50 Years of Women in Navy Diving: Advancing Opportunity in Tandem with Technology
BY Captain Bobbie Scolley, U.S. Navy (ret.) and Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, U.S. Navy (ret.)For more than six decades, spanning from 1905 to the late 1970s, the U.S. Navy’s diving apparatus for deep ocean operations and salvage remained fundamentally unchanged. During this period, the demographic of navy divers also saw little alteration. However, beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing to the present day, a series of developments initiated a gradual transformation in both areas with significant implications for contemporary Navy diving.Donna Tobias, standing at 5’5” and weighing 135 pounds, became the first woman to achieve the status of US Navy Deep Sea Diver upon her graduation from Second Class Dive School in Little Creek, VA, on March 14, 1975. She acknowledged that her most persistent challenge was working with the Mk V diving rig, the standard hard-hat apparatus introduced in 1905, itself derived from the Siebe-Gorman Davis Six-Bolt Admiralty Pattern helmet used by the British Navy. The Mk V air dive helmet and suit weighed approximately 200 pounds, with the mixed gas version being roughly 100 pounds heavier. For early women divers such as Tobias, the substantial weight of the equipment, often exceeding their own body weight, posed considerable difficulty. Furthermore, the equipment’s design failed to accommodate female physiques, resulting in issues such as uneven weight distribution and compromised watertight seals. Nevertheless, pioneers like Tobias and those who followed persevered, contributing significantly to the successful integration of women within Navy diving ranks over the past fifty years.Hull Technician Firemen Donna Tobias in the 200-pound Mk V diving suit in air configuration at Second Class Dive School in Little Creek, VA in March 1975. Photo courtesy of Donna Tobias.Enginemen First Class Mary Bonnin dressing in the 300-pound Mk V diving suit during First Class Dive school at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, Panama City, FL in 1980. Photo courtesy of Mary Bonnin.Sue Trukken, the first woman to attend diving officer training at the Washington Navy Yard in 1980, described how she and her team frequently modified Mk V suits onsite to ensure safety and effectiveness. At 5’2” and 125 pounds, Trukken needed to improvise solutions such as wearing tennis shoes and padded socks inside oversized boots and sewing towels into her t-shirt to add 2 addition inches under the breast plate so that she could raise her arms. Further solutions included choosing the most flexible older suits that more easily folded to adjust to her shorter stature and allowed for triple strapping her wrist to keep her gear—an experience later generations would miss due to its decommissioning after 1983.Ensign Sue Trukken fully suited out in the 200-pound Mk V dive helmet and suit during training dives at Basic Diving Officer training, Washington Navy Yard in 1980. Photo courtesy of Sue Trukken.By 1981, the Navy had replaced the Mk V with the newly developed Mk 12 lightweight free-flow fiberglass dive helmet. This unit could be configured for swimmer or full suit modes and supported both air and mixed gas applications, bringing the combined gear weight down to approximately 120 pounds. While lighter, the Mk 12 still presented ergonomic and fit challenges for many women divers, requiring similar onsite modifications. A unique feature to the helmet was the nose clearing rod across the front of the helmet which was especially difficult to reach for divers with smaller heads and shorter necks. Having a hard time clearing using this bar in the Mk12 at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City, FL in 1991, Caren Gallaudet (nee Ritter) was helped by an instructor. He suggested she use her upper lip to help clear. “Put your upper lip around the clearing bar, then jam your nose down on your lip and blow out as hard as you can!” This simple change allowed her to make an on-site adjustment to the helmet technology which would ultimately be upgraded in the MK-21.Lieutenant Karin Lynn preparing to don the Mk 12 dive helmet in the swimmer’s mode with a harness during training at Basic Diving Officer training, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, Panama City FL in 1983. Photo courtesy of Karin Lynn.Ensign Deb Bodenstedt in the Mk 12 dive helmet with full dive dress during training at Basic Diving Officer training, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, Panama City, FL in 1983. Photo courtesy of Deb Bodenstedt.Navy Diver Chief Petty Officer (retired) Becky Jones prepared to make a dive in the Mk 21 helmet with a wet suit garment. Photo courtesy of Chief Becky Jones.The introduction of the Kirby Morgan Mk 21 in 1993 marked notable progress. Adapted from the Superlite 17B used in commercial diving, the Mk 21 included an internal demand regulator and an adjustable oronasal mask, addressing many previous fit issues. Its inner liner allowed customization for various head sizes, significantly improving overall comfort and security.The Mk 21 further featured a horse collar neck ring sealed by a neoprene neck dam. While generally effective, it could become less reliable if overstretched from prior use by larger divers. The flexibility to pair the helmet with a variety of garments, such as a simple harness, wet suit, or coveralls, as well as using a Diving Unlimited International (DUI) hot water suits during deep dives, improved adaptability. Nevertheless, sizing challenges persisted with the navy’s use of the DUI hotwater suit during deepwater dives, particularly with those designed for male proportions. Nonetheless, incremental advances were evident, such as a wider range of boot sizes compared to earlier models.In 2007, the Navy adopted the KM 37 NS helmet, another Kirby Morgan design building upon the Mk 21 with enhancements including a neck ring/neck dam system that provided a more secure seal and increased wearer comfort, alongside improvements to the inner liner. The acquisition process is now underway for the latest KM 97 helmets.Chief Navy Diver Melissa Nguyen-Alarcon, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One, prepares to dive in the KM 37 NS during a joint dive-and-salvage exercise with the Republic of Korea divers at Chinhae Naval Base, May 30, 2023. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Heath Zeigler/Released.Over the last 50 years, continual improvements to the Navy’s deep-sea diving helmets and suits have benefited not only women divers but all personnel, enhancing operational safety and mission effectiveness. Importantly, ensuring proper fit and function of equipment has supported the long-term health and well-being of service members, potentially reducing healthcare and disability costs among veterans. These factors underscore the importance of leveraging technological advancements to optimize equipment design for all military personnel.This year is the 50 Anniversary of Women Navy Divers. We are celebrating the milestone at the Diving Equipment and Marketing (DEMA) Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL Nov 11-13, 2025 with an exhibit on the showroom floor, a roundtable panel on Nov 11 at 2-3pm, and a reunion dinner on Nov 13 at Ole Red restaurant just 2 miles from the Convention Center. We cordially invite all veteran, retired, and active-duty women Navy divers to attend, as well as their families, friends, and supporters. For more information, please visit our website at AWND.net. HooYah DeepSea!