well you could argue that no c-card is ever necessary. look at how many people on SB started diving without being certified.
the training is what gets you a c-card. and I'm a BIG fan of training. So do you need training to night dive (or anything)? Maybe not but it sure helps.
Don't confuse training and c-cards, you can have one without the other.
I was one of those that dove for years before being certified, including dives which are now considered tech, it does not mean I was not trained. And, by the way, there were no AOW or specialties cards at the time, that came with the Agencies.
Why an AOW cert, which does not require a night dive, is relevant to make a night dive makes no sense to me unless you are hiring a DM and the dive is deeper than 60'. If you could let me know the reasoning for it, when the divers have 15-20 dives already, I'd like to hear it.
Dive certifications are only necessary when a dive op requires them, most requirements are pretty reasonable and have to do with depth and Nitrox. On a boat dives, I have only been asked to see my Nitrox card and I have to write a c-card# on the waiver, but they never asked to see the card. Lets see, I was also Boat diving, Deep diving, Night diving, Hunting, Photographing, Wreck diving, and whatever else, and all they wanted was an OW# on a waiver.
Bob
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Trained when J-valves solved the OOA problem.