DEATH OF THE MAIDEN DURING A ROUTINE DIVE.
The torch has been passed to a new gender at the Coast Guard Academy. What does this mean for the Coast Guard and the armed forces in general? How will this affect our military readiness? Since the Coast Guard is the lead agency in the Department of Homeland Security, how will this affect the War on Terror?
Are Americans ready to have their daughters brought home in body bags? How many female casualties will it take before America says enough is enough?
Two Coast Guard divers assigned to the Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Healy died Thursday August 17 during a routine dive operation in the Arctic Ocean approximately 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska.
Deceased are Lt. Jessica Hill, 30, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 26, of Miami.
CGC Healy was engaged in a science mission when the accident occurred. The dive was intended to be a cold-water familiarization dive near the bow of the ship, a routine activity when the ship is operating in Arctic ice. During this type of dive, the ship sits idle and hazardous pumps and propellers are disengaged.
The cause of this dive accident is under investigation. The Coast Guard will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of this accident. A formal Board of Inquiry will be convened, but the Coast Guard will be investigating itself.
How could two people die during a routine dive? Since a male and a female died, it is highly unlikely that gender played any role in the tragedy. That would leave possibly equipment failure, operator error, or negligence on the part of support personnel handling the logistics and support services. Who serviced their equipment? When was it last used before the accident? Who authorized the operation? Who was controlling the ship at the time of the incident? Who was on watch on the bridge and in the engine room? Who was assigned to monitor the progress of the diving operation on the forecastle? A young man and a young woman do not just die in a routine diving operation.
What was CGC Healy doing 500 miles north of Point Barrow, Alaska? Was she breaking ice, or taking water samples, or collecting marine mammal specimens? CGC Healy would in all likelihood be inside or at the edge of the multi-year Arctic pack ice. That ice is sky blue, super cold, and almost as hard as a diamond. This water is so cold that a person would only be capable of surviving for about two minutes in the water without a proper wet suit. It is so hard that it is capable of penetrating the steel hull of an icebreaker. Small pieces of pack ice, called bergie bits, can damage a rudder fluke or shaft, and damage a ship's rudder. Also the wire cable used to take Nansen water samples or deep core samples from the ocean floor can become wrapped around the rudder or propeller shaft. If either of these occurs it would be necessary to put a diver in the water to inspect the damages.
In order to ensure the stability of the ship, usually it is advisable to park the ship in the pack ice. That would ensure that the ship does not move while the divers are in the water.
The skipper of the CGC Healy is Captain Douglas G. Russell. The captain has total responsibility for the ship and the lives of all hands onboard. The American people and the parents and relatives of the crew place great confidence in his judgment and professional qualifications. Only the best qualified and the most experienced officers are given command of an icebreaker. His judgment, orders and actions prior to the deaths of the divers will be thoroughly scrutinized. If he should be relieved of command during the investigation, it would be a sure indication that preliminary indications are that he was derelict in some manner and that dereliction lead to the deaths of the divers. The Coast Guard will be quick to insulate itself from any direct liability for the wrongful deaths of two young divers.
If Captain Douglas Russell is relieved of command and he is assigned a detailed Coast Guard attorney, it would mean that he is facing a court-martial or dismissal. He would be wise to hire an experienced civilian attorney. His career and retirement pay would be in jeopardy. If relieved of command, he could consider himself a party to the investigation. That is not good news.
It would be interesting to know if Captain Russell was personally selected to command the Coast Guard's largest and newest icebreaker. Was he an Academy graduate? His medical record and his fitness report file would be of interest. Whether he was a drinking men, used artificial stimulants or prescription medications would have to be verified. Also, the psychological profile of Captain Russell would be crucial to see if he was stable enough to endure the rigors and the stress of long deployments to isolated environments. How attentive was he to details? Could he manage many things at once? Was he surrounded by capable officers to whom he could delegate important tasks? And what was his personal working relationship with the civilians from the National Science Foundation deployed on the ship?
The only known predators in the Arctic waters near the North Pole are polar bears. At the South Pole there are no polar bears, only killer whales and leopard seals.
Early news reports did not mention any of these reasons for the divers being in the water. The Coast Guard late Friday had conflicting information about what the
two divers were doing when they were killed. In the late afternoon, Coast
Guard officials said the two died during a "familiarization dive" for cold
water at the bow of the ship.
