Gasping thru combat diver training

CAMP HANSEN, Japan –Six instructors from the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Fla., are attempting to tear “Recon Marines” from their comfort zones as part of an eight-week combatant divers’ course. Thirty-four Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion are gasping through training. During a portion of training on the island of Okinawa, instructors simulated rough seas by ripping off students’ goggles, cutting air supplies, and disorienting Marines. “You get a little nervous before, not knowing what to expect,” said Capt. Justin Lenio, a student from St. Augustine, Fla. Recon Marines have a “good background under water, but the pre-dive instructors definitely know how to push your limits even further.” During the last course, 30 percent of students failed. “We want to put them under the harshest most demanding stressful situations now, while a safety structure and safety parameters are in place,” said Staff Sgt. Evan Rodeffer, an NDSTC diving instructor. “We don’t want them to react to a situation that they haven’t encountered before, because that is when people get injured.” (Source: III Marine Expeditionary Force 05/17/17)