Naval Service Diving Section



The Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) is a specialist unit of the Irish Naval Service, a branch of the Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. The Naval Service Diving Section specialises in underwater diving tasks for the Naval Service, and since its formation in the early 1960s has become Ireland's most capable diving team, aiding other state agencies in various specialist roles.

Roles
The main roles of the NSDS are;
 * Search and Recovery
 * Underwater Survey
 * Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
 * Underwater Engineering
 * Military Diving Training

Organisation
The Diving Section was officially established in 1964 when Commander Joe Deasy brought back skills he learned from the United Kingdom Royal Navy to the Irish Naval Service. During the mid-1980s, the diver training course was set up at Haulbowline Naval Base, Cork Harbour, and since then over 1,400 Naval Service men and women have applied to join the elite unit, with just 150 succeeding, all men.

In 1985, the NSDS was tasked with the search and recovery operation of Air India Flight 182, which came down off the south-west Irish coast in the deadliest terrorist bombing in aviation history, resulting in the deaths of 329 people.

The Naval Service Diving Section provides specialised training for the special operations unit of the Irish Defence Forces, responsible for the provision of air and combat diving technique training for the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) Combat Diving Section.

Rear Admiral Mark Mellett, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, is a former member of the NSDS.