Earlier in the day, Coast Guard officials had said the two died during a
routine shallow-water dive to inspect the ship's rudder.
Had these two divers been in the water before, or was this their first time making an Artic dive? The Polar environment is very unforgiving. It allows no mistakes, not even one. Your first mistake can very well be your last.
Lt. Jessica Hill grew up in St. Augustine, Fla., and had a master's degree in
marine science from the University of South Alabama. She joined the
Coast Guard after college. Presumably she is a graduate of the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School at Yorktown, Virginia, unless she was given a direct commission.
Coast Guard divers train with U.S. Navy divers at the Navy diving school popularized in the 2000 film MEN OF HONOR located in Panama City, Fla. Any able-bodied person who is physically fit, whether an officer or enlisted person, can apply. Only a few openings are available each year. Selection is determined by factors including command approval, physical fitness,
swimming abilities and other capabilities. Beauty plays no part in the selection. A strong sense of duty and a desire to serve your country is all this is required.
Labels: Arctic Diver Dies.
posted by ichbinalj at 5:21 PM
12 Comments:
The words DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY have been emblazoned on the United States Military Academy’s coat of arms since 1898 and the mantra of the late General Douglas MacArthur.
They are considered a code for military leadership and loyalty to the United States and decorated World War II veteran George Putnam has always ended his radio show “Talk Back” with those three words.
But now 'this hallowed creed has been transmogrified to read ‘BEAUTY, Honor, Country’ at a new multi-million-dollar Landmark Gateway Plaza on the Veterans Administration grounds in West Los Angeles,'Vietnam War-era vet Robert L. Rosebrock, who is leading the charge against the bronzed words on a concrete wall at the entrance to the VA grounds, told NewsMax.
Rosebrock, president of Healthy Hour Enterprises – which hosts business networking events in Southern California – calls the 'DUTY' to 'Beauty' change “blasphemy and defamation against the three most revered words in military history.”
Rosebrock wrote in the West L.A. Business Monthly that this perverted message belittles the rigors of military duty. He is leading the charge to change the bronzed words on the cement wall at the multi-million-dollar Landmark Gateway Plaza on the Veterans Administration grounds in West Los Angeles.
MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR ONE OF THE DIVERS KILLED IN THE ARCTIC, BUT NOTHING ABOUT Lt. Jessica Hill.
R 231917Z AUG 06 ZUI ASN-A00235000013 ZYB
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-12//
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS //N05360//
ALCOAST 436/06
COMDTNOTE 5360
SUBJ: MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR BM2 STEVEN DUQUE, USCG
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 182131Z AUG 06/ALCOAST 431/06
1. BM2 STEVEN DUQUE OF MIAMI LAKES, FL, WHO DIED WHILE CONDUCTING
DIVING OPERATIONS FROM CGC HEALY, WILL BE HONORED AS LISTED BELOW.
UNIFORM FOR ATTENDEES IS SERVICE DRESS BLUE WITH COMBINATION COVER.
A. FRI 25 AUG 06
1500-2100 PUBLIC VIEWING, WITH 1900 SERVICE.
FRED HUNTER FUNERAL HOME
6301 TAFT ST., HOLLYWOOD, FL 33024
954-989-1550
B. SAT 26 AUG 06
1100 CATHOLIC MASS.
NATIVITY CATHOLIC CHURCH
5220 JOHNSON ST., HOLLYWOOD, FL 33021
954-987-3300
C. MON 28 AUG 06
1000 MEMORIAL SERVICE AND MILITARY HONORS.
CG STATION FT. LAUDERDALE
BROWARD COUNTY PARK
7000 N. OCEAN DRIVE
DANIA, FL 33004-3079
954-927-1611
ASHES TO BE COMMITTED TO SEA FOLLOWING HONORS CEREMONY.
2. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE DUQUE FAMILY REQUESTS DONATIONS BE MADE
TO COAST GUARD MUTUAL ASSISTANCE, IN THE NAME OF BM2 STEVEN DUQUE.
3. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.
4. CAPT M. C. COSENZA, USCG, ACTING DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT, SENDS.
BT
NNNN
MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR LT. JESSICA ELLEN HILL.
