans could, infact, withstand deep exposure using he-lium.

In 1964, the first SEALAB was builtand was ready for occupation in July. Thechosen site was Bermuda in a depth of 193fsw next to the Navy structure “Argus Is-land”. Four Navy divers occupiedSEALAB I for 11 days with no ill effects.

With the success ofSEALAB I, the nextyear, 1965, SEALABII was built andplaced in 205 fswnear La Jolla, Califor-nia. There were 3teams of ten mensent for 15-day inter-vals in the habitat.This test demon-strated a method oftransferring in a bellor Personnel TransferCapsule (PTC) fordecompression andchanging out teammembers. SEALAB IIutilized a wealth ofconcepts from under-water weather sta-tions, oceanographic studies, and salvageto testing of equipment designed to assistthe Navy Saturation Diver. In 1969SEALAB III was created. The new habitatwas made ready for occupation at deepdepths and placed on the bottom near SanClemente Island. In February of 1969, thefirst team was pressurized to 610 feet andtwo Navy divers left the PTC in an attemptto occupy the habitat. Equipment failuresand the loss of life of one of the two NavyDivers terminated the program.

Many of today’s diving programs,techniques, concepts, or diving systems,owe their existence to the achievements ofthe Navy SEALAB program. One of themost recent projects based on theSEALAB concept is the NOAA Aquariushabitat located near Key Largo, Florida.Aquarius sits at a depth of 47 fsw and hasbeen a notable place for further study inthe field of oceanology. NASA usesAquarius for the training of their astro-nauts for future space flight programs.Also in Key Largo is a small habitat, oper-ated by Marine Resources DevelopmentFoundation (MRDF), a foundation that

teaches young and old the art of underwa-ter living.

This past summer, the gun turret ofthe historic Ironclad USS MONITOR wasrecovered in deep water off the coast ofCape Hatteras, North Carolina. This re-quired several weeks of saturation anddeep helium and oxygen diving. This sal-vage was successful largely due to con-cepts developed in the SEALAB program.The future of diving is still plunging intonew depths with new equipment thanks tothe Navy’s experimental diving programsconducted at the Navy Experimental Div-ing Unit (NEDU), where some of the earlierSEALAB concepts were established.These studies continue to place man andhis equipment in places that was once for-bidden. Thanks to the Navy SEALABsaturation diving program we can under-stand the effects of long periods of timeunderwater. Divers may now go into thedeep with greater confidence, knowingthat deep sea diving is not only an art sci-ence, but also a science.

By: Scott Lassiter

SEALAB II

18 November 2002

Master Diver Pre-Screening Puts Wannabe’s to the Test

Master Diver. It is one of the mosttreasured titles in the United States

Navy. Diving professionals from aroundthe world honor the title deeply. They arethe Navy’s technical experts on supervis-ing dives, divers, and equipment. FirstClass Navy Divers, who aspire to theMaster Diver (MDV) designation not onlyhave to prove themselves to their fellowdivers but also in a pre-screening programadministered by Mobile Diving and Sal-vage Unit (MDSU) TWO, based in LittleCreek, VA, are put to the test by estab-lished Master Divers to determine if theyhave what it takes to join their ranks.

Four experienced First Class Diversrecently went through the two-week pre-screening at Naval Amphibious Base,Little Creek, and at Patuxent River NavalAir Station. Five Master Divers ran thecandidates through intense wet, or under-water, scenarios that identified strengthsand weaknesses of each candidate beforetheir official Master Diver screening laterthis year in Panama City, FL.

“This pre-screening is ten-fold theintensity of anything I’ve done before,but the intensity is self-imposed,” said Se-nior Chief Engineman (1st Class Diver)Barry Thomas of Abington, Mass., who isone of the Master Diver candidates. “Ev-

ery day is a learning day.” And Thomashas been a Navy Diver for 20 years.

