BRONZE SQUADRON DIVE SCHOOL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

1. WELCOME & HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE#

This curriculum is your study material for Bronze Squadron Dive School. The pipeline has two levels: Combat Diver Basic (Level I) and Master Diver (Level II). This guide teaches the material and the standards for both, so you know exactly what to learn before you attend.

The most important thing to understand up front: the underwater mechanics in this course are lethal when mismanaged. Running out of air kills you. Surfacing without decompressing kills you. Sections 3 and 4 cover the two systems that end an unprepared diver — learn them cold before anything else.

How to study this guide#

• Start with Sections 3 and 4 — cylinders/air and the decompression rule. Everything else is built on them.
• Read Section 5 (Basic) if you are a new candidate. Read Section 6 (Master) once you hold Basic and are working toward the advanced tier.
• Study Section 8 (Evaluation) so you know what you are scored on and what fails you outright.
• Learn the callouts in Section 7 — underwater comms are how your buddy pair stays alive.

REMEMBER: This course is designed to reveal whether you can hold a standard under pressure. Preparation is how you pass. Learn the mechanics, know the callouts, and arrive ready to think.

2. COURSE OVERVIEW — THE TWO LEVELS#

Dive School qualifies you to conduct underwater infiltration and exfiltration as part of a buddy pair. You start at Basic and, with experience, progress to Master. Each level expands what you are authorized to do.

Both levels run the same five-phase curriculum — Foundation, Water Skills, Navigation, Tactical Diving, and Mission Integration. Master Diver re-runs the advanced phases at tighter standards and adds deep diving, TriMix, night operations, and dive planning.

3. THE SWAG SYSTEM — CYLINDERS & AIR#

The SWAG Infiltration 2.0 mod controls your air underwater. You carry a cylinder in your inventory, and it provides a limited amount of dive time that shrinks the deeper you go. When it runs out, you drown. Understanding the three cylinders is the foundation of every dive.

What you must understand#

• Air depletes faster the deeper you dive. Plan against the shorter deep-water number, never the best case.
• The 3L and Twin Tanks behave identically — the Twin Tanks simply hold twice the air for twice the weight.
• TriMix is a specialist deep cylinder. It gives you a long bottom time below 20m but punishes you if you use it shallow. It is never the default — you pick it only when the dive genuinely goes deep.
• Cylinder selection is a planning decision. Match the cylinder to the depth and duration of the dive, and always keep a reserve.

Dive Fins#

Dive fins increase your underwater swim speed. Equip them before you enter the water. Stow them as part of your shore transition so you are ready to move and fight on land.

4. THE DECOMPRESSION RULE#

This is the mechanic that kills more unprepared divers than anything else. Learn it until it is automatic.

How it works#

• As you spend time at depth, nitrogen builds up in your bloodstream. This creates a decompression obligation.
• Before you surface from an obligated depth, you must pause at a decompression stop depth to let that nitrogen off-gas.
• If you surface without decompressing, you have a maximum window of 60 seconds before you die. This is a hard limit enforced by the mod — there is no recovery once it closes.
• On operational dives, nothing reminds you. You track and manage your own obligation.

CRITICAL: Surfacing without a required decompression stop is fatal in-game. No warning, no second chance. When in doubt, stop and off-gas before you go up. This single rule is the difference between finishing the dive and drowning on it.

5. BASIC DIVER — WHAT YOU WILL LEARN#

Level I — Combat Diver Basic. Five phases, each passed before advancing.

Phase I — Foundation#

You learn the SWAG mechanics themselves — the cylinders, the depth-time rules, nitrogen buildup, and the decompression stop. You will select the right cylinder for a given mission and justify why, configure a dive kit and confirm your cylinder is in inventory, and pass a decompression theory check (80% to pass).

Phase II — Water Skills#

You learn to operate in the water: controlled entries from docks, boats, and shorelines; a stable horizontal swim posture with fins; controlled ascents and descents; and consistent decompression stops. You will monitor and report your O2 at checkpoints and complete a 500m open-water swim within 10 minutes.

WATCH: Uncontrolled ascent without a decompression stop fails the phase. Depth control and deco discipline are the whole point of Phase II.

Phase III — Navigation#

You learn to navigate underwater using compass, map, and depth gauges, and to correct for current. You will run a single-leg course (300m, arrive within 50m), a two-leg course with a turn-point (500m, arrive within 25m), and a shore approach (400m offshore to a point within 20m).

