About me

Dean Pennington II
NAUI Instructor Trainer
http://scubainstructortraining.blogspot.com/

My name is Dean Pennington II. I have been scuba diving since 1995 when I was certified as an open water diver with the YMCA.

I am a PA (physician assistant). I work in neurosurgery and have extensive experience in orthopedic surgery as well. Prior to becoming a PA I spent 9 1/2 years (85-94) in the U.S. Army flying AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters. I have extensive training in hyperbaric and dive medicine.

I have completed Hyperbaric Medicine Team Training with Dr. Paul Sheffield in San Antonio, Advanced Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Training Program with Dick Rutkowski in Key Largo, the NOAA Diving Medical Officer Program that is done with the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society in Seattle and lastly the Medical Assessment of Fitness for Diving training for Diving Medical Examiner also put on by UHMS in New Orleans.

My 16 years of dive training includes, Scuba instructor and Instructor Trainer with NAUI. I am an Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures and Extended Range Instructor with TDI and similar Instructor ratings with PSAI. I am checked out Deep Air (200') with PSAI, and through Advanced Trimix with TDI. I am full cave certified with NACD, my instructor was Dan Patterson (Central Florida Divers). Mike Bourne and Mike Ange did my initial technical training at the 40 Fathom Grotto in Ocala, Florida.

I have dove in a variety of environments, from fresh water lakes, rivers, sinkholes, cenotes and caves, ocean reefs and wrecks in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

I dive and teach actively. Most of my time is spent training master, dive master and instructor students for NAUI.