R 222140Z AUG 06 ZUI ASN-A00234000037 ZYB
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-12//
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS //N05360//
ALCOAST 434/06
COMDTNOTE 5360
SUBJ: MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR LT JESSICA ELLEN HILL, USCG
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 182131Z AUG 06/ALCOAST 431/06
1. LT JESSICA HILL OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FL, WHO DIED WHILE CONDUCTING
DIVING OPERATIONS FROM CGC HEALY, WILL BE HONORED IN A MEMORIAL
SERVICE. THE SERVICE WILL COMMENCE AT 1100 THURSDAY 24 AUGUST
2006, AT THE MISSION OF NOMBRE DE DIOS,30 OCEAN AVE, ST. AUGUSTINE,
FL. PARKING WILL BE AT PRINCE OF PEACE VOTIVE CHURCH, 101 SAN
MARCO AVE, ST AUGUSTINE, FL 32084.
UNIFORM FOR ATTENDEES IS SERVICE DRESS BLUE.
HER ASHES WILL BE COMMITTED TO THE SEA AT A LATER DATE.
2. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE HILL FAMILY REQUESTS DONATIONS BE MADE
TO:
MARINELAND
9600 OCEANSHORE BOULEVARD
ST AUGUSTINE, FL 32080
904-471-1111
ATTN: MAGGIE JUST
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO THE DOLPHIN CONSERVATION CENTER AT
MARINELAND. DONATIONS MUST BE MADE IN THE NAME OF JESSICA HILL TO
ENSURE PROPER DISTRIBUTION.
3. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.
4. CAPT MICHAEL COSENZA, USCG, ACTING DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT, SENDS.
BT
NNNN
CAPTAIN RELIEVE OF COMMAND AFTER DEATH OF DIVERS
By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times staff reporter
The captain of the Seattle-based Coast Guard icebreaker Healy has lost command of the ship, two weeks after two of the ship's divers died on a research expedition in the Arctic Ocean.
Capt. Douglas G. Russell was temporarily relieved of his post Wednesday after the Coast Guard's chief in the Pacific, Vice Adm. Charles D. Wurster, had a "loss of confidence in the officer's ability to command," the Coast Guard announced.
Coast Guard officials wouldn't say specifically what led to that conclusion, but it's not a routine step after a fatal accident, said Lt. Cmdr. Glynn Smith, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Pacific Area.
"It depends on the facts of the case," he said.
Russell had been in charge of the ship since June. He is being replaced by Capt. Daniel K. Oliver, the Healy's previous commanding officer.
The Coast Guard has disclosed little about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Lt. Jessica Hill, 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 22, of Miami.
The two died Aug. 17 during a routine dive about 60 feet off the bow of the Healy as it floated 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, Smith said. The pair were diving to check equipment and become familiar with diving in the frigid water, according to the Coast Guard.
But no additional information is available because the Coast Guard is investigating the deaths, Smith said.
Duque's family had little reaction to news of the captain losing command of the ship. Nathalie Duque Bello, Duque's sister, said the family does not know what led to the deaths.
Hill's family could not be reached Wednesday.
The 420-foot Healy is the largest and newest of three icebreakers stationed in Seattle. At the time of the accident, it was on a six-month scientific-research expedition that began in April.
Scientists aboard the ship were studying the impact of predators on organisms at the bottom of the Bering Sea; collecting seismic data and sediment cores; and measuring water temperature and tracking nutrients from the Pacific and Arctic oceans, according to the Coast Guard.
Research was cut short after the deaths, and the Healy is scheduled to return to Seattle on Monday.
Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Deaths cut Coast Guard cutter mission short
Somber crew brings Healy to home port
Monday, September 4, 2006
By LARRY LANGE
P-I REPORTER
The Coast Guard cutter Healy returned to its Seattle home port Sunday, weeks early, and things will not be the same.
Two members of the ship's diving team, Lt. Jessica Hill, 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 22, of Miami, died during a training dive Aug. 17. An investigation into the deaths is under way.
A new commander is taking over, at least temporarily, now that the ship's captain at the time has been relieved in the wake of the deaths.
Two of the ship's scientific missions were scrubbed because of the deaths, and the vessel returned to its Pier 36 berth two months earlier than expected, with the crew not completely over the loss of their shipmates.
