You should consider joining the Army's submerged army. These include Da Vinci’s underwater army, to the most challenging course for combat divers within the Army. Even dolphins can be trained! Here are five great reasons to join the Army's underwater army. This is the best way for combat divers to get certified.
Da Vinci's underwater army
Leonardo da Vinci designed the diving suit. This invention could have saved the Republic of Venice from the Ottoman navy at turn of 16th-century. The Mediterranean Coast was in turmoil and embroiled into a series a international border disputes.
Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance artist who was fascinated with the underwater world. He dreamed of a diving army to defend against enemy ships. The soldiers would be equipped with diving suits, which they would use to cut holes in the enemy ships' hulls. Although his plan never came to fruition, his underwater army may have inspired inventors of the first Scuba Equipment.
Special Forces Combat Diver School in Florida Keys
A Special Forces combat school in Florida Keys is available to anyone who is interested in joining military service and learning how to perform covert missions underwater. During this course, you will learn how to use heavy, closed-circuit dive equipment. These equipments don't produce bubbles which makes them ideal for covert missions. Students will be taught how a'mixedgas' system works, such as a Draeger LARV. It recycles mixed gases that a diver exhales back to the cylinder. Students will also be taught about diving physics, and physiology. They will also learn how to treat a diver's injuries if they occur while underwater.
One of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces Underwater Operations schools, or SFUWO in the U.S. Army’s Southeast Command, is located around the Florida Keys. The facility has been in operation in the Keys since the 1960s. Combat diving training also teaches students how the seafloor can be navigated. This is essential because a contractor used to excavate munitions left over from the Civil War. SFUWO divers were then joined by the NOAA Blue Star program which seeks to protect the marine environment against harmful materials.
Army Combat Divers: The most difficult course
The Combat Diver Qualification Course focuses on tactical aspects in combat diving. The Mark 25 Draeger Oxygen Rebreather (closed-circuit underwater breathing system) is taught. It emits no air bubbles and allows divers to go unnoticed. This course teaches combat divers how navigate the oceans as well as various insertion and removal strategies. This course is often the most difficult for combat divers.
After completing the seven-week Combat Diver Qualification Course, Falkenstine was invited back to complete the supervisor course, which prepares them to oversee combat dive operations. Combat diving requires high levels of physical fitness. However, it can also present a mental challenge. Falkenstine says the training is extremely challenging, but she feels honored to be a member of such an elite community. She says she finds the camaraderie among combat divers to be unmatched.
Training with dolphins
The idea of creating an underwater army of dolphins is not new. The Soviet Union used dolphins to train their sailors. It also trains its sailors with seals and other marine mammals. The program was ended after the collapse Soviet Union. However, the Ukrainian navy has resumed its training program some years back.
Dolphins are quicker than humans and have better swimming and diving skills. They are great patrol animals as they can dive with no decompression sickness. However, ethical concerns surround the use and possession of dolphins to be used as weapons. This program has been opposed by animal rights activists for many years.
The dangers of diving in Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico was contaminated by oil leaking into it, leaving behind brown liquid and volatile, flammable gasses. These chemicals can cause severe harm to marine life and people working in the field of clean-up. Avoid oily areas when diving in the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite being equipped with sophisticated equipment for breathing, commercial divers still find it difficult to navigate the waters. The water can be very cold, currents can make visibility difficult, and visibility can sometimes be dim. Divers must also be alert for mud, sand and sharks. Hyperbaric pressure can also be dangerous for divers.