Phase IV — Tactical Diving#

You put it together as a buddy pair: a full 600m dive INFIL from a waterborne platform to a shore release point, keeping your buddy close and your depth disciplined the whole way. You will practice a covert shore transition with your weapon immediately ready, and a dive EXFIL from shore back to a pickup point.

Phase V — Mission Integration (Capstone)#

A full mission scenario: at least a 400m dive INFIL, a justified cylinder choice, a depth challenge that forces a decompression stop, a navigation challenge, and a shore transition and link-up — all inside a Time on Target window. You need 75% aggregate to qualify, and executing every required decompression stop is a hard pass/fail gate.

6. MASTER DIVER — WHAT YOU WILL LEARN#

Level II — Master Diver. The advanced phases re-run at tighter standards, plus new deep, night, and planning skills.

TriMix & Deep Diving#

You learn to employ TriMix for dives below 20m — up to 60 minutes of bottom time — and to plan around its shallow-depth penalty. You will select TriMix only when the profile genuinely requires depth, document why, and factor helium off-gassing into your decompression planning. Deep profiles below 15m require a calculated deco stop, not a standard shallow one.

Night Diving#

You learn to dive under NVG/NODs. Buddy proximity tightens to 5m, STATUS checks run at least every two minutes, and your shore transition happens with weapon ready before mask removal and no lights until you have cover. No Master Diver qualification is awarded without completing a night dive.

Combined MFF + Dive (Altitude)#

If a dive follows an airborne insertion, you manage two systems. Above 1,000m you need the SOLR Mask equipped and a Personal O2 Bottle in inventory or you die from altitude hypoxia — the same lethal rule as the freefall course. You confirm that gear before the jump, then stow it and set up your dive kit for the water phase.

Advanced Evaluation Standards#

Everything tightens. Navigation accuracy goes from 25m to 15m on the two-leg course; shore approach from 400m/20m to 600m/15m; the buddy dive from 600m to 800m; PIP accuracy in the capstone from 30m to 20m; and the timeline window from +/-3 min to +/-2 min. You need 80% aggregate instead of 75%, and the decompression gate still applies.

Dive Planning & Supervision#

As a Master Diver you can plan and supervise dives. You learn to build a complete dive plan — cylinder selection with a documented 20% reserve, route with depth bands and turn-points, a calculated decompression plan, Go/No-Go criteria, and an emergency action plan — and to run the Go/No-Go decision and post-dive debrief. A plan without a documented decompression plan is automatically rejected.

7. VERBAL COMMUNICATION YOU MUST KNOW#

All underwater communication is via proximity chat. Learn these callouts — they are how your buddy pair stays coordinated and alive. If a callout is not acknowledged within 5 seconds, close distance and repeat. Silence means a lost-buddy situation.

Master Divers add two more: "DEPTH CHECK" (both divers confirm depth and cylinder status) and "TRIMIX STATUS" (both confirm TriMix status and decompression obligation).

8. HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED#

The capstone mission is scored across six weighted criteria. Know what each measures — and know that one of them is a hard gate that overrides your total score.

9. PREPARATION CHECKLIST#

Work through this before you attend. If you can honestly check every box, you are prepared.

Knowledge#

• I know the three cylinders and their depth-time durations, and which are authorized at my level.
• I understand the decompression rule cold: off-gas before surfacing, 60-second max window, no reminders.
• I know air depletes faster with depth and I plan against the deep-water number.
• (Master) I understand TriMix, deep-profile deco planning, night standards, and the altitude oxygen rule.

Skills & Setup#

• My ARMA Reforger install and the SWAG Infiltration 2.0 mod are working.
• I can configure my dive kit and confirm my cylinder is in inventory.
• I can navigate underwater with a compass and map and correct for current.
• My push-to-talk is configured for both radio and local/proximity voice.

Mindset#

• I will monitor my own air and decompression obligation — no one else will remind me.
• I will keep my buddy close and call out clearly.
• I will call ABORT without hesitation if something is wrong — it is never held against me.
• I will hold the decompression standard even when the timeline is tight.

REMEMBER: Bring questions. The candidates who do best prepared and thought ahead rather than improvising in the water. Learn the mechanics and arrive ready.

10. CANDIDATE QUICK REFERENCE CARD#

The essentials, on one page. Know these before you dive.

2. DIVING OPERATIONS CORE REQUIREMENTS#

Manage your air, honor the stop, keep your buddy close.