Public Safety Dive Team Support: Train, Equip & Service — Interspiro & OTS
Brent Clevenger Jun 21, 2026
When a public safety dive team buys a regulator from one company, trains with another, and ships gear three states away for service, something eventually falls through the cracks. Usually at the worst possible time — mid-callout, in zero-visibility water, with a team depending on equipment that has to work the first time.
After more than 20 years in the water, a law enforcement and emergency services background, and time spent supporting public safety divers directly, I built Sink or Swim Scuba around a simple idea: your team shouldn't have to juggle three vendors to stay mission-ready. We train, equip, and service public safety dive teams under one roof — a bundled relationship no single competitor fully replicates.
Here's what that actually means for your team.
Training built around real operational risk
Recreational diving teaches someone to enjoy the water. Public safety diver training teaches someone to work in it — in current, in contaminated water, in zero visibility, under time pressure, as part of a coordinated team. Those are different worlds.
We provide ERDI and SDI based training with a heavy emphasis on operational readiness, diver safety, and team integration — low and zero visibility diving, tender coordination, risk management, and mission planning. While it isn't required, we strongly recommend divers hold an SDI Advanced Open Water certification or equivalent before entering ERDI training. A strong recreational foundation builds the discipline operational diving demands. If your agency is standing up a team from scratch, that pathway often starts with basic open water certification — and because GI Bill benefits apply to many of our courses, veterans on your roster may be able to train at little to no out-of-pocket cost. We lay out the full progression in our piece on the open-water-to-operational public safety diver pathway.
Equipment built for the job — from the people who service it
We're an authorized Interspiro distributor for the region and a Gold Level Dealer for Ocean Technology Systems (OTS) — and just as importantly, we service both. That distinction matters more than it sounds.
The Interspiro Divator (AGA) full face mask and the DP-1 surface-supply system are purpose-built for contaminated-water and surface-supplied operations, where breathing isolation and reliability aren't optional. On the communications side, OTS Guardian full face masks, the PowerCom 3000D wireless system, and MK-III hardwire intercom keep your divers talking to topside and to each other — the difference between a coordinated search and a guessing game.
We don't just sell this gear. We've operated it, we service it, and we keep a demo and training fleet on hand so your team can train on the exact platforms in service and evaluate equipment before committing budget. For a deeper look at one tool we own and run ourselves, see our writeup on the JW Fisher Pulse 8X underwater metal detector.
Service that keeps you mission-ready
Gear that can't be serviced quickly is gear that sits in a closet when you need it. As an authorized Interspiro and OTS service center, we keep your equipment inspection-ready without long out-of-state shipping turnarounds. When your kit is squared away, your downtime drops — and for a PSD team, downtime is the whole problem. A recent example: we returned serviced equipment to a regional team and wrote about it in our Lincoln County Sheriff Dive Team partnership post.
Why one partner beats three — even if we're not local to you
Bundling train, equip, and service isn't just convenient. It means the people who certified your divers are the same people who specced your masks and who service your regulators. Everyone speaks the same language. One phone number, one relationship, no finger-pointing when something needs attention.
And here's the part teams outside our area often don't expect: distance doesn't limit what we can do for you. From our home base in Gastonia, North Carolina, we support public safety dive teams across the Carolinas, up and down the East Coast, and into the Midwest. We ship gear nationwide, handle service and parts remotely, and take an active role as part of your team — walking new dive team leaders through setup over video calls, troubleshooting comms configurations, and answering questions whenever they come up. When it makes sense and helps your team, we'll travel to you for demos and on-site support.
The Osage County Dive Team in Kansas is a good example. Here's how their Dive Team Leader, Britton Winter, described working with us from out of state:
"Sink or Swim Scuba won our open bid for diver communication equipment, and at first I was nervous since they were so far away. However, Brent has been amazing to work with, helping me remotely probably faster than I could get help locally. Through video calls, links, and messages, Brent was able to help me as a very green Dive Team Leader set up our OTS Guardian FFM and MK3 comms system. I would not consider Brent just a vendor. He is part of our Dive Team... Distance does not have anything to do with his ability to support our team."
That's the standard we hold for every team we support — whether you're down the road in Charlotte or several states away.
This is the same train-equip-service foundation we've built over 20+ years serving the greater Charlotte region and teams well beyond it — and the same reason we support both recreational and public safety diving under one roof.
Let's talk about your team
Whether you're standing up a brand-new dive team, replacing aging equipment, or just tired of chasing three vendors, we can help — wherever you're located. Call 704-823-0501, email Dive@SinkOrSwimScuba.com, or request a public safety diving consultation.
One partner. Trained, equipped, and serviced. Ready when the call comes — whether you're in the Carolinas, on the East Coast, or in the Midwest.
