January 12, 2007

Local naval reservist to take command of U.S. sub rescue

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

With two full-time jobs, Michael Kubiniec is a busy man. He is employed at Santa Clara’s Applied Materials, and this January will take over as submarine rescue reserve commander—a position that could take him almost anywhere in the world.

Kubiniec has served in the Navy Reserves for 11 years, and is scheduled to be promoted to captain from his current position as commander in the coming months as soon as the Senate approves the promotion. Previously, he served 12 years in active duty for the Navy in submarines.

Michael Kubiniec

“I travel more for work [than for the Navy],” he said. He visits Austin, Texas regularly and has traveled to Japan, China and Singapore. Applied Materials hires lots of people who are reservists, Kubiniec said. “It’s a proactive employer and my boss is extremely supportive,” he says.

The San Jose resident lives near the Almaden Winery. He is married to Michele and has a 14-year-old daughter, Ashley, who is a freshman at Leigh High School. Kubiniec is an operations manager for a business group for Applied Materials. He also travels in his civilian job visiting national and international locations.

In January, Kubiniec will take charge of the three reserve units that make up the submarine rescue force, which he calls the Navy’s 911 for submarines. The group is always on standby mode. When distress calls come in, the reservists staffing the rescue teams stop what they are doing, load the necessary equipment and get both people and equipment to the scene within four to five days. It’s typically a dire situation that requires specific training on various types of equipment to ensure a positive outcome.

The core of the reserve group, which is in San Diego, is called the Deep Submergence Unit Detachment. There are two other units, one in Norfolk, Va., the site of the supporting Navy headquarters for the international submarine rescue site support and the other in Bangor, Wash., which houses the overall headquarters.

For the past two years, Kubiniec has been the executive officer, which is the second in command, for the post in San Diego.

“Several years ago, the Navy did a study to calculate the rescue unit program,” Kubiniec said. “They evaluated the program to see if the reserves could do the mission instead of staffing it for 365 days a year. The transition, which began in October of 2004, is about halfway through now. Over the next 18 months, active Naval participation will drop to 25 from 150 with about 70 reservists and 20 government contractors maintaining the unit. This will provide a significant cost savings while maintaining the same level of training,” he added.

As a reservist, Kubiniec is required to spend one weekend a month and six to 14 days per year training. “This is more than a hobby,” he said. “It’s really a full-time job but it doesn’t conflict with my regular job. I plan my schedule with my employer and I still get vacations.”

However, this year, things might become a little harder. The submarine rescue mission is on call to be there whenever and wherever in the world there’s a submarine emergency. For example, nearly two years ago, in January 2005, a Russian deep-diving rescue unit got caught in webbing. Thirty-four people from San Diego got on a cargo plane with equipment heading off to the site to help free the submersible vehicle. However, the British submarine rescue was training that same weekend and that team and its equipment were able to free the Russian submersible.

Using a suit that was just certified this year, a diver can go down 2,000 feet to survey a wreck or problem. One of the team’s divers was the first person in the world to go down 2,000 feet.

This year, in early December, there was an incident in Australia where a hoisting cable broke, leaving two people and a submarine in 400 feet of water. While the Australians were attempting to rescue the sailors and the submarine, the U.S. Navy was loading equipment and its rescuers onto a plane to help.

While there are several types of equipment required to rescue submarines and their crews, the unit also uses a hard diving suit, similar to the ones in old movies. Using a suit that was just certified this year, a diver can go down 2,000 feet to survey a wreck or problem, assess the situation and clear away debris. One of the team’s divers was the first person in the world to go down 2,000 feet.

Other equipment includes several types of cylinder-like tanks called submarine rescues chambers. These are lowered down with rescuers inside, they are attached to the submarine hatch, transfer out the crew and lift them up from the bottom to the surface where the ship’s crew leads those rescued to a decompression chamber.

Another piece of equipment is a DSRD or deep diving submarine rescues vehicle. This is a miniature submarine that’s deployed from the surface ship or from a submarine. It too can attach to the hatch and rescue the crew. Finally, there are remote control vehicles. These have cameras and robotic arms attached to survey a situation or to clear away debris. This piece of equipment is what British sailors used to free the crew of the Russian submersible.

While there’s an element of danger to rescue situations, Kubiniec says there is little concern to the rescue teams. “Our equipment is certified by the Navy. It’s fully qualified and we have an aggressive training program for Navy divers and for the medics that accompany them on their missions. Our divers have experience under pressure and use equipment, methods and procedures that have been proven over the years,” he said.

In addition, divers receive heavy duty training that makes “scuba training a joke compared to what Navy divers receive,” Kubiniec said. Diving to the depths submarines use has a complicated affect on the body, he added, and the divers must be in “tremendous physical shape and capable of handling strenuous activities and diving challenges.”

In addition, the rescuers and divers take part in regular international submarine rescue training using real subs, Kubiniec said. During these sessions, a submarine is actually placed on the ocean floor and the teams hook up with the subs and remove the crews.

And contrary to submarine life portrayed in fictional movies and books, Kubiniec dispels the notion that sailors on submarines are often fighting among themselves because of the close quarters. “I actually developed close relationships with the crews,” he said. “The living quarters are tighter than on a huge ship. But we all need to depend on each other. The training and trust levels and bonding are really important in case of fire or flooding. I think crews on subs are closer than the large ships with their thousands of crew members.”

With two full-time jobs and a family, Kubiniec likely will continue his busy schedule—wherever duty calls.