Volume 2 (4th QTR FY12)

The Deep Sea Chronicles

7th Engineer Detachment (Dive)

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CO/1SG News 1

XO/Operations NCO 2

1st/2nd/3rd Squads 3

Weekly Pictures 4

Inside this issue:

Aloha from the 7th Engineer

Dive Detachment!

The last quarter saw 7th

Dive finally emerge from

RESET with a full-ish comple-

ment of personnel and equip-

ment ready to conduct chal-

lenging training. We wel-

comed several newcomers to

the team: SSG Behr, CPL

Botsko, SPC Browny, and PFC

Shreier. Unfortunately, we

had to bid farewell and fol-

lowing seas to two great

Soldiers: SSG Rohde and

SGT Morales. SSG Rohde will

attend the Warrant Officer

Course in JBLE, VA, and SGT

Morales will be close by as he

joins one of our sister compa-

nies on the East Coast. We

wish them both good luck

with their Army careers and

thank them for their service

to the team.

The list of training events

for the remainder of the

calendar year is daunting:

Shallow Brown, Underwater

Demolition Week, Squad

Situational Training Exer-

cises, and a 65-mile road

march prior to Thanksgiving.

It all adds up to a busy

schedule, but it will pay off

as we build our team to be

ready to deploy on a variety

of missions beginning Febru-

ary 2013.

Hooyah! Deep Sea!

From the Commander’s Desk by CPT Scott Sann

July-September 2012

From the First Sergeant’s Desk by SFC Beau Woodcox

This last quarter has been a

busy time for your Soldiers of

7th Dive. We have completed

some Big Tasks on the calen-

dar and have set more Big

Tasks for the remainder of

the year. The team has com-

pleted over 120 miles of ruck-

marching (working up to the

culminating 65 mile ruck-

march in NOV), a three week

Deep Blue (developing supervi-

sors and Master Diver candi-

dates), an Engineer Week (an

event for units that don’t

“actually” have a job to do), an

M-4 Range (to kill some paper

terrorists), and our Building 40

move-in (well, as much as we

could anyway).

We’ve also re-enlisted SGT Mays

and CPL Botsko (they couldn’t

find civilian jobs), pinned our

senior E-5s as Salvage Divers (a

testament to our ability to over-

come the lack of ability in our S

shops) and are now in the middle

of our Shallow Brown exercise to

train our new Divers on all our

salvage capabilities and hand

tools.

I’m sure the Holiday season is

very much anticipated by your

Soldiers and is definitely well

deserved. The Soldiers and

NCOs of 7TH have made a lot

happen in a short amount of

time with minimal personnel.

This should be my last letter

as the 1SG as 1SG Chebahtah

should be entertaining you all

in the next letter with his

witty remarks and Hawaiian

shirts.

Thank you all for supporting

your Army Divers!

There is never a shortage of great scenery when conducting

diving operations around the islands of Hawaii.

The Deep Blues: or How I Learned to

Stop Worrying and Love the 65 Mile

Ruck March

Aloha friends and family of the 7th Engi-

neer Dive Detachment! As always, it’s

been another hyper-productive three

months for the men and women of the 7th

Dive.

Between July and September of this

year the intrepid Divers of the 7th com-

pleted not one, but two annual dive train-

ing exercises!

Whether it was Master Diver Beau

Woodcox putting dive supervisors to the

test during Deep Blue (conducted aboard

Army Logistics Support Vessel 2 off the

coast of the Big Island) or SSG Jeb

Dunham instructing the Salvage Divers

and new Second Class Divers on proper

underwater tool use during Shallow

Brown, the Divers of the 7th managed to

dive deep and stay shirtless this quarter.

But lest you think that all Army Divers

do is dive…well do I have news for you.

Between all the Deep Blue-ing and Shal-

low Brown-ing the highly motivated Sol-

diers of the 7th Dive somehow found the

time to complete over 120 miles of ruck

marching in preparation for the much

anticipated “Sappers of the Deep” 65

mile ruck march

that will be con-

ducted during

Thanksgiving.

And the best part

of all is that each

completed exer-

cise and ruck

march brings the

7th Dive one step

closer to their ultimate goal of being

prepared (and certified of course) to

travel all over the Pacific theater next

year in order to complete challenging real

world dive missions. Indeed, the Divers

of the 7th know that all the hard-work

they’re putting in now is preparing them

for bigger and better things in the fu-

ture.

From the Operations NCO’s Desk by SSG Sean Rowley

From the Executive Officer’s Desk by 1LT Alessandro Licopoli

setting the tempo during Deep Blue, and

emplacing stellar projects for our Sal-

vage divers during Shallow Brown. I

couldn’t ask for a better group of E6’s,

they are the backbone of THE 7th.

As Master Diver Evaluations approach

faster than I would like to see, I have

been busy reading Chapter 9 of the Dive

manual, rereading Chapter 9 of the Dive

manual, falling asleep in the middle of

reading Chapter 3 of the Dive Manual,

and then waking up to read some more.

After 10 years of being fortunate

enough to receive guidance and mentor-

ship from some of the most intelligent

Master Divers in the field, I finally have

the opportunity to reward their faith in

me and make them proud come October….

Or May.

It has been great talking with everyone

and I look forward to writing you again

next quarter, where I’m sure I’ll be writ-

ing all about the accomplishments of the

new Leadership that’s currently on its

way to THE 7th. An NFL scout couldn’t

have selected a better group of NCO’s to

build a dive team than the ones we have

and are slated to gain during the upcom-

ing quarter.

As always THE 7th dive has been busy! As

I sit behind the driver’s seat with my

eyes closed our Squad Leaders have been

steadily reorganizing the Detachment,

Page 2 The Deep Sea Chron ic les Vo lume 2 (4th QTR

Army and Navy divers conduct joint training off the coast of the

Big Island during the annual Deep Blue exercise.

