SA Navy takes diver recruitment search to Newton Park pool
Gqeberha’s Newton Park Swimming Pool is set to become a cauldron of activity this week as the the SA Navy ramps up its national diver recruitment search.
At the end of a rigorous 41day recruitment drive across seven provinces, which began in Gauteng on April 24, 30 hopeful men and women will stand in line to don the prized uniform.
A six-month SA National Defence Force Military Skills Development System course at the SAS Saldanha next year will kick-start their enrolment followed by intensive diver training.
The Gqeberha hopefuls will hit the water tomorrow and Friday.
The Eastern Cape leg of the programme started in Zwelitsha on Monday and moved to East London’s Ruth Belonsky Swimming Pool yesterday.
The selection drive culminates at the SA Navy Diving School in Simon’s Town, in the Western Cape, on May 30.
The SA Navy’s Captain Prince Tshabalala said divers formed an integral part of the navy’s missions and operations.
“Over the past few weeks, the navy crossed the country searching for potential divers.
“Their invaluable functions include underwater and coastal reconnaissance, search and rescue, clearance diving, demolitions and salvage operations,” Tshabalala said.
About 30 new recruits aged between 18 and 26 will add to the navy’s 6,820 active personnel and 1,070 reserve personnel.
In the first of three phases of the selection process, the SA-only candidates must meet the administrative requirements of passing grade 12 mathematics and achieve an Admission Point Score (APS) of 20 or more.
Phase two, the water phase, involves swimming:
● 300m in under 8 minutes;
● 50m with a snorkel without a mask;
● 50m with a mask half-filled with water;
● 50m with a 6kg weight belt; and
● 25m underwater with no time limit, without a mask or snorkel.
The third and final part — the land phase — comprises a 2.4km run, which must be finished in 12 minutes, and a maximum number of push-ups in two minutes, with 40 as the minimum required.
Candidates rack up points for each drill and must score six points in the land phase to be eligible for selection.
Naval Base public relations officer Lieutenant Daphney Maja said the military grading exercises and the experience candidates garnered were invaluable.
“Many hopefuls came out in numbers, with Limpopo hosting the most candidates.
“This was an opportunity for the youth to apply and be tested on the spot.
“The attributes the SA Navy seeks in diver candidates include self-respect, high selfdiscipline, teamwork and resilience.
“The recruitment drive is a targeted effort to seek candidates who show that they have the potential to undergo the rigorous training that comes with being an SA Navy diver,” Maja said.