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MILITARY DIVER
MILITARY DIVER
Would anyone know how easy it is to apply to be a ship/military diver i wanted to be a diver but waiting list was two years so im going in as medical assistant , & would hope i could get on some course in the future or be able to give medical assistance to a diver group - what is the adventurous training like is thier a scuba club . I am currently a Padi Adv open water diver , emergency first responder & enriched air diver to 40% oxygen , someone told me that the diver profession carries a high fatality rate at approximately one diver's death a month ?
Most RN establishments have a diving club - although they are normally run under the BSAC system (this may have changed).
the rn have two streams for divers - ships and diver specialisation. ships divers basically are used for all manner of hull inspection/repair work and whatever else comes along at the time - you generally need to be drafted to a ship to get on one of these courses and you keep the trade you joined up as. i think ships divers get and extra 3.50 a day.
diver specialists are a branch change, the initial course is 'clearance diver' and from there you can sub-specialise again. quite a few clearance divers have crossed over to the sbs and there are quite a few opportunites to work with sb whilst a clearance diver. its a bit of a nails course from all accounts though.
haven't heard about the 1 death a month thing though - are you sure that figure is only for rn? and not the whole world? i would think if they were losing 1 diver a month they'd be a rather large investigation underway.
the rn have two streams for divers - ships and diver specialisation. ships divers basically are used for all manner of hull inspection/repair work and whatever else comes along at the time - you generally need to be drafted to a ship to get on one of these courses and you keep the trade you joined up as. i think ships divers get and extra 3.50 a day.
diver specialists are a branch change, the initial course is 'clearance diver' and from there you can sub-specialise again. quite a few clearance divers have crossed over to the sbs and there are quite a few opportunites to work with sb whilst a clearance diver. its a bit of a nails course from all accounts though.
haven't heard about the 1 death a month thing though - are you sure that figure is only for rn? and not the whole world? i would think if they were losing 1 diver a month they'd be a rather large investigation underway.
Nuisance
Most importaint no females are accepted for Mine Cleareance Diver and only One has ever passed the Ships Divers course, she was my Medical Officer and run up mountains for fun. Once you have completed all your training for MA with is very long and involves alot of study, you can apply to become a ships diver, the waiting list is not very long but as you are only attached to ships for a small period of time it may not suit. The course is four weeks long and is based on pure fitness and confidence. Yes there have been a number of deaths reported in the press but as always the motto to diving is to plan the dive and dive the plan, not to take any short cuts. On the other hand you can request to branch change to Mine Cleareance diver but the waiting list just to get on an apptitude 4 days of hell is very long @2yrs, once through that the course is @36weeks but due to malfunction in the equipment the branch is closed and no CD's are being trained until a relacement for CDBA can be found. As a BSAC diver myself I can tell you military diving which ever way you go is nothing like civi diving you have no choice when, where, or for how long you will dive. It may be a dive in Barbados for fun or you may have had 3 hours sleep in the last 2 days and by woken up in the middle of the night to dive in the Falklands to rescue the helicopter crew after they ditched, in unimaginable depths of water.
Im not trying to scare you off it we get paid extra and have loads of fun, but be aware it will be along time coming, you will no doubt work with the diving team as First Aider many a time. When you go to Haslar to do your MA training you can join Portsmouth West Sub Aqua Club which is a military run BSAC club. Finally some advice when or if you go on diving course remember you know nothing about diving, if you claim to they will break you, remember that military diving is different and controlled by different rules and whatever you do dont quit, remember its all got to end soon, let someone else quit first, how gutted would you be if you quit and then they say to everybody else thats enough lads letsa get the beers, and end you packing back to the ship. Good Luck and maybe one day I'll see you on the Prop Shaft.
Im not trying to scare you off it we get paid extra and have loads of fun, but be aware it will be along time coming, you will no doubt work with the diving team as First Aider many a time. When you go to Haslar to do your MA training you can join Portsmouth West Sub Aqua Club which is a military run BSAC club. Finally some advice when or if you go on diving course remember you know nothing about diving, if you claim to they will break you, remember that military diving is different and controlled by different rules and whatever you do dont quit, remember its all got to end soon, let someone else quit first, how gutted would you be if you quit and then they say to everybody else thats enough lads letsa get the beers, and end you packing back to the ship. Good Luck and maybe one day I'll see you on the Prop Shaft.
Do it its great fun! ok live in week is a bit of a grind but still the sense of satisfaction at the end of the course is like nothing else you will ever feel again unless you transfer to the dark side 
if you don't fancy seaman diver consider transering to aircrew and chase for sar diver (nutters) whatever you do don't go making funny scooby doo signs at the chief frog!
Loz is your sister called Bonnie?
if you don't fancy seaman diver consider transering to aircrew and chase for sar diver (nutters) whatever you do don't go making funny scooby doo signs at the chief frog!Loz is your sister called Bonnie?
My position remains before the mast.
or is it "when the red flag is flying use the after gangway" ;)
or is it "when the red flag is flying use the after gangway" ;)
MDC
The course was re-designed in the mid 90's following developments in the equipment and training methods, then again in 2001, when yet again the equipment changed. Its is due for a further change in the near future as the equipment has once again been re-designed, due namely to the recent deaths of trainees and the increase in a need for women to be allowed to join the teams. Currently the design of the equipment is not practical for the use of females. Not just the weight but also the shape of the equipment, which was not designed to be used with women, whose bodies are naturally shaped differently. Currently there is only one serving female ships diver, the same one to be the only female to pass the course since it was re-structured, moving from SABA to SABADTWC and the joining of army, navy and RAF divers onto one course, when it became MDC. At this time I believe that the Royal Navy view on women as divers as laid down by the Institute of Naval Medicene in Alverstoke remains the same,- though some females are accepted for ships divers, women are not permitted to serve in Mine Clearence units due to the unproven reaction to their bodies from decompression, which is a normal part of a CD's life.
what ever next the crabs joining fdu 1???? oh lordy 
