Every diver is taught from the beginning of training that the buddy system is the most reliable way to get you out of a bad situation and, for the most part, this works very well. Public safety divers don’t always have this choice but they are not really solo diving either.
Public safety divers are frequently called to dive in some of the worst conditions. Often times public safety dives are zero visibility, where even if the divers had a dive buddy in the water with them it would not help. On the other hand, public safety divers probably have some of the best redundancy built into their dive plan if the team is structured and equipped properly. The structure of the team should be such that they have one diver in the water with a designated tender on land and a second diver, often referred to as a back-up or 90% diver, also with a designated tender.
The diver’s equipment includes a lot of the same items a solo diver might use: redundant air supply, back-up cutting devices, back-up mask, etc, but one item really sets them apart: the tender line. This line is a direct link to someone on the surface who can render assistance right away. Sometimes this communication takes place with a series of line tugs and other times it is verbal communication. While this may sound like a minor difference, it is major. Nowhere in solo dive planning is there a check box for back-up divers or tenders.
So next time you get ready for a dive and you are thinking it is a solo dive, remember this, if your team is trained, equipped and structured properly, you may be in the water alone, but you are far from it. Before any dive, a risk-benefit analysis must be completed and only on very, very rare occasions is it acceptable to get into the water before the entire team has arrived on scene and is ready.
For more information on ERDI training, check us out at /erdi/
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Recently in a discussion about solo diving and how it fits or doesn’t fit into recreational diving, a colleague mentioned that public safety divers were far removed from solo diving, given that PSD divers have the support of a team, a backup diver, communications and a whole host of support systems. Well, that is a fair statement. However, that is not to say that divers should not have to worry about self-sufficiency.
While ERDI divers depend on tethers, communications either via hard-wire or wireless, and even possibly surface supplied air, developing self sufficient skills is an enormous additional tool that can be available to the public safety diver. Let’s take a quick look at some of the various components that add up to increasing self sufficient skills.
Redundant Air. We’ll start with one of the most obvious pieces of equipment and that is a bailout bottle or pony bottle. Any dive team SOP should include this as a mandatory item for any diver that enters the water. Regardless of depth…3 feet/1 meter or 33 feet/10 meters, a properly mounted and easily available redundant air source must be on the diver. Certainly how this is deployed is dependent on your team’s protocols and training. This would also include surface supply air utilizing a switch block.
Equipment. This surely is a consideration and a topic that could easily go on for several pages. It is worth briefly mentioning that in addition to a redundant air source of at least 18 cf/3 liters, deploying with two cutting devices that are mounted in appropriate places should be part of your dive kit. What is an appropriate place? A knife/rescue shears/line cutter should be within arm’s reach. Leave the “twelve inch shark killer” in the dive locker, and not on the outside of your leg. If you are using brighter and more powerful primary lights, deploy with a smaller, easily mounted backup light. Like a cutting device, it should be within arm’s reach.
Awareness. Insure that your situational awareness skills are good and pay attention. Of course at times, it will be impossible to ever see your SPG; still, you can get a sense of where you are in terms of remaining air by knowing the depth of the operation and an estimate of the time at depth. Now, I realize this is a very broad statement, and at times, impossible to know. However with training and practice, it can become an acquired skill. If the diver is using electronic communication with their tender, then it becomes much easier to havethe tender monitor both depth (with knowledge of the dive site) and time.
SAC Rate. Both the diver and the tender should become proficient at calculating the diver’s surface air consumption rate. While I won’t go into the actual methods to calculate this as there are plenty of resources available to do so, learning how to calculate your SAC rate will not only give yet another tool, it will also go a long way in boosting your air consumption “awareness”. Knowing how we, as divers, consume air gives a greater understanding and appreciation of the dive plan needed for a given mission at a given location.
Training. There is no substitution for a well-oiled machine…a well-trained team…to keep everyone safe so that everyone gets to go home. Training for and in the conditions your team will encounter is necessary to insure favorable outcomes, whether the dive is rescue or recovery. Repeated actions, realistic scenarios and post critiques of previous operations provide the foundation of training. And oft-repeated actions lead to muscle memory which is part of being self sufficient.
State of Mind. Without a doubt, your state of mind plays a big role in self-sufficiency. You can have the tools i.e. redundant air source/spare mask/multiple cutting devices and a secret decoder ring, it won’t make a difference if your head is in the wrong place. Focus on the job at hand, rely on your training and be the professional that you are. If you aren’t focused, perhaps it is not your day to dive.
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Steven Barnard (right) and David Hartley at the Buckingham Palace reception
A scuba diver who swam down to rescue a semi-conscious fellow diver has received a bravery award at Buckingham Palace.
Steven Barnard, 30, from Brynsiencyn, Anglesey, was presented with a Royal Humane Society silver medal, one of the UK’s highest civilian bravery honors.
His rescue of friend David Hartley at Dorothea Quarry in Gwynedd last December was called “remarkable.”
Mr. Hartley said: “I would not be here today if it was not for this man.”
Before the presentation, society secretary Dick Wilkinson described Mr. Barnard’s actions as a “remarkable rescue.”
The dive started to go wrong six minutes in, when, 36m down, Mr. Hartley began plunging head first out of control.
Mr. Barnard signaled a third diver to remain where he was, then chased after Mr. Hartley and caught him.
Mr. Hartley, from Bangor, Gwynedd, began convulsing and inadvertently punched his rescuer dislodging his mask.
The drama unfolded underwater at Dorothea Quarry in December
Mr. Barnard lost his grip and his companion “disappeared in a cloud of silt” at a depth of 50.7m, after 25 minutes in the water.
But Mr. Barnard, who carried the Olympic torch at Morecambe in June, managed to find him again and struggled with diminishing air supplies to get him back to the surface.
Mr. Hartley recovered after being airlifted to a hospital decompression unit by a RAF helicopter.
Mr. Barnard was presented with his honor by the society’s president, Princess Alexandra.
After the presentation, he said: “I was just glad we got a positive outcome. It was a situation which required doing something pretty drastic quickly and I am very happy it came out the way it did.”
Shaking Mr. Barnard’s hand at the event, Mr. Hartley said: “If it had been anyone else, I doubt I would have survived. He was brilliant. He refused to give up on me, despite the risk to himself.
“If ever anyone deserved a medal he does.”
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Did someone say Tech Diving Vacation in the Caribbean with unlimited air/nitrox fills and educational sessions for rebreathers and sidemount diving? I’m in! And so was everyone else.
This past October TDI & Dive Rite hosted the Buddy Dive Tech Event in Bonaire. The event was a huge success, seeing more than 100 divers attend a demo of one kind or another. Demo’s consisted of Optima Closed Circuit Rebreathers, diving with doubles, carrying a stage bottle or trying sidemount diving with all new equipment from Dive Rite.