7th Dive poses on top of the Makapuu light-

house after a 14-mile road march.

From L to R: SSG Behr, SGT

Damon, CPL Botsko, and PFC

Whisman do what they do

best: lounge around shirtless.

Keep it up Deuce Mob!

First Squad has been keeping busy this

quarter with SSG Dunham filing in for

the Platoon Sergeant and SGT Bullington

filling in as the Maintenance NCO while

SSG (P) Rowley and SGT Karraker were

at Sapper school. In the past month un-

der the direction of SGT Bullington the

team has been working hard to complete

services on the cutting and welding set,

the SDASS, and the outboard boat mo-

tors while also conducting area beautifi-

cation of the building and motor pool.

First Squad has also taken the lead when

it comes to training, having been in

charge of hydraulic tools training, a boat

inspection on LSV-2 (Logistics Support

Vessel) and Joint training with elements

of the 84th Engineer Battalion to

create massive reinforced con-

crete structures. The concrete

structures were used as projects

during the end of quarter Shallow

Brown Salvage Diver training ex-

ercise. It was a real challenge to

destroy the 84th’s hard work us-

ing our hydraulic tools and under-

water cutting torches, but we

enjoyed every minute of it!

Finally I want to congratulate PFC

Garcia for being coined by LTG

Bostick in recognition of being an all

around good guy.

SPC Bruce Black runs the 7th Dive’s Medi-

cal Section. During this quarter Doc Black

officially became “Deep Sea” by success-

fully completing the Dive Medicine for

Medical Personnel Course at the Naval

Diving Salvage and Training Center in

Panama City, FL. He quickly put his new-

found dive knowledge to excellent use by

serving as the unit’s Dive Medical Techni-

cian during the Deep Blue and Shallow

Brown dive exercises.

And then there’s the maintenance sec-

tion. Composed of a grizzled former MMA

fighter with a heart of gold (SGT Kevin

Karraker), a smooth talking ladies man

with a voice as decadent as his last name

(SPC Milong Browny) and a foul-mouthed

pregnant lady with a taste for Twizzlers

Aloha From 3rd Squad!

During last the quarter, the Supply,

Medical, and Maintenance Soldiers of 3rd

Squad continued to play a vital role in the

success of the detachment.

The Supply Section is run by the newly

promoted (and re-enlisted) SGT Lashay

Mays. In between her normal duties of

managing the unit’s supply accounts, run-

ning the Purchase Card program, and pre-

venting the XO from breaking numerous

federal and state fiscal laws she also

found the time to obtain an additional

skill identifier by completing a Contract-

ing Support Class. Oh yeah, and she also

manages three other critical support

sections in her “spare time”: Commo,

CBRN and Publications.

(SGT Angel Tizazu), the “Three Ami-

gos” of the Maintenance Section ensure

that the 7th Dive’s equipment is always

mission capable.

Last, but certainly not least, is the

fearless leader of Third Squad, SSG

Sven Neilsen. He holds the Squad to-

gether with the patience of a wise-old

Wallaby, the tenacity of a rabid Dingo,

the enthusiasm of a boxing Kangaroo,

and the kindness of a cuddly Koala.

Whether he’s throwing another shrimp

on the barbie or showing everyone what

a real knife looks like, SSG Neilsen

always makes sure that Third Squad is

having a Goo’Day Mate.

2nd Squad by PFC Caleb Whisman

1st Squad by SSG Jeb Dunham

3rd Squad by SGT Angel Tizazu

Behr was tasked with preparing and run-

ning the annual 1st Class/Master Diver

training known as "Deep Blue" which

meant a whole lot of hanging like a dope

on a rope for 2nd class/Salvage divers

like myself and SGT Damon.

CPL Botsko just arrived to the team a

month ago, fresh out of dive school and

cocky as can be. SGT Damon recently

returned to the team from a grueling

four week stint at the Warrior Leader

Course. Me? Well I've just been growing

accustomed to the life of an Army Diver

outside of the school house and trying to

learn as much as possible.

As they say on the islands A Hui Hou

(until next time).

Deep Sea Never Looked So Good…aka

“Suns Out? Guns Out!”

Aloha from the 7th Engineer Dive De-

tachment’s 2nd Squad!

After recently acquiring SSG William

Behr and CPL George Botsko and reac-

quiring SGT Andrew Damon, 2nd Squad is

currently a sturdy four man powerhouse.

Shortly after arriving in Hawaii SSG

Page 3 The Deep Sea Chron ic les Vo lume 2 (4th QTR

SGT Bullington prepares the UCS for use during

Shallow Brown, which will prepare the team for

numerous deployments in FY13.

7th Dive in Action!

Page 4 The Deep Sea Chron ic les Vo lume 2 (4th QTR

SSG Dunham and SPC Mays seem none the worse for

wear; 7th will be conducting a 65 miler in January.

Members of the 84th Engineer Battalion and 7th Dive construct reinforced

concrete blocks for use during Shallow Brown and our annual demo exercise.

PFC Garcia operates the knife switch

during welding training with the FSC.

Sailors from MDSU-ONE and Seal Delivery Vehicle Team One augmented 7th Dive

during the annual Deep Blue diving exercise. Hooyah! to our diving brethren.

SGT Mays reenlists next to Mamala Bay;

CPL Botsko also reenlisted in September.

An Army diver enters the water near Kawaihae Harbor; divers

reached depths of up to 120 feet during scenario-based training. PFCs Garcia and Whisman prepare for supervisor checks; 7th Dive

remained on LSV-4 for the duration of the three-week event.