Morale "hasn't been the highest, but they're trying to cope," navigator Tim Sullivan said of the crew.
The six-year-old ship was on a scientific mission, investigating the Arctic water and ocean floor as part of research into global warming, when the deaths cut short their work.
The Coast Guard said the deaths occurred after "a shallow water Arctic familiarization dive" that was part of the divers' training. The incident occurred 500 miles northwest of Barrow, Alaska.
At one point, "somebody mentioned that they wanted to bring the divers up," said Sullivan, who said he was on the ice nearby when the trouble occurred. He said the two were brought aboard ship and given emergency medical aid, but could not be revived.
The then-commander, Capt. Douglas Russell, announced the divers' deaths more than an hour after shipmates began the unsuccessful resuscitation, calling the incident "a tragic dive accident."
The two divers' bodies were airlifted from the Healy, returned to Seattle for autopsies and then returned home to Florida to their families.
Surviving crew members were offered counseling by a team of professionals who were flown to Alaska to meet the ship. The ship made an unscheduled four-day stop in Kodiak to give crew members a break, but the lost divers were still on their minds.
Russell, who had taken over command of the ship in June, was relieved of his post pending the investigation. The Coast Guard's Pacific operations commander, Vice Adm. Charles Wurster, said he had a "loss of confidence in (Russell's) ability to command."
Crew members "have been through a lot," said the acting commander, Capt. Daniel Oliver. Oliver, who had skippered the Healy until June, was sent to guide the Healy back to Seattle. The ship's executive officer, Jeff Jackson, will take over the ship until a permanent commander is named.
In addition to the loss of Hill and Duque, the deaths cut short testing of a small submarine and the mapping of the bottom of the Arctic Ocean off Alaska.
Little was being said about the deaths and the investigation Sunday after the ship docked. Crew members' relatives said they'd heard little and were glad their own family members on the boat made it back safely.
"It's just good to have him back and hug him and be able to connect with him after the tragic loss they had on board," said Carole Bark, whose son Jon Loftis serves as a diesel mechanic on the crew. "We'll have some kind of celebration. He didn't say anything" about the deaths.
It was a time to remember some good things about the two lost divers: about how Hill and four other dark-haired junior officers confused other crew members by donning dark glasses and the same style coat, or how Duque trained other crew members in using a rifle to ward off polar bears.
Mike Kane / P-I
Coast Guard Capt. Daniel Oliver was sent to guide the Healy back to Seattle after the ship's captain was relieved of his post when two members of the ship's diving team were killed during a training dive Aug. 17.
"It was kind of fun, shooting at blocks of ice," said Ensign Stephen Elliott, the ship's marine science officer.
The Coast Guard said there were no developments to announce explaining Hill's and Duque's deaths. Crew members said they didn't know details or felt constrained talking about it. Sullivan, the navigator, said he couldn't discuss everything he knew about the case to a reporter during an interview, because of the ongoing investigation.
"I just felt bad over the loss of great shipmates," he said. "I think I'll grieve for a long time for both of them."
Larry Lange can be reached at 206-448-8313 or larrylange@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A Coast Guard burial at sea
Petty officer died during Arctic Sea diving exercise
By John Holland
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted August 29 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE -- She remembered him as the little kid who raced his bike so fast he'd crash, or climbed trees so high he sometimes fell. Others remembered him as the ambitious and talented sailor who volunteered for any assignment and never seemed to fail.
All remembered him as a hero.
U.S. Coast Guard Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Steven Duque, of Miami Lakes, was buried at sea Monday, 11 days after he drowned during a diving exercise in the Arctic Sea. His relatives and his Coast Guard family had different stories about Duque, but all struggled to explain the loss of the outgoing 22-year-old.
"We're here to celebrate BM2 Duque, to you guys; to me, he's my little brother," said Natalie Duque Bello, who left many sailors wiping tears during a brief and powerful speech. She then addressed her brother:
"You're a hero to your family and friends, to your shipmates, and most importantly, to your country, which he was so proud to serve," she said.
Duque and Lt. Jessica Hill, of St. Augustine,died Aug. 17 during what was considered a routine cold-water diving exercise in the Arctic Circle, 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska. The Coast Guard has not provided any information about the incident and said an investigation is under way.