During the days, deep trimix dives were conducted for the seasoned divers either on CCR’s or Open Circuit to many places never seen before by divers in Bonaire. After sunset, divers attended presentations by Lamar Hires, Pete Nawrocky, and Brian Carney on a number of different technical topics ranging from Solo Diving, photography while technical diving and cave diving around the world. Each day was packed with activities and information all geared at educating and advancing divers. Closing out the day typically consisted of a cold beverage with friends discussing the highlights and planning tomorrow’s dive.
If you did not have the chance to attend this year’s Buddy Dive Tech Event at Bonaire, keep your eyes and ears posted. Details about next year will be surfacing shortly. Brian Carney adds, “The 2 weeks were a huge success and I look forward to next year’s event. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible and we hope to see you next time around.”
“Dive Something Different, Learn Something New”
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Have you ever wondered why it is that Scuba Diving International (SDI™) pioneered Solo Diver education to produce self-sufficient sport divers, but its sister agency, Technical Diving International (TDI™), the largest and most successful tech agency, does not offer the tech-diving equivalent to Solo Diver on its curriculum?
It’s a fair question and one that a good percentage of SDI and TDI instructors get asked from time to time. After all, it seems counter-intuitive to sanction solo diving to sport divers and to discourage technical divers from doing it! But actually, TDI DOES support and strongly recommend ALL the skills and protocols taught in an SDI solo diver specialty program: it simply promotes them in a different way. Let’s see what that means.
Technical diving is a team activity, and team-diving – which is a little different to the ubiquitous buddy-diving pushed in sport-diving classes – is at the core of every TDI program. The complexities and logistics of planning and executing a dive that is longer and deeper, that takes place in an overhead environment or in other tough conditions, or that requires special equipment, simply means that the support of another or several other divers is necessary. In some cases, that support will include a team on the surface as well as in the water.
When success and safety require a team and cannot be achieved solo, selecting the members of that team becomes a priority… in fact, it’s job number one. And to do it with any hope of making the right choices, one needs to understand the basics of team dynamics.
Team Dynamics
In general terms, analyzing the interactions that influence the attitudes and behavior of people who have been thrown together by chance or by design, is the study of team dynamics.
The forces that govern how people react, and how they perform under pressure, are complex, but as technical divers we have to take a shot at it! There is no such thing in the realm of technical diving as an “Insta-Buddy” (or there should not be). The risks associated with technical diving and the process of managing those risks simply preclude a technical diver from getting into the water with someone upon whom they cannot depend, and with whom they do not have a strong sense of trust. Technical dives are planned and conducted with folks who are known and who share common backgrounds, goals and objectives. No strangers involved. Period.
Recognizing the Variables
To understand what forces may influence team behavior, one needs to start the process by recognizing the many things that may play a role.
Training. The number one tick on the virtual (or real) checklist is to make sure that everyone on the team has appropriate training for the role they are expected to fulfill. With a simple two or three-person team, it is not unusual for them to have trained at the same time with the same instructor.
Experience. Training tells us one thing, but under what conditions that training has been used and how regularly it’s been put to the test, is the other side of the coin. As with training, it is typical for a team to dive together on a regular basis and to support each other in developing and refining their skills.
Personality styles. Personal chemistry counts for a lot, and almost always, the members of a dive team are good friends who share more than their dive experiences. However, regardless of friendship, one must recognize that each person has strengths and weaknesses that may have a strong influence – either positive or negative – on the dynamics of the team’s performance. Accounting for this is important should things go off-kilter during the dive but can also be a factor in the planning stages and preparation for a big dive.
Team roles. One of the seemingly odd recommendations is that the strongest, most experienced diver is NOT the one who leads a dive. It is the so-called weakest link who does that. This can mean that team members may be asked to perform functions that are “unfamiliar” to them. For example, it is not unusual for a truly experienced diver to make some sacrifices to “ego” and personal bragging rights to support the development of his/her less experienced team members.
Parameters of the dive itself. Different dives demand different approaches to most things including team assessment and most certainly influence team dynamics. Environmental conditions, such as cold, poor visibility, strong currents, and others can bring out otherwise hidden strengths or weaknesses in a team member. Divers should understand and be honest sharing with other team members their personal limits and preferences.
Tools and technology. Diving is equipment intensive. Over a period of just a few years, the tools available to technical divers have evolved dramatically. Tools such as DPVs and fourth generation computers, small powerful lights and rebreathers have greatly influenced the way dives are planned and run. A successful team will be up-to-date on these developments and will not be dogmatic and stuck with dyed-in-the-wool notions about what works and what does not. Things change and there is no place for complacency about tools and technology.
Processes/methodologies/procedures. It’s said that any fool can dive to 100 metres/330 feet, the secret is getting home. A great deal of team dynamics is focused on contingency planning and not just understanding the best options to get everyone home safe, but practicing them too. A good team “sings for the same hymn sheet” when circumstances require quick decisive action. Much of this harkens back to a team sharing common training, but more important is that as a group they agree on the processes, methods and procedures that their dives will be run by.
And others!
Managing the Variables
Every team member and every technical diver must be responsible for managing the variables that may influence the team. This is done by recognizing and understanding the forces at play, deciding whether they are negative or positive, and making interventions to tilt all of them towards being more positive.
For example, communication is not everybody’s forte. Some of us keep our feelings to ourselves. Sometimes a friend will forget to ask our opinion and for our input on a decision they assumed they knew our feeling about. We all can feel slighted. The place to voice disappointment or bruised feelings is not 50 metres deep and an hour’s swim back in a cave.
The Five Essential Issues
This is me. Team members are individuals and each possesses a unique viewpoint, talent, perspective and values. The more each team member is self-aware, the more actively he or she can contribute to the success of the team as a whole.
This is us. Boiled down to its essence, a team should be greater than the sum of its parts. A group of individuals are vastly different people each with a unique approach to the ways they build relationships and deal with conflicts and challenges. This is a significant strength but to benefit, every team member must participate.
This is our goal. Considering the cost of gas, charters, and travel, it is amazing that some dive teams jump into the water hoping for success but not bothering to plan for it. Indeed, with mid-sized projects or dives, there are times when each team simply assumes that each of the others see the job at hand and how to tackle it in precisely the same way they do. Success demands that a team takes the time to discuss what the goals, mission, or tasks of the team are and avoid the conflict and failure (and potential danger) when they are blindsided by someone’s personal agenda.
This is how we get there. When traveling from point A to point B there are often several routes, and so it is with technical diving. Different people may each arrive at the same destination from a different direction. This is great in many aspects of life, but it does not work in team-diving. What DOES work is for the team to discuss those different routes when the dive plan is drawn up and to decide, as a group, which is Plan A and which is Plan B.
We did just great. One of the most commonly dropped or an often neglected skill is debriefing the dive. Each team member owes it to themselves and to their mates to have some measure of how well they did. People of different personality types will have different perspectives on what constitutes good and adequate performance, and sharing is a true learning experience. It also builds a very strong team bond.
