WEBVTT 00:01.180 --> 00:03.130 - [Interviewer] You can start by saying and spelling 00:03.130 --> 00:06.000 your first and last name and rank, please? 00:06.000 --> 00:08.863 - My name is Staff Sergeant Michael Galindo. 00:09.850 --> 00:13.273 M-I-C-H-A-E-L G-A-L-I-N-D-O. 00:15.849 --> 00:18.770 - [Interviewer] And what do you do for the SOG, and why? 00:18.770 --> 00:21.190 - So, I'm a pararescuman here. 00:21.190 --> 00:22.640 I'm attached to the SOG 00:22.640 --> 00:25.450 at the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, 00:25.450 --> 00:29.970 and my responsibility is high-angle search and rescue, 00:29.970 --> 00:31.543 Technical Rescue Specialist. 00:35.850 --> 00:36.911 - [Interviewer] In regards to the cave rescue, 00:36.911 --> 00:37.744 (motorcycle engine roars) 00:37.744 --> 00:39.180 had you been following the story 00:39.180 --> 00:42.270 before the U.S. joined the effort? 00:42.270 --> 00:43.580 Wait a minute, let me let that motorcycle go by. 00:43.580 --> 00:45.020 It's gone. 00:45.020 --> 00:48.340 Had you been following the story 00:48.340 --> 00:51.130 before you guys got notified that you'd be out there? 00:51.130 --> 00:54.050 - No, I didn't know what was going on in Thailand. 00:54.050 --> 00:56.560 We were actually scuba diving that week 00:56.560 --> 01:00.270 that the whole cave rescue was ongoing in Thailand, 01:00.270 --> 01:01.680 and I was doing my upgrade training, 01:01.680 --> 01:04.440 so I was more focused on studying for the material 01:04.440 --> 01:05.640 I was getting tested on. 01:07.940 --> 01:09.780 - [Interviewer] Can you tell me exactly what your 01:09.780 --> 01:11.963 role was in the rescue process? 01:12.860 --> 01:17.090 - So, my role was changing, day to day. 01:17.090 --> 01:20.575 The first week, my role as 01:20.575 --> 01:22.240 part of the Americans on the ground, 01:22.240 --> 01:24.530 we were actually going up through the mountains, 01:24.530 --> 01:27.510 and we were looking for alternate entrances into the cave, 01:27.510 --> 01:30.780 because at the time, the cave, 01:30.780 --> 01:33.910 the dive option was not an option. 01:33.910 --> 01:36.850 The UK divers said that the currents 01:36.850 --> 01:39.500 were too strong for them and it was still raining outside, 01:39.500 --> 01:44.300 so the first week, we were hiking up the jungle, 01:44.300 --> 01:47.020 and we were looking for some entrances 01:47.020 --> 01:51.123 from the outside of the mountain to get inside the cave. 01:52.020 --> 01:56.200 From there, we actually did find a pretty good mouth-size 01:56.200 --> 01:58.690 of the cave, where I was able to actually rappel 01:58.690 --> 02:01.540 into the cave from the mountaintop. 02:01.540 --> 02:04.870 Once I was inside there, though, it was a massive cavern, 02:04.870 --> 02:07.450 but there was no alternate entrances. 02:07.450 --> 02:09.910 It was blocked out with some smaller boulders. 02:09.910 --> 02:13.570 So I had to ascend back up the rope 02:13.570 --> 02:17.200 and let my team leader know, hey, this is not an option. 02:17.200 --> 02:20.970 From there, we went down to 02:20.970 --> 02:23.930 make a helicopter landing zone site, 02:23.930 --> 02:26.880 so we actually had some chainsaws with us, 02:26.880 --> 02:31.490 and we actually cut down sections of the trees 02:31.490 --> 02:34.730 wide enough for a helicopter to 02:34.730 --> 02:36.530 bring some drilling equipment 02:36.530 --> 02:38.680 that they can possibly penetrate the earth. 02:39.630 --> 02:42.230 So, it was a ongoing, changing role. 02:42.230 --> 02:45.310 And then once they figured out the drilling option 02:45.310 --> 02:47.920 was not an option for us, we transferred back 02:47.920 --> 02:49.960 to a dive option from there. 