Polish soldiers practiced under the ice

The approaching winter turned out to be kind. The lovers of ice diving had their five minutes and could taste the charms of these seasonal overhead dives. Due to the long-lasting frosts, the conditions for ice diving were excellent and the whole country, as long and wide, could enjoy the benefits of winter.

Divers of the Polish uniformed services also took advantage of the frosty weather and thick ice cover. In the Military Training and Reconditioning Centre Mrągowo, in the first weeks of February, their skills were perfected by divers miner and divers of the Navy engineering.

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During the two-week training course, in the waters of Lake Czos, the participants practiced preparing dive sites in ice conditions, ice diving, spatial orientation skills, and the ability to cope in emergency situations. Much attention was also paid to the issues of autoranging and mutual belay during diving in pairs.

[blockquote style=”1″]During our dive the ice was not covered with snow, so there was relatively good visibility below the surface. But even so, the divers’ situation can hardly be called comfortable. First of all, when they enter the water, they have to break through mental resistance. They have to get used to the fact that in case of danger they have only one way out – through the ice hole. Add to this the coldness of the lake. The water temperature fluctuates around one or two degrees Celsius – explains Lieutenant Commander Mazur.

The divers perfected both operating and cooperation procedures, as well as the ability to operate and use specialised diving and miners’ equipment and tools to carry out underwater engineering work.

The winter season offers an opportunity to practice diving operations in particularly difficult conditions, when the water surface is covered with ice and the air temperature drops below zero. This is when divers from Naval units improve their practical skills by consolidating the acquired theoretical knowledge during annual training camps.

The training was aimed at preparing mine divers and engineering divers to perform tasks in difficult winter conditions, preparing them to perform typical anti-mine and engineering tasks – in accordance with the purpose of individual teams and sections of the Miner Divers and Engineering Divers Groups.

Over 50 specialists from the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla and the 3rd Flotilla took part in the training. Logistic and hyperbaric support was provided by Underwater Medicine Groups from the Naval Port of Świnoujście and Gdynia.

The Navy has two Diver-Miners Groups within the 12th and 13th Minesweeper Squadrons (both are part of the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla). Apart from that, the full-time structure of the 8th Battalion of Sappers from Dziwnów (also the 8th FOW) and the 43rd Battalion of Sappers from Rozewie (the 3rd Flotilla) includes specialists in underwater works – engineering divers.

The group was led by Lieutenant Commander Lucjan Mazur – from the command of the ¦winouj¶cie flotilla. The organizer of the grouping was the General Command of the Armed Forces.

Source: 8fow.wp.mil.pl, polska-zbrojna.pl Photo: Adam Pociecha