RAAF Divers?

[sailorbear]

Hi, In tandem with my post about Australian Army Divers, can anyone tell me if there is any diver function or qualification within the Royal Australian Air Force? I know the US Air Force have Para Rescue personnel who are all diver trained, does the RAAF have anything similar, and if so do they have any distinctive qualification, unit or trade insignia for diving?

Regards

Tony

[slick_mick]

I've never heard of any RAAF divers!

Mick

[rhodesianmilitaria]

Diving is the role of RAN Clearance Divers (CD's). They handle all diving roles for the ADF and are also EOD specialists.

CD's have been attached to SOER (Special Operations Engineer Regiment) in Afghanistan for quite some time. SOER themselves are part of SOTG (Special Operations Task Group) ORBAT which includes SASR, 2 CDO and 1 CDO (Reserves).

RAN Clearance divers have served in all major conflicts since the branch was established in 1951, including Malaya, Vietnam, Gulf War, Somalia, East Timor Intervention, Iraq War, and Afghanistan.

RAN Clearance Diver Application
Official Description of RAN Clearance Diving Teams and their Roles
Clearance Divers Association This site has some really good photos of CD's from numerous conflicts around the world. They're highly respected here (Australia) but don't get very much media attention.

There was a program some years ago on TV showing people attempting CD selection. From memory they have only a small percentage that pass.

Royal Australian Navy Chief Petty Officer Luke Graham, 20 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Squadron, 1 EOD Troop, Afghanistan.
Royal Australian Navy Chief Petty Officer Luke Graham, 20 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Squa.jpg