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Blackanthem Military News
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Last Updated:
Feb 6, 2012 - 5:49:45 PM |
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Honduran Navy Divers Struggle through Confidence Course
By Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office
May 14, 2008 - 12:43:17 PM
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Blackanthem Military News
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| Two divers from this Honduran Naval Base receive instruction from retired Admiral F. Gonzales (right) before entering the water to participate in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
PUERTO CASTILLO NAVAL BASE, Honduras - Honduran navy divers stationed at Puerto Castillo Naval Base fought their way through Course 17 today, literally. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share.
The divers are given their instructions on the pier before they jump into the water. There will be no time for instructions or guidance once the exercise begins.
The scenario is explained to them: they will jump into the water and one of them will be caught in a strong current. This current will rip that diver's equipment from him and the other diver will have to share his air regulator with him. They must stay submerged for ten minutes and all this time there will be four instructors constantly pulling them lower into the water, rolling them, pulling them apart and other forms of harassment to separate, disorient and anger them.
The instructors represent the current and give no quarter during the exercise. The divers must learn to trust, depend upon and watch out for each other. This is the buddy system in action and this training could very well save these diver's lives should they find themselves in an actual riptide.
The diver's jump into fifteen feet of water and wait for their instructor, retired Admiral F. Gonzales to join them before submerging for the test.
Gonzales signals the time keeper on the pier, and three other instructors and he attack the students like piranhas in a feeding frenzy.
The water froths and bubbles as the students are turned, twisted and even flipped to disorient them.
A swim fin flies through the air as the instructors remove the gear of one of the divers.
Another fin, a face mask, and finally, a complete air tank is removed from the pair.
The two share the one regulator between them and find that the only way to stick together is to wrap their arms and legs around each. The instructors continue to roll them, but entangled like this allows them to focus more on sharing their air now instead of worrying about the disorienting effects of the 'current'.
The instructors not only try to separate the divers, but they must also constantly pull them back to the bottom as their natural buoyancy lifts them to the surface.
The two divers observed for this course pass the exercise with a total submerged time of ten minutes, twelve seconds, but are reprimanded for a little too much aggressiveness over who had the air regulator and for how long he had it.
They are allowed to stay surfaced for a bit longer before having to retrieve the gear that was stripped of them and put it back on underwater.
This is mild compared to what they have just gone through, and when the two finally are able to leave the water, they are physically exhausted.
Today they have learned how to survive in one of the most fearful events that the sea can put them in and are well on their way to becoming certified combat divers.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| Instructor F. Gonzales (front), a retired Honduran Admiral, looks to the pier for the official time for these two divers (in yellow) that just completed Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Two divers from this Honduran Naval Base prepare to enter the water to participate in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| A Diver from this Honduran Naval Base carries his oxygen tank out of the water after completing a confidence course. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| A Diver from this Honduran Naval Base carries his oxygen tank out of the water after completing a confidence course. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Two divers from this Honduran Naval Base enter the water to participate in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Divers from this Honduran Naval Base watch as two of their classmates participate in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Instructors remove the equipment of one of two divers from this Honduran Naval Base as part of their participatation in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Instructors disorient two divers from this Honduran Naval Base as part of their participatation in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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| Instructors disorient two divers from this Honduran Naval Base as part of their participatation in Course 17. The course is designed to build confidence between pairs of divers who find themselves stuck within a riptide or other strong underwater current and have only one air tank to share. Photo by Staff Sgt. Danny McCormick, Beyond the Horizon Public Affairs Office. |
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Please read our Terms of use for more information.
Ray Lewis
30 Jun 2010, 09:52
Edwardo,
You out there? Been attempting to locate you. Hope all is well. Call me
at (252)724-0507 if you get the chance. Would love to hear from you.
Ray Lewis
30 Jun 2010, 09:47
Greetings,
I'm looking for a Gentleman from Hondouras named: Eduardo Paz Padgett. I'
see he posted here last year. I knew Edwardo when he attended the U.S.
Navy Seal School in San Diego, CA. Anyone knowing how to contact him, it
would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Ray Lewis
DANIA HERNANDEZ
22 May 2010, 17:12
HELLO I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HONDURAN NAVY , I CAME HERE TO
THE USA as a little girl now i want to go back to my country and serve the
navy .but i just realy dont know how everything works over there. can
anybody in here help me with that ??
victor rivas
08 Jan 2009, 10:41
soy reserva de las fuerzas armadas de honduras.o veterano del
ejercito.unidad de reserva.fuerza naval.
promocion.LASFOCAS 1987 comandante de promocion.en aquel tiempo.subteniente
de infanteria jose adan martines avila.enste tiempo no lose.anduve en
gurdacostas como .la hibueras la honduras.la tegucigalpa.capitanes de esas
enbarcaciones.eran.teniente.cristoval romero burgos.teniente cerrato
vialobos,teniente armando enamorado.ect.sali de baja en 1989 de la vase
naval de puerto castilla.donde fui fundador.recordar es vivir.
eduardo paz padgett
08 Jan 2009, 10:21
FELICIDADES A TODOS LOS BUSOS GRADUADOS EN EL CENTRO DE BUCEO DE LAS
FUERZAS ARMADAS CON MUCHO ORGULLO
E P P
victor rivas
03 Jul 2008, 19:51
hello I been on honduras navy between 1987 to 1990 I been on puerto
castilla; amapala; and puerto cortes finish my service military from puerto
castilla after I como to usa and I live on newyork city
Jennifer
14 May 2008, 15:49
Amazing story! Thank you for going through such efforts to keep us all
safe :)
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