Buddy of mine got his U.S. Navy Diver certification "subscuba" about 8 years ago (he's since out of the Navy). It was the navy salvage diver course, got the bubble for his uniform, listed on DD214, etc. He still has the photo cert card. Can he dive with this, or will dive operations make him show a Padi or Naui card? From the sounds of the training, it was, well, a little more than what I went through in Padi, so wondering if it's a valid c card as far as dive operations are concerned or if there's a way to pay money to get a c card from somewhere on a reciprocal basis without having to pay for a course (assuming the course was sufficient...I know nothing about it)?
U.S. Navy Diver certification
- Thread starter rhone
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The quick answer is that it depends on the dive operation itself to let him dive or not with those credentials. I would expect that at an LDS unfamiliar with Navy Diver training they might be more than reluctant.
As far as I remember there are only three classes of Navy Diver, Second, First and Master?
There may be local laws and regulations in different places on those questions.
No, you can't get a civilian recreational certification on a reciprocal basis without having to pay for the course.
Importantly, you mention he has been out of the Navy for 8 years, so if it was me I would tell him to start at OWD.
As far as I remember there are only three classes of Navy Diver, Second, First and Master?
There may be local laws and regulations in different places on those questions.
No, you can't get a civilian recreational certification on a reciprocal basis without having to pay for the course.
Importantly, you mention he has been out of the Navy for 8 years, so if it was me I would tell him to start at OWD.
I have worked with several military divers to get them civilian c cards... both SDI sport and TDI technical ratings. The reason is that few operations understand the various ratings used by various branches of the military and the fact that different countries give different names and job descriptions to similar actual diver ratings.
And my experiences with these individuals has been very positive; however, the skills and techniques required to dive are ONLY preserved through practice. If your mate has not been in the water for several years, his military ratings have expired (read the small print) and he needs to start anew.
And my experiences with these individuals has been very positive; however, the skills and techniques required to dive are ONLY preserved through practice. If your mate has not been in the water for several years, his military ratings have expired (read the small print) and he needs to start anew.
My understanding is that a military SCUBA certification (especially if you have a photo ID'ed card) is recognized as being equivilant to any agencies basic or Open Water Diver certification.
NAUI has an Experience SCUBA Diver certification course that dispenses with the classroom portion and just reviews and evaluates the basic skills.
NAUI has an Experience SCUBA Diver certification course that dispenses with the classroom portion and just reviews and evaluates the basic skills.
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...I also think NAUI hands out cert cards to military divers if they just establish that they still know the basics.
They get a special cert card referring to them as "Veteran diver", which sounds pretty cool.
Edit: Posted at the same time as Muddiver - his post looks more accurate than my vague recollections.
They get a special cert card referring to them as "Veteran diver", which sounds pretty cool.
Edit: Posted at the same time as Muddiver - his post looks more accurate than my vague recollections.
Thanks for the responses. He's been diving off and on since the cert and after leaving the Navy, but were wondering since it's not as common and would hate to take a dive trip and be told to take a hike. For reasons many of you state, it seems like it might be a coin toss as to whether an operation would accept the card.
He hasn't been out of the Navy for 8 years. He got the original cert 7 or 8 years ago while he was in the Navy and was in the Navy for some time after that.
last summer when we did the OW class (Padi) there was a navy diver in our class doing a refresher, he had been out of the service a while, but he said he had an issue in Bermuda where they wouldnt let him dive with his navy paperwork so he was sitting through the weekend ow class and was going to redo his actual ow dives the following month. he was a good sport about it but I think he fealt it was a waste of his time, but said he didnt want to have another vacation ruined..
as much as I hesitate to cite to it, Wikipedia has a pretty good synopsis.
United States Navy Diver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This would not fly in a civilian certification program (this is done on the first day of training; you fail, you're out):
US Navy Diver Physical Fitness Test
Diving medical personnel evaluate the fitness of divers before operations begin and are prepared to handle any emergencies which might arise. They also observe the condition of other support personnel and are alert for signs of fatigue, overexposure, and heat exhaustion.
The test consists of the following carried out in the order given:
Swim 500 yards (457 m) within 14 minutes, using sidestroke or breaststroke. (Candidates can use both strokes during the swim and are allowed to push off the sides when turning.)
10 minute rest period.
Perform 42 push-ups within 2 minutes, with the chest touching the ground on each repetition.
2 minute rest period.
Perform 50 sit-ups within 2 minutes.
2 minute rest period.
Perform 6 pull-ups with palms facing out. (No kipping or swinging is allowed and the chin must clear the top of the bar on each repetition.)
10 minute rest period.
Run 1.5 miles (2.414 km) within 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
United States Navy Diver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This would not fly in a civilian certification program (this is done on the first day of training; you fail, you're out):
US Navy Diver Physical Fitness Test
Diving medical personnel evaluate the fitness of divers before operations begin and are prepared to handle any emergencies which might arise. They also observe the condition of other support personnel and are alert for signs of fatigue, overexposure, and heat exhaustion.
The test consists of the following carried out in the order given:
Swim 500 yards (457 m) within 14 minutes, using sidestroke or breaststroke. (Candidates can use both strokes during the swim and are allowed to push off the sides when turning.)
10 minute rest period.
Perform 42 push-ups within 2 minutes, with the chest touching the ground on each repetition.
2 minute rest period.
Perform 50 sit-ups within 2 minutes.
2 minute rest period.
Perform 6 pull-ups with palms facing out. (No kipping or swinging is allowed and the chin must clear the top of the bar on each repetition.)
10 minute rest period.
Run 1.5 miles (2.414 km) within 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
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