Naval Diving and Salvage Command
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| Naval Diving and Salvage Command | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Naval Diving and Salvage Command |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Special operations / Logistics specialist units |
| Role | Diving, salvage, underwater construction, ordnance disposal |
| Garrison | Naval Station Norfolk (headquarters) |
| Nickname | "ND&SC" |
| Battles | Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Kosovo War |
Naval Diving and Salvage Command is a specialized United States naval organization responsible for deep and shallow water diving, salvage, underwater ship husbandry, and maritime ordnance response. It integrates diving teams, salvage units, and explosive ordnance disposal expertise to support United States Fleet Forces Command, United States Pacific Fleet, and joint operations with United States Central Command, NATO, and partner navies. The command contributes to humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and recovery missions alongside agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Coast Guard.
History
The lineage of maritime salvage and diving capability in American naval tradition traces to early salvage boards for the United States Navy and the establishment of formalized diving in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Development accelerated through experiences in the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II, when salvage operations supported fleet recovery after the Attack on Pearl Harbor and during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Postwar reorganization created dedicated units paralleling innovations from the United Kingdom's Royal Navy Diving School and lessons from the Korean War and Vietnam War. Reforms during the 1970s and 1980s consolidated diving, salvage, and explosive ordnance disposal into coordinated commands influenced by doctrines from Admiralty practice and implementations in Operation Desert Storm. More recent operations in Somalia (including Operation Restore Hope), Haiti (after the 2010 earthquake), and maritime recovery missions during Operation Tomodachi reflected the command’s evolving global role.
Mission and Roles
ND&SC provides certified diving, salvage, and salvage engineering to recover vessels, aircraft, and critical materiel in littoral and deep-water environments. It supports naval logistics with underwater hull repairs, Naval Sea Systems Command coordination for ship maintenance, and removal of hazards to navigation under guidance comparable to international salvage rules such as those applied by the International Maritime Organization. The command also conducts maritime explosive ordnance disposal in cooperation with United States Special Operations Command elements, supports maritime security operations with United States Southern Command and United States European Command, and provides disaster response for agencies including United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Organization and Units
ND&SC is organized into regional and functional units, including salvage ships, diving detachments, and mobile salvage teams. Major subordinate elements historically include salvage and diving units comparable to the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two and the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion interfaces, towing and heavy lift elements analogous to the USS Grasp (ARS-24) class heritage, and expeditionary diving teams that interface with carrier strike groups like USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). It collaborates with Naval Sea Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, and allied organizations such as the Royal Australian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for joint salvage readiness. Command relationships extend to training commands including Naval Service Training Command and medical support from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
Training and Selection
Selection into ND&SC diving and salvage rates requires candidates to complete entry screening and rigorous training pipelines modeled on standards similar to those at Navy SEALs and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) communities. Core training elements include combatant dive schools, salvage diving certification, and recompression chamber operation instruction referenced against standards used by the United States Coast Guard and international diving bodies like Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. Advanced courses cover saturation diving, mixed-gas operations, and salvage engineering with equipment theory taught alongside heavy lift training drawing on techniques used in the raising of USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and wreck recovery operations from the SS Andrea Doria salvage legacy. Candidates receive medical training comparable to Tactical Combat Casualty Care and are evaluated with certifications aligned to American National Standards Institute-referenced procedures.
Equipment and Capabilities
ND&SC employs a suite of specialized platforms: diving systems (surface-supplied air, SCUBA, closed-circuit rebreathers), saturation systems, hyperbaric chambers, and remotely operated vehicles akin to commercial ROVs used in deep-water archaeology and petroleum industry salvage. Heavy lift capability includes crane-equipped salvage ships, modular pontoons, and submersible pontoons that follow engineering principles similar to the Lifting of Costa Concordia methods. Ordnance response uses render-safe procedures coordinated with Department of Defense Explosive Safety Board guidance and tools honed in operations involving MK-series ordnance and legacy mines from World War II theatres. The command also fields portable salvage systems, welding and cutting gear for underwater ship husbandry, and specialized towing equipment interoperable with Military Sealift Command auxiliaries.
Operations and Notable Deployments
ND&SC units have executed ship recoveries, aircraft retrievals, and port clearance missions in theaters tied to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, participated in humanitarian missions after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and supported disaster response to the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in coordination with United States Northern Command. Salvage teams have assisted in high-profile recoveries influenced by precedent cases like the salvage of the HMS Hood debris searches and the lifting techniques seen in the recovery of EgyptAir Flight 990. International exercises with NATO partners and bilateral drills with the Republic of Korea Navy and Royal Canadian Navy maintain interoperability for combined salvage operations.
Safety, Medicine, and Environmental Procedures
Diving medicine and safety protocols are governed by hyperbaric medicine standards practiced at facilities such as the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine-affiliated centers and align with policies from the Undersea Medical Society. Recompression treatment, diving casualty management, and occupational health surveillance follow doctrines similar to those in Occupational Safety and Health Administration frameworks for hazardous environments. Environmental procedures for salvage emphasize pollution prevention in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and international maritime pollution rules under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, ensuring recovery operations mitigate fuel and hazardous materials release and adhere to cultural heritage protection exemplified by the UNESCO conventions.