Diving Personnel Qualifications

6-34 Change A U.S. Navy Diving Manual—Volume 2 6-9.7 Diving Personnel. 6-9.7.1 Diving Personnel Responsibilities. While working, the diver shall keep topside personnel informed of conditions on the bottom, progress of the task, and of any developing problems that may indicate the need for changes to the plan or a call for assistance from other divers. To ensure safe conduct of the dive, the diver shall always obey a signal from the surface and repeat all commands when using voice communications. The diver is responsible for the diving gear worn and shall ensure that it is complete and in good repair. 6-9.7.2 Diving Personnel Qualifications. Military divers shall be qualified and desig- nated in accordance with instructions issued by the Naval Personnel Command (NPC) or as appropriate by USMC, U.S. Army, or U.S. Air Force orders. Civilian divers diving under military cognizance must be qualified in accordance with SECNAVINST 12000.20. The diver selected for an operation shall be qualified for the diving technique used, the equipment involved, and for diving to the depth required. Diving personnel assigned to the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) and Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) are exempt from such requirements as they are assigned as experimental diving test subjects and may be employed in experimental dive profiles as required within approved test protocols. 6-9.8 Standby Diver. A standby diver with a tender is required for all div- ing operations. The standby diver need not be equipped with the same equipment as the primary diver (ex- cept as otherwise specified), but shall have equivalent depth and op- erational capabilities. Scuba shall not be used for the standby diver for surface-supplied diving operations. 6-9.8.1 Standby Diver Qualifications. The standby diver is a fully qualified diver, assigned for back-up or to provide emergency assistance, and is ready to enter the water immedi- ately. For surface-supplied opera- tions, the standby diver shall be dressed to the following points, MK 20 or MK 21 MOD 1, with strain relief connected to the harness. Under certain conditions, the Diving Supervisor may require that the helmet be worn. A standby scuba diver shall don all equipment and be checked by the Diving Supervisor. The standby diver may then remove the mask and fins and have them ready to don im- mediately for quick deployment. For safety reasons at the discretion of the Diving Supervisor, the standby diver may remove the tank. The standby diver receives the same briefings and instructions as the working diver, monitors the progress of the Figure 6-18. Standby Diver.