Divers assigned to submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) completed a lead removal job on Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754) Aug. 4, at Polaris Point, Guam.

Over a period of several weeks, they cut and removed a significant amount of lead in order to make the submarine lighter and more prepared to carry out its mission of supporting national security interests and maritime security operations.

Navy Diver 1st Class Shaun Krall, the lead diver for the group, said the job was especially important for Topeka, and even though it has not been done in over 20 years, his team was more than prepared to complete the task at hand.

"The main purpose of the job was to make the sub lighter and more balanced," said Krall. "The biggest challenge was that we hadn't done this before and the procedures were brand new to us. We had to figure out a way to make it work using a little bit of imagination, intuition and drive. That's a big part of being a diver."

Krall said the job went smoothly.

"We expected to be done in one or two weeks, and we were, but not without a little bit of diver ingenuity," he added.

Navy Diver Seaman Anthony Kubichan, a member of the diving team, said work as a diver has its highs and lows, but what makes it easier is the family environment.

"This is the most demanding and rewarding work you'll ever do," said Kubichan. "We are kind of tough on each other, but it's a sort of 'family tough.' You respect each other even when things are difficult. It's a level of communication and understanding I've never experienced before."

Krall said his divers make it easy for him to lead because of their drive.

"They make my life simple," said Krall. "They know what to do and they carry it out. I know that the job is going to get done. The training we receive covers many skill sets; we have to be viable to the fleet."

Emory S. Land, homeported in Guam, conducts maintenance on submarines and surface ships in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.

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