Effective teamwork starts with understanding one’s self and ways we are different from others. When each diver knows their value to the team, they are in a better position to value and capitalize on the contributions of the other people on their team. This also helps to shift the team dynamic from “me” to “we.”
Team diving does not preclude divers being self-sufficient and being capable, in the event of some contingency or another, of finishing the dive alone. A well-rounded, balanced technical diver looks at their dive plans much the same as a solo diver, but chooses to execute them as a member of a team of like-minded divers.
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They come from all over the world, rolling in at around 6:15. In the morning; and it’s dark. Some are sleepy, some are hungry, many wondering if either we or they are crazy for being here this early, but mostly they’re all excited. The other captains and I gear them up, give them a briefing, then take them out to get into the warm, clear water of some of the best known springs in the world of diving – King’s Spring and Three Sisters Springs. They’re about to snorkel with manatees!
It’s wintertime, which is the best time to see the most manatees in the clearest water, so the air is pretty cold. That makes the warm spring water the place to be. As we anchor up at the site we choose for the day, a few manatees actually approach the boat. They’re waiting for us to hurry up and get into the water. Unencumbered by SCUBA, snorkelers are free to interact with these gentle giants, the West Indian Manatee. But most of our masks and snorkels are leaking and it’s a good thing. They’re leaking because we’re grinning so much we can’t keep our gear in place. Calves are rolling over like puppies and their mothers nudge them out of the way for attention of their own. And the manatees surround you. And, with their massive size, they’ll sometimes scare you. But they will never harm you. Instead, they’ll thrill you with their curiosity and gentleness. Nowhere in nature is there an animal with as much willingness to interact with us. Especially fun today was the manatee chewing on a woman’s pony tail, who then went over to someone else and pulled on the zipper of his wetsuit. That gave him a good laugh until the manatee pulled harder and gave him a shot of water down his back. That’ll be enough playing around now, kids.
Some snorkelers are just floating along near the manatee Sanctuary, set up by US Fish & Wildlife Service to give them a place to rest. They watch the manatee sleep, cavort, or nurse their calves. Everyone stays as long as they can, enjoying the incredible number of manatees today. Typically, as though by some silent signal, everyone start heading back to the boat at pretty much the same time. Maybe spring water isn’t that warm after all.
Everyone is changing into warm, dry clothes and enjoying some doughnuts with hot coffee or cocoa. Now’s the time to socialize. Let’s meet the customers: we have a Cave and Trimix instructor, along with a few students off-gassing before their flight back to Russia. Another instructor from a shop in Virginia Beach has a few students, also. There is a family from Minnesota, a non-swimming grandmother from Dallas, and a group of gifted science students from a middle school in Georgia. As usual, it is quite the mix. Yep, the wetsuit and a kid’s noodle gave the grandmother all the buoyancy she needed to have a great time!
Florida is the diving capital of the world for good reason. We have a tremendous diversity of environments. Here at Bird’s we train and guide students from open water up through becoming Cave and Trimix instructors. We have to drive a few hours to see the pretty reefs with all the tropical fish, but we have a different beauty in our springs, caverns, and caves. You can be the next ones to have a great time here. Almost everyone comes to Florida to dive at some point. Come and visit us while you’re here.
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“What I witnessed was a connection between a father and son that had forever changed my life and it triggered me to ask if I could write about what I saw.”
I met Steve Copeland on a rainy day this spring during one of his certification dives at Walt Disney World’s Epcot the Living Seas. What started as an opportunity to dive with Veterans during their training with Divers4Heroes turned into something a whole lot more.
Steve is a father of 5 children, who recently celebrated his 12 year anniversary with his wife. They live in Florida where he spends his days with his family learning to deal with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from his time in the army. Steve joined the army at the age of 30 and dedicating 8 years of his life servicing his country. I was intrigued by how he came decided to learn how to dive and how it has impacted his life initially. What I witnessed was a connection between a father and son that has forever changed my life and it triggered me to ask if I could write about what I saw. I contacted Debbie from Divers4Heroes who, in turn, asked Steve if it was Ok. Shortly thereafter, Steve contacted me and said he was ok with it if telling his story could help other veterans suffering from PTSD.
Below is our conversation
Brian: Hello Steve, thank you for taking the time today to talk with me about your experience.
Steve: You’re welcome.
Brian: Great, let’s get started. Why did you enlist in the Army?
Steve: I enlisted because I wanted a better life for me and my family, and after taking some college courses while working as a carpenter, I started getting calls from recruiters, so I thought I would check into it. Originally, I was to be a Light Wheel Mechanic, but after going through MEPS (Military Entry Processing Station) I fell off a roof and broke my collar bone. The injury, needless to say, prevented me from attending basic training for about 5 months. After being cleared by my doctor, I went back to my recruiters and told them I was ready to go. At that time, I was informed by MEPS that I could not get the duty station of my choice in the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) I had chosen prior. I almost walked out, but they persuaded me to pick from a list of Combat Arms MOS’s. My choices were 11B Infantry, 19K Tank Crewman, and 19D Cavalry Scout. The tradition of the Cavalry appealed to me, so I chose that and started my Army career at 30 yrs. old.
Brian: So after your Basic Training what happened next? Where did you end up going?
1-30th Scout Platoon Assembly Area, Kuwait 2003
Steve: I was deployed to Kosovo about a month and a half after my oldest son was born. He was born on September 11th, 2001, about 3 hours after the WTC was hit by terrorists. I was in Ft. Polk at the time training for our deployment to Kosovo when my wife, Shannon, went into labor. It was a very sad, confusing day, but my son Marshall was our bright shining light through all that darkness. As my unit further prepared for deployment, it was discussed within my command that I should stay home and be with my wife and new-born son. I protested and eventually won my case with them and deployed with the unit. We were deployed to Camp Monteith, Kosovo in support of the KFOR3B peace keeping mission there from 31 OCT 2001 to on or about 9 MAY 2002.
My son was born on September 11th, 2001, about 3 hours after the World Trade Center
Then in January of 2003, my unit was again deployed to Kuwait in order to prepare for the invasion of Iraq. We crossed the border into Iraq in March of that year and began our movement towards our first objective, Talil Air Base, in Nasiriyah, Iraq. We fought through a 2 or 3 day sandstorm on our way to Karbala Pass, where we would stay for about 5 days. Within a few days from that, we were in Baghdad. After the initial invasion, my unit redeployed back to the states in July of 2003.