02:49.960 --> 02:53.940 So, then I became part of the dive rescue team 02:54.920 --> 02:58.360 for standing up, for shuttling tanks and foods to the kids 02:58.360 --> 02:59.860 once they found them children. 03:01.992 --> 03:03.770 - [Interviewer] And what chamber were you in? 03:03.770 --> 03:07.380 - So, the furthest I ever made it to was Chamber Three. 03:07.380 --> 03:09.890 That's where we all, all of the Americans, 03:09.890 --> 03:11.290 that's the furthest we went, 03:11.290 --> 03:14.030 but my main duty was Chamber Two. 03:14.030 --> 03:17.893 I was working the highline system, receiving the children. 03:22.114 --> 03:24.318 - [Interviewer] And what was the situation like 03:24.318 --> 03:26.420 when you arrived in Thailand? 03:26.420 --> 03:27.990 What did it look like? 03:27.990 --> 03:30.290 What did it feel like? 03:30.290 --> 03:33.490 - Okay, so when we first arrived in Thailand, 03:33.490 --> 03:35.600 when we got to the, we didn't actually go 03:35.600 --> 03:38.103 to the cave site the first day. 03:40.021 --> 03:44.360 We stationed at a temple, about a mile away, 03:44.360 --> 03:45.820 couple miles away from the dive site, 03:45.820 --> 03:50.657 where we had our gear set up as part of our staging station, 03:52.550 --> 03:55.660 and from there, we were kind of away from the 03:55.660 --> 03:56.960 chaos of the cave, 03:56.960 --> 04:00.930 and we were able to just drive a van 04:00.930 --> 04:03.083 to the actual dive site. 04:04.610 --> 04:06.442 I feel like I answered that question wrong, 04:06.442 --> 04:07.275 you can just- 04:07.275 --> 04:08.421 - [Interviewer] You can, feel free to try again. 04:08.421 --> 04:09.254 - What was your question? 04:09.254 --> 04:12.238 - [Interviewer] So, when you actually got to the location, 04:12.238 --> 04:15.503 I had to imagine it was a little bit chaotic, 04:16.392 --> 04:17.536 people all over the place, 04:17.536 --> 04:18.610 people trying to figure out what's going on. 04:18.610 --> 04:20.220 - So which, so there is multiple locations. 04:20.220 --> 04:23.100 So, are you talking about the first week? 04:23.100 --> 04:24.010 Because there was two weeks, right? 04:24.010 --> 04:27.070 So, the first week was all on the mountains, 04:27.070 --> 04:31.050 in the jungle, trying to find an alternate spot 04:31.050 --> 04:32.700 to get inside the cave, the entrance. 04:32.700 --> 04:34.687 The second week was more based on, 04:34.687 --> 04:36.937 "Hey, we found the kids, the caving option 04:36.937 --> 04:41.937 "is the only option, and we need to create a system 04:42.537 --> 04:45.507 "with some strategic planning to actually get the kids 04:45.507 --> 04:49.047 "from Pattaya Beach all the way outside 04:49.047 --> 04:51.060 "the main entrance of the cave." 04:51.060 --> 04:54.190 So, whatever one you want me to tackle. 04:54.190 --> 04:55.650 - [Interviewer] Let's talk about the second week. 04:55.650 --> 04:57.430 - Okay, the second week, okay. 04:57.430 --> 04:58.870 - [Interviewer] So what was that like? 04:58.870 --> 05:02.143 - So, the second week, we created our own little dive site, 05:03.010 --> 05:04.200 as far as a staging area, 05:04.200 --> 05:07.630 so we staged our scuba tanks, our ropes gear, 05:07.630 --> 05:09.510 we had a jamming station 05:09.510 --> 05:12.170 to fill up our tanks that were being used. 05:12.170 --> 05:14.150 We were stationed right next to the Australians 05:14.150 --> 05:17.500 and the Thai Navy SEALs and the Chinese. 05:17.500 --> 05:20.653 We were all next to each other, working together jointly. 