Combat divers conduct
annual exercise
in new waters
by
Susan Turcotte
photos by Cpl Mike Barley
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Suited
up and ready, divers enter the Rideau River
in Kingston.
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Canadian and foreign divers took to the waters
around Petawawa and Kingston in May and June for
the 23rd annual Ex ROGUISH BUOY.
Not only was the location new, so were the Army
divers' custom-fitted dry suits, masks and communication
system, underwater cutting torches, towed sleds
and underwater video camera.
"We've needed this equipment for a long time,"
said Warrant Officer Gene Sharpe of 4 Support Engineer
Regiment of Gagetown. "We're making great strides.
We're coming into the new age."
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Dressed
in a ghillie suit, a diver rehearses for a night
tactical dive.
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Normally held at CFB Esquimalt in late winter,
the exercise was moved to accommodate operational
commitments, including Op ABACUS. Three of
Canada's four teams attended: 1 CER of Edmonton,
2 CER of Petawawa and 4 ESR. RCG of Valcartier was
unable to attend because of its own operational
commitments.
While Canadian Army divers are full-time engineers
who dive part-time, their foreign counterparts,
this year from the United States, United Kingdom,
Argentina, and for the first time, Belgium and the
Netherlands, are full-time divers.
Lieutenant Jean-Paul Stevens, a frogman from Belgium's
Brigade Para Commando, is a recce specialist and
led his team through a tactical night swim. The
underwater construction portions of the diving were
new and interesting for him.
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Divers
wait for a helicopter that will take them further
along the Ottawa River for helo insertion.
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Exercise tasks included underwater search and recovery
operations, underwater demolition, live firing and
deep diving. Other inland sites are now being considered
for future exercises because combat divers normally
work in the low visibility conditions of shallow,
murky inland water.
While visibility was better during the Kingston
portion of the exercise, the Petawawa portion provided
the divers with a more realistic environment.
"The visibility was next to nil," said
Warrant Officer John Butler. "It is what we
expect when we do our job."
