Diver Training Services, LLC.

06/17/2026

As we move into the water rescue and recovery season, many of you will be responding to your first calls. Many of you have only a few dives in some cases just your open water training dives needed to receive certification. I am asking you to please start diving and building underwater comfort, the more confidence you have in your equipment and abilities the less stressful your search will be. Try to have fun dives with your team mates this will build trust, and an understanding of each person’s abilities.

Next, try to dive in areas where your team has experienced calls in the past, or where calls may occur. Take time to speak with divers that worked these areas in the past, learn what you can from them. What search patterns worked and which ones did not work at a location.

Make the effort to slowly work a search pattern with your eyes closed, you don’t need a blackout mask. Just build confidence, use simple targets, as an example open ended 2” PVC pipe 2 feet long, tossed into a search area. If planting more than one number them to confirm you have them all, along with the order located and recovered.

The last advice is don’t be afraid of the victim; the families are counting on you to perform. The reason I bring this up is many years ago, descending to depth at about 20 feet off the bottom I could see the victim, then watched a diver below me from another agency pass right over the victim and keep going. This could have been due to any number of factors; the depth was close to 80 feet, it was cold. But it was clear, water. I have seen similar, things occur over the years, where I have located victims in already cleared patterns. All I can attribute this to is fear of the Victim (death in general). So please put your fears aside, if possible, learn to recognize when they are controlling your ability to perform, don’t be afraid to call the dive and get someone else in the water. We have an obligation to honest with ourselves and our teammates.

I hope this helps, stay safe.

05/21/2026

After speaking with Buck Buchanon, yesterday and being asked to address possible reasons a trained recovery diver died in the Maldive Cave Recovery.

While tragic this incident highlights the pressures many PSD’s experience on high profile missions. While we don’t know the briefing Mohamed Mahudhee received, we can see in the pictures and video that the equipment he was using was not proper for this depth. In addition, there is no indication that he had training in the overhead environment. As this is being reported as a death caused by DCS, I wonder if he was able to complete a full decompression schedule for this dive, or did he complete it and just get hit. There are many questions and not many answers yet.

So back to the real issues as Public Safety Divers, it is a high-profile call, is there is political pressure to perform, what is the proper course of action, I will try to answer that.

1. As a diver, know your true abilities, as a team leader know what your divers are capable of, know when to say no, we don’t have the skills.
2. Know your teams, and divers equipment limitations.
3. Teams, must have a policy that states any diver may call the mission at any time for any reason, and they will stand down until the issue is resolved.
4. Teams and their leaders, need to have a resource list before the call happens, for both equipment and Personnel, for those calls beyond their scope of practice. A great example of this is the International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery, trained divers. We have seen their work on the world stage for many years. In fact, the Maldive recoveries have been completed by skilled cave recovery divers, with the proper training, experience and equipment.
5. While overhead is one consideration, we must also consider Depth, Hazmat, Swiftwater, Confined space, hazardous devices. It is exceeding rare to find any team with the skills need to operate in all of these environments.

And while my list can go on forever, the bottom line is start by identifying risks in your call areas. Think of worst-case calls then line up the resources needed, even if it is only where to call to begin getting help. Have a written SOP that states you will (MUST) request mutual aid from other agencies, companies, Divers, with the necessary skills and equipment that your team does not have. There is no dishonor in asking for skilled help when it is needed.

So let us honor Mohamed Mahudhee’s sacrifice by learning from his death, let us honor other PSD’s that sacrificed their lives by learning from what occurred and not repeating the mistakes. Please consider setting up state or regional teams, with resources and staff capable of safely responding to the hazards in your call area.

JUST REMEMBER IT TAKES REAL COURAGE TO SAY NOT TODAY, IT TAKES REAL COURAGE TO SAY WE NEED X, IT TAKES REAL COURAGE TO SAY I DON’T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE FOR THIS MISSION. Don’t make yourself or your team another lesson to be learned or relearned.

05/13/2026

This post is concerning Depth workup dives.

In the county where I respond we have extreme depths, especially from a PSD standpoint. While many divers will perform bounce dives to depths of 100 or 120 feet and call that deep diving, it is just that a short bounce not a real dive. Now everyone has a different description of what a dive consists of for the sake of this discussion; I consider a dive to be deeper than 20 feet for at least 20 min.

When performing depth workups for PSD, the diver must be able to monitor air supply, manage no decompression limits, Buoyancy skills, Anti Silt kick methods, and manage any decompression obligation with the available air (gas) supply, and manage any search pattern or line. In addition, at depth they must be able to respond to any emergency at that depth that could be encountered. The most important skill is being able to recognize when narcosis impairs their ability to perform those skills.

Some methods to consider is your ability at depth to manipulate clips, read depth, and or pressure gauges, manage your computer, write notes, handle flashlight switches and settings, follow or even remember the dive plan, remove and replace cutting devices.

Many years ago, around 1990, I was privileged to spend time and learn from a diver that coached many of the deep air record holders. He laid out a method for training for deep air by performing specific tasks in a specific order. This was done dive after dive, only after being able to perform all the tasks with out error, for two consecutive dives at a depth could you test deeper. His advice was this should be done no less than once each year, and that operations should be performed 20 feet shallower that your last successful depth rating.