05:22.785 --> 05:24.730 There was a lot of cameras, a lot of media 05:24.730 --> 05:27.080 right outside our site. 05:27.080 --> 05:30.510 A lot of people were asking us questions, pretty chaotic. 05:30.510 --> 05:32.410 Eventually, we had a fence 05:32.410 --> 05:34.160 that would kind of block them off, 05:34.160 --> 05:36.220 so we can focus on operations, 05:36.220 --> 05:40.270 but as far as the Americans, we were pretty collective. 05:40.270 --> 05:45.270 We had a ConOp, a plan, that we were able to go off of, 05:45.580 --> 05:48.220 with timelines, and who was going inside the cave, 05:48.220 --> 05:49.053 and what day. 05:50.620 --> 05:52.394 - [Interviewer] The whole world was watching you guys. 05:52.394 --> 05:55.020 Did you, what did you think about that fact that, 05:55.020 --> 05:57.320 in a way, you're making history out there, 05:57.320 --> 05:59.157 just the level of attention 05:59.157 --> 06:02.963 that it attracted around the world? 06:06.210 --> 06:08.810 - It didn't really affect me as far as what I was gonna do. 06:08.810 --> 06:10.370 I wanted to make sure that 06:10.370 --> 06:12.070 if the whole world wasn't watching, 06:12.070 --> 06:12.940 or if they were watching, 06:12.940 --> 06:17.140 I was still gonna execute my PJ abilities to the best I can, 06:17.140 --> 06:18.470 to make sure that these kids were able to 06:18.470 --> 06:20.500 get out of the cave safely. 06:20.500 --> 06:24.580 But it was interesting, knowing that my family knew 06:24.580 --> 06:26.960 almost as much information as I did 06:26.960 --> 06:28.783 from the United States, so. 06:34.910 --> 06:36.420 - [Interviewer] Were there communication challenges, 06:36.420 --> 06:37.970 and how did you overcome those? 06:38.840 --> 06:41.730 - Yes, there definitely was some language barriers. 06:41.730 --> 06:45.180 So, we had two interpreters with us that were able to 06:46.100 --> 06:49.460 communicate from the Thai government to us, 06:49.460 --> 06:51.970 and we were able to go back and forth. 06:51.970 --> 06:56.110 Also, there were some local Thai rescue specialists, 06:56.110 --> 07:00.480 who I was working inside the cave with that were, 07:00.480 --> 07:01.700 they spoke English well. 07:01.700 --> 07:03.840 So as far as the communication, 07:03.840 --> 07:07.490 there was at least one person who spoke English with us. 07:07.490 --> 07:09.200 I would say about 80% of the time, 07:09.200 --> 07:11.263 we were able to communicate. 07:16.670 --> 07:18.200 - [Interviewer] And in the second week, 07:18.200 --> 07:23.200 when you guys started rolling with the dive plan, 07:23.410 --> 07:25.400 inevitably what saved those kids, 07:25.400 --> 07:28.330 where were you again in that situation? 07:28.330 --> 07:32.560 - So, the second week, there was multiple phases, right? 07:32.560 --> 07:35.400 So, the first phase was, the UK divers found them. 07:35.400 --> 07:36.260 That was great. 07:36.260 --> 07:38.070 Now, how are we going to actually 07:38.070 --> 07:41.130 get those kids out of the cave? 07:41.130 --> 07:44.490 So, the next day we found them, there was five of us 07:44.490 --> 07:47.360 who actually came down with the UK divers, 07:47.360 --> 07:48.890 a little ahead of 'em, to Chamber Three, 07:48.890 --> 07:49.780 which, at this time, 07:49.780 --> 07:51.950 no one's really been inside Chamber Three. 07:51.950 --> 07:54.190 Only the UK divers and a few Thai Navy SEALs, 07:54.190 --> 07:57.350 so this was kinda unknown area for everybody at this point. 