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NAVYDIVER.CA

Disclaimer: All articles and stories submitted or included by members in this and future editions are published in good faith as being mere recollections of those submitting the articles. The CNDA does not check or warrant the details of all stories and recollections submitted. As with many tales from days gone by, stories are often recalled differently by people having differing perspectives. Please bear this in mind.

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

OMM recipient

EOD/MCM Calendar

Polar Medal Award

Founded

HALIFAX,

N.S.

1981

President:

Wally Green

CNA

FOUNDING

MEMBERS

Glenn Adams

André Desrochers

Leo Goneau

Terry Havlik

Michael Walsh

First President:

Stanley F. Watts

edition

This edition is for all those members who are not a member of the NAVYDIVER.CA facebook group and have missed out on the many interesting posts members have shared there regarding the navy diver community. We hope you enjoy! Editor

GLACE BAY — He may not have realized it at the time but diving for lobster every summer in the Atlantic Ocean not far from his New Aberdeen home and weekends in the pool at the YMCA may have set John Vincent Gouthro up for a pretty interesting life.

“It all started when I was on an exchange with the British military in Bosnia and it was ‘Hey you want to try out for this — you are going.’ “That’s basically how that started. It’s the best thing I did in spite of myself.” Though reluctant to make the move at first, his new career has taken him to battle-hardened zones around the world, while also allowing him to practise his diving trade in some of the world’s most scenic locales. Continued - next page

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Clearance Diver Receives OMM Continued

“I just weighed all my options,” he said. “As a clear-ance diver they had basically the best postings and you could still do stuff like be in Afghanistan but you could also dive in place like Hawaii. It had the best mix.” At the Order of Military Merit ceremony in Ottawa where his broad-ranging career was recognized, he was joined by his wife Kate, his sister Geraldlyn and his mom Helen, who was proud of her son and in awe of the surroundings at Rideau Hall. “I thought it was a beautiful place and the reception had everything,” said Helen, who noted that all of her friends are also proud of her son. “It was a beautiful ceremony and then they gave us a tour of the place.” In Canada, her son has been stationed in Halifax and Victoria, B.C., before his most recent posting at an ex-perimental dive facility in Toronto, where some of the newest diving techniques are put to the test. gmcneil@cbpost.com

Canadian Clearance Divers and other staff involved with the training of the Caribbean Divers pose underwater for a group photo at the end of Exercise TRADEWINDS in Discovery Bay Jamaica, on June 26, 2016.

Photo: Sgt Yannick Bédard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera.

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Well, it is that time of the year again when all the images (or a lot of them) I have shot settle down for the year and I get to go through some of the more impressive ones of the MCM / EOD folks doing what they do best - finding sinister stuff to disarm and be made inert. These images were taken on various MCM and EOD exercises I have had the honour and opportunity to document for them from Iceland, Canada, Norway and Curacao. http://dougelsey.com/2017-mcm-eod-printable-calendar-available/

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Missives

Editors Comment: History Documents are now posted on the web site at: http://navydiver.ca/cnda-library

Petty Officer 1st Class Yves Bernard received the Polar Medal from Gov. Gen. David Johnston for making signifi-cant contributions to the dis-covery of the wreck of Sir John Franklin’s HMS Erebus in 2014. He was among the first divers and the very first navy sailor to dive down to the site since Franklin’s crew disembarked the Erebus 165 years earlier.

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http://navydiver.ca/diver-s-roll-call

http://atlanticfuneralhomeshalifax.sharingmemories.ca/site/WayneNeilCatchpaugh.html

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A year that contained hard work in tough conditions, numerous successful deployments, and an historic di-

ve to a lost shipwreck was celebrated on September 2, when Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) was presented the

Admiral’s Cup by RAdm John Newton, Commander MARLANT and JTFA.

The award, represented physically by a silver bowl on an oak base, was established by VAdm Glenn Da-

vidson in 2004. It serves as a way to promote camaraderie among units and friendly competition throughout

the fleet and shore units of CFB Halifax. Criteria include having the best efficiency, morale and leadership

in a number of different areas, and the winning unit gets to proudly display the trophy until the next time

it’s awarded. A committee of chiefs from across the formation provide the votes that decide the winner.

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A factor in FDU(A) being chosen was the participation in the search for Sir John Franklin’s lost ships, HM

Ships Erebus and Terror, and the eventual dives to the wreck of Erebus in the spring of 2015, following its discovery

the year prior. RAdm Newton praised the divers for working in one of the most inhospitable areas of the Arctic, with

temperatures of -35 and -40 celsius, alongside partners Parks Canada and the Canadian Hydrographic Service. Be-

yond just the publicity surrounding the famous ships, the Op QIMMIQ and Op NANOOK missions of 2015 helped

advance the reputation and capability of the RCN in the Arctic as it prepares to begin receiving the Harry De-

wolf class ships.

“It demonstrates to me that kind of sovereignty, that we can go out and lead major contingency events in the north.

With this one, there happens to be the wreck at the bottom, but you’re demonstrating our ability that wherever there’s

water, we can get there,” RAdm Newton said.

