Navy Divers school NJROTC on the Deep
Chief Navy Diver Rebecca Jones, leading chief petty officer assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, Company 2-4, talks to Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) students from David Crockett High School about what it takes to be a Navy diver at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story Oct. 1. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Randy Savarese/Released)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Oct. 3, 2013) – Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) students from David Crockett High School in Jonesborough, Tenn. learned about Navy Diving from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 Sailors during a dive demonstration onboard Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Oct. 1.
MDSU 2 divers volunteered to demonstrate surface-supplied dives and the Seabotix unmanned underwater vehicle to 55 NJROTC students so they can get a sense of what Navy Diving is like and what it takes to get divers in and out of the water.
“I think it’s great we’re able to show high school students what the Navy has to offer so if any of them wanted to follow this career path they could see being a diver is an option for them,” said Chief Navy Diver Rebecca Jones, leading chief petty officer assigned to MDS Co. 2-4.
Jones, who is one of seven female divers in the Navy, offered up some inspiration and advice for the female students who may be considering a career as a Navy Diver.
“The standards for women are exactly the same as they are for men, there is no special treatment for us,” said Jones. “Women interested in becoming divers just need to be strong willed and be willing to work really hard, this could be a really rewarding job for them.”
The students also learned about recent salvage operations including MDS Co. 2-4’s role in the finding and salvaging of a downed F-16 aircraft off the coast of Virginia, Aug. 6-20. The aircraft was one of two F-16 fighter jets from the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard that clipped wings mid-air during a routine training mission 35 miles southeast of Chincoteague, Va., Aug. 1.
MDSU 2 is an expeditionary mobile unit homeported at Joint Expeditionary Base, Little Creek-Ft. Story in Virginia Beach, Va., and has successfully conducted salvage operations to support TWA Flight 800, Swiss Air Flight 111, the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minnesota, the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor, and recovery of a down F-16 off the coast of Italy and Virginia.