An Cosantóir

39 FIRST FEMALE NAVY DIVER Lt NS Britton prior to commencing a dive through the course. Tahlia loves her new role as a Naval diver. "Being the first female Irish Naval Diver is a great personal accomplishment. If what also comes out of this is more females applying or even more males applying for the course with the thought that 'if she can do it, I can', then I'll only be delighted." Naval divers are involved in search and rescue, hull surveys and underway maintenance as well as other "jobs" and Tahlia got an early introduction of what being a Naval diver really meant. "Only a few weeks after qualification we were called out on a search for a missing person off the Kerry coast." Promoted to Lieutenant (Naval Service) since then, Tahlia is looking forward to a long and happy career ahead in the Navy. "There is a natural progression in the Naval Service but I suppose, ultimately, I would like to be a Ship's Captain, but for the moment I am very happy with what I am doing," she said. NAVY DRIVERS The Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) has been in existence since the late 1960s. From humble beginnings as an internal diving team for the ships in the fleet, it has evolved into the State's primary State diving capability, carrying out many varied tasks for a number of State Agencies. The NSDS have an air diving capability to go to 50 metres and a mixed gas capability, which adds an additional level of flexibility and capability. The NSDS operates one of Ireland's two Recompression Chambers (RCC). It also has several further capabilities allowing for enhanced search and even more complex operations. Examples include Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), Side Scan Sonar and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs. These allow the NSDS to search and survey to a much greater depth than divers can operate. Indeed the ROV is rated to over 1000 metres depth. In deep water where diving is severely restricted or unattainable, the search equipment allows the Naval Service to perform search and recovery operations. The following are the primary roles of the NSDS: Search and Recovery Underwater Survey Mine Counter Measures/Explosive Ordnance Disposal Underwater Engineering Military Diving Training As well as naval diving, the NSDS is frequently requested, under Aid to the Civil Power and Authority mechanisms, to give support to other state agencies. Divers are involved in an average of 15 searches for missing persons during each year. These tragic situations can last up to two weeks at a time and although there are never any guarantees, the NSDS has a high success rate when dealing with these operations. In the ongoing battle against drug importation, the NSDS have assisted Revenue Commissioners and carried out underwater searches on many vessels arriving in Irish Ports. The nature of Search and Recovery operations are varied, some recent examples however include: In search of missing persons Objects on seabed Recovery of evidence for an Gardaí Siochana. Underwater searches of suspect vessels for the Revenue Commissioners. Search and recovery of vehicles in water for Fire Services Search of missing vessels, persons, investigation of sunken vessels for the Department of Marine The NSDS is the sole training establishment for military diving in the Defence Forces. As well as training Naval Service divers, the Section also provides training for the Army Ranger Wing, in air and combat diving techniques. In order to achieve the capabilities outlined above, the training for Naval divers is intensive. While many apply and commence training, very few complete training and qualify as military divers. The diving course lasts over 10 weeks and takes volunteers from the Naval Service - with little or no diving experience - and trains them to dive using Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) and Surface Supplied Diving Equipment (SSDE). Divers are trained in seabed search techniques including zero visibility and strong tidal conditions. Typically 30 personnel will apply to commence the course — with, on average, four divers successfully completing the training. On completion of the training, the divers then begin to gain valuable experience as they respond to the many tasks that are undertaken by the NSDS. In order to remain qualified as a diver or supervisor, divers meet the following annual criteria: General Defence Forces Fitness Test Diving Medical Examination Divers Physical Fitness Test Evaluation of Competency and Currency in Equipment Required time diving or supervising to be achieved on specific tasks Lt NS Britton with other members of the diving team Divers completing decompression training after a deep dive Diving team entering the water

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