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NAPLES, Italy (USTCNS) --- Military Sealift Command’s ocean-going tug and salvage ship USNS Apache—along with divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two—wrapped up a bi-lateral dive exercise off the coast of Croatia in late September.

Along with 23 divers from the Croatian Navy, the exercise took place off the medieval city of Split, Sept. 20-30. Ten U.S. Navy divers participated.

Last year, a section of an old ship destined for the scrap yard was sent to the sea bed for a training exercise involving USNS Mohawk. The hull was used again for this year’s exercise.

Training included both classroom instruction, and dives, according to master diver and officer-in-charge Chief Warrant Officer Three Frank Perna. “This was strictly U.S. divers training Croatian divers,” Perna added.

An umbilical chord from the ship provided oxygen to divers, who practiced underwater cutting and welding on the wreck’s hull. “Croatian divers cut out a section of about three feet in diameter, and then welded a patch over it,” Perna said.

Divers also performed an underwater inspection of the ship’s propeller using an underwater camera, and then suited up in scuba gear, with oxygen tanks on their backs, for training in handheld underwater sonar.

There was also training in the ship’s onboard transportable recompression chamber procedures and operations—pressurized chambers used to treat divers who have ascended too quickly or for whatever reason suffer from decompression sickness, or “the bends.”

“Cooperation between U.S. and Croatian navies was excellent,” said Perna.

Apache completed her deployment in early November, heading home for a well-deserved reunion with family and friends.

During her deployment, Apache also contributed to successful exercises in Malta, Greece, Tunisia, Slovenia, Albania, Portugal, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Israel. The ship also served as stand-by tow for the aircraft carrier USS George Washington.

“You met every challenge and commitment with impressive expertise,” said U.S. Sixth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Scott Fry, USN, in a ‘bravo-zulu’ message to ship’s master Capt. Charles Rodriguez, the embarked divers, and crewmembers. “You can be proud of your contributions to stability and security in this vital region.