Specialized Dive Training for Deputies

There are a handful of different specialty teams within the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. There’s the SWAT team, there’s boat patrol, and then there’s the dive team. 

Lieutenant Chris Dobyns says each team is trained for a number of different situations, but things get tricky when you have to go underwater. He says “the biggest challenge we have is the ice situations and always – now that we’ve got the airboat accessible to us – having the means to get out to some of these scenes. That’s always the biggest challenge. Open water scenes as well, how to contain those scenes.”

Dobyns adds that specialized gear is vital for any mission. He points out that “they’re all dry suits, which are chemically protected. There’s also a
full face mask so there’s no exposure to any piece of skin or any water coming
in anywhere. It’s very labor-intensive to suit a diver up as these guys are
starting to realize and the divers going in, it’s great to have a second pair
of hands.”

It can take ten to fifteen minutes for divers to get their dry-suits on before making a dive.