Ronald Tyler Woodle, shown here with his mother, Kathi, and father, Ron, died while dive training Monday in Key West.
Posted on 02/18/2010 12:41:05 PM PST by Cheap_Hessian
A 26-year-old Navy SEAL died in Key West waters during intensive dive training in preparation for an overseas deployment, according to the Naval Special Warfare Group.
Ronald Tyler Woodle of Waynesville, N.C., was part of a small group of Navy SEALs undergoing routine training at Truman Annex Harbor when he was reported missing by his teammate about 9 a.m. Monday.
Within minutes, he was found unconscious. Training for that day was in fairly shallow waters. CPR was administered and Woodle was taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death was not immediately known. An autopsy and investigation into his death is under way. Results are not expected for two to three weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
Ronald Tyler Woodle, shown here with his mother, Kathi, and father, Ron, died while dive training Monday in Key West.
What a loss. R.I.P. brave warrior.
Ping.
“training exercise”
RIP brave son.
How tragic.
Prayers for his family.
Shallow Water Blackout? Rebreather malfunction? Guess we won’t know for a while.
Prayers for a brave soul and for his family.
Interesting that he apparently was alone...not found for several minutes. That normally is a cardinal sin in SEAL training...or ops.
Ping, No. 8 — lotta splainin on the horizon.
Fair winds and following seas, Sailor.
This shipmate wishes you peace amongst Davey Jones’ locker.
What a shame.
RIP Ron Woodle.
Prayers for your obviously proud parents.
I dived around there as a civilian after my Navy days, I don’t remember any depths over 20 feet. Maybe 30 in some channel somewhere, maybe.
If he was swimming a Draeger C/C oxygen rebreather rig, it should have been as part of a swim pair, with a buddy line between.
The time of 9AM tells me that it was some sort of admin dive. Even SEALs still practice regular dive stuff with open circuit (compressed air) SCUBA rigs. I remember doing some solo open circuit SCUBA dives while tethered to the surface with a watch on top.
If that was the case, the top watch should have noticed the lack of bubbles at 9AM pretty darn quick, and either pulled him up or sent down the standby diver if he was stuck.
I don’t know what happened here. But if he was doing C/C training, it should have been with a swim buddy, attached by a line about 5’ long and clipped to both men.
Of course, my frogman experience was a century ago.
How sad.
Who was his swim buddy? I'm thinking that SEAL is going to have some very uncomfortable times ahead, to accompany his sadness.
I pray there was no wrong doing in this. Too few men even volunteer for a job like that, and even fewer make it through the training. Sad way to lose one of the best that our country has to offer. RIP Hero.
but there was a HUGE bang yesterday at about 10:30am ... it shook everything and was heard and felt from Key West to Naples (Video Below) The explination doesn't seem plausable
Only this:
Lower Keys hotels and restaurants are expected to benefit from this week's influx of hundreds of military aviators and support staff who are making their way here for training at various military facilities.
"By the end of the week we should have 700-plus people in town," Naval Air Station Key West spokesman Jim Brooks said.
Navy and Air National Guard squadrons from Virginia, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Canada typically flock here in winter, as this time of year brings clear, warm skies to the Keys and storms that batter the rest of the nation, said Capt. Steven Holmes.
"This is a busy time of year for us usually," Holmes said. "The weather this time of year at their home bases tends to be poor, but the last few weeks have been particularly poor."
A variety of aircraft are expected to fill the hangars at Boca Chica Field, including the familiar F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, its older cousin, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and Marine Corps refueling aircraft, Brooks said.
Green Berets who are training at the Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School on Fleming Key also are in town for their regular training and will be jumping from airplanes into nearshore waters this week, according to the school's commander, Maj. Peter Russo.
Navy SEAL commandos also are training in Keys waters this week, Brooks said.
Residents, especially those in the service industry, can expect to see more military men and women seeking lodging and a bite to eat, Brooks said. The Navy has room in its barracks for 700 sailors, but the barracks lack a cafeteria, which prompts sailors to head into town for meals and lodging.
"Air crews receive $44 a day for meals and incidentals," Brooks said. "Because the Navy does not have a galley, that money is spent in the community."
If the barracks are full, the Navy also provides sailors $184 a day for lodging this time of year, he added.
"It's very common for them (crews) to spill over into town," Brooks said. "We rely on the community to provide some of that."
Other than dodging foul weather, pilots flock to the Navy base primarily to take advantage of the Tactical Combat Training System (TCTS), a multimillion-dollar computer system that recreates aircraft movements and is the first such training software developed by the Department of Defense, Holmes said.
"It's more efficient and effective for these squadrons to fly here, even from California or Canada," Holmes said. "The size of our airspace, the great weather, the TCTS training system, it all equates to a busy week for us."
. But there was a big big BANG around 10:30am yesterday
Earthquake? Sonic Boom? Temperature Inversion?
Sonic booms likely responsible for rattling and temperature inversion likely but it was heard from Naples to Key West and it shook the ground ... odd story
.
God bless this brave sailor and his family.
What do you think of the plausibility of the explanations offered in the videos at the end of post 9
.
I went to commercial dive school with frogs & seals. I felt blessed to be in their company.
Prayers for the family.
Prayers that his family finds peace
.
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