Diving Teams Train for CSS Georgia Salvage

Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 6 conducted joint training at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLC-FS) June 16.

Sailors participating in the training are preparing for the salvage of the Civil War Ironclad CSS Georgia.

Senior Chief Navy Diver Steve Askew, a Master Diver assigned to MDSU 2, said:

The purpose of this training was to take EOD Techs, who are already qualified divers, and make them proficient in surface supply diving for the job we’re about to undertake in Savannah, Georgia.

The job in Savannah, Ga. Askew refers to is the salvaging of the CSS Georgia, which currently rests on the bottom of the Savannah River. Divers from MDSU 2 and EODMU 6 Technicians will be working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to bring up parts of the ship’s armor systems, steam engine components, small structure pieces and all her weapons, which include four cannon and upward of 50 projectiles, which are either rifle shells or cannon balls.

During the first two weeks of the job, there will be one Navy Diver and one EOD Technician diving together to retrieve unexploded ordnance and various artifacts, said Askew.

The joint training this week wraps up three months of training for the salvage operation, scheduled to take place from 21 June until 11 September.

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Image: US Navy