Diving  is a  potentially  hazardous  activity.  The materials  contained within  this  magazine  are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for proper and appropriate training.
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Extreme Training
The "Dive Force" Meets the Navy
Story Tim Rock Photo's by Tim Rock Additional images by Adrian Ward
The USS Kitty Hawk CV-63
It was a busy five days  and the fact that the seas  were a-churn due  to a typhoon bearing down  on Guam and Yap just made things  all the  more special. Classes were accomplished in  multiple shipboard locations while  working  around  flight operations, duty and watch schedules, bombing practices, fire drills, man overboard drills, general quarter drills  and the daily  "cleaning stations".  Classroom  sessions  started at 0900 (9a.m. for civilians) and  ended about 2400 (midnight for  the civilians again) followed by planning sessions until sometimes 0430 (4:30 in the morning).
Klinehoffer said  the ship chaplain, who was  studying  to get his  Nitrox rating, stood out as an  amazing student. He presented his  homework on  computer disk and even via PowerPoint presentation.  Needless to say, he was easily certified.
The busy flight deck of the USS Kitty Hawk
God was also on the side of the MDA   bunch  as  the   typhoon passed  south of  Guam and the carrier  did  make  it  into  port. Upon   arrival,   an   instructor/
divemaster  staff of  10  people managed    to    complete   the students'   water   work  during their  five-day  stay  in  Guam.  Every  student  had  one day of confined  water  training  in the pool and two  full days  of open water training to complete their certification. In addition, on the last day, Klinehoffer completed an Adventure Diver certification for 6 of the crewmembers.
Grand totals, the  complex sessions resulted  in 126 divers  being trained at numerous levels.  Over 200 boat divers from the  visiting ships dove with  MDA and an incredible amount of  gear was used.  MDA estimates it  filled over 2000  tanks during this time. Every student  had three full days of diving, and over  12 hours in classroom sessions that were taught onboard the Kitty Hawk prior to their arrival on Guam.
From left to right: Larry Klinehoffer. Hans Ullrich,  Keith Tolley and Matt Christiansen hold the PADI certifications of 126 students form the US  carrier Kitty Hawk (background). Photo by Tim Rock
All in all, this was an incredible  effort and there is now a good  number of PADI divers who can now enjoy the ocean both on and off the ship.
Author's Note: Organizing and  scheduling this many  students and  at the  same time keeping the  integrity of each  student's onboard duty sections while they were here, was masterminded by PADI's Larry Klinehoffer and Hans Ullrich.

Supporting them  were instructors Rosie Busby, Karen  Dumchus,  Keith Tolley, James Sprouse,  John Peralta, Matt  Christiansen,  Ace Ventura,  Nick Fellander  and Andrea Altizer, also  Divemaster  Mike  McIlrath,  Divemaster  candidates  Jessica  Jolin,  Jeff Powell,  Ray Tembreull,  assistants,  4 vans , and  an  assortment  of  pickups!  Naval station MWR very  graciously gave us  the use of  half of the pool  for three days and this was critical to the overall mission.
 
 
For more information on the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 check out the ships website at
http://www.kittyhawk.navy.mil/main.html
The key  was, instructors  would have to  fly  in to  the ship, make  a  carrier arrested  landing and  spend five days to  train students  while  underway  in the   open  ocean  of   the  northwest Pacific.

Amazingly, PADI Course Directors Hans Ullrich     (60257)    Larry    Klinehoffer (33802)  and   PADI   Instructor  Keith Tolley   (184309)   said  "Yes"  to  this far-fetched plan and  quickly found no less than roughly 120  students signed up.

So, on  November 21, 2003, the  three MDA/PADI   instructors   flew   to  the aircraft   carrier  USS  Kitty  Hawk  to conduct  the academic  portion of the PADI Open Water Diver Course.  A few already certified divers had also signed up for  specialties and  Nitrox training. Fortunately,  Klinehoffer  was  actually stationed on the  ship at one time and knew his way around.  This was a plus for the trio as the  ship has more than 5,000  people living on  it at any given time and they are busy and the ship is big… very big.
Diving is  part of  the  lifestyle in  Guam.  Normally,  it  is an  easy  task  to  educate students and introduce them to the  pleasures of exploring the warm, clear waters of the island.   But instructors at Micronesian  Divers Association, locally  known as "The Dive  Force", were  presented  with  quite  a  challenge  in  November  2003.   A U.S. aircraft carrier  was doing exercises in  the region and then coming to Guam for a few days. The Navy wanted to offer its sailors the chance to learn to dive and see Guam underwater.