Medical Diver

When I was stationed with UCT TWO one of the jobs was setting up an Expeditionary Camp on the ice in the Arctic about four miles north of an oil field town called Dead Horse, Alaska. The UCT’s set up this camp every few years. There was an offshore oil and gas drilling rig about six miles out to sea from Dead Horse.

Our purpose of the camp was to dive the ice. Theoretically we could parachute onto the ice with snow mobiles then smooth down the ice creating a runway (like they do to smooth the infield of a baseball field) for a large C-130 cargo plane full of all the expeditionary camp and gear. We moved recompression chambers, tents and everything with sleds and snow mobiles.

Expedient Underwater Pipeline Repairs Late Summer 2002

When a UCT TWO Air Detachment of divers deploys we would pack a cargo plane full of trucks, boats, TRCS’s and literally tons of dive gear. This job took three to four weeks and then another five to six weeks waiting for available cargo planes to go home by way of Germany. For this job we used a C-141 to get there and two C- 130’s to get back.

I stopped and asked, “Joe, what are you doing”? Right away I noticed the movement was a person and they stood erect, at attention and sideways trying to narrow their profile. Again, I said “Joe, what in the heck are you up to”, as I stood up and approached him? Well, the next thing that happened was some stranger tried to bolt for the doorway, he bumps into my shoulder, and I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him to the ground. It was a reflex and he slammed down to the wooden deck on his back. The fella spun to his knees, and he was desperately Clawing away with his long fingernails. I ended ripping part of his t-shirt off him and he started for the door while I was yelling to all the sleeping divers that we had a fricking thief in the tent.