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110310-01 Combat diver qualification course challenges Special Forces
KEY WEST, Fla. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, March 10, 2011) - Living and working on the sea can be difficult and dangerous. Working under the water can be even more unforgiving. Those who dare navigate under the waves, not just on top of them, to do what the Army needs them to do are among the Special Forces' elite: combat divers.
The grueling seven-week Combat Diver Qualification Course, or CDQC, at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Fla., is neither for the weak of heart, or the idle of mind. It is as intense mentally as it is physically, with an attrition rate that truly begins before each class cycle does.
In order to be accepted to the course, candidates are required to pass as intense physical fitness and swim test at their home units, which must be documented by their command. So, getting there is only half the battle. For those who do make it into the course, one out of every three will never finish.
Regarded by many Soldiers as the toughest military school to endure, CDQC is run by C Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. CDQC is open to Special Forces and Ranger noncommissioned officers. Students learn surface and sub-surface waterborne infiltration methods.
The SF Underwater Operations School administers two other courses between its combat diver sessions: the Combat Diving Supervisor Course and the Diving Medical Technician Course.
