09/02/2026
Honoring the legacy and continued impact of the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU). NEDU Navy Experimental Diving Unit
For nearly a century, NEDU has helped define what is possible in military diving, undersea operations and human performance in extreme environments.
In one of its most significant periods of operational activity, NEDU completed 4,229 high-risk dives totaling more than 1.5 million minutes of bottom time — with zero safety-related incidents.
That level of performance reflects far more than technical capability. It represents the discipline, training, leadership and culture of safety that have defined the Navy diving community for generations.
NEDU also secured more than $17 million in future funding to recapitalize its Ocean Simulation Facility and Experimental Diving Facility, helping ensure the command remains equipped to advance diving science, technology and operational capability for years to come.
The investment in people has been equally significant. NEDU earned the Navy’s Retention Excellence Award three times, advanced more than a dozen Sailors to E-5 and E-6, and saw 19 Sailors selected for Chief Petty Officer, three for Senior Chief and three for Master Chief. Two enlisted divers were also selected for officer programs.
Eight divers completed the demanding Master Diver qualification and evaluation process — the highest completion rate among Navy diving commands over the previous four years.
Established on May 12, 1927, NEDU’s legacy stretches back nearly 100 years. Today, operating from Panama City, Florida, the command continues to conduct manned, unmanned and biomedical research, development, testing and evaluation of diving, hyperbaric, life-support and submersible systems.
Its mission remains vital: ensuring Navy divers have the equipment, procedures and science necessary to operate safely, effectively and with an advantage in the world’s most demanding undersea and extreme environments.
Navy DeepSea / DeepSea Locker are proud to recognize the Sailors, divers, scientists, engineers and leaders — past and present — who continue to carry the NEDU mission forward.
Nearly a century of diving innovation.
Thousands of dives. Millions of minutes underwater.
One standard: excellence under pressure.