Other operations that came up included diving in Estonia during Op Reassurance and clearing explosive in Lithuania

during an especially challenging Op OPEN SPIRIT 2016. RAdm John Newton also credited CPO1 Andrew Tiffin,

the unit’s former Coxn and now CWO for Task Force Iraq, for being another example of the leadership that exists

and is constantly being developed at FDU(A). Recent news has also come that PO1 Yves Bernard, the first RCN div-

er to plunge into icy waters and view the Erebus wreck with his own eyes, will be a recipient of the Polar Medal. The

honour was created in 2005 by then-Governor General the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson as a way to celebrate

Canada’s northern heritage and recognize persons who render extraordinary services in Canada’s North. PO1 Bernard

also participated in the search for the Franklin ship in 2013 and 2014, before getting the chance to dive to it last year.

As RAdm Newton visited the unit to present the Admiral’s Cup, PO1 Bernard was again deployed to the North,

working with Parks Canada on this year’s mission to dive to Erebus and continue searching for Terror.

“You should see Yves’ Polar Medal as a medal for the Navy, which is how I see it, and also as a medal for your unit,

and I think he’s the right person to communicate that sentiment,” RAdm Newton said to the unit’s crew. Community

outreach also factors into the decision, and FDU(A) was congratulated for its annual involvement with the Christmas

Daddies telethon, a unit tradition for the past three decades. During the 2015 holiday season, the unit raised another

$12,000 with their 50km fund- raising run, and $18,000 from the heritage auction of the replica brass MK5 diving

helmet.

Compiled together, the examples form a picture of a unit that continually succeeds amidst large workloads and trying

conditions, making them a worthy recipient of the extra honour for the year.

“You do great work. It’s not the safest environment, but you manage the dangers, the complexity and the risk, and

you keep inspiring your young people to do the same,” RAdm Newton said.

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Divers from Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) make preparations for a second mine countermeasures dive during Clear Horizon 16 in Chinhae, Korea.

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Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Sixteen members of Fleet Diving Unit Pacific (FDU(P)) will represent the Canadian Armed Forces at Opera-tion Clear Horizon 16 in the Republic of Korea this week.

The Oct. 11 to 23 multi-national training mis-sion is the first exercise of its kind led by South Korea, and is focussed on mine counter-measure operations. It also will highlight Can-ada’s ongoing efforts to contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Divers and ships from the United States, Phil-ippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand will also participate.

A key part of the Fleet Diving Unit team’s ef-forts will be to provide other participating na-tions with mine countermeasure training such as explosive ordnance disposal, underwater detonation and pouncer operations, which in-volves the deployment of divers from helicopters into the sea.

“It’s really an opportunity to work jointly, and collaborate with other participating nations on what types of equipment and technology they use. It is also an opportunity to show them how we work with ours,” said CPO2 Alex MacNeish a clearance diver and FDU(P)’s Operations Chief.

During the 12-day exercise, FDU (P) divers will employ the use of two made-in-Canada high tech gadgets: the Shark Marine and Canadian Clearance Diver Apparatus re-breather used specifically for mine countermeasure operations.

“Essentially it’s an under-water breather designed for the military to work in an environment that may have underwater mines,” explained CPO2 MacNeish. “The idea behind the technology is for divers to move more silently and quietly through the water by reducing sound. It also gives off a low-magnetic acoustic signature that is safer for the diver in these situations.”

The Shark Marine underwater navigator is a hand-held electronic device used by divers to detect objects on the seabed floor. It aids divers in an underwater environment with limited visibility.

During the opening days of Clear Horizon 2016 three members of FDU(P) will attend a Mine Countermeas-ures Symposium in Seoul, Oct. 11 to 15, to begin the dialogue that will continue during the operational phase of the exercise.

It’s been a busy year for Esquimalt’s FDU (P), who have also participated in other operations around the world including Operation Nanook (Yukon), Operation Unifier (Ukraine), RIMPAC, Operation Render Safe (Solomon Islands), and other training and mine countermeasure operations in cooperation with global allies at home and abroad.

Following their trip to Asia, members of the unit will take part in Operation Taz Tornado, a conventional mu-nitions disposal exercise that will take place in Cold Lake, Alta.

We’re on the Web! www.navydiver.ca

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Editor’s 10 Foot Stop Great Scott, as the world renowned Doctor Emmett Brown from the movie series “Back to the Future” emphatically cried out!!!! Another Dippers deadline has once again snuck up on me and caught me woefully unprepared. It’s a good thing I had this idea baking in the back of my mind for making a facebook edition. The idea involved stealing all the good articles from the group and share them with you here. This had been germinating in my head for a while now so I simply went with it. What really made me go this way is I have begun to recognize that many CNDA members might not be as social media savvy as others and may have subsequently missed out on the content of the “NAVYDIVER.CA” facebook group I started up several years ago. It was originally intended as an adjunct to the CNDA web site and this digest which do have their strengths and weaknesses. The weakness is they unfortunately don’t give the CNDA membership easy access to instantaneously share things with each other or allow folks to easily post interesting news that can be quickly disseminated for all to enjoy without first going through a web master or an editor as a filter. The group has since taken off as numbers in the group (321 members and growing at last count) bear witness. It has actually far surpassed the membership of the CNDA itself and is thriving as a naval divers resource for those who have not seen it. Yet. I think folks are finding that it is a very good discussion forum and a great method of quickly passing on news (or sometimes jibes) to a wider audience just to stay in touch. We also do recognize the various opinions people have of social media portals. So far though, It has far exceeded my hopes to make it a place where naval divers, irrespective of their membership status in the CNDA, can maintain connections with folks they have served with regardless of where they are located. I hope you all enjoy this issue and remember I am always looking for interesting stories and anecdotes to share. I fervently wish you all the best for this New Year so please stay involved!