Monday's service was attended by top Coast Guard brass, including Rear Adm. David Kunkel, Master Chief Petty Officer Charles Bowen -- the Coast Guard's highest-ranking enlisted man -- and several captains and commanders.
Born in Queens, N.Y., Duque grew up in Miami Lakes and joined the Coast Guard after graduating from high school in 2002. He quickly excelled, colleagues said, receiving several commendations and promotions. After spending time on the Miami-based cutter Matagorda, and two years based in Fort Lauderdale, Duque joined the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Healy, based in Seattle.
Earlier this year, he was chosen to attend the prestigious Navy diving training center in Panama City, making him one of the youngest to be certified in the Coast Guard.
On Monday, friends who served with him in South Florida and in Seattle remembered him as fearless and eager to learn.
"He had natural leadership ability. People wanted to follow him and worked hard because they didn't want to disappoint him," said Petty Officer 1st Class Phillip DeWalt, Duque's mentor on the Healy. "He had a lot of energy, and it rubbed off on others. He had plenty of friends everywhere he was stationed."
Ghosts of the abyss. From 20 feet to Davey Jones' Locker.
Lt. Jessica Hill, one of two Coast Guard divers who mysteriously died during a so-called routine training dive in the frozen Arctic on 17 August 2006 sank uncontrollably as far as 190 feet below the icy surface and suffocated, according to an autopsy summary released to The Associated Press on Tuesday, 21 November 2006.
Lt Hill and BM2 Steven Duque had slipped into a patch of open water near the ship's bow and were planning to dive to a maximum depth of 20 feet, in support of Arctic Research Operations onboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy 500 miles north of Point Barrow, Alaska.
According to an informed source, a support team was supposed to hold ropes attached to the divers lest they became disoriented under the ice.
The Coast Guard has released little information about the deaths but relieved from command the Healy's Commanding Officer, Captain Douglas G. Russel, citing a loss of confidence in his ability. A spokesman said the Coast Guard would not discuss Hill's autopsy report pending the outcome of its investigations, expected next year.
The autopsy summary, written by Armed Forces Regional Medical Examiner Stanley D. Adams, said Hill suffered "an uncontrolled descent to a possible depth of 189 feet."
The amount of air in the divers' tanks would have lasted a half-hour at 20 feet, but only 10 minutes at 180, the report said. By the time Hill, 31, and Duque, 22, had been pulled up, their air tanks were empty or nearly empty, the report said.
The dive support team reportedly pulled the divers to the surface after becoming concerned; attempts to resuscitate the two failed.
The autopsy ruled Hill's death an accident. The cause was asphyxia, lung trauma caused as pressure decreases during ascents, and possible air bubbles in the blood.
It is quite likely the divers lost consciousness prior to or during the ascent. Adams added that his findings must be squared with investigations into the state of the divers' equipment and into the circumstances of the dive.
The autopsy summary also noted that a third diver planned to take part, but immediately aborted the dive for reasons that are not mentioned.
The icebreaker Healy was sailing through the Arctic with about 35 scientists to collect data that would help them map the ocean floor. Hill was the ship's dive officer, as well as the liaison between the scientists and the crew.
Lt Jessica Hill's father, William Hill Jr, of St. Augustine, Fla., said he plans to ask an independent pathologist to review the autopsy results.
His daughter's birthday would have been Monday, 20 November. she would have been 31 years old.
May God bless her and her grieving family.
drslouha writes:
The missing info in conjunction with the relief of the CO indicates a significant deviation of standard policy and removes the possibility indigenous involvement. Having been on the short end of a few Alaskan “reactionary” operations myself, I’m sure there are quite a few of us out there who are very familiar with how forgiving the arctic can be towards un-preparedness.
1991 while stationed the Storis key personnel undertook Human Error Accident Reduction Training, which was focused on identifying error “links” that could lead to an error “chain”. If no tending line was used, the Safety Officer should have terminated the operation prior to entering the water. The list of errors is to long, the accident could not have happened if any one of the many variables were acted on. In the ordnance rate this would be tantamount to an un-intentional discharge of a weapon. Analytical bull cracky aside, I’m saddened at times at the direction my Coast Guard seems to be slipping. The “Goat Locker” is tasked with the smooth & safe operation of the CG, senior enlisted have the daunting task of ensuring those senior have the complete information package to base the direction that will lead to a safe Mission Complete.
