Diving experience helps soldiers to overcome the ‘fear factor’

Captain Ken Scott, OC of 7 Scots regimental recruiting team, has been in the reserves for 18 months after 37 years in the regular army.

The owner of Moray Firth Diving Centre, he has been diving since 1985. He learned to dive through the military in Belize.

Having gone from ocean diver to technical diver, he plans to dive on First World War wrecks at Scapa Flow in the coming weeks.

He says: “Having dived all over the world, there’s no real best. If I’m looking for wrecks then the likes of Indonesia and Scapa Flow are perfect. If you are looking for marine life, the Maldives are great. I just dive wherever I can; just get in the water and see what’s there.”

Capt Scott, from Elgin, said the gritty seabed of the Croatian coast was ideal because when novices touch it, it doesn’t throw up much silt.

“It’s perfect visibility so you can actually see what the trainees and novices are doing”, he adds. “I still say that if you learn in the UK, you can dive anywhere. You have a wet suit, which has more buoyancy issues.”

The captain emphasises this was far from a ‘jolly’ for the reservists, as it put them into an environment where they were “apprehensive, maybe nervous”.

He adds: “It just shows them that with proper training, they gain that knowledge and experience, and can overcome that fear factor.

“It is also discipline. When people are diving they’ve got to know what they are doing. They’ve got to stick religiously to what they’ve been taught to deal with any incidents.

“It is a dangerous sport – there are a number of deaths each year, unfortunately – but that is usually down to the individual. Very rare is it the equipment that is to blame.

“So the service individual is gaining confidence, above everything else, and able to deal with situations.”

I just dive wherever I can. CAPTAIN KEN SCOTT