Will a Special Ops SCUBA Master Diver Card make me a badass mofo diver?

[Rich Keller]

Thanks for all the comments and ideas. The last Level I Training Mission was awesome. Here's the video: Special Ops Scuba Level I Training Mission April 20 - YouTube

Special Ops Scuba Team

There is nothing in this video that is part of the real training. The only skills I saw being taught were those things they removed from basic OW training decades ago to make the course easier to pass. You did manage to teach them how to fetch though, I have got to give you that, but my dog can do that too. This is just underwater paint ball games. If you like that sort of thing good on you! If you run this program and can get people to pay you for it even better for you guys!

 

[DCBC]

If there's a market for it, great. I think it's good that different types of training programs are available. Let the Client decide what's best for them...

The only reservation I'd have is that the company and its Instructors, should provide training that they're uniquely qualified to offer (as a result of their personal training and experience). I didn't think that this was the case, but I might be missing something...

 

[oldschoolto]

It looks like it's geared to " Paint ball warriors " and I'm sure they would have a great time and feel like that they " Experienced " seal training... Let them be week end warriors and spend their money... Better than sitting on the porch drinking beer , And as for those that don't know... ALL "SOF" training programs graduate the number of people they need... So if they need 50% of the class... Than 50% graduate, If they only need 25% of the class... Than only 25% will get to graduate... And.... The training is 80% mind and only 20% muscle ....

Let them play.....

Jim...

 

[FM1520]

Maybe the Special does not mean Military. Perhaps it's small-bus special, or my mother says I'm special.
Relax, it's like underwater hockey. It is not disrespecting professional hockey players, it's just giving people a chance to do something different, fun and maybe educational in our favorite enviroment....the water. I like the idea.

Yea, I agree. No disrespect - just fun.

 

[drfaustus72]

Guys,

I'd like to answer a few questions. We are first and foremost an entertainment company setting up scenario missions for divers who want to role-play military missions. This is a different way of doing our beloved sport - a different angle/approach to being in the water, involving advanced navigation, mission planning, teamwork and just plain fun.

However, we also have training missions in which we show people the skills we think they need to do those scenario missions, as well as great water and diving skills that are taught in the military. A large number of our skills are straight from military curriculum, some adapted for our purposes.

Anyone who says that 'nothing' we do is done in the military should come and do our training missions. Not only do we use military manuals and curriculums as the basis of our missions, we also use ex- and active duty military personnel who have gone through K-NSWC, SERE, BUD/S and SQT. Unfortunately we cannot list all our personnel on the website for opsec reasons. Not all of our personnel are SF, and some aren't even military (like me - but I can still show you how to compute longe range tidal-offset navigation...)

The Level I Training Mission is mainly about mental strength and remaining calm under water in situations of stress and panic. Yes, you can find this in variations in other courses and we encourage everyone to take as many of these as possible. We use a military based mental confidence system to show people how to cope with these situations and you can see some pretty amazing results in the video if you know what to look for.

In Level II we go to high stress and panic problem solving, blacked out mask skills, advanced navigation and OTB infiltrations.

Each training mission is a mixture of valuable skills and fun experiences, all based on combat diver curriculum. We, and all of our participants, are aware that we barely skim the surface of what the professionals do (BUD/S pool competency is 2 weeks... we have 3 hours). We get but a faint idea of their capabilities and training; but that doesn't mean we can't learn valuable lessons from what they do, and grow as divers. Remember that the entire sport of scuba diving is ultimately based on military diving.

Finally, we do not issue cards or pretend that people come out of missions qualified to teach military diving (like someone here said) - or anything for that matter. Level I participants receive a rubber ducky upon completion. I don't think that will count for anything on your next PADI resort dive trip.

I invite you all to participate and challenge yourself - talk is cheap and you sure won't be able to talk underwater when you're out of breath. Mention scubaboard.com and we'll give you a discount.

Best

Thomas
Special Ops Scuba Team
Special Ops Scuba
www.facebook.com/specialopsscuba

 

[DCBC]

...Better than sitting on the porch drinking beer...

Unless of course it's Dos Equis... Stay thirsty my friends....

---------- Post added May 11th, 2013 at 06:20 PM ----------

...we also use ex- and active duty military personnel who have gone through K-NSWC, SERE, BUD/S and SQT. Unfortunately we cannot list all our personnel on the website for opsec reasons.

Thomas, I was a Navy Diving Platoon Commander with the Canadian Navy. I've completed BUD/S, RANGER, Advanced Parachute/HALO, SERE, the UK Diver DQ/SBS, and a number of other courses that are normally exchanged throughout all NATO countries. I say this to establish that I have some limited experience with military special operations training (although it seems a lifetime ago).

I think it's great that your offering this training; however your personnel should have a background in Special Operations if your passing your company off as having proficient Instructors. If you have them, list them. If not, you don't have them.

We get but a faint idea of their capabilities and training; but that doesn't mean we can't learn valuable lessons from what they do, and grow as divers. Remember that the entire sport of scuba diving is ultimately based on military diving.

Military divers are expected to achieve a high level of fitness before they turn-up for the first day one of training. If they didn't, they just couldn't start the race. To think that they could, underlines the first break in the military training chain. It would appear that your company is putting this aside for pretend games. Pretend isn't bad, but you should identify it as such and not give the impression that 'this is the closest thing to military training you can get outside of the military' (or words to that effect). It's just misleading and is an insult to the men that serve in these capacities.

Finally, we do not issue cards or pretend that people come out of missions qualified to teach military diving (like someone here said) - or anything for that matter.

Qualified to teach military diving? They're not qualified to participate in military diving. Again, the concept is great, but put it in context. Guys who want to come out and have a good time by sharing a bit of hardship and a few beers. The way it comes across on the website is more serious than fun and games...

 

[Abdullah]

I watched the video in the link and it didn't look too special ops to me. As another poster said, it looked like advanced lifeguard training (plus bondage). I don't know what your other missions look like, but this one would be more accurately described as a confidence course rather than anything tactically oriented.

I think it's great that you guys can turn a dollar with your niche approach. It is hard to find new markets in diving without finding new and cool dive sites. But I do agree with DCBC that your marketing tools are somewhat misleading. And that you should at least have a course director or senior staff that's independently qualified (military trained?) to supervise the special ops skills training you are marketing.

When you add helio-casting and submersible delivery vehicle training, ping SB again, I'd pay for that.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Do I get to use an underwater paint ball gun?

 

[SubZeroScuba]

The thing about your underwater Ninja-SWATSEAL-training, is that it requires Ninja-SWATSEAL compatible people to do that. I agree with DCBC, don your strong-suit and have fun with your customers. I am sure they are challenged, and get a work out, but what you did in that video, is not military-grade-testing. I was a Navy Diver too, and I remember those exercises, but not from DS, I remember them from my free-diving courses when i was 10.

I´d join a course in a heartbeat though, it looks like you were having a blast.

 

[oldschoolto]

But if they made it "REAL" then none of their customers would be able to do it ..... And ,If they said this is special op's for fat, out of shape want-a-be's I would guess the people would not throw down the money.... It's would be fun to go play if you never got to do the real thing... If you been there already you don't play that stuff anyway....

Jim...