Master Diver Russell Mallet, Com-mand Master Chief of MDSU TWO, saidthe pre-screening for Master Diver candi-dates is “not just about procedures anddiving medicine, but we evaluate theirleadership qualities, supervisory skills andmanagement of the dive team.” The MDVcandidates are debriefed after every sce-nario to determine why they made certaindecisions and offered feedback on howthey managed the problem. Divers fromvarious commands perform as role-playersin situation-driven scenarios that chal-lenge the candidates’ experience andknowledge. One scenario at Pax River fea-tured a diver losing consciousness under-water (later determined to be a heart at-tack) and having to be brought to the sur-face, evaluated and receive medical treat-ment. The MDV candidate had to managethat while keeping an eye on the challeng-ing ship repair scenario he had been di-recting. “In that scenario, we evaluatedhow they delegate tasks, their reaction timeand the overall safety of the dive team.Also, we see if they are thinking one stepahead.”

Becoming a Master Diver has been adream of Senior Chief Thomas since he

By LCDR Joe NavratilAtlantic Fleet Public Affairs

was a teenager. “I joined the Navy to be aDiver and knew early on that I wanted tobe a Master Diver. It’s the culmination ofyour career as a Diver.” But not the end.Master Diver Mallet has been a Diver for20 years and a Master Diver for the last 10years.

Master Diver candidate Jeff Moxley,a Senior Chief Engineering Aide (1st ClassDiver) from Underwater ConstructionTeam ONE, did not become a diver until hehad already been a working Seabee fornine years. The Baltimore native is now athis first pre-screening for MDV after beinga Navy Diver for 10 years. “My Dadtaught me that if I was going to be atrashman, to be the best trashman outthere. My occupation is diving and thepinnacle of that is MDV.”

First Class Damage Controlman(Diver) Jeff Poulin from MDSU TWO trav-eled to Pax River to be one of the role play-ers for the scenarios testing the MasterDiver candidates, knowing that somedayhe hopes to be one of the MDV candi-dates. “This is my third time doing a Mas-ter Diver pre-screening (as a role player).It’s a good thing to see and a great trainingexperience.”

should be considered another tool in thesalvor’s toolbox as is SCUBA and surfacesupplied air and mixed gas systems.

In order to maintain a saturation div-ing capability, the Navy must acquire aSAT system. Two options exist; one is tobuild a Navy owned-system and the otheris to lease a civilian system built to accept-able commercial standards that will be cer-tifiable for use by Navy Divers. A 6-manportable SAT system with a three-man bellcould be operated and maintained by acore group of SAT divers based at NEDU.

NEDU could provide the nucleus of theNavy’s SAT diving expertise. An annualbudget should include funding for mobili-zation and SAT training proficiency andmaintenance in order to maintain opera-tional readiness. When tasked, a MDSUdetachment could augment the manning ofthe system.

Without a validated Fleet require-ment to keep an organic deepwater sal-vage capability, the existing infrastructurethat provides the training pipeline, person-nel, and RDT&E support will soon be lost.

In a world where we must maximize re-sources and increase proficiency, SAT div-ing is a cost-effective method for conduct-ing underwater salvage and rescue from100 fsw to 1000 fsw.

(Saturation Diving continued from page 6)

November 2002 19

Jake’sCornerBy: MDV Chuck Young

Old? I don’t think so! Wise and goodlooking, definitely. Isn’t that what all

Navy Divers see when they look in the mir-ror? We in the diving community are aproud bunch and we have every right tobe. If it was easy, anybody could do it! Aswe look back over the last couple of years,it is easy to see that we have accomplishednumerous high visibility jobs having anenormous impact on our Navy as well asour nation. CNN, the evening news, in themovie theaters... we are looking good.

Since the first terrorist attack in his-tory on a U.S. Navy ship (USS COLE), thecondition of readiness within our militaryhas been increased accordingly. We’ve allbeen involved in one way or another. Theworkload on the waterfront as well asthroughout the entire diving communityhas increased and it seems as though weare doing much more with less. Thisclearly indicates a need to be even moresquared away than ever. We will not cutcorners or compromise equipment and per-sonnel safety. We will answer the call withan unwavering commitment to any mis-

By: BMCM(SW/MDV) Fred Orns, Fleet Master Diver

sion, anytime, anywhere, re-gardless of the danger.

