Details surrounding death of USN divers +1 year ago finally released under FOIA

[Ayisha]

On a separate note, is interesting that the EDU pulled their cold-water approval for the Apeks TX50 as a result of testing prompted by this accident.

Edit: After the fourth read of this article it dawned on me that the standby divers had the problem with the Apeks TX50 regulator(s) and were unable to assist.

Were the Apeks TX50 regs freeflowing because of some issue inherent with those regs or was it a maintenance issue or the way they were tuned?

 

[Akimbo]

Were the Apeks TX50 regs freeflowing because of some issue inherent with those regs or was it a maintenance issue or the way they were tuned?

I "assume" from the article that the first stages froze open enough for the IP (Intermediate Pressure) to rise above limits causing the second stage to freeflow. This is a common problem. Remember you have cold water and very high flow rates which causes a refrigeration effect — similar to when you open a tank valve to vent and frost forms on the valve.

 

[NWA395]

To all those who criticized my comment, I would point out that the military code also specifies that the first job of a soldier is to stay alive so he can do his job. Suicide is not heroic. Or to paraphrase General Patton, "You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other poor bastard die for his." Surrendering your own life out of loyalty to a friend or comrade is stupid as well as a dereliction of duty. And if you could ask the friend's opinion before he died, I'm sure he would have said the same thing.

We are all taught to monitor our gas supply. And to surface when it gets low. If this was a situation outside the military where 2 buddies went diving and the second one died because he wouldn't leave the first one and chose to run out of gas himself, I don't thing anyone would be calling it heroic. The fact that the second victim wore a uniform does not alter the fact that his actions were a stupid mistake.

kwinter,
You and I have never met and know nothing about each other so I will not pass judgment on your comments.

I will say that having spent 21 years in the USMC, under the circumstances documented in the original article, if my buddy was stuck/trapped and running low on air ( and we are tied together at 150', there is no f@cking way I could look into his eyes, cut him loose to die alone as I swam away to ascend just to possibly save my own ass. It appears this event was doomed from the beginning and I am not going to debate the individuals involved judgment at any level. It happened and two service members lost their lives.

There is a level of esprit de corps and brotherhood in the uniform services that some will never have the privilege to experience. Not saying my decision above would be smart or dumb, I just know the bond between military brothers is different and often closer than a marriage. It is often difficult for others to understand the "why". My wife of 30 years does not understand it, but she has grown to accept that it is a part of me.

Semper Fi

Non-judgmental regards

NWA395

 

[Jared0425]

I thank mmadiver for his insight on the military way of diving. The comment that was made offended many, although it's intention had a valid point. Just a series of bad decisions that ended up with two of our nations finest meeting an unfortunate end. Akimbo the way I read the article was that the surface crew was to take much of the blame, but not being familiar with commercial or military operations I may have a misunderstanding of the way they are done.

 

[Ayisha]

I “assume” from the article that the first stages froze open enough for the IP (Intermediate Pressure) to rise above limits causing the second stage to freeflow. This is a common problem. Remember you have cold water and very high flow rates which causes a refrigeration effect — similar to when you open a tank valve to vent and frost forms on the valve.

True, I understand what causes the regs to freeflow. I'm just wondering why it was considered a fault with those particular regs rather than the way they were maintained or tuned. They were apparently designed for cold water...

 

[mmadiver]

The comment that was made offended many, although it's intention had a valid point. Just a series of bad decisions that ended up with two of our nations finest meeting an unfortunate end.

There is no doubting the many failures of leadership and poor decisions that resulted in this tragedy.

Rest assured though this was not taken lightly by the Navy and a community wide review of diving practices was undertaken to ensure this never happens again.

However, this discussion is somewhat moot. The opinions that matter are those of their fellow divers and service members. As we see it, regardless of the events that led up to the tragedy, ND2 Harris' actions to save his team mate at his own peril were courageous and honorable - and we intend to recognize his heroic action with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

​

 

[Dr. Lecter]

The opinions that matter are

...not something that's yours to dictate here, whether the deceased were Navy divers or fresh outta OW tourists.

This is the A/I forum; while I see no point in putting adjectives in front of either diver's actions, if you're expecting there to be no discussion of the merits of creating a second victim, you should go over to Passings, where such sensitivity is respected.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

After 20 years in the Marine Corps I truly understand what, "uncommon valor was a common virtue," really means. Military personnel do things that simply stands opposed to what others would do. The same for policemen , firefighters, EMS, etc. I don't expect others to understand but I do expect others to give credit where it is due.

 

[2cold4california]

Glad I went Atomic instead of Apeks.

 

[Centrals]

Glad I went Atomic instead of Apeks.

How do you know that Atomic will perform better under the same circumstances?