Members from the ADF shared valuable diving skills in Cambodia during Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2024.
Lieutenant Elliott Creagh led a three-day Diver Skills and Knowledge Exchange Course, delivered to the Royal Cambodian Navy (RCN) in Phnom Penh.
The aim was to assist Cambodia with establishing its own diving capability through the provision of basic diver theoretical training, and scoping opportunities for ongoing support.
"The course comprised of medical, safety, theoretical and fitness topics - all required to conduct safe diving operations," Lieutenant Creagh said.
"We created hypothetical dive profiles, talked through what a diver does at each stage, the descent, the tasks in the water and coming back up to the surface."
The diving team laid the foundations for the RCN to sustain its own diving capability and continue training internally.
"Our aim was that all the content we've given during our visit goes towards formulating the content [for RCN] to create its own course," Lieutenant Creagh said.
"We're happy to assist in any way we can to enable Cambodia to stand up its own diving capability, and applying that to its other priorities, such as maritime security and environmental conservation.
"Having a dive capability internally is so important for Navy, as they can face becoming over reliant on external civilian companies who can't provide that tactical element military diving can.
"We hope we can return to Cambodia soon, to impart more of our knowledge in underwater search, small-scale salvage and more practical exercises."
