Byron Croker
National Undersea Research Center
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Diving Specialist
dvmstrbyron@juno.com

Introduced to the water at an early age, I learned to swim at six months of age in sunny San Diego, California. As the years passed, I spent lots of time on and in the water - boating, skiing, and swimming. When I was twelve, I earned my first diving certification through a little dive shop in Gainesville, Florida. This was one of my most memorable experiences and something that has stayed with me throughout my life.

My professional experience began after high school graduation. I enlisted in the United States Navy as a nuclear propulsion plant operator and electronics technician. Completing the most demanding enlisted military training pipeline, I went to work on the USS San Juan (SSN-751). I continued to expand my knowledge of electronics and electrical systems while in the Navy and gained extensive experience in shipboard operating systems, which helps me today as a contributing member of the Aquarius crew.

After the Navy, I worked for Avery Dennison in Framingham, Massachusetts as an industrial maintenance technician and I also took some college classes at Framingham State College. While living in Massachusetts I earned my dive master certification with Mass Diving and expanded my diving experiences to New England waters. But I missed life on the ocean so I decided to move to Wilmington, North Carolina where I enrolled in the Marine Technology program at Cape Fear Community College. During my time at Cape Fear I volunteered with the engineering department at the school and we built a manned submersible to study pelagic (open water) fish. After two semesters at Cape Fear I learned about a job opening for an electronics technician at UNCW's National Undersea Research Center, working on the Aquarius project. I applied and got the job! I work with an elite group of people here in Key Largo who enjoy working above and below the water.

With one full mission season under my belt and the current mission year underway, I look forward to my third saturation mission. Every mission has its own individual character, including accomplishments and failures. Each missions expands our knowledge and experience as operators and marine technicians. This mission will be the third NEEMO project mission in our joint venture with the NASA space program and I look forward to assisting our nations space exploration program.