MILITARY & DEFENCE DIVING
Military culture is built for mission success. It is not always built for learning from failure.
Defence diving teams operate in some of the most demanding environments in any diving sector. The technical training is rigorous. What is less consistently addressed is the human side; team dynamics under operational pressure, the effect of rank on communication, the conditions that suppress near-miss reporting, and the systemic factors that produce serious incidents despite high individual capability.
“My initial reservations were rooted in thoughts of, “this safety course will only serve to make my team, and I too risk adverse; Safety getting in the way of producing operational output.” The opposite is the truth.
The programme introduces HF/NTS, uses practical exercises and case studies. As professional divers, my team and I are so technically oriented, that prior to Gareth’s programme, the level of thought placed on non-technical skills and human factors, was quite low. I am confident that this programme has improved the performance of my team, so they can achieve more, improve their performance, and be safer.”
Cdr N. Lockyer, Director of Diving Safety, CAF.
This isn't a civilian programme adapted with a military logo.
The Human Diver was founded by Gareth Lock, a former RAF officer with 25 years in military aviation; tactical flight instructor and C-130 Hercules navigator, trials officer, systems engineer, and requirements manager. His understanding of how military organisations respond to error, how rank affects communication, and what happens to near-miss reporting under operational and cultural pressure comes from the inside.
He has conducted fatal accident investigations for UK MOD and NZDF, delivered DCRM training to CAF and Belgian Navy, and has applied that experience directly to the development of THD's defence-adapted programmes. The curriculum is grounded in aviation Crew Resource Management (CRM) and adapted for diving contexts — not the reverse.
25 years RAF: flight instructor, 2,500 hrs as a C-130K navigator, systems engineer, R&D military advisor, requirements manager
Fatal accident investigations for UK Ministry of Defence and New Zealand Defence Force
MSc (Human Factors and Systems Safety, Lund University. MSc Aerospace Systems, Kingston University). Member, Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors
THD instructor team includes former military aircrew, submariners, special forces personnel, and healthcare professionals.
Delivered to defence and military audiences across multiple nations. Available for sensitive operational contexts.
WHERE THIS COMES FROM
Military aviation solved this problem. The same approach applies to military diving.
Following a series of serious accidents in military and commercial aviation during the 1970s and 1980s, the aviation community recognised that technical competence was a necessary but insufficient condition for safety. Accidents were being produced by communication failures, authority gradients, poor situational awareness, and organisational conditions — not by pilots who lacked skill.
Crew Resource Management (CRM) was developed in response. It is now mandated across military and commercial aviation worldwide. The evidence base is unambiguous: non-technical skills training reduces incident rates, improves team performance, and makes high-stakes operations safer.
Military diving is at an earlier stage of the same journey. The technical standards are high. The human factors infrastructure, the training, the culture, the investigation practice, is not yet where aviation is. That is what THD's defence-adapted programmes address.
Our programmes are grounded in the same evidence base that underpins military aviation CRM, adapted for the specific operational, cultural, and technical conditions of defence diving. They are not diluted civilian safety training. They are human performance programmes built for the military context.
WHAT WE COVER
Core topics across all defence-adapted programmes.
Delivered in the language and context of military operations. Facilitated by people who have served, and who can engage with the specific dynamics of military culture without dismissing or romanticising them.
Situation awareness
How military divers build and maintain an accurate shared picture of the operational environment, and the conditions that degrade it, including time pressure, task saturation, and leadership dynamics.
Communication under pressure
Why communication degrades in high-stakes environments, how rank and authority gradient affect what gets said and what doesn't, and what structured communication practices maintain team transparency.
Decision-making in ambiguous conditions
How military decision-making frameworks apply in diving contexts, where conditions change faster than plans can be revised, and how to maintain decision quality when the mission pressures you to proceed.
Leadership and followership
Effective leadership in diving requires a different model from command authority alone. Psychological safety, distributed leadership, and the team conditions that enable junior personnel and students on courses to speak up when it matters.
Just Culture in military organisations
What a Just Culture looks like within the legal and administrative constraints of military organisations, and how to build the conditions for honest near-miss reporting without undermining accountability.
Incident investigation for learning
How to investigate your own incidents and near-misses in a way that produces systemic understanding, rather than a narrative that places responsibility on the individual closest to the event and leaves the conditions unaddressed.
"This course allowed me to broaden my scope of knowledge surrounding problem solving, laying of blame, looking at the big picture, by taking a step back and breathing. Taking this approach will limit knee jerk reactions and get to root causes and not the surface cause."
ST - MILITARY APPLIED SKILLS GRADUATE
HOW WE WORK
Flexible delivery for defence and military contexts.
We understand that military training programmes operate within specific constraints including classification, operational tempo, command authority, and approval processes. We work within those constraints, not around them.
DCRM: Essentials (Online pre-learning)
Self-paced online foundation covering human error, situation awareness, communication, and decision-making. Suitable as pre-learning before face-to-face sessions or as a standalone foundation for all team members.
DCRM: Applied Skills (On-site, adapted)
Two-day face-to-face programme delivered at your facility. Scenarios, case studies, and debriefs are adapted for military diving contexts. Can be delivered at unit level for diving teams and supervisors.
Leadership and command sessions
Focused sessions for diving officers, command staff, and senior supervisors on safety culture leadership, investigation quality, and the organisational conditions that support or undermine operational diving safety.
Custom programmes
For units with specific incident histories or requirements, we develop tailored programmes in consultation with your safety, training, and command staff. Contact us in confidence to discuss scope.
CONTACT US
The technical training is in place.
The human factors layer is what
comes next.
Focused sessions for diving officers, command staff, and senior supervisors on safety culture leadership, investigation quality, and the organisational conditions that support or undermine operational diving safety.
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