Navy NEC · Engineering

B17A Basic Engineer Diver

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

A Navy Enlisted Classification: a skill designation sailors hold in addition to their rating.

Overview

A Basic Engineer Diver performs underwater construction tasks such as excavation, cutting and welding, concrete placement, cable and pipeline installation, sea floor surveying, light salvage, and material condition inspection. This diver also conducts precision demolition, handles rigging and small boats, tests and repairs diving equipment, tends divers, and assists with diving accidents and decompression sickness.

Core Skills

Underwater concrete forming and placement
Underwater cable and pipeline installation
Precision demolition of underwater obstructions
Diving equipment testing and repair

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Commercial Divers

Military air-diving, underwater construction, salvage, diver tending and diving-equipment maintenance directly overlap commercial diving work.

How to prepare: Bring your existing qualifications, military training records and dive logs to a prospective commercial-diving employer for assessment against the intended assignments under OSHA 1910.410, and request an ADCI classification review if that card is sought.

What the civilian work involves

Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges.
Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.

Civilian tools and software (examples)

Diving logbook software
Diving table software

Notes & Sources

For operations covered by OSHA 1910.410, assignments must match documented experience or training in the equipment, diving mode and emergency procedures; limited additional training tasks require direct experienced supervision. All team members need CPR and first-aid training, and those exposed to or controlling hyperbaric exposure need diving physics and physiology training.
OSHA prohibits diving or other hyperbaric exposure during a known temporary impairment or condition likely to adversely affect the diver's safety or health.
Within ADCI's classification framework, Entry Level requires 625 documented formal-instruction hours or a recognized equivalent. Air Diver requires at least 100 field days and 30 working dives as an Air Diver, with only surface-supplied dives counting toward its dive requirements.

Evidence for this guidance (4 documents)

NAVPERS 18068F Vol II (NEOCS, Jul 2026 edition): NEC B17A
[1] NEC entry "B17A - Basic Engineer Diver"; cached text line 2312; NAVPERS 18068F Vol II, 2026-07 edition
Supports: Underwater concrete forming and placement, Underwater cable and pipeline installation, Precision demolition of underwater obstructions, Diving equipment testing and repair, Commercial Divers (O*NET 49-9092.00)
O*NET: Commercial Divers
[2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data
Supports: Commercial Divers (O*NET 49-9092.00)
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.410: Qualifications of dive team
[3] Commercial Diving Operations, paragraphs (a) and (b). Verified 2026-09-24.
Supports: Commercial Divers (O*NET 49-9092.00)
ADCI: Commercial diver classification requirements
[4] Entry Level and Air Diver card classifications. ADCI framework, not a universal government license. Verified 2026-09-24.
Supports: Commercial Divers (O*NET 49-9092.00)

Defense contractor jobs for B17A

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

Report an error on this page