IN OVER YOUR HEAD.

For six years, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton has introduced the underwater world to hundreds of patrons. If you can imagine being weightless in an undersea adventure, you have taken the first step toward scuba diving. This dream can become a reality in as little as one week. Scuba-diving certification begins with four evenings of classroom instruction and pool diving. Once these prerequisites are completed, the fun really begins: four ocean dives with a certified dive instructor.

The Scuba Center

The Scuba Center, contracted by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department at Camp Pendleton, brings diving to the base. The center provides scuba-diving instruction for all levels, gear rentals and servicing, retail sales, and dive travel. The center is a Professional Association of Diving Instructors-certified facility. This certification signifies that the dive center meets the standards of safety, ethics, and professionalism embraced by PADI, the largest recreational diving-certification association in the world.

The Facility

The facility premises consists of a retail outlet, Olympic-size swimming pool, and a classroom, which is used for the different levels of dive-certification training. There is also a well-stocked gear-rental locker and a full-service repair bench operated by a certified scuba repairman. Local and international dive travel can be arranged through the dive center's travel section.

Starting Point 

The road to certification is a short, easily traveled one. The one-week scuba training experience is followed by year-round international diving. A West Coast certification, for example, does not limit the diver to that area alone; rather, it opens doors to some of the world's best diving spots. The beginning-level certification, Open Water, is the first step toward many enjoyable experiences. Most diving can be done at relatively shallow depths (20 feet). For those who want to experience greater depths, night diving, or dive instructing, advanced dive training is also available. In many areas, diving is a year-round adventure. There is even a course in under-ice diving for those adventurous enough to brave it. A diver may decide to remain at the beginner level for a long period of time, or advance him/herself quickly and experience advanced levels of diving instruction. These levels can be attained through instructor-led classes.

The Experience

The certified diver can use his or her permanent certification card worldwide. The certification level guides the level of dive activity. For example, an Open Water diver may want to limit his dive depths to 60 feet, whereas an advanced diver would be comfortable at depths to 100 feet. Regardless of certification level there are many wonderful scuba-diving adventures to be had. The weightless world of scuba diving is there for divers 12 to 80 years of age to enjoy. Little compares to floating through the silent water -- among the fish or in the woods-like surroundings of a kelp bed.

Your scuba tank is your air source, providing an endless sea of enjoyment. Visualize cruising through the kelp beds of the West Coast with their multitudes of marine life or enjoying a leisurely drift on an underwater wall in the tropics. What could be more exciting than discovering the underwater realm? Each dive provides a newfound appreciation for the creatures of the sea. Beach dive or boat dive, every scuba dive is "one for the books."

Alternative Adventure

For those not quite ready to take the plunge into scuba diving, snorkeling is also available. Although not the same as being suspended in the water column, snorkeling is an option for those at least 8 years old. With minimal instruction, a snorkeling student can learn proper techniques that will allow for interaction at a different level. Instead of "diving" beneath the surface with an air tank, snorkelers float above it all. Suspended by the water column, they look through that column at the marine life thriving below them.

Just Do It

If you live in or are headed for an area where diving is available, join the world's millions of snorkeling and diving enthusiasts. Whether just enjoying the experience or taking underwater pictures, divers and snorkelers take with them the experience of a lifetime. Because of the variety of duty stations that service members, their families, and support personnel work on, live on, and visit, diving is a fun, exciting, and socially enhancing experience for all.