Kunk35:
I've always thought this might be an area I'd like to get into. I apologize if this has been asked before, I'm just not patient enough to go searching.....
What path should I be looking at to get into this area? Is it limited to police/firefighter personnel?
Have any of you gotten to a situation and made the decision not to make the dive? Either for safety reasons, or for emotional reasons?
Just curious about this area of diving knowledge.
Wow, You need to do some searching. If you don’t have the patience to search for information you will not have the patience to do this work, period. There is way too much information about PSD here at SB to even think about getting it into one thread.
From your profile you should have plenty of patience. Being interested in computers and astronomy requires a good degree of it.
Most areas require that you be affiliated with a Public Service. If your not you can’t get most of the training that is offered. The training is not like sport diving at all. To stay current you need to recert every few years.
Not making a dive is nothing to be ashamed of. We all refuse to make a dive once in a while. If it doesn’t feel right it probley isn’t so don’t do it. Any diver, for any or no reason can refuse to make a dive anytime without be questioned or embarrassed about it. Peer Pressure is what kills a lot, if not most divers and PSD’s. Just because you’re a “Certified” PSD doesn’t make you a Super Hero with a mask and cape.
There are a lot of things to consider before making the step into PSD. Some are your own physical and MENTAL ability to cope with handling bodies and body parts in various stages of decomposition. Diving into waters polluted with everything from A to Z including Fossil fuels, raw sewage, decaying marine life (and humans) and anything else you can think up.
Some will think, Hummm All I want to do is search for weapons or evidence and not go after a body. That’s fine if your team knows that going in. But remember that can be a worse job. Every body of water has its pollutants. Some are minor while others are just flat gross. If you’re searching for an item, other than a body, on the bottom you might be digging anywhere from a few inches to several feet into that bottom silt. What do you think that silt is made up of? It’s all the polluted crap that has ever been in that water. And guess what, your playing in it.
There is a lot to think about before making the step from a sport newbe to PSD. We have had several peior team members that have quit and will never dive again because of what they saw or did underwater. This is not a Macho thing to brag about. It’s a very serious business that can not be taken lightly.
Please don’t feel like I’m picking on you because I’m not. Most on this forum know I WILL NOT sugar coat this job and I will try and let you know exactly what it’s like. You may get on a team and never get a call and only trains. Or you can be on a team that is constantly being called and for part of the year has to suspend training.
So Kunk35, take the time and do some searching through this PSD forum. There is a plethora of information and scenarios to read through. Also get a copy of the Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations”. That may help you make a decision.
Good luck in whatever path you decide to take.
Gary D.