Michael J Oras, MD
Undersea Medical Officer
Lieutenant, Medical Corps, United States Navy
Branch Medical Clinic
Naval Submarine Base, Bangor, WA
Mikeoras@hotmail.com

I am an Undersea Medical Officer, stationed at the Bangor Submarine Base, just West of Seattle, Washington. As part of my job, I work with 2 local Navy dive lockers, whose tasks include submarine maintenance and repair, testing new underwater equipment, and inspecting marine structures. I get to dive with them fairly often, and it's pretty interesting work, although the water is a bit on the chilly side!

My interest in diving dates back to childhood. I was fascinated, as many children are, by all creatures - whether they crawled, flew, ran, or swam. I was raised in the mid-west, so I had no personal experience with ocean life, but I remember writing my first book report in fifth grade on Jacques Cousteau, after seeing one of his films and reading a book. I wanted to grow up to be a diver/scientist on The Calypso.

Well, things didn't work out exactly that way. I enlisted in the military shortly after high school, when I realized how bored I had become with academics. Since I had no real long-term goals at the time, I quit college and became a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy. This path eventually led me to Navy Dive School, with initial training in Little Creek, Virginia. Chesapeake Bay in the middle of winter is not a pleasant place to learn to dive, but that's where I underwent my initial training. I never thawed out after that experience, and I have refused to wear anything less than a full wet suit ever since, no matter where I dive!

I did my first tour as a Diving Medical Technician in Hawaii, working with a SEAL Team, and my second as a reservist, with an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit in Charleston, South Carolina. These were both fun and interesting experiences, and I really enjoyed the active, operational life style. I eventually developed aspirations to become a physician, however, so I applied, and was accepted, to the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. My intention was to become an Undersea Medical Officer, and again work in the operational environment. I graduated medical school in 1999, did a Transitional Internship in San Diego, and then went back to dive school for the second time in my Navy career. Pool week wasn't quite as intimidating the second time around, but I worked on my breath hold for several months before the training to prepare for the fun!

I am looking forward to working with the Aquarius Project and all the people involved. It's funny how the goals and dreams of childhood sometimes have a way of staying with us! Not quite what I had envisioned as a child, but it'll do, for now.