My next deployment to Iraq came in January of 2005. This time it was to Baqubah and Muqdadiya, Iraq which are northeast of Baghdad. I was deployed as a Sniper team leader for the first 6 months, conducting over watch and counter IED missions in order to ensure safe passage for convoys on selected routes. During the first half of the deployment, my youngest son, Sawyer, was born. I came home from Iraq on R&R for about 18 days after his birth. Upon returning to Iraq, I was promoted from SGT E-5 to SSG E-6 and was given the choice to continue serving as a Sniper or rejoin the Scout PLT and serve as a member of the CSD (Command Security Detachment) section. I chose to join the CSD and went to work as a PSO (Personal Security Officer) for our Battalion Commander for the remainder of the deployment. Working for my Battalion Commander during this time had inspired me to re-enlist for another 5 year stretch. I had orders to report to Fort Knox where, at that time, the Army made Scouts. It was a chance to get off the front line for a while and I was looking forward to that. Sometime in January of 2006, my unit redeployed back to the states. It was after redeploying, we heard through the command that the unit was being moved over to another post where the rest of the Division is at currently and a new CAV unit was being stood up in the place of my former unit. Being a Cavalry Scout, I wanted to see that side of the “house”. It was a chance to lead soldiers at my new skill level and I welcomed the challenge. I had my orders cancelled and took a position within the new unit.
My final deployment came in March of 2007 with the unit that had only been stood up for 9 months at this point. We were under strength and the training leading up to the deployment was non-stop. Almost everyone in the unit was pretty new to their positions, meaning having been recently promoted to the next higher rank, and the mix of new Platoon Leaders and newly promoted Platoon Sergeants, who seemed to be coming from training units made things a little worse. The unit wasn’t stocked very well with recent combat experience and the Iraq mission was changing constantly.
BFV that was hit by a deep bury IED on Route Jennifer, Talwaitha, Iraq, 2007
By the time we deployed, in my opinion, the morale was getting low among the troops. But we deployed nonetheless. The Troop I was in, as they are called in the Cavalry, was to be the “maneuver” Troop, meaning we flexed down to whoever needed the combat strength in their Area of Operations, or AO. Everything had changed from the unit configuration to the mission in Iraq. I was now working as a senior scout with Sniper experience, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) Commander, and a dismount patrol leader and would be doing a lot of these missions back to back, ex. returning from a Sniper mission and 2 or 3 hrs later being called upon to go back out as a BFV section leader because of some other element being hit by an IED and needing security on the scene. So as you can see, there was little time for rest here. I returned home from this deployment around August 2007.
Brian: Four deployments over 5 years sounds like a lot, what toll did it take on you?
Steve: I sustained an illness rather than an injury from these multiple deployments and not getting the help I needed after coming back from them. You see, each time a unit comes back from a deployment, the soldiers are put through a reintegration process that takes about 10 days, as per the Army, (this was back in 2000 to 2008). We are made to fill out Post Deployment Health Surveys and this is where some of my “red flags” were starting to go up.
I was on the initial push to Baghdad at the start of the war in 2003, so with that brought a lot of carnage. The things I saw that first time up were, for the lack of a better way to put this, really f****d up. I saw a lot of dead, burning, decomposed, bodies of not only Iraqi soldiers but some civilians as well. The smell was horrible and there were flies everywhere. I witnessed full-blown firefights between our BFVs and Republican Guard APCs within a couple hundred meters or so. I was on a patrol in Karbala where an enemy soldier was firing mortars at us and was getting close until I spotted him and a fire mission was called to destroy him. I witnessed the chaos of Iraqi citizens returning from wherever they ran to while avoiding all this. I watched as the people of Iraq looted their own country. I saw an Iraqi man burn to death when his car caught fire after an element down the road from us shot a grenade into it. Our platoon had two of the first three casualties in the war and that really hit home with me. Our Company lost its 1SG in late April due to a vehicle accident as well.
Sniper hide off Route Detroit, near Baqubah, Iraq, 2005
On our second deployment to Iraq in January of 2005, we hit the deployment rotation again. The unit’s missions were, as I understood them, to facilitate rebuilding the infrastructure, (water treatment, power, schools, etc.), facilitate the country’s voting on a new government, provide security, and train and equip the newly reformed Iraqi Army. This time there were these things called IEDs, or roadside bombs. We had just started hearing about them and really all we had to go off of was what the units we replaced were telling us about them. We lost quite a few soldiers due to those things. They were a constant threat and we all worried about them. I for one always thought I would die over there because of those things and the amount of time and close proximity I was exposed to them.
One of my jobs over there that time was as a Sniper Team Leader and a lot of my missions were to sit and watch a stretch of road for AIF units digging or emplacing these things and kill them. That was the mission directive. I won’t go much deeper into it than that, but I spent a lot of time sitting for up to 48 hrs at a time close enough to the road where if an IED had gone off near us, we would have probably been KIAs at that point. Now being that close to the road sounds like a bad decision to make, but when you only have 48 hrs, and the only thing to hide in grows 10 to 15 feet from the road, you just hope and pray there’s not one near you.
The other job I had was as our Battalion Commander’s Personal Security Officer. He was great guy to work for, but I really thought he was going to get me killed. He liked to go chasing down whatever insurgent was shooting at us at the time. That means we had quite a few bullets whiz by our heads. I had a lot of trigger time working with that guy, but I was inspired by him towards the end. I think we lost two soldiers to suicide/accidental causes and maybe around ten or twelve to IED blasts. I was in two blasts that I can remember during this tour. I was on scene for one real bad one that blew three soldiers out of a gun truck and the fourth one burned alive in it.
1-30th Sniper section training in Kuwait, 2005
Providing security for the voting polls was a pretty serious mission as well. There was a lot of time being exposed to an enemy that we could not see because they blended in with the local population very well. In addition to IEDs, there was also a very serious enemy sniper threat everywhere we went. I don’t think there was one time out on patrol when we didn’t hear either an IED blast or a single shot being fired somewhere off in the distance, as well as the skirmishes between units in direct fire contact with enemy forces. At the end of this tour, I had reenlisted for another 5 year hitch. I was a newly promoted E-6 and I was looking to make a career out of all this. Shortly after my unit redeployed back stateside, I found out that the unit I had spent the first 5 years in was being replaced by a Cavalry unit. Well since I was a very dedicated and motivated Scout, I had my orders cancelled to Fort Knox and I stayed on and found employment as a Platoon Sergeant in one of the line Troops. We had brand new guys just coming out of basic, brand new officers and no organization whatsoever. I put together some admin stuff that I borrowed from the previous unit to help get things rolling, and started getting to know the soldiers I would be leading, as well as my Platoon Leader.
By March of 2007, we had trained very hard and long for the past nine or so months and had received a visit from our Commander In Chief, George W Bush. He put us on the list of units that were going to be part of the troop surge in Iraq. On March 10, 2007, I was getting on a plane and heading back to Iraq for the third time. It was here where I would realize my limits as a human being, both physically and mentally.
By this time, I had been moved down to Senior Scout due to getting an E-7 in for the Platoon Sergeant slot. I was trained as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle commander, a Humvee section leader, a dismount patrol leader, as well as being a trained Sniper. I was one of only three in the Squadron and the only one that would be able to take on the job, due to a decision made by higher ranking officers. Our platoon was the maneuver or “flex” platoon at the time, so we got moved around a little bit and our mission changed on short notice. This was beginning to frustrate me, as I was already not welcoming change in my routines. But we shifted focus on a few occasions and I adapted as well as I could to them.