07:57.350 --> 07:59.410 'Cause the water levels were still a little high, 07:59.410 --> 08:03.710 where you actually had to scuba dive just a small portion, 08:03.710 --> 08:05.780 just to make it through Chamber One, 08:05.780 --> 08:07.730 and you were able to actually make it, 08:07.730 --> 08:08.980 walk the rest of the way. 08:10.960 --> 08:14.723 From there, we actually brought food to, 08:15.560 --> 08:17.860 we loaded up food for the UK divers, 08:17.860 --> 08:21.250 and we have them in these bags that we took with us 08:21.250 --> 08:23.120 all the way to Chamber Three, 08:23.120 --> 08:26.570 so that was the first stage for myself, 08:26.570 --> 08:31.150 as far as helping out with the rescue. 08:31.150 --> 08:35.100 From there on out, I was standing up the highline system 08:35.100 --> 08:37.840 in Chamber Thee, or sorry, in Chamber Two, 08:37.840 --> 08:40.170 I was standing up the highline system, 08:40.170 --> 08:42.080 and there was multiple sections. 08:42.080 --> 08:45.610 I was the last receiving section from Sgt. Hopper. 08:45.610 --> 08:47.420 He was on the other side, 08:47.420 --> 08:50.500 and we were communicating through walkie talkies 08:50.500 --> 08:52.700 to let us know like, "Hey, we're ready to go," 08:52.700 --> 08:55.093 and once the child traveled about, 08:56.100 --> 08:59.820 I would say about 80 to 100 feet across the highline, 08:59.820 --> 09:01.730 we had to lower him down from there. 09:01.730 --> 09:05.850 I was controlling the scene, 09:05.850 --> 09:08.770 and once we had the child down on the ground, 09:08.770 --> 09:10.040 disconnected from the system, 09:10.040 --> 09:11.240 he was still in the Skedco litter, 09:11.240 --> 09:15.400 but I made sure his mask was still tight and fitted, 09:15.400 --> 09:16.590 made sure that he was breathing, 09:16.590 --> 09:18.330 I checked his respiratory rate, 09:18.330 --> 09:21.710 checked his pulse, SpO2 monitor, 09:21.710 --> 09:26.710 and I also made sure that he still had oxygen in his tank, 09:26.730 --> 09:31.290 because we wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to 09:31.290 --> 09:33.800 go low on air, and if we needed to replace it, 09:33.800 --> 09:35.130 that was our biggest concern. 09:35.130 --> 09:37.143 As far as when he got to the ground, 09:38.910 --> 09:40.870 once the diving was done and he was with us, 09:40.870 --> 09:43.330 it was just kinda walking him out of the cave at that point, 09:43.330 --> 09:45.170 which was about 15 minutes. 09:45.170 --> 09:48.500 So, when I was done assessing him medically, 09:48.500 --> 09:51.000 we had four guys that were already pre-staged 09:51.000 --> 09:54.110 to carry him to the next lower angle section, 09:54.110 --> 09:57.610 where there was a bunch of Thai SEALs there, 09:57.610 --> 10:00.550 ready to hand-over-hand him down this low, low angle, 10:00.550 --> 10:02.910 but it was super narrow and slippery and muddy, 10:02.910 --> 10:07.020 so four people going down there was not ideal. 10:07.020 --> 10:09.910 Even myself walking down it, I would slip all the time. 10:09.910 --> 10:11.393 It was that wet and muddy. 10:13.366 --> 10:15.800 And we had hand-over-hand, about 30 feet, 10:15.800 --> 10:18.130 there was about 20 Thai SEALs there, 10:18.130 --> 10:20.050 hand-over-handing him to the ground, 10:20.050 --> 10:21.660 and then once he was there, 10:21.660 --> 10:24.687 there was a Thai medical team that was there, 10:24.687 --> 10:26.500 and they assessed him as well, 10:26.500 --> 10:28.510 and there was pre-staged people 10:28.510 --> 10:31.210 every five minutes of walking for people, 10:31.210 --> 10:33.300 that would take on to the next team, 10:33.300 --> 10:35.873 all the way out to the cave and to the ambulance. 