SRDI Courses
Special Response Diver
The Special Response Diver Course is an intensive training program designed to equip you with the advanced knowledge, skills, and mindset required to perform complex underwater searches, investigations, and recoveries.
Whether you are looking to volunteer or professionally support local Law Enforcement, Fire, or Emergency Medical Services, this training provides the gold standard required to operate safely and effectively in high-stakes environments.
In this course you will master critical, real-world tasks, including:
Dive Team Management: Operational leadership, team organization, and deployment dynamics.
Search & Recovery: Selection and execution of underwater search patterns.
Crime Scene Processing: Basic underwater investigation, evidence preservation, and recovery techniques.
Hull and Seawall Searches: Detailed evaluations of boat hulls, bridges, piers, and docks.
Specialized Gear: Advanced equipment configuration specifically for public safety operations.
Tested, Proven, and Professional
The true strength of this program lies in its foundation. You will be trained in techniques and procedures that have been utilized, perfected, and real world tested by public safety divers for over 60 years.
By the end of this course, you will have built an excellent foundation as a public safety diver, making you a highly valuable asset to any dive team.
Upon successful completion, you will earn a professional Special Response Diver certification, valid for five (5) years.
Special
Response
Diver
Advanced Recovery Specialist
The Advanced Recovery Specialist course is designed for divers ready to tackle the most demanding underwater extractions.
This course isn’t just about hauling massive objects to the surface—it is about a fundamental shift in your operational mindset. You will learn to stop fighting the environment and start harnessing the physics of the water, turning it into your most powerful ally in the recovery process.
What You Will Learn
This hands-on, rigorous course focuses heavily on the mechanics, safety protocols, and problem-solving required for large-scale underwater recoveries. You will master critical skills, including:
Advanced Lift Bag Operations: Master the precise physics, deployment protocols, and buoyancy control required to safely raise heavy, awkward, or unstable submerged objects.
The Dive Mindset: Train your brain to analyze the environment dynamically, using water displacement and natural buoyancy to do the heavy lifting for you.
Complex Rigging & Mechanics: Learn secure knot tying, mechanical advantage systems, and heavy-duty rigging configurations specifically designed for zero-visibility underwater environments.
Heavy Target Extractions: Develop and execute strategic plans for safely recovering submerged vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, earthmovers, and more.
Equipped for the Impossible
By the end of this program, you will have the technical expertise and the mental edge required to execute the complex, heavy-duty recoveries that other teams simply cannot handle.
Note: This course builds on your foundational Special Response diving skills, which is a prerequisite.
Advance Recovery Specialist
Dive
Scene Commander
Dive Scene Commander
Multiple dive scenes, massive search areas, and coordinating divers across different agencies—these are the complex, high-stakes challenges managed by a Dive Scene Commander.
Taught directly by SRDI leadership, this course equips experienced Special Response Divers with the advanced tools, knowledge, and command presence required to oversee large-scale underwater investigations and multi-agency operations.
Advanced Command Skills
You will learn how to take control of chaotic environments and streamline complex operations with specialized training in:
Multi-Agency Integration: Seamlessly coordinate, brief, and manage divers from various departments and jurisdictions during massive search efforts.
Strategic Scene Management: Establish secure, controlled recovery zones and oversee operations across multiple active dive sites simultaneously.
Media Relations & SOPs: Develop and implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for interacting with the press and managing public information flow safely and professionally.
ISTOP Execution: Learn the precise protocols to effectively conduct and supervise ISTOP operations across different scenes.
This course is designed for divers ready to step up. It builds upon your existing foundation as an SR Diver and transitions you directly into an operational leadership role.