- GM1 (DSW/DV) David C. Jones, USN
- Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2
Norfolk, VA
I am originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, were I spent the first ten years of my life. My family later moved to Decatur, Illinois, where they have been there ever since. I graduated from Decatur Eisenhower High School and then attended Greenville College of Illinois for two years. I quickly realized that I was more of a hands-on kind of guy. So, I looked for other avenues of learning. My father served in the Navy and that is what I had the most knowledge about. I joined the Navy on Feb 8th, 1993, went to Boot Camp in Orlando Florida. My first assignment was VA-85 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia. My Squadron was attached to the aircraft carrier USS America, which had a little bit of history with my family, as my father had also served aboard this same ship.
I served with this command for almost two years as a Plane Captain working on the flight deck. In that two years, my squadron completed a six month cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. Just after the deployment my squadron decommissioned, so I then decided to try the 'black shoe' surface Navy on for size. I was assigned to Gunner Mate 'A' school at the Great Lakes training facility in Chicago, Illinois, where I spent six months learning the art of naval gun systems. Upon graduation, I was assigned to the Salvage Ship ATS-1 Edenton and served as the ship's armorer. This is also were I got my first taste of the Diving Navy. While I was on board, we attempted to salvage the main propeller of the Civil War ship USS Monitor, which had been sunk off the coast of the North Carolina. Needless to say, I liked what I saw, and I quickly realized that diving was something that I really wanted to do. Unfortunately, my stay on board was cut short due to further downsizing of the Navy. After just a year and a half on board, the ATS-1 Edenton was decommissioned. Instead of attending dive school, the lack of Gunners Mates in the US Navy caused my transfer to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, as a ship's armorer.
During my stay onboard, I once again applied for Navy Dive School, and I was finally given the chance to attend. After six months of training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) in Panama City Beach, Florida, I was assigned to Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA) in Norfolk, Virginia. At SIMA, I quickly learned the art of underwater ships husbandry. After two years at the command, I was given the opportunity to return to NDSTC to attend First Class Dive School, which I gladly accepted. Upon completion of First Class Dive School, I returned to SIMA, where I asked for temporary assignment to the Mobile Diving Salvage Unit Two (MDSU-2) to join in the salvage operations and recovery of the turret from the USS Monitor. This time, I would finally be able to dive and work on it first hand. After my brief stay out on the Monitor, I returned to finish my time at SIMA, before my full transfer to MDSU-2, where I am currently stationed. While stationed there, I have completed numerous salvage jobs and also participated in the war in Iraq. When I was asked to visit and dive on the Aquarius project, I agreed to the opportunity. I can honestly say that there is nothing I have ever done like the Aquarius project. I am proud to work with each and everyone of the project technicians and scientists here. Thank you for the opportunity.
