Good morning Madam Chairwoman and distinguished members of the Committee.  This is a joint statement of Rear Admiral Wayne Justice, Assistant Commandant for Response, and Rear Admiral Paul Higgins, the Director of the Health and Safety Directorate, at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.  We appear before you today to discuss the Coast Guard’s Diving Program, lessons learned from the accident onboard CGC HEALY, and the steps taken to prevent future diving accidents.

 

The Coast Guard has conducted diving operations since the 1940s.  Early diving missions included Aids to Navigation (ATON) and Polar Icebreaker Support.  Recently, however, the events of September 11^th prompted a significant expansion of the CG Diving program.

 

Prior to September 11^th, there were only 6 dive capable units (3 Pacific-based buoy tenders and 3 polar icebreakers).  After September 11^th, 13 Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST) were created, all with a dive capability, to conduct our security mission.  Presently, there are 17 units with a designated diving capability (12 MSSTs and 5 cutters).

 

The Coast Guard has three primary diving missions.  Port, Waterway, and Coastal Security; Aids to Navigation (ATON); and Polar Icebreaker and Science Support.

 

Port, Waterways, and Coastal Security – Coast Guard port security divers conduct routine and threat-driven underwater operations that include sweeping of piers and vessel hulls to locate, identify, and mark hazardous underwater devices.  While public safety divers (those belonging to the police and fire departments) may be available for routine operations, it is likely that they will be unavailable to support underwater port security missions during a crisis.

 

Aids to Navigation – The Coast Guard uses divers in the Pacific region of Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Kwajalein, Midway Island, and Wake Island to service navigation aids that are in shallow water and beyond the reach of a cutter.  Divers are the only resource with special techniques and procedures capable of conducting these operations in environmentally sensitive areas, and dive teams can be can be flown to remote locations to provide a more rapid response time than can be provided by cutters.  .

 

Polar Icebreaker and Science Support – Divers onboard the polar icebreakers provide damage control and repair capability in remote and harsh environments.  Additionally, they conduct dive operations for maintenance, calibration and inspections of hull and running gear.  This is particularly important to the Polar-class icebreakers due to the maintenance requirements of their complex variable pitch propulsion system.  All polar divers provide science support by collecting biological samples and installing/retrieving scientific equipment.

 

All Coast Guard divers are collateral duty volunteers who are initially trained at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in Panama City, Florida and are graduates of either the 17-week Dive Officer course or 6-week SCUBA Diver course.  Interested members typically come from junior enlisted to junior officer ranks and must pass stringent medical and physical fitness standards.  Approximately 40 Coast Guard members graduate each year from the NDSTC to fill the Service’s 102 collateral duty diving positions.  Because of this relatively small number of positions, however, a typical diver has one diving duty assignment during his/her career. 

Over the past 50 plus years of diving operations, the Coast Guard has had a nearly spotless record.  Prior the HEALY incident on August 17, 2006, the last Coast Guard death associated with dive operations was on April 17, 1974.  The diver, a member of the Atlantic Strike Team, died during an incident on the Great Lakes and the cause of death remains unknown.

The incident onboard HEALY highlighted failures at the Service, unit, and individual levels.  Mishaps typically involve a chain of errors that if not broken, result in an accident, and that was true in this case. 

 

The investigation revealed a number of major systemic issues that reduced the margin available to guard against human error.  The Coast Guard dive program has expanded substantially over the past several years, yet there has not been commensurate growth in oversight and management of that program from a Service– or Headquarters perspective.  This is reflected in the fact that HEALY’s dive program had not been inspected for compliance with Coast Guard dive safety standards since the ship was placed in service in 1999.

 

As a result of this tragedy, the Commandant has elevated management and oversight of the Coast Guard Dive Program to bring it on par with other high-risk, training-intensive Coast Guard operations.  We have increased our active oversight by conducting regular, comprehensive site visits to all operational Coast Guard dive units to ensure diving gear is being properly maintained, personnel qualifications are current and standard procedures are understood and exercised.  All 17 dive units have been inspected since the HEALY incident.  A comprehensive review of the entire diving program is underway to determine the best way to meet the Coast Guard’s requirements for diving services.  Additionally, the Coast Guard Dive Manual is being revised to include comprehensive policy on cold water diving and the use of Operational Risk Management for planning and conducting Coast Guard dive operations.

Our personnel system needs the capability to track dive training and qualifications – and we need to improve our dive training program.  We will ensure those assigned to diving duty receive all the training necessary to safely complete their mission and will indoctrinate command cadre and supervisory personnel by adding a training module to the Commanding Officers’ indoctrination course specifically dedicated to diving operations.  These courses are being taught at our Command and Operations School at the Leadership and Development Center in New London, CT.

 

In the wake of the HEALY incident, the Coast Guard has upgraded the Headquarters Diving Program Manager position from a Lieutenant to a Lieutenant Commander, and has established a senior enlisted assistant manager billet.  Additionally, dive program managers have been established at Coast Guard Area and District commands responsible for dive capable units to better track the readiness, qualification, and training status of these units.

 

In addition, a senior level work group has been formed, including expert consultants from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and Smithsonian Institute, to evaluate the requirements, management, and policy guidance of the Coast Guard’s Diving Program and recommend the way forward.  Its final report is expected by June 1, 2007.

 

In an effort to further our understanding of how our international counterparts operate and train, a Coast Guard representative attended the International Polar Diving Workshop in Svalbard, Norway on March 15-22, 2007.  This workshop is an international, interdisciplinary assessment of polar diving operations, and served as an excellent baseline against which to measure Coast Guard polar diving policies and procedures.

 

Immediately following the HEALY incident, a safety inspection was conducted onboard HEALY, and the cutter’s dive capabilities were suspended.  We also ensured all dive capable units had undergone a Dive Program Safety survey within the previous 12 months.  One unit was found to be deficient in its readiness and training and was directed to suspend dive operations.  Upon correcting all discrepancies, the unit successfully completed a follow-up inspection and was authorized to resume all diving operations.

 

The Final Decision on the Commandant’s Vessel Safety Board’s report is nearly complete. 

 

The normal time frame for completion of this type of accident investigation and report can be as much as a year or more.  For HEALY, this process was accelerated and the results are expected to be released in the next several weeks.

 

The Coast Guard strives to minimize hazards through sound judgment, planning, and risk management.  Despite the professionalism, bravery, and dedication of our workforce, in rare cases we suffer serious injury or death in the line of duty.  As Coast Guard men and women we accept that risk, but we will not accept preventable loss or injury.  When it comes to dangerous operations such as diving, "good enough" is never good enough.  Across the Coast Guard, we will honor LT Hill and Petty Officer Duque through the actions we are taking at all levels to prevent such a tragedy in the future.

 

This concludes our statement.  Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today.  We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.