Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre

The Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre, known in Swedish as Försvarsmaktens dykeri och navalmedicinska centrum and commonly abbreviated FM DNC, is a specialist Swedish military centre based in Karlskrona. Its principal role is to develop and maintain the Swedish Armed Forces’ diving capability through education, operational support, diving-medicine expertise, equipment evaluation, accident investigation, and applied research. Although it is a military organisation rather than a consumer-facing commercial brand, its name functions as an institutional identity for a nationally significant centre of competence in diving and naval medicine. The centre traces its origins to 1 July 1979, when it was established as the Swedish Navy Diving Center, or Marinens dykericentrum. During its early decades it moved through several organisational homes within the Swedish naval structure. From 1985 to 1994 it formed part of the Diving Division of the 1st Submarine Flotilla, and from 1994 it operated as a section of the Swedish Naval Tactical Center. On 1 July 2000 it became an independent centre under its present name, reflecting an expanded remit that combined diver training with naval-medicine responsibilities. A major change followed Sweden’s defence reorganisation in the first half of the 2000s. Government plans sought to consolidate military technical education, reorganise naval bases, and concentrate naval training and related expertise in Karlskrona. The Swedish Naval Training Schools were disbanded at the end of 2004, while the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre was established in Karlskrona from 1 January 2005. The diving and naval-medicine centre was transferred from Berga to Karlskrona as part of this consolidation and thereafter operated as a specialist centre of expertise within the naval training system. FM DNC is organised around three principal functions: research and development, diving medicine, and a diving school. The research and development function works with Swedish military units, the Royal Institute of Technology, Blekinge Institute of Technology, and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration. Its work includes evaluating underwater equipment, monitoring equipment throughout its service life, investigating military and civilian diving accidents, and supporting the development of safer and more suitable systems. In special circumstances, some resources can also be made available to other public authorities. The diving school trains military divers, diving supervisors, and diving-chamber operators. It also teaches Swedish Armed Forces units how to use emergency air-supply equipment. Participants primarily come from the armed forces, but the centre has also trained personnel from the Swedish Coast Guard, rescue organisations, and civilian bodies. Its facilities include a submarine-escape training installation approximately 21 metres deep, as well as pools and other testing environments. The centre also validates professional civilian divers at several Swedish and International Diving Schools Association levels, including S 30, SCUBA diving to 30 metres; S 40, SCUBA diving to 40 metres; H 30, hard-hat diving to 30 metres; B 50, hard-hat diving beyond 30 metres; and diving-supervisor qualifications. The diving-medicine function addresses medical questions arising from military diving. It provides courses, supports research and equipment trials, investigates accidents, operates an emergency diving chamber, and trains medical personnel. Diving physicians are trained in cooperation with Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Royal Institute of Technology. The centre’s medical education is aligned with European Diving Technology Committee and European Committee for Hyperbaric Medicine standards. Its technical capabilities cover SCUBA, surface-supplied systems, hard-hat diving, semi-closed and oxygen rebreathers, chamber-based manned diving, unmanned life-support testing, environmental simulation, water-flow testing, and laboratory work accredited to ISO/IEC 17025. Reported facilities allow manned chamber diving simulations to 160 metres and unmanned testing to 200 metres, alongside controlled temperature, humidity, current, and water-depth environments. The centre therefore combines education, certification, medical competence, military readiness, and technical assurance rather than selling a conventional product portfolio.

