Combat Dive
Purpose: To train selected SOF personnel as open-circuit combat divers.
Scope: Open circuit operations surface and subsurface operations deep dives. Diving physics/injuries water infiltration.
Course objective:
Train personnel as qualified military combat divers trained in waterborne operations to include day and night ocean subsurface navigation swims, deep dives, diving physics, marine hazards, tides and currents, submarine lock-in/lock-out procedures, and closed-circuit and open-circuit swims.
Basic Overview
1st Week
Morning formation, PT, boat house boogie (FAST 2 mile run), conditioning in pool, which consists of laps and flutter kicks, instruction in dive equipment and procedures.
2nd Week
"Ditching + Donning": enter pool, swim underwater to deep end at depth of 15 feet, remove face mask, snorkel, fins. Twin tanks left on bottom, placing weight belts on top. Take one breath of compressed air, surface, breathe, go down, put weight belt on and other equipment, begin using compressed air. "Harassment Dive" :Get in water, swim around edge at the bottom, and get "harassed" by instructors, face masks pulled, fins removed, oxygen tanks removed, etc, for an hour. Failing either of these exercises results in discharge from SCUBA school. Classes. 500m navigation dive evaluation.
3rd Week
Dive, Dive, Dive...day and night, 1500m navigation dive evaluation classes.
4th Week
More night dives, team swim, 3000m navigation dive evaluation, end of course test, FTX, GRADUATION!
Prerequisites
Male commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the Active Army or Reserve Component or selected DOD personnel assigned or on orders to a special operations forces unit. Must have passed a Scuba physical examination IAW AR 40-501, Chapter 5, paragraph 5, within two years of course completion date and must report with medical records on day of inprocessing. Must have successfully completed a pre-Combat Diver Qualification Course (CDQC) program conducted at parent unit. Must report with certification of pre-CDQC completion signed by the battalion commander. Must meet the height and weight standards as outlined in AR 600-9.
If a waiver is required, the original Standard Form 88, Standard Form 93, and allied documents will be forwarded directly to the USASOC Surgeon IAW AR 40-501, Chapter 8, paragraph 8-26C. Must pass an entrance examination at C Company, Key West, Florida, consisting of the following requirements: APFT with a minimum of 70 points in each event and an overall score of 210 or above (scored on 17- to 21-year-old age group) IAW FM 21-20; swim 500 meters, nonstop (on the surface), using only the breaststroke or sidestroke; tread water for two minutes continuously, with both hands and ears out of the water; swim 25 meters underwater without breaking the surface with any portion of the body; and retrieve a 20-pound weight from a depth of 3 meters. (Recommend using pre-CDQC training package exported by SWCS in May 1995 to prepare for this entrance examination.)