By the time we moved South near a place called Jisr Diyala, I was starting to feel worn out. I had been sent to specialized training for IED and EFP familiarization at the beginning of our deployment. When I returned to my Troop, we were already about to start conducting patrols out in sector. It seemed that no one in the CMD wanted to hear the information myself and the other Senior Scouts had brought back. This would cost three lives later on, and put a few others out of the fight due to injuries sustained. During our time in the vicinity of Jisr Diyala, we lived in a place that looked to be some kind of industrial complex. The place had what was called, “Yellow Cake”, all over the place. It was probably insulation, but the air and water quality were below par for living in. I would later find out that this place was a nuclear research facility at some point.
HMMWV (Humvee) that was hit by an IED, FOB Normandy, Iraq, 2005
The mission this time was to clear a route to the West and right behind the COP (Combat Outpost), where we were now stationed, and conducted security patrols and established Battle Positions along the river, in order to interdict any weapons smuggling or AIF (Anti Iraqi Forces) that were being flushed out of Baghdad from an ongoing Division wide operation designed to control weapons and ordnance being smuggled in from surrounding countries. The first three days on Route Jennifer were clearing operations during which we cleared the route and 50 meters on either side, of IEDs while on foot. This was a first for me. The units had equipment to do this, as well as an Engineer unit whose sole purpose in life was to clear IEDs. So off we went.
The Scout platoon was to be the security element for the Engineers, and every once in a while we would find ourselves in front of the Engineers and hear someone shout “Hold up! We found an IED!” So we were pretty much walking past these things and not knowing it. Not a good feeling. On the way back to the outpost, on the first day, my BFV hit a deep bury IED and it destroyed the vehicle. I wasn’t in it, but I was right behind it. The bomb left a 6 foot deep hole in the road and cost me my vehicle.
Burning the vegetation along Route Jennifer to expose any bombs, near Talwaitha, Iraq, 2007
The second day we encountered some really tall bamboo reeds growing on the sides of the route, so it was decided that we would burn them out in order to expose any hidden IEDs . The fires were intense and some spread to a couple of homes that were close to the road. Needless to say, the locals were not happy about that. They were compensated later by our command. After the three day route clearance op was over, I took on the duties and responsibilities of the Troop Sniper section leader. I was given three soldiers from the mortar section. We trained for a week on the skills needed to be successful and off we went.
We worked an area of palm groves, providing security for the BFVs that would patrol the route on a constant, round the clock basis, as well as for the dismounted elements that would be engaging the locals for intel on various subject matter like militia activity, illegal police checkpoints, etc. During this time, my team would spend about four or five days at a time out on these missions and after being back at the outpost for a couple of hours, I would usually find myself hopping on my BFV to go out for another fifteen to eighteen hours for my route patrol rotation. I got burned out quickly; I had lost the loyalty from within my platoon, and was not getting along with anyone around me.
On July 13, 2007, a soldier from one of the other platoons stepped on a landmine in the area I had worked with my Sniper section. I was out on a routine patrol down Route Jennifer with a BFV section when this happened. We responded to the event in order to provide a Medevac to Dustoff, (Dustoff is the code name for the Medevac chopper). When we arrived at the site, the soldier’s body was shredded up pretty bad from the shrapnel and was being worked on by the medic employed by his section. I jumped off my Bradley to help as my driver lowered the rear ramp of my vehicle and what I saw put an intense fear in me. I still see this image like it was yesterday and I have carried a tremendous amount of guilt and shame over it ever since.
That was my last mission in Iraq. I was sent back to our main FOB, (Forward Operating Base), and after a couple of weeks, was sent home on R&R. Upon returning to Fort Benning, I immediately went to mental health to talk to someone about my issues and got no real help. Instead, they wanted to send me back to combat. After I protested and plead my case to a few other people, I was admitted to a hospital and have been in therapy for this ever since. That was five years ago.
Steve Copeland
So as you can see, I have witnessed the worst in humanity and it has taken a toll on me. Those Iraq deployments took my soul from me. It is now hard to have compassion, to not feel numb to things around me. I have trust, security, control, and intimacy issues now that get in the way of so many things in my life. In short, combat in Iraq has destroyed the man I was. Now, I’m just trying to put things in some kind of order.
“I have trust, security, control, and intimacy issues now that get in the way of so many things in my life. In short, combat in Iraq has destroyed the man I was.”
In addition to all this, I sustained a bad neck injury from conducting hand to hand combat prior to deploying to Kosovo, and was hit by a car while riding my Harley on New Year’s Eve 2007, which resulted in two fractures in my lower back. Well, that’s the who, what, why, when, and where of my injuries/illness. I know it’s long, but I hope that answers your question. Let’s move on, shall we?
Brian: Wow is the only word I can come up with, I can certainly understand where the stress came from. What type of treatment have you been getting for the PTSD?
Steve: So far I have been in four different hospitals for PTSD treatment, with two occasions being Baker Acted for suicidal/homicidal behaviors. I have been in regular therapy in the Gainesville VAMC’s PTSD treatment team since February of 2009. I have attended a few other groups at the local Vet Center, and tried Cognitive Processing Therapy three times now. I am in the VA’s Independent Living Program, and The Caregiver’s Program, (my wife is my caregiver). And of course I attended the seven week PTSD program at Bay Pines. So far, I haven’t had much help at coping with all this through the VA. I have been on several different types of psychotropic medications for my issues as well.
Brian: It certainly sounds like you have been trying everything to get help. What has been the most challenging thing about your recovery?
Steve: The most challenging thing about my recovery. Hmmm…well first of all I’m going to say controlling my anger has been an ongoing problem. Getting things done in a timely manner is another one. Like I said earlier, I don’t have a real sense of trust in others, I can’t go many places where there are a lot of people without having anxiety attacks, I don’t go to see fireworks with my family because I’m prone to flashbacks, my sense of security causes me to check door locks several times a day, I get hyper-vigilant a lot, I have problems remembering any instruction given to me or details to things, I have real bad depression and I worry about every little thing in life. So the challenge lies in getting past quite a few stuck points and the way I think about things (black & white thinking, as it’s called). It’s either very good or dangerously bad with me. There is no in between.
Brian: OK lets change the subject a little bit, tell me a little bit about yourself prior to the injury. Where you came from? What was life like prior to PTSD?
The Copeland Family
Steve: I grew up in the same town I live in now, which is Orange Park, FL. My father was in the Army for about thirty five years and he was a good provider, but not around much during my developmental years. My mother worked various secretarial jobs and the primary care giving duties were placed upon my grandmother. I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, had more than I needed, but also learned to earn money for myself from the time I was about twelve or so.
