KEY WEST, Florida – In close competition, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) placed first against 12 other special operations teams at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Best Combat Diver Competition at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, Sept. 25-27.
In a three-day event, 13 two-person teams from U.S. Army special operations and U.S. Navy SEALs tested their academic rigor, physical grit, and mental agility as they completed 10 events vying for the title of best combat dive team across special operations.
“Combat diving is an advanced skills capability taught by qualified instructors at the Special Forces Underwater Operations under the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School,” said Maj. Brandon Schwartz, SFUWO commander. “The competition determines the best two-man “dive buddy” team in the United States special operations force while promoting the ARSOF core attributes.”
The premier institution in developing the expert special operator in underwater and maritime operations, the Special Forces Underwater Operations School served as the ideal venue to host the competition due to its proximity to Fleming Bay.
“SFUWO fosters advanced skills while immersing students in realistic training,” Schwartz said. “The competition fosters esprit de corps in a joint environment while challenging the competitors through a series of surface and subsurface events.”
The competitors comprised of two teams from 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, two from 1st Special Warfare Training Group, two from 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), two from 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), two from Navy SEALs Team 2, Navy SEALs Team 7, and Navy SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1.
The first day of competition kicked off with an academic exam and a combat diver physical fitness test at SFUWO.
“We did a little bit of what the Army PT test includes, hand-release pushups and sit-ups, as many as you could do in two minutes, pullups with no time limit for maximum effort,” said ‘Rusty,’ an instructor at SFUWO and a competition judge, whose name is preserved for identity management. “We added a deadlift at 225 pounds as many as you could do with no time limit, and a two-mile run after the deadlift. We didn’t want it to be the standard PT test. We wanted the events to be equal for the competitors across the board [for both strength and endurance].”
The second day began with a static-line jump into a kayak race at a water drop zone followed by advanced surface and subsurface events at the pool deck, and a 1,500-meter navigation dive in Fleming Bay.
“The events in the pool included a clump tread, in which the two-man team used a 15-pound bumper plate,” Rusty said. “Between the two of them, the time started where they treaded water and passed the clump back and forth for maximum time. The second event was a dynamic subsurface, where both guys on the team go at the same time. They go subsurface on the northern end of our pool, touch the apex at the bottom, and swim on the bottom of the pool as far as they can go, kick off the wall, keep swimming in a breath hold for maximum distance.”
The third and final day opened with a 1,500-meter navigation dive in Fleming Bay, contour dive near the peninsulas, and a helo cast into a surface swim at a water drop zone in Fleming Key into a four-mile run.
The judges used a point system to score the results after each team completed an event.
“The grading criteria has gone through a boarding process,” Schwartz said. “The competitors were graded on their time, accuracy, and proficiency in performing certain operational acts they would conduct during a dive mission. Everyone who competed has gone through a joint accredited institution and are all qualified combat divers.”
Following the conclusion of the competition on day three, the winners were announced during a ceremony:
First place was 5th Special Forces Group - Airborne (Team 4) under 1st Special Forces Command, who scored 787.9.
Second place was 2nd Special Warfare Training Group under the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, who scored 773.7.
Third place was 5th Special Forces Group (Team 5) under 1st Special Forces Command, who scored 766.6.
Fourth place was SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One under Naval Special Warfare Command, who scored 750.2.
“This competition was amazing,” Schwartz said. “I’m really proud of the organization for going above and beyond. I’m equally proud of the competitors. The standings were separated by a few points, so it speaks to how interoperable and capable SEAL and Green Beret divers are. Our nation should rest easy knowing we have a human capital advantage over any of our country’s strategic competitors.”
A special operator from 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, who's team came in second, said that they have something to bring back to their units.
“We were having good conversations with SEALs,” he said. “There’s something to bring back, not only to the regiment but to the Army as a whole. Coming out here competing is cool, it’s fun. I love doing this but competing to bring something back to the team and the regiment, the capabilities is the best thing - the unilateral work between the SEALs and different SOF units is bar none.”
Schwartz added that he takes pride in the Special Forces Underwater Operation School’s core mission in generating the capability for the USASOC enterprise for diving and water infiltration both subsurface and on the surface.
“We open up our doors to anyone in the joint force or interagency to come here and train to hone that skillset,” he said. “We do that to make sure the entire SOCOM enterprise is ready and capable to employ that capability whenever it’s required.”
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