Diving in Switzerland.

Tom was on the road internationally for SPARTANAT again to check out the top training opportunities. This time he had to go underground in Switzerland. No, not because he was wanted, but because he wanted to learn. He participated in the "Tactical Rebreather Course" at TACTICAL SOLUTION CENTER (TSC) near Biel. And after resurfacing, he wrote this report for us:

The Tactical Rebreather Course at TSC lasts three days. Here, participants learn how to handle diving equipment – especially closed-circuit devices that leave no trace because the breathing air circulates in a closed circuit – as well as the tactical use of diving elements like combat divers. The fundamentals include orienting underwater, details of closed-circuit diving, and the technical elements of the closed-circuit device. The diving school DEEP WORLD proved to be an unbeatable partner for TSC, and I'm delighted that Moritz and his TSC have found this excellent partner. DEEP WORLD provided everything, from food to complete equipment, nothing was missing. A big thank you once again.

When we arrived at the diving school in Bern, it was already evening, and we got to know the participants of the course. By the way, all nicely multinational and I was able to improve my English a bit.

The final exercise was a hostage situation in a castle in the middle of Bern. Three intelligence agents have been kidnapped and are being held captive there. Our task was to quickly identify an approach to get close unseen and to escape after the assault.

As we discussed the different approaches, we were continually presented with a new situation report. We had to adjust our planning accordingly.

Finally, the situation escalated. When the exercise management informed us that one employee had been killed and the other two were probably severely injured, our isolation phase began, and we separated from our mobile phones and personal equipment. We moved to another room to conduct detailed mission planning.

Once the mission planning was completed, diving equipment and gear were issued. By now, the clock showed nearly 7:30 pm. It was already very dark outside, so underwater orientation would have to take place at night. Here, another big shoutout to Moritz and Remo Läng from DEEP WORLD, who recognized the risks of a night dive. Therefore, due to the motto "safety first," closed-circuit devices were not used. This way, the teams outside the water could always see exactly where the divers were and whether anyone had gone missing or stayed behind.

When the "GO" was given, we moved with a van to the entry point. We were supposed to dive through a tributary of a lake coming from the city and after about 900 meters of diving, enter the sewers to come out of a manhole near the castle. Diving proved to be very difficult as we had continuous counter-current the whole time. Diving in the middle of the river was almost impossible. A few hundred meters upstream was a sewage treatment plant that was pumping water (thankfully treated) back towards the lake from which we came swimming. After what felt like an eternity, we reached the entry point into the sewers at 9:30 pm.

After the exit, a break was taken, and we moved from this park back to the diving school building. Here, in the basement, the sewer access became our new entry point, which we reached through diving.

Remo and Moritz handed out FX weapons. These weapons use non-lethal ammunition, but a hit can be quite painful and leave a blue stain.

Our task was to search the building as quietly as possible, clear each level, respond correctly to identified threats, and rescue our hostages.

The building was very extensive, and we were given several targets. Searching also posed special challenges to the team: such as splitting up the group and reuniting them again – and above all, avoiding "Friendly Fire." The gentlemen without necks were to take the lead here. 😉

As we searched the building, we heard increasingly loud painful groans, indicating that the hostages must be nearby. Once we eliminated the last threats with the hostages, our new challenges were two injured hostages – one responsive, one immobile and unresponsive. This second hostage was represented by a life-size doll. Both hostages were immediately treated. After confirming their identity codes, both were led towards the exit. However, the condition of both hostages deteriorated significantly at our entry point. They were further treated here according to TCCC.

Once both were stable, the return dive with the injured hostages was not possible. We evacuated them with the help of a hijacked vehicle to our Safehouse. The exercise ended at 11:30 pm.

My conclusion of the whole thing: The praise is hard to beat. Moritz always manages to crown the whole thing. I have never experienced a Tactical Dive Course with everything that goes with it, plus a final exercise in such a frame and executed so perfectly. Especially not in the private sector. Reno from DEEP WORLD also deserves my thanks as an extreme athlete and like-minded individual. Without his diving school, this would not have been possible.

What I particularly liked was the humor and the simultaneous professionalism. No one is too proud to crack a joke or act like a clown. But when it comes to something serious, everyone is a proper professional. That's exactly how it should be...

TSC Tactical Dive Courses 2014:
9th to 11th May: Tactical Rebreather (http://www.tscgroup.ch/content/tactical-rebreather)
10th and 11th May: Tactical Swimmer (http://www.tscgroup.ch/content/tactical-swimmer)
11th to 14th May: Tactical Dive Operator Level 1 (http://www.tscgroup.ch/content/tactical-swimmer)
Registrations to: [email protected]

HERE is the website of the TSC Group.

HERE is the Facebook page of the TSC Group.