What makes a DIR buddy?

[onfloat]

A team is made up of individuals. It has no capabilities beyond what people bring to the table. Exactly

So within a team, what is expected of individuals.

Work with me here.

R..

I think that is (was?) the great thing about GUE it gave a bunch of divers the same perspective and training base. But, the team still has to communicate as to what is expected and what the playing rules will be. It's like having a football team in the NFL, there may be different plays from team to team, but a player can go from one team to another and adjust with out having to re-learn all of the rules.

For the record there is only one guy that I would take DIR training from that is not part of GUE any more. Members of his team still are.

 

[StSomewhere]

At the risk of opening a can of worms I'll mention that I noticed you didn't ask whom they were trained by. I'm not making a point; I'm stating an interesting observation given that there is now more that one organization teaching "DIR".

Do you think they are being trained any differently in terms of situational awareness?

 

[lord1234]

I would hope not St.Somewhere. As a member of my "DIR Team" I would want someone who like Vadim said was on the same page. We can start from predive. They would have just as much interest in pre-briefing as I do. They would set a specific plan and stick to it without question. They would go over equipment in and out of the water to make sure it was properly setup. They would have proper gear configuration.(notice thats not first on my list). They would have proper situational awareness at all times. They would be able to give me their AIR instantly if I was to need it. I think thats really it.

 

[RTodd]

sigh.... If that's what it takes to get the discussion going:

What makes someone a proper member of a DIR team (referred to colloquially in some circles as a buddy) ?

Which team protocols apply to all individuals in the team?
Which behaviors or patterns of behavior common to all members of a team?
Which standing orders among individuals in the team?
Which specific skills among DIR team members?
Hand signals shared by all members of a DIR team?
Light signals shared by all members of a DIR team?
Do's common to individuals diving in a DIR team
Don'ts commonly accepted among individuals diving in a DIR team

etc. etc.

The intention is draw out what people know to be specific responsibilities, actions, characteristics and skills required of individuals who participate as a member of a DIR team.

Please don't make me jump through the semantics hoop twice. If you still don't feel I've done a good enough job of posing the question, feel free to reword it for me. I think people are more interested in answers than arguments.

R..

You don't get it yet. It really is a lot more than semantics. For new DIR-Fs, yes it is more of a DIR buddy thing. But, once you really understand the system, it is about a team working together. You either know the playbook or you don't. If you don't kow the playbook for a particular level of dive, it can get your teammates killed. Now, for divers that are doing what are basically pure recreational dives, statements like this seem like overkill and most of the diving population has proved that DIR diving is not really necessary for roll off the boat open water diving. However, even for the basics, DIR does make things safer.

The training wheels understanding a newer DIR diver has coming out of DIR-F allows them to start learning how to be part of a team in the same way a PADI card allows you to start learning how to dive. Granted, GUE generally leaves its new guys better prepared to learn the team concepts, but it still takes time. The basics, taught by DIRF are mostly about how to run and pass. To learn how to integrate into and run the offense takes lots of practice. A true teammate is someone that can do that.

Now, as has been discussed painfully too many times, where you set the bar for someone to be part of a team depends on the dive. On almost every dive I make, there is some post dive discussion about nuances the team needs to work on to keep the team better dialed in. Some of it is pretty technical, such as, move to this position based on my light and keep your light positioned here when I am leading you through a halocline in a cave at full pitch on the scooter and you can't see. Others are more basic and are part of the learning curve for newer DIR divers or just new teammates.

 

[peter_steinhoff]

RTodd,
There is no way you could have written that without actually knowing what the hell you are talking about. A former team member from Tallahassee I presume?

 

[Uncle Pug]

Why not leave semantics to the librarians and rhetoritians and answer the question?

Because words mean things and language embodies thought. Precision in language is foundational to convey understanding.

Understanding is what our original questioner is seeking... and has come here to learn rather than debate... I'm sure he will appreciate that the substitution of TEAM for BUDDY is more than mere nuance.

 

[Meng_Tze]

From my GUE training, I have come to a simple conclusion that a DIR buddy is someone who is entirely on the same page with me… is aware at all times of my “status” underwater., knows how much gas I have, what equipment I have (working and failed), etc etc.. on the same topic, a DIR buddy is always aware and is able to deliver GAS in ‘out of gas’ situation as soon as I signal it. Is able to help and provide assistance in a timely and precise matter when needed., etc etc.. That actually may seem like an easy thing, you can probably say, oh yeah, anybody can do it, but it does take a lot of hours of training with your buddy to get to that level, and don’t let anybody fool you to tell you otherwise.....

Spot on!
I would even say that a true buddy (DIR or NOT) is (or at least should be) this. Also knows/sees by my attitude if something is wrong/not just right. My buddy and I (yes I am one of the fortunate ones to have one true DIR buddy, know from looking at each other..... and this only come with hours under water together, having handled and managed issues and training/skills/drills. We regularly 'just throw scenarios' at each other to keep us on our toes. Trust me when you are in a challenging environment, you want to be sure the buddy will deliver and knows how to.........

 

[Uncle Pug]

Which team protocols apply to all individuals in the team?
Which behaviors or patterns of behavior common to all members of a team?
Which standing orders among individuals in the team?
Which specific skills among DIR team members?
Hand signals shared by all members of a DIR team?
Light signals shared by all members of a DIR team?
Do's common to individuals diving in a DIR team
Don'ts commonly accepted among individuals diving in a DIR team

Yes.

 

[Uncle Pug]

A team is made up of individuals. It has no capabilities beyond what people bring to the table.

So within a team, what is expected of individuals.

Work with me here.

R..

This isn't just semantics nor is it meant to dodge your question Diver0001.

I'm am trying to work with you here but it is difficult since non DIR trained divers have a different frame of reference... if you were GUE DIR trained you would immediately understand why I substituted TEAM for BUDDY and also why that is so foundational we cannot just gloss over it. That one transformation of thinking is paramount to understanding everything else.

Your statement above is incorrect. While a team may be made up of individuals the thing that makes it a TEAM is that they no longer act just as individuals but as members of the TEAM... and the TEAM does indeed have capabilities beyond what the individuals bring to the table.

I know you would like to discuss what you feel are the elements that make someone a DIR buddy or *team member* but you need to deal with this concept first. The rest means nothing without it.

The Whole is greater than the Sum of its Parts.

 

[mdb]

This isn't just semantics nor is it meant to dodge your question Diver0001.

I'm am trying to work with you here but it is difficult since non DIR trained divers have a different frame of reference... if you were GUE DIR trained you would immediately understand why I substituted TEAM for BUDDY and also why that is so foundational that one cannot just gloss over it. That one transformation of thinking is paramount to understanding everything else.

Your statement above is incorrect. While a team may be made up of individuals the thing that makes it a TEAM is that they no longer act just as individuals but as members of the TEAM... and the TEAM does indeed have capabilities beyond what the individuals bring to the table.

I know you would like to discuss what you feel are the elements that make someone a DIR buddy or *team member* but you need to deal with this concept first. The rest means nothing without it.

The Whole is greater than the Sum of its Parts.

"The TEAM" breaks down as soon as one diver panics.