U.S. Navy Divers are Made in Panama City

David E. Demarest -

Recreational divers know the Gulf waters near Panama City as a hot dive spot, but few know that all U.S. Navy divers get their start at Panama City’s Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC), on Naval Support Activity.

Over 89 days, young men and women - some fresh out of Navy boot camp, others with years of service under their belts - must pass grueling physical tests, designed to push them beyond their limits. They must excel in the academic arena as well, before they can earn their Class “A” Diver certification.

By the time they arrive at dive school, students’ ranks have already been culled. It takes more just to get to NDSTC these days, and once here, the rigorous training will diminish their numbers even further. The first weeks, especially, are physically and mentally exhausting. Physical training starts at daybreak, and can last three to four hours, as Navy Chiefs try to find out what the students are made of, and expand the student’s threshold for pain.

As Chief Michael Duff, USN, explains, no matter what their prior experience is, no one gets an easy ride through the program.

“Intestinal fortitude is a challenge here for just about everybody. When I was a student here they told me, 'Everyone here is going to have THAT day. Your day may be today, it may be tomorrow, it may be next week, but you're going to have THAT day while you're here. It's the day when you've got nothing left to give, and you're going to have to reach inside and find it when you think you can't go any further.

As a student here, I remember being in the leaning-rest -- the push-up position -- and saying, 'Okay, if I'm still here in 2-minutes, I'm quitting. I can't possibly stay here.' And five minutes later, you're still there, and you're going to have to tough it out, to find that within yourself.'

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