My heart and prayers go out to the families of these two professionals. It’s not easy getting diver certified, they had the desire, the drive and understood the risks involved. Like all young Coasties, they lived life large.
Don
39nholdin writes:
Diving operations are the responsibility of the Diving supervisor, Master Diver, Diving Medical Officer and ultimately the C.O. Qualified tenders would never let out 190' of life-line in any SCUBA open ocean dive! The divers must have been unattended. In addition was a required Buddy Line used? Were the divers equipped with Bouyancy Controls or just weights? There are established line jerk signals and no doubt communications diver to diver and topside. Were predive checks accomplished, including Dive plan briefing, Comm checks and equipment verified certified man safe? Was the breathing medium confirmed safe and free of Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide? In that frigid environment a divers hot water (life support) system would be in use. If it was in use did it fail leading to hypothermia and imminent death? No mention of a diver stage being utilized for the divers to stand on for desent and assent. My condolences to the families for this tradegy resulting from incompetency. I suspect this tradegy was the result of poor planning, poor supervision and unqualified tenders. It should not have happened. This brings back memories of U.S. Navy Saturation Diver Barry Cannon during SELAB in the late 1960's. This should result in all Coast Guard Deep Sea and SCUBA divers retrain and requalify as NEC 5342 at Navy Diving School, Panama City, FL.
Warm Regards and Safe Diving,
J. Work MMC/SS(DV) USN Ret. NEC:5342/531
MLB377 writes:
I hope, at a minimum, that CGIS and the OIG have been assigned this incident to investigate. I'm not a diver, but I'm a 20 year police veteran. This incident stinks bad and needs to be properly investigated and brought before not only HQ, but Congress. I'm so sorry this happened. God bless the families and friends.
semper paratus
Ice, Mystery Shroud Tragedy
Deaths Of Coast Guard Divers In The Arctic Under Investigation
By Gene Johnson, Associated Writer
Published on 9/23/2006 in Nation, World » National News
Seattle
FIVE HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF Alaska, a group of shipmates from the
Coast
Guard cutter Healy tossed a football on the blue-and-white,
diamond-hard
Arctic ice.
Others milled about in the pleasantly cold, brilliant summer day,
stretching
their legs after a month aboard a rocking, bucking, 420-foot
icebreaker.
Lt. Jessica Hill and Boatswain's Mate Steven Duque seized the chance to
fit
in a training dive and slipped into a patch of open water near the
Healy's
bow. A support team held ropes attached to the divers, lest they become
disoriented under the ice. Several research scientists watched from the
deck, waiting for them to resurface.
More than a month later, what happened on the other end of those ropes
remains unclear — except that both divers died.
The Coast Guard has started two investigations, relieved the Healy's
captain, pulled all diving equipment off the ship for examination, and
suspended all polar diving. Nothing has been said about what might have
killed Hill, 31, and Duque, 22, on Aug. 17, or when the investigations
will
conclude.
“We can get no word whatsoever, and that's tough,” Hill's father,
William
Hill Jr., said. “We can't even get the death certificates.”
The Healy, commissioned in 1999 and capable of sailing through ice up
to 8
feet thick, was in the Arctic as part of a research mission backed by
the
National Science Foundation. On board were three dozen scientists, led
by a
group from the University of Texas at Austin, collecting data that
would
help them map the ocean floor and study the Earth's crust in hopes of
gaining a better understanding of earthquakes, tsunamis and plate
tectonics.
Hill, the ship's marine science officer and a native of St. Augustine,
Fla.,
was an experienced civilian diver before she joined the Coast Guard
about
four years ago. Her shipmates described her as a fun-loving officer who
enjoyed working with the researchers onboard. During the Healy's trip
to the
North Pole last year, she posed on the ice in a bikini by a
red-and-white-striped pole brought for the occasion.
Duque, whose responsibilities included keeping the Healy's decks in
order,
operating machinery and driving launch boats, was from Miami. His
colleagues
said he was exceedingly professional and inspired others to take their
jobs
seriously.
They had been under water for about 10 minutes, estimated Harm Van
Avendonk,
a University of Texas geophysics researcher. It was near the end of the
two-hour break, and many people had returned to the ship.
