A United States Navy diver training exercise in Cartagena together with the Spanish Navy

In mid-March, a unit of divers from the United States Navy carried out a training exercise in Spain.

The US Navy shows its intention to remain at the Spanish naval station of Rota
The United States Navy Seabees combat training in Spain

This training took place at the La Algameca Naval Station, in Cartagena (Murcia), where the Spanish Navy Diving Center (CBA) is located, founded on March 3, 1970.

The U.S. military unit that conducted this exercise was Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 1, part of Diving Construction Detachment Charlie (CDD/C), currently deployed with the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment (NCR), part of the U.S. Navy's renowned Construction Battalions (CB, better known as "Seabees"). The 22NCR has a detachment of its Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 based at Naval Base Rota.

The U.S. Navy published a short series of photos of this exercise on March 20th via DVIDShub.net, the U.S. Armed Forces' multimedia portal. A more extensive series of photos of this event was published today.

The US Navy has reported that this training consisted of a bilateral exchange of operations and information focused on the development of technical diving skills together with the Spanish Navy.

The information published by the US Navy indicates that UCT 1 "is a specially trained and equipped unit within Navy Expeditionary Combat Forces, that specializes in diving, light salvage, underwater construction, and military engineering operations in austere environments."

The series of photos published today indicates that the objective of this training was to develop technical diving skills alongside divers from the Spanish Navy. In addition to the CBA (Center for Advanced Diving), the Spanish Navy has diving units in Cádiz, Ferrol, and the Canary Islands. Furthermore, the Spanish Navy has a Mine Countermeasures Diving Unit (UBMCM) based in Cartagena, which is part of the Mine Countermeasures Force. This force operates six Segura-class minehunters based at the Cartagena Naval Arsenal.

Above we see two US Navy divers and one Spanish Navy diver conducting a bathymetric survey with a multibeam echosounder during this exercise, an underwater measurement technique that aims to map the seabed in high resolution, generating detailed 3D models.

Divers from Spain and the US alongside an Iqua Robotics Sparus II autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) of the Spanish Navy. The Spanish naval force acquired two units in 2023. It is manufactured in Spain, measures 1.6 meters, weighs 52 kg, and can detect underwater mines at depths of up to 200 meters.

Here we see several members of UCT 1 conducting a diving briefing at the La Algameca Naval Station. In the background, we can see the CBA building. You can see more photos of this bilateral training below.

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Photos: U.S. Navy.