10:40.030 --> 10:42.996 - [Interviewer] What is it about a PJ that made a difference 10:42.996 --> 10:44.713 in this situation? 10:47.519 --> 10:50.540 - So, the reason they sent PJs out here is, 10:50.540 --> 10:54.970 we go through a two and a half-year, rigorous pipeline that 10:56.350 --> 10:57.840 is a really tough selection course, 10:57.840 --> 10:59.210 and through those skills, 10:59.210 --> 11:01.940 we have to go through combat dive school, 11:01.940 --> 11:05.170 we have to go through paramedic school, HALO school. 11:05.170 --> 11:10.170 We also go through a high mountain rope rescue course 11:10.330 --> 11:12.700 as well, where we get all these skillsets 11:12.700 --> 11:14.930 in our pipeline training, 11:14.930 --> 11:18.270 that we're a really good fit for this type of situation, 11:18.270 --> 11:23.270 due to our skillset, how broad it is, 11:23.620 --> 11:27.250 how many things we can do with a team of PJs. 11:27.250 --> 11:28.570 So, I think us going out there, 11:28.570 --> 11:30.860 we're a good fit for this rescue, 11:30.860 --> 11:34.513 especially with the rope section and the medical practice. 11:36.640 --> 11:40.473 - [Interviewer] And what about your impact? 11:40.473 --> 11:41.973 How did you make a difference? 11:43.180 --> 11:44.730 - Well, I think it was a collective group. 11:44.730 --> 11:49.730 I mean, sometimes, it's the right time, right place. 11:50.740 --> 11:53.990 All PJs were qualified for this position and this job, 11:53.990 --> 11:56.060 and I was just so happened to be here, 11:56.060 --> 11:57.873 so I'm really lucky for that. 11:59.820 --> 12:02.580 But I've been trained for this since I was 18. 12:02.580 --> 12:06.210 I'm 28 now, so I've been doing this job for a little while. 12:06.210 --> 12:08.830 And this is something we look forward to. 12:08.830 --> 12:11.260 We don't look for bad things to happen in the world, 12:11.260 --> 12:13.810 but we look for opportunities to 12:13.810 --> 12:16.020 show what we're capable of doing, 12:16.020 --> 12:18.960 all the training that we spent, hours and weeks and months, 12:18.960 --> 12:21.060 prepping for it, that we can actually show 12:22.989 --> 12:25.610 that all of our hard work pays off 12:25.610 --> 12:28.773 and that we're able to successfully complete the mission. 12:33.880 --> 12:35.730 - [Interviewer] So, you did speak a little bit about 12:35.730 --> 12:37.500 the conditions, the muddiness, everything like that, 12:37.500 --> 12:38.770 but really paint the picture 12:38.770 --> 12:40.500 of what it was like in Chamber Three. 12:40.500 --> 12:44.720 What were the smells, the sounds? 12:44.720 --> 12:46.490 You know, put me in that place, 12:46.490 --> 12:50.000 make me understand exactly what it was like in there. 12:50.000 --> 12:53.580 - Okay, so Chamber Three, I was mainly in Chamber Two, 12:53.580 --> 12:55.140 but I went inside Chamber Three, as well, 12:55.140 --> 12:57.180 so I can describe both, if you want. 12:57.180 --> 13:01.690 Okay, so, you wanna just do from the entrance to? 13:01.690 --> 13:02.523 - [Interviewer] Yeah, the whole thing. 13:02.523 --> 13:03.356 - Okay. 13:03.356 --> 13:04.189 - [Interviewer] The whole area. 13:04.189 --> 13:05.440 You know, it's raining outside all the time, 13:05.440 --> 13:06.806 - Okay. 13:06.806 --> 13:07.680 - [Interviewer] You got things pumping water, 13:07.680 --> 13:09.040 and little fractures, I'm sure. 13:09.040 --> 13:10.800 - Okay, so I'll just do from when we 13:10.800 --> 13:14.640 left our little staging area to Chamber Three? 