MikeFerrara:
Much of the training shown was done with double hose regulators, double tanks and no BC of any kind. They spent lots of time being harrassed...having things torn off them and being knocked around, removing and replacing equipment...all while kneeling...no BC remember.
What they most likely showed was a small portion of pool comp or pool competency. The purpose of this test is not to show an individuals buoyancy skill, but to gauge how they will react during adverse conditions, during which the student must remove and ditch there gear.
Usually the instructors will rip off the individuals mask and fins. Next, they cut off the students air, either by turning off the tank, or by clamping down on the hose. At each step the student has a certain number of steps that must be followed precisely. Otherwise the student will fail.
At the end the instructor will rip the regulator (double hose) out of the student mouth just as they are exhaling and tie it a knot around the first stage. Once again the student has to follow certain procedures to ascertain what has happened and how to deal with it. If not done correctly the student will fail.
Then the student will have the same thing happen again, but this time the knot will be impossible to get out. The student must ditch there gear, and make sure that it is weighted down so the enemy will be unable to find it, and then come to the surface making sure to blow bubbles the entire way.
MikeFerrara:
The first category is buoyancy control
At depth
During ascent
at safety stop.
Buoyancy control is extremely important to a SEAL, and I will give you several examples as to why:
First, diving a closed circuit rebreather using a 100% O2, forces a diver to stay shallow. When diving to a target a buddy team will maintain a constant depth of 10-12 feet. Generally this is done for at least 4 hours.
Second, when diving a closed circuit rebreather it is imperative that no water enter the rig. On the front of the mouthpiece there is a small lever that opens and closes the regulator. If one diver's rig should fail, the team must begin to buddy breathe. The two divers will immediately go to a position where the donor is on the bottom and the recipient is on top. Now the donor will take two breaths, close the regulator and pass it over his head to the other team member who will open the regulator take two breaths and pass it back. Remeber that this is double hose regulator so there isn't much room to maneuver. Obviously, this will go on during the transit to and from the target. All the while maintaining a constant depth.
Another good example of buoyancy skills would be during locking in/out from a submarine. During this we would be using standard air, probably twin 80s. Basically what happens is the submarine will slow down to 1 knot, we exit from the trunk and begin tethering gear to the outside of the sub. If you didnt have good buoyancy skills you could find yourself becoming separated from the sub.
Ill expand more on this set of topics later.
MikeFerrara:
The next category is Propulsion technique which is devided into...
Finning technique and efficiency
Body position for low drag and silt avoidance
pulling technique where applicable.
Finning technique and propulsion is definitely something that is constantly being practiced. Each individual needs to be able to cover a 100 yards in 3 minutes, not a second less or a second more. Teams travel several miles underwater based on compass headings and time. All buddy teams must arrive at the target or extraction site at the same time.
Obviously if an individual doesnt have good body position, or has a lot of drag they will not be able to maintain there speed over an extended distance, which is paramount to our mission.
Silt avoidance has more to do with buoyancy control, then finning technique, and I think I have adequately answered that. However, one more reason to avoid stirring up the bottom would be to prevent enemy detection. Although most ports are so murky you would lucky if you could see your hand in front of your face
MikeFerrara:
Especially on a deep dive (or at 30 ft? on an O2 rebreather) the extra work caused by the constant hard finning and headup attitude would be dangerous...admittedly made slightly less so by their very good phisical condition but bad news none the less.
If the diver were going to go to 30 feet we would not be using a rebreather at 100% O2. For deeper dives a SEAL would use either a MK15 or MK16, which is a mixed gas rebreather.
MikeFerrara:
the last diving the documentory showed was supposed to be the graduates...and they were on rebreathers.
They wouldnt have been graduates.
MikeFerrara:
So could you please explain where I'm being ignorant?
Because youre basing your conclusions on a small and misrepresentative picture of what is included or not included in our training. In addition, due to the fact that you have never personally experienced it, or even seen it in its entirety there is no way that you can be objective.
MikeFerrara:
I personally have seen instances where the lack of buoyancy/position control contributed to if not was the direct cause of a diver panicking and being injured. I've also seen divers with poor technique exhibit signs of CO2 problems and panic because they thought they weren't getting air when there was plent.
I have been involved with the SEAL community since 1989. Since then, I can not think of one situation where a diver showed any signs of panic. And as stated earlier buoyancy control is something that is always practiced.
MikeFerrara:
Are seals taught how to avoid damaging coral and the things that live in it? Are they taught anything about recreational charter boat procedures? What is their decompression training? From the show I refered to I got the impression that these guys were primarily being trained to dive O2 rebreathers. That means diving...above 30 ft? No need for dive tables here is there? Do they ever have to even do a safety stop or a decompression stop?
Believe it or not we are taught to not damage coral, but rarely do we ever get to see any. As students you are primarily trained to dive an O2 rebreather. You will learn to dive more advanced rigs once you have graduated.
Of course we use dive tables and perform safety stops when using standard air. Although, we use the Navy dive tables and not the RDP.
MikeFerrara:
You say the training is more complete. I'm asking how? I believe every one that the training is very hard but what is the diving content and specifically how does it correspond to the requirements of any of the courses that we teach? For any one familiar with military training requirements and recreational training requirements it should be en extremely simple question to answer.
At this point I would say it depends on what you are comparing it to: If you are comparing my training as a BUD/S student and a Navy SEAL, to PADIs and NAUIs, basic open water training then there is no comparison. What I learned in the military would be far more complete and extremely safer. I base this on the fact that not only was I a Navy SEAL, but am currently a working PADI Dive Master. In addition, I would like to say that I have barely scratched the surface of all the dive training that I received while in the military.
Mike, if you have anymore questions that I can answer or have not answered, then send me a PM, and I will give you my phone number.
Jeff
