One of the opportunities open to Sailors in the Steelworker rating (SW) is to become a Underwater Construction Team (UCT) Diver. Aside from the prestige of qualifying for these elite teams, Steelworkers serving as UCT Divers are rewarded with extra pay and assignments that most definitely don’t fall into the “ordinary” category.
But whatever perks Steelworkers receive as UCT Divers are most assuredly well-earned, because the training is lengthy and extremely demanding.
Applications for what’s called the Seabee UCT Diver Challenge are available for males and females under the age of at the time of enlistment and who are U.S. citizens eligible for security clearance. Upon completion of the Steelworker Class “A” Technical School, UCT Diver candidates are deployed to a Navy Mobile Construction Battalion for a period of between one-and-a-half to two years; this gives them an opportunity to hone their basic Steelworker and Seabee combat skills and earn the Seabee Combat Warfare qualification. Achieving those milestones means the Steelworkers will be sent to the UCT-Basic Dive school in Panama City, Florida for 26 weeks of instruction in diving, use of underwater tools, and other tasks involved in carrying out Seabee underwater construction.
From here, Steelworkers who’ve become UCT Divers will be assigned to an Underwater Construction Team; currently, there is one in Port Hueneme, California and another in Virginia Beach. As they advance in their UCT careers, new courses will become available, including the 18-week UCT-Advanced School in Panama City and, eventually, the chance to qualify as a Master Diver by completing a two-week course (also held in Panama City).
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