Mike Hutchens
Dive Specialist
National Undersea Research Center
University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Born on May 25, 1969 in Colorado.

Mike spent a lot of time in the outdoors growing up around the small mountain town of Buena Vista, Colorado. He spent most of his childhood and teenage years camping, backpacking, canoeing, and fishing. Mike was also very active in the Boy Scouts of America, and was awarded his Eagle scout in 1984.

Twelve hours after his high school graduation, Mike arrived at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for Army basic training. He spent the next ten years traveling to five continents, and twenty-six different countries, as well as the United States. In 1991, Mike spent eight months in the Persian Gulf with the 101st Airborne Division, and was awarded two Air Medals for his actions as a helicopter door gunner during the invasion of Iraq. In October of 1993, Mike attended the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He later sustained an injury and was medically released from the Special Forces. Mike exited the Army with an honorable discharge in November 1996.

Mike returned to Colorado and found a telecommunications job with Avant Datacom in Denver, where he worked with telephone, computer, and fiber optic communications. In 1997, he moved to Hawaii to work on aircraft for Lear. Not long afterwards, he was learned about a job opening at UNCW's National Undersea Research Center in Florida. Mike was looking for something new, and checked out the program in July 1998. He was immediately drawn to the program and submitted an application. He was hired as a contract worker that same month, and became a permanent employee the following year. Mike looks forward to the time he spends working and living underwater. His job not only includes working on the electronics and communications on board the Aquarius, but he is also a habitat technician, and EMT (emergency medical technician).

Mike enjoys spending most of his free time with his wife Julie and his Labrador, Duke.