Let’s face it, things hap-pen, and no one expects ev-erything to be perfect all thetime. We should alwaysstrive for it. Whether at atraining command, EOD, IMF,or on a salvage ship, we needto maintain our superiorreadiness. Be the sought af-ter, recognized expert by im-proving on all aspects ofyour job. Share your knowl-edge and teach those newdivers how to do the jobright. If you see somethingthat needs a round turn, fix itbefore it bites you. To con-tinue to be the best, we mustwork harder for it. More thanlikely we’ll hit a few bumpson the road to success, but it is how youreact to those bumps that really makes adifference.

BMCM(SW/MDV) Fred K. [email protected]

MDV Orns, “I’m going to the Gym!” Photo by Fleet CombatCamera, Atlantic.

20 November 2002

The past few months have been verybusy for the various diving communi-

ties. With the numerous aircraft recoveries,security swims, emergent ship repairs,USS MONITOR, USS MISSISSINEWA,and deployments, it’s hard to think ofmuch else. With all this going on, we mustalso fully engage in Task Force Excel. It iscoming, or should I say, it is here and it ishere to stay. We all need to fully supportall efforts in this endeavor wheneverasked to support. Task Forces Excel willensure our success as divers if we fullysupport and get it right so it works forYOU!

USS MONITOR Expedition 2002The USS MONITOR expedition was

a tremendous success thanks to MobileDiving and Salvage Unit TWO, and thenumerous commands that supported thisyear’s work. CAPT Bobbie Scholley andCWO Rick Cavey did an outstanding jobleading the efforts of this tremendous un-dertaking. The operational experiencegained while performing operational Sur-

face Supplied Mixed Gas Diving undersome very aggressive environmental con-ditions cannot be understated. Saturationdiving also proved its worth with whatseemed to be unlimited bottom time tocomplete the complex tasks called for inthis mission. I would especially like tothank the three Saturation Master Diversthat ran the SAT dives during this missionnon-stop, MDV Bryon Van Horn, MDVChuck Young and MDV Lyle Becker. With-out their total dedication throughout theSAT work-ups and the operation, the USSMONITOR’s turret would not have beenon deck at the end of this mission, HOOYAH!

Authorized for Navy Use (ANU)There seems to be some confusion in

a few of the dive lockers as to the ANUand how something gets placed on theANU. There will be an article dedicated tothe ANU process and what is required tobe on the ANU in the next issue of FACE-PLATE. In the meantime, please refer anyquestions to my office and talk or email to

LCDR Paul Fleischman, MDV Fred Orns,MDV Chuck Young or Mike Leese.

LCDR Paul [email protected](202) 781-3821MDV Chuck [email protected](202) 781-0960MDV Fred Ornsornsfk@ navsea.navy.mil(202) 781-0526Mike Leeseleesemp@ navsea.navy.mil(202) 781-0705

Navy Standard ChamberMobile Diving and Salvage Unit

TWO used the first of the new chamberson the USS MONITOR. It proved to be apretty good chamber and received somegood reviews. There were some minor im-provements that will be incorporated inthe follow-on chambers where practical.The next chamber should be undergoingoutfitting for delivery later this year.

MDV/CWO Conference

The MDV/CWO Conference is tentatively scheduled for 14-16 May 2003 and will be hosted by the Naval Diving and Sal-vage Training Center. The conference provides an opportu-nity for senior enlisted and Chief Warrant Officer leadershipthroughout the various diving commands to collectively re-view and discuss current and future community issues. Adiving advisory will be released later this year providingmore details.

MDV Reunion

The MDV Reunion will be held on Saturday, 17 May 2003, atthe Coastal Systems Station Marina, Panama City, FL start-ing at 1000. The point of contact for the reunion is ENCM/MDV(ret) Joe Gray at (850) 230-9217.

By: CAPT Chris Murray