I dropped out of high school at sixteen to pursue an education in Culinary Arts, but soon dropped out of that as well. Two years later, I would begin a career as a residential framing carpenter. I worked building houses in the Jacksonville, FL area, eventually working my way up to lead carpenter, until I decided to enlist in the Army. I was pretty easy going for the most part, with the exception of an occasional temper flare-up. I had a pretty bad alcohol problem during the latter part of the 1990s, but kept out of legal trouble with that. I could remember things, recall information given to me, and had good relationships with people. I have four biological children, Ashley-20, Terrie-16, Marshall-11, Sawyer-7. Ashley and Terrie are from my first marriage. I also have one stepson, Dante-21, who is my wife’s son from her first marriage. My wife’s name is Shannon and we have been happily married for twelve years now. Prior to my deployments, I think we were a pretty normal family with the same problems as everyone else. Shannon and I have been married since right before I shipped off to basic training, so I guess we were a normal Army family.
Brian: What has life been like since you have retired from the army? How has your life changed?
Steve: My first deployment was to Kosovo and it really set me up for success in the Army. After I came home from Iraq the first time, I felt invincible. I felt like I had gone through a war and survived. I didn’t want to do it again, but yes, I felt like a bad ass. I was proud. But I had gained a sick sense of humor while I was there and my family and friends didn’t understand that. I think they were seeing the change that I had not been able to.
My second tour to Iraq was for twelve months. I had a new job with new responsibilities and kept my mind on my work. I bought a brand new Harley that year as a reward to myself while home on R&R. When I returned home at the end of the deployment, it was all I had my mind on, even though my son Sawyer had been born six months prior to that. Looking back on it now, I think that was where I would start isolating myself from people. I didn’t want to have close relationships with anyone. My anger was getting more and more out of control and things were starting back up at work, with the new unit coming in to replace the old one.
Weapons cache, outside Baghdad, Iraq 2003
By the time I was done with my third deployment and in the process of being medically retired from the Army, all my relationships had suffered serious setbacks. No one around me understood me anymore, my two daughters weren’t talking to me, my sons were afraid of me, and I was in trouble with Child Support Enforcement over unpaid child support. I have spent a lot of time and effort rebuilding relationships with certain people, but my circle of trust is small. I have been in three or four fist fights with my stepson over the past 5 years, been in two hospitals for suicidal behavior, and just completed a seven week in-patient treatment program. I am still in therapy at least once or twice every two weeks for regular counseling.
Brian: What made you take the first step to try diving?
Steve: When I was an in-patient at Bay Pines VAMC, we had Recreational Therapy three times a week. Once I heard there was going to be a scuba diving outing, I signed up. I have always wanted to try it and so I jumped at the opportunity. Our rec-therapist took us over to Bill Jackson’s in Pinnellas Park, FL. where we met Deb & Bo Twillman. Once we received our instruction and were let loose in the water to play, I forgot all about my issues. I had always wanted to try scuba, just never had the opportunity to go.
Now, I thought jumping out of planes in the Army was cool, but this was way better. The experience left a lasting impression. About two or three days later, I looked Divers4Heroes up on the web, e-mailed them about how I would go about getting certified, and got a call back from Deb. She told me they would be conducting a certification class about two weeks after I was due to get released from Bay Pines. So I signed up.
Brian: What have you learned about yourself during the course?
Steve: Probably the biggest thing I have learned since getting into this sport is that I can relax at a level I have not known for some time now. It also promotes deep breathing. But, I have a renewed confidence in myself. Now maybe this works because I am a control freak and very meticulous about the small details of things, and my attention to detail issues cannot be questioned here by my regular audience. I like that, being in control. Now, I just have to find some local dive buddies and move into bigger waters.
Brian: Well I can certainly help with that. What was the most memorable moment during your course?
Steve: The most memorable part of the course for me was diving at Epcot and seeing my family there. I also enjoyed swimming with the Sand Tigers and when we coaxed the 75 lb Goliath Grouper out of his hole, the fish started right for me. I got freaked out a bit and started to move away when Deb’s 13 year old son Brandon grabbed my arm and gave me the okay signal. I was very impressed by this young man’s confidence in the water. That definitely left a lasting impression on me.
Brian: When do you plan to dive again?
Steve: I’m not sure when I’ll dive again, but the sooner the better. I have everything but a wetsuit and a tank as far as personal dive gear goes. Right now, I’ll probably just keep to renting an air tank and getting in my pool and practicing the basic skills Bo taught me until the opportunity arises to get out with a group and do some real diving.
Brian: How has diving helped you in your recovery?
Steve: I think the whole idea of diving as a way to learn how to relax or rediscover one’s self is a great tool for anyone who has PTSD. From my experience, it gives a freedom from the issues many of us face from day to day. It gives a chance to let loose and not think about any intrusive memories or thoughts. It soothes the angry demons within. It really lets you tune in on your breathing, in turn helping you relax. Being suspended in water also helps my back and neck issues as well. It takes the pressure off damaged disks in my back. The diving experience has also rebuilt a level of confidence within me as well.
The Dive
What initially triggered me to ask Steve if I could write an article about him was the interaction I saw between himself and in particular one of his sons. I have wanted to write an article about how diving is being used as a therapeutic remedy for soldiers who are coming back from deployment for a while, but when I witnessed the interaction, it triggered me to want to do the article.
I had been invited by Bo and Debbie Twillman from the Diver’s 4 Heroes group to attend some of their certification dives over the past couple of years. The opportunity presented itself this past spring for the final dive of their course in the large tank at Epcot’s Living Seas. I met them, along with their group of veterans, in the parking lot of Epcot, at which point I was introduced to everyone. This is when I first met Steve. He looked tired from a day full of diving but, like everyone else, he was excited about getting in the water with all the marine life. We were asked by our park guide at this time if we had any guests who were going to watch us while we were in the tank so they could be sure to get video of the diver with his family while he was diving. Essentially, the divers swam up to the window waived to their families and turned around while underwater to have a video of all of them together. A few of the divers said yes, Steve being one of them.
We went about being fully briefed and fitted for gear, then up to the tank entry point and into the water with all the marine life. Well the dive was incredible on its own, but it was what I witnessed after the dive while we were reviewing the video taken of us underwater that made a lasting impression on me. There we were, all the divers who had just completed a fantastic dive, drinking our coffee and tea to warm up, sitting on couches bantering about the dive when the video of the dive was turned on. It had all the standard stuff you see in dive videos, with divers smiling at the camera, blowing bubbles, the proverbial underwater group shot, and just in general having a great time.
The dive was incredible, but it was what I witnessed after the dive while we were reviewing the video taken of us underwater that made a lasting impression on me
It was after the group shot that the Dive Master signaled to everyone who had family to go over to the windows where the families were for the group photo. Steve found his family, swam up to them, waved and turned around; it was what Steve didn’t see while underwater but did see while watching the video. Unbeknownst to him, Steve’s youngest son Sawyer was jumping up and down waving his arms in joy right behind his father. Upon me seeing this on the video I looked over at Steve who was sitting next to me and saw an expression that can only be described as complete happiness.
