Commercial diving and marine services run on a small pool of skilled, calm-under-pressure people. The work is hard to staff. Underwater welders, marine construction crews, salvage teams, and ROV operators are not sitting on a job board waiting for a call. So when a midsize dive contractor or marine services firm needs to grow, the hiring gap is real.

There is a talent pool most firms overlook. The military trains divers, salvage crews, and underwater construction teams every year. Navy Divers, EOD techs, Seabees, and Coast Guard divers leave the service with skills that map almost directly to commercial marine work. They know depth, decompression, dive tables, and tending a diver topside. They have worked in current, in zero visibility, and in cold water with a job to finish.

I served as a Navy Diver before I built Best Military Resume. So this is one industry I know from the inside. This guide shows you where these veterans come from, how their military background maps to your roles, what the certification reality actually is, and how to find and hire them without overpaying or guessing.

Why are veterans a strong fit for commercial diving and marine work?

Diving is not a job you can fake your way through. The water does not care about a resume. It cares whether you stay calm, follow the dive plan, and watch your air. The military selects and trains for exactly that.

Military dive programs wash out most candidates. The people who make it through are screened for fitness, judgment, and the ability to work a task list at depth. That is a built-in filter your hiring process does not have to run.

Marine services work also rewards crews who respect a safety brief. A veteran diver has lived under safety rules where a shortcut could kill someone. That habit carries straight into your operation. It shows up in pre-dive checks, gas management, and the willingness to call a dive when conditions go bad.

The supply side matters too. Veterans separate every year with marine and dive backgrounds. They are looking for the next job. A focused sourcing effort reaches them before your competitors do.

Which military jobs map to commercial diving and marine roles?

Not every veteran is a fit for the water. But several military jobs line up closely with commercial marine work. Knowing the codes helps you read a resume fast and spot the right people.

The closest match is the diver. The Navy trains divers under the rating Navy Diver (ND). These sailors do salvage, ship husbandry, underwater cutting and welding, and deep dives on mixed gas. The Coast Guard also runs a diver program focused on aids-to-navigation and polar work.

EOD techs are another strong pool. Navy EOD technicians are also trained divers. They work underwater, handle hazards calmly, and plan complex jobs down to the minute. That mix fits salvage, inspection, and any dive job where the margin for error is thin.

Then there are the builders. Navy Seabees do marine and shore construction. A Steelworker (SW) builds piers, bulkheads, and steel structures. A Hull Maintenance Technician (HT) welds, fabricates, and repairs ship structures, often under tight conditions. Those skills carry into marine construction and underwater welding support.

ROV roles are a newer fit. Many dive contractors now run remotely operated vehicles for deep inspection. Veterans from sonar, drone, and systems-operator backgrounds pick up ROV piloting fast because they already think in sensors and feeds. Pair a former diver with ROV training and you have a strong hybrid operator.

One more group is easy to miss. Construction and equipment mechanics from the Seabees and Army engineer units keep marine gear running. They fix compressors, dive systems, cranes, and heavy equipment in the field. A dive job lives and dies on its support gear. A veteran who can keep that gear working is worth as much topside as a diver is in the water.

What is the certification reality for military divers moving to commercial work?

This is the part most employers get wrong, in both directions. Military dive training is real and strong. But it is not an automatic ticket to commercial work. Be accurate here so you set the right expectations.

Commercial diving in the United States runs under OSHA rules in 29 CFR Part 1910, Subpart T. Most commercial work also follows the consensus standards from the Association of Diving Contractors International, known as ADCI. Many employers and clients want to see an ADCI commercial diver certification card for the right dive level.

The good news for you is that military training is recognized as a valid path. OSHA treats training at a military dive school as acceptable documentation toward its diver training requirements, alongside accredited commercial dive schools. So a Navy Diver is not starting from zero. They often need to document their training and, depending on the role and the client, obtain or convert to the commercial certification that your jobs require.

So use this in hiring. Do not screen out a strong diver because their card says military, not commercial. Screen them in, then plan the certification step. The smart play is to hire on fit and skill, then run the certification or conversion during onboarding. Some firms sponsor the dive school or certification cost as part of the offer. That spend is small next to the cost of an unfilled crew slot.

How do you read a military dive resume the right way?

A military dive resume can read thin to a civilian hiring eye. Veterans are trained to be brief and to give credit to the team. So a diver who logged hundreds of dives may write one line about it. That is a writing gap, not a skill gap. Your job is to read for the work, not the wording.

Look for depth, gas, and hours. A diver who lists mixed-gas dives, surface-supplied work, and decompression diving has the range you need. Look for salvage, ship husbandry, underwater cutting, and welding. Those are the exact tasks your jobs require, in military words.

If you use an applicant tracking system, remember what it does. It racks and stacks resumes by keyword match. A military diver who never typed the word "ADCI" or "underwater welder" can sink low in the stack even when they are perfect for the job. The fix is to search both languages. Search military terms and commercial terms. Then have a person read the strong ones.

One quick screen beats any keyword filter. Get a diver on the phone and ask about their dive log, their deepest dives, and the last hard job they finished. Two minutes tells you more than ten resumes.

Where do you find veteran divers and marine crews before they leave?

The best time to reach a transitioning diver is before they separate. Many start their job search months out. A few channels put you in front of them early.

SkillBridge is the strongest single channel for this work. It lets a service member train at your company during their last months in uniform. You can read the full DoD SkillBridge program details on the official site. Treat it as a long working interview. Keep the offer clean and made on separation, not before.

How does a midsize marine firm compete for these hires?

You do not need a Fortune 500 budget to win veteran divers. Big firms have name recognition. Midsize firms have something divers want more, which is real work, a real crew, and a clear path.

Lead with the work. Divers want bottom time and varied jobs, not a desk. Spell out the kind of contracts you run and the gear you use. A diver reads that and pictures the job.

Move fast. Divers in transition often field several offers. A long, slow process loses them. Give a hard timeline and stick to it. A clean two-week loop beats a six-week maze every time.

Offer the certification path. If a role needs an ADCI card the candidate does not yet hold, say you will help them get it. That single line can win a hire away from a firm that expects them to pay their own way.

On benefits and incentives, know the rules before you promise anything. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit has helped employers offset the cost of qualified veteran hires in the past. It expired at the end of 2025 and is not available for 2026 hires unless Congress renews it. For the current details, see our employer guide to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. The Department of Labor also keeps a current set of employer resources for hiring veterans.

How does BMR help you fill marine and dive roles?

Best Military Resume started on the candidate side. We help veterans turn their service into resumes that civilian employers can read. That gives us something useful to you. We see the veteran talent before it reaches a job board.

More than 1,000 new veteran profiles are added every month. Over 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. Many of those veterans come from dive, salvage, Seabee, and marine backgrounds, written in language a marine services hiring manager can actually use.

If you run a commercial diving or marine services firm and want to reach this talent, reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool. We will help you connect with divers, salvage crews, and marine construction veterans who fit the work you do.

For the broader picture of how veterans fit vessel, terminal, and waterfront roles, see our guide on hiring veterans for maritime and port operations. If your dive work crosses into marine construction, our guides on hiring veterans for construction roles and welding and fabrication shops are worth a read. Offshore energy firms can also check our guide on hiring veterans for solar and wind energy roles.

The water still does not care about a resume. But the right veteran already knows that. Your job is to find them and read the resume for the work, not the words.