13:14.640 --> 13:18.800 Okay, so from when we left our dive site, 13:18.800 --> 13:20.690 we had scuba tanks on our back, 13:20.690 --> 13:25.390 and we had about a five-minute walk with scuba tanks 13:25.390 --> 13:28.570 to the entrance of the cave, where there was a 13:28.570 --> 13:31.180 accountability board, where the Thais were keeping track 13:31.180 --> 13:35.270 of who, what our name is and who's going inside the cave. 13:35.270 --> 13:36.910 That way, we have accountability. 13:36.910 --> 13:41.580 From there, they had a lot of pumps and wires 13:41.580 --> 13:43.090 going from the entrance of the cave 13:43.090 --> 13:46.030 all the way to Chamber Three and beyond. 13:46.030 --> 13:48.040 So, you had to be really careful walking. 13:48.040 --> 13:50.130 There was kind of man-made steps 13:50.130 --> 13:51.670 that they used with sandbags, 13:51.670 --> 13:54.710 kind of carpet material to dig out and pad it. 13:54.710 --> 13:56.930 But after so many times of hundreds of people 13:56.930 --> 13:59.880 walking up and down, tracking mud, it was very slippery. 13:59.880 --> 14:01.620 So you had to be really careful. 14:01.620 --> 14:02.470 I don't know if you guys have ever 14:02.470 --> 14:05.770 walked with scuba tanks on your back, but it's not very fun, 14:05.770 --> 14:07.260 especially a long period of time. 14:07.260 --> 14:12.260 So, once we went down, it was about a 30-degree decline, 14:15.670 --> 14:18.660 we get in some water again, where there's even, 14:18.660 --> 14:20.210 there's probably like 6-7 water pumps 14:20.210 --> 14:21.920 that you have to kind of be careful and step over 14:21.920 --> 14:24.330 and it's pretty dark, so you have your headlamp on, 14:24.330 --> 14:26.030 and that's your only light source. 14:27.050 --> 14:29.060 Once you go over a few more rocks, 14:29.060 --> 14:32.080 you're at the entrance of Chamber One, 14:32.080 --> 14:35.770 where the first day, you had to actually scuba dive 14:35.770 --> 14:38.540 about 10-15 feet to actually make it out of there, 14:38.540 --> 14:40.180 and there was a line set there, 14:40.180 --> 14:42.500 where the UK divers already pre-set, 14:42.500 --> 14:44.913 so you would have to hold it, 14:46.040 --> 14:47.780 but you have to go upside down. 14:47.780 --> 14:50.840 You have turn around like this and hold it, 14:50.840 --> 14:53.330 because there's so many rocks in the way 14:53.330 --> 14:55.550 that your scuba tank and your head would 14:55.550 --> 14:59.100 hit on the actual rock, so you had to go upside down 14:59.100 --> 15:04.100 and just hold on to that line to get across to Chamber One. 15:04.420 --> 15:05.880 Once we got across Chamber One, 15:05.880 --> 15:08.543 it was pretty small in there, pretty tight. 15:09.602 --> 15:13.880 We continued our walk, which was about another 10 minutes 15:13.880 --> 15:16.993 to get to the actual rescue site, 15:19.390 --> 15:20.990 where we were gonna set up the highline, 15:20.990 --> 15:23.630 and during there, there was sections where you're still 15:23.630 --> 15:26.603 up to water right here, but you can swim across. 15:27.480 --> 15:30.800 And then it crunched all the way down to about 3 feet, 15:30.800 --> 15:32.810 where you had to kinda get on your hands and knees 15:32.810 --> 15:35.480 to crawl through about 30 feet, 15:35.480 --> 15:38.010 and then you're back up into this massive cavern, 15:38.010 --> 15:42.163 where it's hundreds of feet wide, spread out, huge inside. 15:43.880 --> 15:45.920 Once you got up there, there was a tight passage 15:45.920 --> 15:49.340 that we set up rope lines that we actually had to 15:49.340 --> 15:51.640 grab on to to actually make it up, 15:51.640 --> 15:54.390 because it was super slippery and very tight, 15:54.390 --> 15:56.550 so we actually had assistance with the rope 15:57.550 --> 15:58.540 to climb up there. 