It was at that moment that it looked as a father and son had reconnected again in a way that only they can and his son once again saw him as the coolest Dad in the world.
Brian: During the dive in the Living Sea’s at Epcot, I noticed one of your son’s being very animated outside the tank watching you dive, what was all that about?
Steve: I think what that was about was that I had been away for seven weeks and that little boy had missed me terribly during that time. I had only been home for two weeks prior to attending the certification class, and then was gone for another week. He was really excited to hear from me whenever I would call, so I believe that along with him seeing his daddy as an Epcot attraction was overwhelming to him. I was really glad to see them there and thankful that we know someone who works there that got them in to see that for free. It was truly an amazing experience for all of us. And yes, he does think I’m the coolest dad ever and that is a good feeling.
Brian: While watching the video in the video room, when we saw your animated son on the video for the first time, I noticed a look on your face that I can only describe as “connecting” with your son. What was going through your mind then?
Steve: I had no idea that was happening at the time it was being filmed and I’m really glad they captured it. As far as connecting, I feel like I connected with all of them. I only wish my other kids could have been there to see it as well. But seeing that really surprised me and I’m glad everyone got a kick out of it. It’s those little things like that, that let me know I’m wanted and needed. It’s a really good feeling to have.
Brian: What do you want to say to other veterans in a similar position to you?
Steve: If you have had no luck or very little progress with clinical treatments for PTSD, then try diving. It will, at least, give you an alternative way to relax and see a different world. I have been in the VA’s system for four years now, and I can say without a doubt, that this experience has done more for my recovery than all the therapy and medicines the VA has given me. Even if all you can do is just sit in the bottom of your pool, it will do wonders for you. Try it. You’ll love it.
It is amazing that something as simple as blowing bubbles, a skill many of us were taught by our mothers when we were infants, can have such a healing effect. I know that based on this experience for me, SDI will continue to provide support to programs such as Diver’s 4 Heroes and SUDS in the future.
As for Steve’s future in diving, he is currently looking for more dive buddies and can’t wait to get back in the water as much as he can. He also plans to get many of his family members certified so they can enjoy the sport together.
For more information about how you can support groups similar to the one who helped Steve contact:
https://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Coolest-Dad-1-No-Cap-1.jpg300300adminhttps://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/header-web-live.pngadmin2012-11-05 17:24:382012-11-05 17:24:38My Dad is the Coolest Dad in the World
Diving is risky. How risky depends on a whole laundry list of factors, but let’s agree that there are more risks involved with diving than, say, sitting in your basement watching curling on TV. Now using the same logic, we can probably press home the point that Solo Diving carries an additional level of risk over and above the “run of the mill” stuff associated with regular diving. There are a few subtle points of contention in that last statement that we will get to in a few paragraphs: let’s simply agree that solo diving carries a few risks that are unique to… well… diving solo. Fact is that there are a whole lot of people who will give anyone admitting that they dive alone or who are even thinking about diving alone the sage advice that they are crazy. “You are risking certain death, because solo diving is nuts,” is the usual line.
A while ago, a brand-new training agency – called Scuba Diving International (SDI) – took the old-school recreational diving market by the scruff of its neck and gave it a good shake. They did so by launching a unique specialty course called Solo Diver, a program that taught recreational sport divers what tools and techniques would help them stay safe when diving on their own. This was something no other agency had dared do before.
The logic behind the launch was that as risky as solo diving might be, divers were doing it anyway – many unaware they were effectively diving alone. At least with a structured and sanctioned training program in place, people could at approach solo diving with the right mindset and equipment to do it with the proper controls in place.
When the folks at a training agency come up with a brand new idea like: “Hey, let’s teach people to dive solo,” taking that concept from a doodle on the back of a paper napkin to a full-blown program with instructor guides, student materials, and standards underwritten by a reputable insurance company, involves a great number of steps that follow a well-defined pathway.
The first step is to define what it is you intend to teach. For the top brass at SDI, solo diving was defined as self-sufficient diving. It might be someone diving alone in the water with nobody else around. But it could also be defined as someone diving with a buddy who is way less experienced and upon whom they would rather not rely in the case of an emergency. It might also be someone who dives with other folks in the water, but who is doing “their own thing,” which is a diplomatic way to describe the buddy skills of most underwater photographers! It may also describe a travelling diver who finds himself on a dive boat coupled with an “Insta-buddy” whose experience, abilities and dive habits are a total mystery. And it fully describes every instructor who takes students into the water in a class setting. In an emergency, that instructor MUST be capable of “self-rescue,” because it would be unfair and perhaps unrealistic to rely on a student to help.
Having defined what solo diving is, the next steps are to understand and define just how risky each of those situations is, and if those risks are manageable. In essence, with its solo diver program, this involved SDI’s training advisory panel is looking really closely at that blanket statement that “You are risking certain death, because solo diving is nuts…” to see if it is indeed true or simply blinkered thinking.
In the world of diving, risk management always begins with a risk identification stage: what risks does the activity – in this case solo diving – carry with it and what are the potential outcomes of these risks? The next stage is to assess each of the identified risks on a scale that stretches from Very Likely to Extremely Unlikely. And the third stage is to come up with a tactical plan that avoids or mitigates ALL the very likely and likely risks, as well as dealing comfortably with the risks that have only a small chance of happening.
Perhaps the most commonly cited “additional” risk associated with solo diving is running out of something to breathe. To the classically trained old-school open-water dive instructor – and graduates from his courses – flipping your buddy the OOA sign and breathing from one of his regulators is the tried and true solution in this scenario. Obviously if you are diving without a buddy, there is nobody with whom to share gas. Clearly, that presents a challenge.
To someone with a background in technical diving, and the folks who started SDI certainly had that since they were all experienced technical diving instructors, the concept of running out of gas and relying on a buddy to get you back to the surface, is careless at best. For example, what if your buddy isn’t around; what if her gas supply too is down to seeds and stems; what if you really should do a safety stop and your buddy isn’t in the mood to hang around at six metres for a few minutes before surfacing?
A far most constructive and robust solution is to NOT run out of air, and this can easily be accomplished by using a real gas management plan.
Properly trained solo divers knows their personal gas consumption rates. They know how many litres of cubic feet of gas they have at the start of their dive and they budget their time and depth, not just on the time that their PDC (personal dive computer) will allow them before decompression, but more importantly the time and depth that their STARTING GAS VOLUME will allow them while keeping a sensible amount back for contingencies. There is nothing difficult or revolutionary about teaching proper gas management to sport divers; however, it is often neglected. For a solo diver it is a required and an important skill to master if one wishes to dive with any margin of safety.