This has worked well for me, and for some other divers that followed his advice. While, mixed gas, and rebreathers have made deep air no longer necessary, we still have missions that fall in the grey zone of 100 to 170 feet. As you read this last night while performing my workup dives for the year, on a course that runs from 120 to 170 feet thru an old forest at 150 feet a small line became lodged between one of my reels and back plate, yes I was stuck. Had I been impaired, or panicked, been unable to maintain position this could have been a fatal issue. But it was simple to unclip the reel, and clear the small line floating up from the bottom causing the issue. Then descend a few feet and cut the line out so no other diver would not risk entanglement.

Please learn to recognize impairment, know when to abort your dives. There is always another chance, take the time to progress to deeper depths, and gain progressive experience. But most important know your real limits, there is nothing wrong with saying I don’t have the experience or today is not the day for this dive. Another consideration is Narcosis may occur at shallower depths than what you normally experience, be prepared, and recognize when this occurs. For me it starts with visual clues, it is different for each of us, just be aware.

Safe Diving

03/19/2026

It has been a while since my last post as the recreation season begins it is appropriate to bring up the importance of interviews and knowing your higher risk areas, especially if they involve moving water.

Around 1994, I was asked to respond to a possible drowning from the day before, located on the Georgia, South Carolina State Line on the Chattooga River, a location known as Bull Sluice. The call came from Law Enforcement in Atlanta GA., they reported that a group of young Latino men had been at Bull Sluice when one of them had disappeared. No one at the location spoke Spanish, so they where unable to report their missing friend until returning to Atlanta. The officer in Atlanta did a great job of describing where they had been hanging out near a rock on river left about 10 to 15 yards off shore.

When I arrived, and received the information, and knowing the area it became a head scratcher, after a few moments and some discussion a deputy was sent to the nearest phone for a little more information about the missing person, height and weight and what they where wearing. As this was being done, I formulated a plan, go out to the rock and start walking a pattern towards the most convenient exit point. Once height and weight where known I tried to make myself about 7 pounds negative, with mask and snorkel, and a full breath of air. This was done to simulate our victim in the water.

Upon setting up safety’s I entered the river walking close to the bank until close to the rock described, walking over then sitting on it trying to imagine what a marginal swimmer would do I began walking my pattern after about 10 feet, I fell face first into a hole about 4.5 to 5 feet deep. I stood up took a deep breath went to the bottom and relaxed. The current slowly moved me along the bottom over the course of 30 to 40 seconds, moving me into a small channel in the rocks right to the victim. The current that took me to him was between .3 and .6 MPH. water depth was 6 to 7 feet at the recovery location, with a water temperature around 55 F. The victim had move 45 to 50 feet from where I feel he fell into the hole.

I don’t know if my decisions that made this recovery possible would have occurred without having sat on many occasions watching the currents and flow directions, watching and observing the gathering points of the people and how they normally exited the water. All that can be said is that local knowledge is power, please take the time to become familiar with your high-risk areas, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

11/21/2025

To REBREATHER Divers this is a good read and may alter how you plan your dives.

https://indepthmag.com/a-review-of-breakthrough-revealing-the-secrets-of-rebreather-scrubber-canisters/?fbclid=IwY2xjawONOyxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFzTjVGVWZ1N21jMktMN25kc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgfgVNiht_8yUtmJELK9W-1ILQsAzIGUSY-tcaWz1WtRh8UP4uv50hM0AGJd_aem_LQl_oBZ-F1Dj-JRCf33-0A

Dr. Clarke’s geeky new monograph on the inner workings of rebreather scrubbers represents the culmination and synthesis of more than three decades of Naval research, as well as the personal research of the retired scientific director of the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) into stochastic syst...

10/31/2025

I am posting a link concerning in water recompression. If you are not familiar with this, it is something that you should learn about. This is just an introduction and discussion. In no way does the article teach the procedure. However, I have seen this used in the field on more than one occasion by those prepared and trained, the first time in 1989. If access to a chamber is doubtful or transport times are extended to the point that there is no other option I would encourage expanding your knowledge thru training and preparation. Remember knowledge is power and gives another tool in your box. https://indepthmag.com/in-water-recompression/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNxlYZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwVzZHTEFtdDlPVnc0Mk9CAR7izuo3ZwLogPrUTb4ldfCYN2chqoqRUa3V27u__iWkYMidmORQpyk1_GmJ8g_aem_Jif75Q8f9xeX4wv6U0waLg

What is your best option if you or a team-mate get bent at a remote diving location, that is more than two hours from a chamber? If you are prepared—that means having the right equipment and know-how—the new consensus among the hyperbaric docs is to treat with In-Water Recompression (IWR). Reill...

10/23/2025

i DID NOT WRITE THIS BUT IT IS THE TRUTH, WE MUST PRACTICE.

No company is exempt.
The difference between saving a life and recovering a body isn’t underwater.
It’s on the surface — in the decision to train or not to train.
Rescue doesn’t begin when an emergency happens.
It begins long before:
• when the company decides to formally train its diving team,
• when it invests in certified rescue equipment,
• when it establishes regular rescue drills,
• and when management, supervisors, and divers set aside ego and choose formal education.
Because when the emergency starts, there’s no time to think.
The biological clock doesn’t stop — and the most sensitive cells in the body begin to die within seconds if we don’t act correctly.
The company that trains its team, saves lives.
The company that trusts luck, loses them.
If you own, manage, or supervise commercial diving operations, let’s talk about how to implement formal rescue training and certified, effective drills that truly prepare your team.

Disclaimer: Training reduces risks and improves preparedness; it doesn’t replace compliance, professional competence, or supervisory judgment. Always follow the best industry standards (ADCI – IMCA) and use certified equipment.

09/25/2025

Swift Water Dive Right Crack

09/25/2025

Bull Sluice Log Removal