“I saw people from the bow looking intently down on the ice, and I
sensed
immediately that they didn't look relaxed,” he said. “It was taking a
long
time for the divers to reappear.”
Steve Stevenoski, a high school teacher from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.,
remained on the ice and was videotaping the expansive frozen seascape
when
he heard shouts from the dive support team, calling for extra hands to
man
the ropes. He dropped his camera and tried to help.
In a blur, the crew's training took over, several witnesses said.
The divers were pulled up by the ropes. Blankets and stretchers were
rushed
onto the ice, and EMTs immediately began performing CPR in an attempt
to
revive them. Soon they were carried to the sick bay onboard, where they
were
pronounced dead at 8 p.m., roughly two hours after the accident.
“What I can tell you is this: These people were very well trained.
Every
time we did something we had to have a safety briefing,” Stevenoski
said.
“There was an accident that was completely unforeseen. What's unusual
is we
don't know why they died.”
Van Avendonk stressed that while about 50 others were playing football
on
the ice, taking panoramic photos and going for walks, “the people
involved
in the dive were entirely focused on the dive.”
According to Coast Guard protocol, they would have created a “dive
profile,”
detailing who was diving, how far down they were going and how long
they
would spend at various depths.
Typically such plans are drawn up by a ship's dive officer, though the
captain is ultimately responsible for the safety of divers. That could
explain why Capt. Douglas Russell, who transferred from a desk job in
Washington, D.C., to the Healy in June, was relieved of command less
than
two weeks after the accident. Vice Adm. Charles D. Wurster, commander
of the
Coast Guard in the Pacific, said he had lost confidence in Russell.
Before he was relieved, Russell wrote on the ship's Web site that
Arctic
operations would continue following a four-day stop in Kodiak, Alaska.
Instead, the Healy returned to its home port of Seattle under Russell's
predecessor, Capt. Daniel K. Oliver.
The only signs of the tragedy during a recent tour of the ship were a
grief
counseling pamphlet on a table in the scientists' lounge and the locked
and
empty room where dive equipment is stored. One investigation is
focusing on
the root cause in hopes of preventing future accidents; the other is a
broader administrative investigation that could result in findings of
responsibility.
One investigator, a lieutenant, said Hill and Duque were the first
Coast
Guard divers to die under water since the 1970s.
The Coast Guard described the dive as routine, but any dive in frigid
waters
beneath 4-feet-thick ice poses serious dangers. The cold can numb the
extremities. Divers typically wear dry suits, which use air to help
determine buoyancy. Such suits can balloon during ascents as pressure
decreases — if the diver doesn't release the air quickly enough, he or
she
can shoot toward the surface and crash into the ice.
They also must use equipment that can handle the cold water, such as
breathing regulators outfitted with rubberized covers filled with
antifreeze.
Hill and Duque had both attended the Navy's dive school, which is
required
of all Coast Guard divers. William Hill said his daughter resolved to
attend
the school shortly after joining the Coast Guard, when her crew
investigated
a sunken German ship that was leaking oil off California.
“She had to stand on the deck while everyone else was going down,” he
said.
“That's when she decided to become a Coast Guard diver. She was only
5-foot-5, and her little short legs had to work like mad to compete
with the
guys, but she thought she could do anything they could do.”
The deaths hit the Healy's crew of 75 hard, said Ensign Stephen
Elliott, who
was on the ice as part of the dive support team that day. He said he
couldn't discuss anything that might be covered by the investigation.
Neal Amaral, a lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserve, was Lt. Jessica Hill's predecessor as marine science officer, dive officer and officer of the deck on the Coast Guard cutter Healy.
On 2/20/2007 he said in a Guest Column Opinion in the Seattle Times
that Lt. Jessica Hill does bear some responsibility for what happened in the Arctic Circle last August to her and Duque. She spent four months at one of the world's most elite dive schools in Panama City, Fla., learning how to dive and supervise a dive. She was not allowed to effectively perform her duty as dive officer, as evidenced by the fact she had to record recreational dives completed on personal time for military qualification purposes. It is clear to me now why the Coast Guard took so long to release the results of its investigation. So many things went wrong on so many levels — beer, negligence and dereliction of duties.
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