There is of course, another side to the running out of gas scenario: equipment failure. While the practice is common among sport divers, diving with a single regulator first stage, and therefore no redundancy should that piece of kit decide to go on vacation while at depth, is extremely risky. Once again, the “normal” solution is to rely on your buddy to help. For someone committed to self-sufficiency and diving alone, the better solution is to carry a back-up. A properly equipped solo diver carries a small volume cylinder of gas fitted with a regulator and SPG. In the parlance of technical diving, this extra cylinder is often called a stage bottle, but in the language of solo divers, it becomes a buddy bottle. Effectively, it supplies enough gas to get the diver from his maximum depth back to the surface at the prescribed ascent rate, including a safety stop, with a margin of contingency gas… just in case.
Another risk that is presented by those who pooh-pooh the idea of diving without a buddy is getting lost or entangled. The thinking is that with a buddy in tow, he will offer assistance. He will help if you are confused about the location of the exit, lose your mask, or are attacked by a strand of kelp or discarded fishing line. Once again, this shifts an awful lot of responsibility for one’s own well-being off your own shoulders and into someone else’s. There is another way.
SDI solo divers are taught to carry and use a delayed surface marker buoy and a spool or reel so that it can be deployed from depth. This effectively becomes the diver’s personal ascent line and alleviates one issue. Carrying and being able to deploy a back-up mask deals with another. Entanglement is a more sticky issue. Solo divers are taught to avoid areas where entanglement is a real threat, but just in case carry more than one cutting device (and train how to extricate themselves from an entanglement using one of those tools and or common sense). In all three of these issues, one of the key guidelines is to avoid panic. Stop, think, act are the watchwords and are perhaps more valid for a solo diver than for any other.
The ability to control panic when things go pear-shaped at depth is a function in part of experience, and SDI’s take on the prerequisites for diving solo are for the diver to have logged at least 100 dives. The agency believes that although logging that many dives offers no guarantees, it’s a workable benchmark.
There is one other risk that’s quoted as unique for those without a buddy to keep them in check. When diving alone, it is possible to drift beyond one’s comfort zone and into the land of panic. A buddy, in the best-case scenario, provides a sober second opinion and will help prevent you from pushing beyond the limits of your training and experience.
Once again, well-trained solo divers follow a personal dive plan that takes this “shortcoming” into account. They are taught to draw up a plan that outlines goals, waypoints, contingencies and LIMITS. Those limits include ones that take into account the limitations of their equipment, their training and their experience. They are also trained to “self-assess” their personal stress levels before a dive and to call off any dive that seems too much for them on that particular day. One of the responsibilities accepted by solo divers is to plan all their solo dives well within those limits.
Solo divers are also encouraged to share and discuss their dive plans with a friend or family member BEFORE putting the plan into action and going for a dive.
Finally, there are some risks that simply have to be accepted. For example, having a medical emergency underwater while diving alone has a very small chance of happening, but the magnitude of the potential outcome is the most serious possible. A good risk management plan will have some suggestion to mitigate that risk, but it is one of that specific risk – maintain a healthy lifestyle and work to stay fit – but that can never be totally avoided. If that is unacceptable, never dive alone.
When SDI brought Solo Diving from behind the curtain and began to teach regular divers how to do it, the agency believed that self-sufficiency begins with good training and part of that training is realistic and detailed risk analysis. In doing so, they have helped to produce a cadre of better divers, and ironically, a lot of really good potential dive buddies!
Click here to learn more about SDI’s Solo Diver Course.
To find out more about solo diving, contact your local SDI facility today.
Contact SDI TDI and ERDI
If you would like more information, please contact:
https://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/risk-management.jpg233350adminhttps://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/header-web-live.pngadmin2012-11-05 16:03:382021-10-04 14:43:46Risk Management for Solo Divers
Have you ever ended up separated from your buddy or dived with a buddy who’s not really paying much attention to you? Are you an instructor who takes students on their first dives?
At some point all divers have been, or will be, diving solo – whether they intend to or not.
This presentation by leading technical diving instructor Mark Powell challenges the common misconceptions around solo diving and provides useful, informative tips on how to stay safe and get the most out of your diving.
A must watch for all divers, recreational and technical alike.
Filmed at the London International Dive Show (LIDS) in April 2012.
Contact SDI TDI and ERDI
If you would like more information, please contact:
https://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Solo-Online.jpg235300adminhttps://www.tdisdi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/header-web-live.pngadmin2012-11-05 15:56:092021-10-04 14:43:02Solo Diving – Coming Out of the Closet
Every diver is taught from the beginning of training that the buddy system is the most reliable way to get you out of a bad situation and, for the most part, this works very well. Public safety divers don’t always have this choice but they are not really solo diving either.
Recently in a discussion about solo diving and how it fits or doesn’t fit into recreational diving, a colleague mentioned that public safety divers were far removed from solo diving, given that PSD divers have the support of a team, a backup diver, communications and a whole host of support systems. Well, that is a fair statement. However, that is not to say that divers should not have to worry about self-sufficiency.
Did someone say Tech Diving Vacation in the Caribbean with unlimited air/nitrox fills and educational sessions for rebreathers and sidemount diving? I’m in! And so was everyone else.
Have you ever wondered why it is that Scuba Diving International (SDI™) pioneered Solo Diver education to produce self-sufficient sport divers, but its sister agency, Technical Diving International (TDI™), the largest and most successful tech agency, does not offer the tech-diving equivalent to Solo Diver on its curriculum?
They come from all over the world, rolling in at around 6:15. In the morning; and it’s dark. Some are sleepy, some are hungry, many wondering if either we or they are crazy for being here this early, but mostly they’re all excited. The other captains and I gear them up, give them a briefing, then take them out to get into the warm, clear water of some of the best known springs in the world of diving – King’s Spring and Three Sisters Springs. They’re about to snorkel with manatees!
I met Steve Copeland on a rainy day this spring during one of his certification dives at Walt Disney World’s Epcot the Living Seas. What started as an opportunity to dive with Veterans during their training with Divers4Heroes turned into something a whole lot more.
What initially triggered me to ask Steve if I could write an article about him was the interaction I saw between himself and in particular one of his sons. I have wanted to write an article about how diving is being used as a therapeutic remedy for soldiers who are coming back from deployment for a while, but when I witnessed the interaction, it triggered me to want to do the article.
Diving is risky. How risky depends on a whole laundry list of factors, but let’s agree that there are more risks involved with diving than, say, sitting in your basement watching curling on TV. Now using the same logic, we can probably press home the point that Solo Diving carries an additional level of risk over and above the “run of the mill” stuff associated with regular diving. There are a few subtle points of contention in that last statement that we will get to in a few paragraphs: let’s simply agree that solo diving carries a few risks that are unique to… well… diving solo. Fact is that there are a whole lot of people who will give anyone admitting that they dive alone or who are even thinking about diving alone the sage advice that they are crazy. “You are risking certain death, because solo diving is nuts,” is the usual line.