Tridiving.com Suba Diving

Tom Trindell answers:

Besides the obvious of a wet suit is mostly wet inside and a dry suit isn’t ( or isn’t supposed to be….much ), there’s a difference in material. Dry suits can be made of tri laminate ( thin, flexible and cold), crushed neoprene ( thicker, warmer) or vulcanized rubber ( thin, pretty bullet proof, cold). There’s also a difference in how to dive a dry suit vs a wet suit. Your trim will be different in a dry suit. You may need to use ankle weights and you’ll definitely be packing more lead on your belt or in your pouch.
Yes, there is actually a course you ought to take. It’s not really mandatory but it’s common sense to do it. Some dive shops won’t let a dry suit go out the door unless they give a course on it. You’re right in that a major part of the skills you’ll learn have to do with buoyancy. You’ll learn how to control it and what to do if you really get in a mess. Without that training, you could be on a rocket ride to the surface from depth and feet first to top it off. Not good if you were deep and close to maxing out your bottom time. There is no way to vent air trapped in boots because there’s no dump. Only your training will get you out of it and get that trapped air to where it needs to be. The flip side is swimming along with your head in the muck. I’ve seen both. Then there’s the suit squeeze issue. The dry suit diver looking like he just got kicked in the berries…just had a suit squeeze. In the schnutz. Been there with an improperly connected inflator. Never again. Nothing like a big hairy brute called ambient water pressure gripping the twins to make sure it’s the last time you do that.
Besides the safety issues, there’s also suit maintenance to deal with. This you’ll also be taught in course. A dry suit only stays dry inside if the owner takes care of that suit. That means knowing how to take care of seals, dump valves, inflators and zippers. A dry suit is a major cash investment but it can be ruined if you don’t know how to take care of it. Even folding or storing it incorrectly can lead to issues.
Don’t forget that you’ll also need to modify your regs a bit. You’ll have to add a whip and figure out your hose routing for your rig.

Tom Trindell answers:

Get opinions from different recruiters.

All spec ops are intensive and have high operation tempo (OPTEMPO). Each also specialize in something.

Special Forces (Army): Have to be at least 20 years old. Training takes a year to two years to complete. Selection rate is about 25% with high washout rate during the qual course. They specialize in all unconventional warfare but in particular training foreign nationals. They must be fluent in one other language, learn the culture inside out plus be proficient in shooting, jumping out of planes etc They are broken up into 12 man operating teams or detachments. Each has two engineers, commo, weapons sergeants, medical, lead NCO, Warrant Officer and Officer. Each team can specialze in either scuba, HALO, mountaineering and other specialties. If you like to teach others how to be a soldier and fight for their own country so the US doesnt have to, this is the group.

Ranger (Army): Light infantry unit under Spec Op Command. School is 61 days long and considered to be one of the most physically demanding if not the most physically demanding school in the military. They are fast response light infantry who are good for direct action missions where a normal unit would not be qualified in. A large number of people begin their spec ops career in the Army here.

SEALs: Someone else will have to explain them better. Mainly used in direct action unconventional warfare.

Air Force PJs: Same as above but more medical and rescue oriented Im told. The few I have met have been crazy. I could have told them to scale the 250 ft jump towers at Benning and they would have. Then again I was told some SEALs have already done that….

Marine Force Recon: As far as I know they still are not technically spec ops but are about ready to be absorbed into Spec Op Command Someone else will have to comment on them.

Sorry I couldnt help you more. Be prepared for some hard training and challenges. I give you applause for even wanting to attempt the training. Oh yea, any advice you take, ensure its from someone who has done one of the courses, have attempted one of the courses, or is ex military. There seems to be a lot of civilians who never have been in the military who want to say what a soldier is. In my experience, that will get you no where and often just confuse you as you head for your goal.

Tom Trindell answers:

It’s been awhile since I did my open water . If I recall, you need to be able to swim on the surface for 200 M, using any style you wish and tread water for 10 minutes. It’s not a race, you just need to be able to do the distance in the stroke you are most comfortable with.
As for just wanting to do a single dive, well, you can. PADI shops hold what’s called a Discover Scuba. When you’re comfortable with your swimming ability, you can sign up at a local PADI shop for their next Discover outing. It will take place in a pool. You’ll get basic instruction and be under the supervision of an Instructor for about an hour of in water time. Usually this course is offered free or at a small pool fee of a couple dollars. It’s meant to give you a chance at scuba to see if you like it before investing 300 bucks on a course and more on gear.
If you do decide to take the full open water course, it will take a number of days, both in class, in the pool and in a safe open water environment to complete. There is no such thing as a weekend learn to dive, package.