What makes a DIR buddy?

[Uncle Pug]

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

Yes, the TEAM could break down if a team member were to panic and the other TEAM members were not able to pull the situation together... that is an important lesson to learn. Sorting through multiple failures during a GUE DIR training dive and either solving the situation as a team or failing as a team because the team broke down is an integral part of the training program. One person's failure can fail the whole team if the whole team fails to redeem that one person's failure.

It is not sufficient to have all the *correct gear*, knowledge base and requisite skills without having had the actual experience of working through failures.

So, what does it take to be a part of a DIR TEAM?
Training together. DIR training so that you are operating coherently within the frame work of DIR.
Practicing together. Practicing basic skills as well as practice working through failure scenarios.
Diving together. Diving the dives to the level you have trained and practiced.
Debriefing together. Going over the dives afterwards and evaluating each team member and the team as a whole.

Of course this is level dependent.

If your dives are all non-technical ones that fall entirely within the realm of *recreational open water diving* there is no compelling need to train for and practice scenarios dealing with gas failures during deco combined with lost mask and lost line. Still, even in the strictly recreational setting, the concept of TEAM can be of great benefit. That is why so many who had no intent on becoming *technical divers* have gained so much from a DIR fundamentals class.

 

[Diver0001]

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.

Fair enough. As members of the team, what expectations should they have of other members of the team and what expectations should other members of team have of them?

Mabe we need to back away a little futhre and look at what a team does before we zoom in to this level. Is that what you're talking about?

What I'm trying to do here is to flush out something that I know is crucial to the DIR system but that doesn't seem to get discussed much (if ever), which is the question of "what is teamwork in the context of a DIR team?" "What does someone have to do to function on such a team?"

A got a PM from someone with a similar question that I don't feel qualified to answer. He PM'd me because he was afraid to pose this question on the DIR forum for fear of getting hammered by you guys. That's why I'm putting it out there and not him.

I know there's a paradigm shift to be made so help me fill in the dotted lines in the thinking instead of just telling me I don't get it. I know I don't get it or I wouldn't have needed to ask the question. I'm really hoping for a more open-hearted discussion than this. If there's a paradigm shift to be made then lead us (don't push us) through it.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

So, what does it take to be a part of a DIR TEAM?
Training together. DIR training so that you are operating coherently within the frame work of DIR.
Practicing together. Practicing basic skills as well as practice working through failure scenarios.
Diving together. Diving the dives to the level you have trained and practiced.
Debriefing together. Going over the dives afterwards and evaluating each team member and the team as a whole.

Train *what*
Practice *what*
Debrief *what*

Don't make people assume this or they're going to get it wrong.

Feel free to pick an example of a pacticular team with a particular goal to show how the gears would be turninging on that particular team. Maybe the term DIR team is too broad to talk about all DIR teams. So lets just start with one then.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

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.

OK, now we're getting somewhere. A DIR diver (a member of a DIR team) has to know the playbook. What's in the playbook?

R..

 

[aquaoren]

"What does someone have to do to function on such a team?"

R..

Not sure whether this is what you're looking for but here's my take.
Be open-minded, take the fundamentals, have the time and will to invest in training the showed skills with like minded diver and build on that while going diving with your team.
Just like in everything else in life: some learn faster, some slower and unfortunately, some never do.

 

[Ben_ca]

Train *what*
Practice *what*
Debrief *what*

Don't make people assume this or they're going to get it wrong.

Feel free to pick an example of a pacticular team with a particular goal to show how the gears would be turninging on that particular team. Maybe the term DIR team is too broad to talk about all DIR teams. So lets just start with one then.

R..

Basically the things you learned in class. Like so:

DIRF Level dive team

Train: skills learned in class (Basic 5, OOA, SMB deployments)

Practice: Pre brief and other pre dive routines (Mod-S,Bubble check), in Water SA, communication and proper kicks

Debrief: What were the particular goals of the dive? Training? Fun? Exploration?
were the goals accomplished and how well? example a post DIRF fun/training dive with skills on the front half (skills and OOA's) then kick around to see some sights (while in good trim and using the proper kicks). Self Eval and feedback from your buddy (did I look lie I was in good trim?)

 

[Diver0001]

Basically the things you learned in class. Like so:

DIRF Level dive team

Train: skills learned in class (Basic 5, OOA, SMB deployments)

Practice: Pre brief and other pre dive routines (Mod-S,Bubble check), in Water SA, communication and proper kicks

Debrief: What were the particular goals of the dive? Training? Fun? Exploration?
were the goals accomplished and how well? example a post DIRF fun/training dive with skills on the front half (skills and OOA's) then kick around to see some sights (while in good trim and using the proper kicks). Self Eval and feedback from your buddy (did I look lie I was in good trim?)

Thanks, Ben. A couple of qustions:

Basic 5?
Mod-S?
SA?
What do you understand under the title "DIRF level team"?
Are there DIR specific elements of communication? Particular handsignals? Touch signals? Light signals? Priority setting? If so can you give some examples?

R..

 

[Meng_Tze]

Seems that this is turning into an 'Internet based training class'?.......

To keep focus on the Buddy thing and not get into skills and drills......:

The bottom line is that if all team members know where/how gear is configured and used, they can help in situations where needed. If all team members have the same understanding of what is happening, where they are in a dive (profile, deco, team formation, etc)) and work to achieve the same objective, they will be more sucessful. If all understand their role and trust the other roles (captain, run deco), but at the same time not be afraid to questions or take over what is being done (like if deco plan does not make sense - maybe deco guy lost it- or captain take a wrong turn or whatever) it creates a healthy environment. If all team members know they can point things out to each other (trim, knees, or whatever) it creates a good constructive environment. To me creating this sort of environment is crucial, each member watches out for the others, each member can call the dive and there is NO discussion, no member feels personally attacked when pre/post dive debriefing is done. All are thinking divers and think of the wellness of the team and objective.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Don't make people assume this or they're going to get it wrong.

I can't stop people from assuming. The presumptions are so entitled in most people that they will think what they will.

Don't rush beyond TEAM. You want what you want. You want someone to tell you what you want to hear and in the way you want to hear it. You want details of what it means to be an individual member of a DIR team. It is precisely those details, coupled with your presuppositions that would lead you to further misunderstanding.

I'm not trying to be mysterious or secretive here at all Diver0001... though that is the charge often levelled when the answer is not what the questioner expected.

TEAM is the fundamental concept in DIR. It is what makes DIR DIR. Operational specifics are what most folks dwell on. To dwell on the operational specifics, especially in a forum such as this is to mislead.

 

[Diver0001]

I can't stop people from assuming. The presumptions are so entitled in most people that they will think what they will.

Don't rush beyond TEAM. You want what you want. You want someone to tell you what you want to hear and in the way you want to hear it. You want details of what it means to be an individual member of a DIR team. It is precisely those details and coupled with your presumptions that would lead you to further misunderstanding.

I'm not trying to be mysterious or secretive here at all Diver0001... though that is the charge often levelled when the answer is not what the questioner expected.

TEAM is the fundamental concept in DIR. It is what makes DIR DIR. Operational specifics are what most folks dwell on. To dwell on the operational specifics, especially in a forum such as this is to mislead.

Ok, well let's zoom out then. I still think it's odd to think of a team as anything but a group of individuals doing something together in a coordinated fashion but I'll accept that I somehow I just don't get it.

Zooming out then the question becomes, what is the structure, function and rolls in a DIR team.

I'm open to being lead through this but I obviously need a little more guidance about it than I thought I did (let the chortling begin). It does say something, don't you think that I've spent years reading about DIR on the internet and I still don't understand this.

R..