15:58.540 --> 16:03.540 So now you're wet, you're dehydrated, very muddy, dark. 16:04.640 --> 16:05.940 As far as the smell, 16:05.940 --> 16:07.370 there's still fresh water going through, 16:07.370 --> 16:10.760 so it wasn't really, it didn't smell like much 16:10.760 --> 16:13.083 inside Chamber Two because it was so big. 16:15.520 --> 16:20.350 Continue on to Chamber Two, that's where we had my section, 16:20.350 --> 16:22.690 where we were receiving the last child, 16:22.690 --> 16:24.030 as far as rope care. 16:24.030 --> 16:27.370 But if we keep walking on toward Sgt. Hopper's section, 16:27.370 --> 16:31.400 there's a tight path hugging the right side of the wall, 16:31.400 --> 16:33.280 where there's these borders in between 16:33.280 --> 16:34.780 that has a little bit of a narrow passage 16:34.780 --> 16:36.350 and you can squeeze yourself through, 16:36.350 --> 16:38.650 then you had to climb up on top of the boulders 16:39.760 --> 16:42.290 to get over them and back down and then back up 16:42.290 --> 16:44.140 and now you're on flat ground. 16:44.140 --> 16:46.020 As you continue through, 16:46.020 --> 16:47.990 there is this section we called "the chimney," 16:47.990 --> 16:50.250 which was basically enough for you to 16:50.250 --> 16:52.327 slide yourself through. 16:52.327 --> 16:54.170 It was a very tight space and you had to go 16:54.170 --> 16:57.160 really slow and careful to get through. 16:57.160 --> 17:00.140 And at that space, now you walk into water again, 17:00.140 --> 17:04.100 which, it's about a 10-15 foot dive, 17:04.100 --> 17:07.120 but at this time, the water level had receded 17:07.120 --> 17:08.930 from the water pumps and the lack of rain, 17:08.930 --> 17:11.220 that we were able to walk through. 17:11.220 --> 17:12.840 You kind of turn your head sideways, 17:12.840 --> 17:14.420 and the water level is right here, 17:14.420 --> 17:15.630 so you can just kinda walk through. 17:15.630 --> 17:17.100 Granted, there's rock above you, 17:17.100 --> 17:19.640 so you have to be careful on that. 17:19.640 --> 17:21.750 But as soon as you popped out of 17:21.750 --> 17:23.240 Chamber Two into Chamber Three, 17:23.240 --> 17:26.440 there's a solid slope that was also slippery and muddy. 17:26.440 --> 17:27.500 No very good grip. 17:27.500 --> 17:30.020 You were scrambling up the rock to climb. 17:30.020 --> 17:32.280 There was no rope set up at the time, 17:32.280 --> 17:34.410 when I went inside there, to actually grab onto. 17:34.410 --> 17:35.387 It's kinda just, 17:35.387 --> 17:37.640 "Hey, this looks like a good hold," climb up. 17:37.640 --> 17:39.740 Soon as you got it, it was like a little knoll, 17:39.740 --> 17:43.130 where the Thai SEALs were staging. 17:43.130 --> 17:46.290 So they actually had food in there. 17:46.290 --> 17:48.400 At one point, they had KFC in there. 17:48.400 --> 17:51.460 They had little tents inside there, 17:51.460 --> 17:52.960 where they were sleeping, 17:52.960 --> 17:54.320 and there was a ton of scuba tanks. 17:54.320 --> 17:55.320 So there was about, 17:55.320 --> 17:58.080 all the scuba tanks we shuttled in couple days before, 17:58.080 --> 18:00.650 there was at least 100 scuba tanks right there, 18:00.650 --> 18:05.650 staged for the operations for the Euro divers 18:06.250 --> 18:09.313 to help stage 'em throughout Chamber Four, Five and Six, 18:10.764 --> 18:15.440 and for the UK divers to have tanks for the children 18:15.440 --> 18:17.093 and for themselves to switch out.