• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Dive Casualty Drill Tests EOD Reservists' Response Time

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050830-07
Release Date: 8/30/2005 1:19:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Matt Grills, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Public Affairs

PANAMA CITY, Panama (NNS) -- Divers from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 10 participated in a dive casualty drill as part of a scenario-driven exercise at FUERZAS ALIADAS PANAMAX 2005 in Panama City, Panama, Aug. 4-17.

Reservists from EODMU 10 Det. 6 of Fort Story, Va., conducted a simulated antiterrorism/force-protection dive in debris-filled waters as support for Panamanian forces guarding the canal.

In the scenario, a pair of divers performed a hull search, and one of them surfaced too quickly and immediately complained of loss of feeling below the waist. Within minutes the diver lost consciousness, and exercise flagship USS Bataan (LHD 5) dispatched a helicopter for emergency transport. Upon the helicopter's arrival, the simulated stricken diver was brought aboard and taken to HSV 2 Swift, located a half hour away at the Caribbean approach to the Panama Canal.

“What I like about this team is that they moved with a purpose. When you have a stricken diver, speed is of the essence,” said Quartermaster 1st Class
Jody Cunningham, who, as EODMU 10’s active-duty technician, evaluates Det. 6’s performance.

EODMU 10 is comprised of 20 Reservists and six active-duty support staff. For the unit’s divers, how they respond to such drills is a test of how likely it is they’ll save a stricken diver’s life in an actual emergency, said dive supervisor Chief Hull Technician Chris Collins. He added that he was pleased at his divers’ performance but always sees room for improvement. “It was a good learning tool – just the type of training we need,” he said.

Engineman 1st Class Richard Van Skoik played the stricken diver, and Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Ciccone played his diving partner. Ciccone said communication is the key to saving lives, whether it involves divers quickly calling for help or the helicopter’s crew alerting the ship of an incoming dive casualty.

“This drill is complicated not because of its size, but because it has so many moving parts. We learn from it,” Ciccone said. “Next time will be even better, smoother.”

PANAMAX is a multinational exercise conducted in Panama, designed to coordinate a layered defense strategy for the Panama Canal. PANAMAX 2005 involved naval and coastal security forces from 15 countries participating in realistic training in such areas as detection, monitoring and interdiction of vessels.