The centre was formed on 1 July 1979 as the Swedish Navy Diving Center, known in Swedish as Marinens dykericentrum. It initially belonged to the Berga Naval Training Schools. Between 1 July 1985 and 30 June 1994, the organisation was incorporated into the Diving Division of the 1st Submarine Flotilla. From 1 July 1994 it operated as a section within the Swedish Naval Tactical Center. On 1 July 2000 the organisation became an independent centre and adopted the name Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre. This change reflected the widening of its responsibilities beyond diver instruction to include diving medicine, research, equipment assessment, and support for military diving operations. The centre was affected by the Swedish defence restructuring associated with the Defence Act of 2004. The government sought to simplify and consolidate technical education that had previously been distributed among several army, naval, and air-force schools. It also planned to replace the East Coast and South Coast naval bases with a consolidated Naval Base in Karlskrona and to concentrate naval training there. The Swedish Naval Training Schools were closed at the end of 2004, and the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre was established in Karlskrona from 1 January 2005. The diving and naval-medicine centre was moved from Berga to Karlskrona in this process and became a specialist centre of expertise within the restructured naval training system. Today the centre’s work is divided into research and development, diving medicine, and a diving school. Its research function cooperates with Swedish Armed Forces units, the Royal Institute of Technology, Blekinge Institute of Technology, and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration. It evaluates and follows underwater equipment, supports equipment development, and investigates diving accidents. The diving school trains military divers, supervisors, chamber operators, and personnel responsible for emergency air-supply systems. Courses are mainly intended for Swedish military personnel but may include the Coast Guard, rescue services, and civilian organisations. The centre also maintains facilities for submarine-escape training, chamber diving, equipment testing, environmental simulation, water-flow testing, and laboratory analysis. Its diving-medicine function provides education for physicians, nurses, medical personnel, and diving supervisors; supports hyperbaric oxygen therapy training; investigates accidents; and participates in trials of new equipment. Physician training is conducted with Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Royal Institute of Technology under European diving-medicine standards. FM DNC’s institutional role is therefore broader than that of a conventional school. It links operational readiness, personnel qualification, medical safety, technical development, and independent testing. Its historic coat of arms, inherited from the Swedish Navy Diving Center, combines maritime and medical symbolism through a diving helmet, trident, and rod of Asclepius.

• 2005

  Transferred to Karlskrona

  [1]Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre moved from Berga to Karlskrona during the reorganisation that created the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre and consolidated naval training.

• 2000

  Adopted its current institutional identity

  [1]Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation became an independent centre under the name Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre.

• 1994

  Moved into the Swedish Naval Tactical Center structure

  [1]Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org

  From 1 July, the organisation operated as a section within the Swedish Naval Tactical Center.

• 1985

  Integrated into the 1st Submarine Flotilla

  [1]Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The diving centre became part of the Diving Division of the 1st Submarine Flotilla.

• 1979

  Swedish Navy Diving Center founded

  [1]Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor organisation was established on 1 July as Marinens dykericentrum within the Berga Naval Training Schools.

A specialist Swedish military centre of competence for safe, technically advanced, and medically supported diving operations, combining operational training with research, equipment assurance, and professional validation.

• Education and training

  Military diver training

  The diving school prepares Swedish Armed Forces personnel for diving operations and related duties. Training covers military diver skills, emergency air-supply equipment, diving supervision, and operation of diving chambers. The centre’s facilities support both routine instruction and specialist submarine-escape preparation.

• Certification and assessment

  Professional diving validation

  FM DNC validates civilian professional divers at several Swedish qualification levels, including S 30, S 40, H 30, B 50, and International Diving Schools Association Levels 1 through 3. It also provides diving-supervisor validation for the relevant categories.

• Medical education

  Diving medicine education

  The centre provides introductory and applied diving-medicine courses, basic hyperbaric oxygen therapy training, and introductory dive training for diving physicians. The programme serves physicians, specialist nurses, medical personnel, and diving supervisors and follows European professional frameworks.

• Research and testing

  Underwater equipment testing

  The research and development function tests and monitors military and civilian diving systems, investigates equipment defects, and supports equipment development. Capabilities include chamber-based diving, life-support simulation, environmental testing, water-flow testing, and accredited laboratory work.

• 2005

  Consolidation of naval training in KarlskronaStrategy

  Background

  Swedish defence reforms sought to consolidate naval bases and reduce fragmentation across military education and technical-support organisations.

  Action taken

  The Swedish Naval Warfare Centre was established in Karlskrona, and the Diving and Naval Medicine Centre was transferred there from Berga as a centre of expertise.

  Aftermath

  The centre has operated from Karlskrona alongside the Swedish naval training and base structure.

  Source

• 2000

  Creation of an independent diving and naval-medicine centreStrategy

  Background

  The Swedish naval organisation was formalising a broader specialist role that combined diver education with diving medicine, equipment development, and operational support.

  Action taken

  The former Swedish Navy Diving Center became an independent organisation under the name Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre.

  Aftermath

  The centre continued as a dedicated specialist institution and later became part of the reorganised naval training structure in Karlskrona.

  Source

1. 1Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Swedish Armed Forces official FM DNC pageforsvarsmakten.se