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« Gas prices down for fifth week in a row | Today | Alert: Concrete falls onto Rt. 295 in Cumberland » August 20, 2007Sunken sub giving military divers real-world trainingPROVIDENCE -- For U.S. Army and Navy divers, it's not every day they work on the potential rescue of a Russian submarine. But in another only-in-Rhode-Island moment, they're getting that chance in the Providence River for the next two weeks. Divers today are slated to continue underwater surveying of the former Soviet cruise missile submarine K-77 -- which had been reborn as a museum -- to figure out if it can be recovered and how from the river bottom, the organizers of the sub museum said in a news release. The Juliett 484 sank during a storm on April 17. The underwater surveys were scheduled to begin yesterday and are slated to run through Sept. 4. The information they collect will be forwarded to engineers at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to determine how best to recover the ship. Frank Lennon, the museum president, said in the statement that approximately 30 divers and an Army Landing Craft unit will be involved -- part of the Department of Defense's Innovative Readiness Training program. Under the training program, the surveying here is a joint project of active-duty and reserve divers from the Army and Navy and, in this case, the landing craft. They get "training by taking part in real-world, community-based projects," the sub museum says. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney The landing craft unit is to serve as the diving platform for personnel at Collier Point Park, where the sub is located. The Army divers are coming from from Fort Eustis, Va., and the Navy divers are coming from Norfolk, Va. The idea is to give the divers training that differs depending on the location and conditions in terms of underwater visibility and other factors, said Lt. Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, public affairs officers with Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, in an interview. In Providence, Hull-Ryde said the divers will be tethered to an air source on the diving platform or land; they are not scuba divers in the sense of wearing tanks on their backs. "Whenever possible, we want to simulate a realistic training environment," she said. Such divers do find themselves called to all sorts of real-life situations. They've been working in Minneapolis at the site of the tragic bridge collapse. They've worked on a project to remove tires used in the creation of a reef off Florida. "We get this training while at the same time helping to benefit a local community," said Hudd-Ryde. "So it's a win-win situation for everybody." Posted by Mike McKinney CommentsFrymaster | August 20, 2007 2:33 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
Not new at all, using a training exercise to work on real-world issues. This technique cut the cost of remediating a failed tire reef in Florida from $30 mil to about $2 mil.