Today marks a historic day for Atlanta: the new Georgia Aquarium opens to the public. The aquarium is the largest in the world “with over 8 million gallons of fresh and marine water and 100,000 animals representing 500 species from around the globe,” boasts the aquarium’s website.

For Fairburn resident, James Gilchrist, it means more than just a new education or entertainment center within a short drive. For him, it means a new job.

Gilchrist, better known as Sergeant Scuba, is one of less than a dozen volunteer divers selected to help keep the aquarium tanks clean and the animals healthy. Gilchrist was chosen out of a pool of 400 applicants through a series of interviews, background checks, physical fitness and diving tests. This one-time army man recalls that applying to dive for the aquarium was “almost as rigorous as entering military service.”

Gilchrist’s earliest memories include the trips to the ocean, Hilton Head, Charleston, or any number of Atlantic ocean beaches, his uncle would take him to each year. “We used to go down there and play with little sand tigers or sharks, they would come and swim around you in the water. To me it was natural, we had no fear of it, and I have never been bit or nicked by an animal while in the water.”

This is a remarkable statement when you take into account that Gilchrist has spent much of his life in the ocean, swimming with fish or other ocean dwellers that would intimidate the average swimmer.

When Gilchrist was a teenager he began free diving. He then began using a snorkel and mask on his dives. Once he graduated from high school, in Augusta, Georgia where he grew up, Gilchrist decided to join the army. He had participated in the ROTC program at his high school all four years and he knew that he wanted to “see the world and experience a few things” before going to college. As a member of the U.S. Army, Gilchrist knew he would have the ability to travel the globe, get an education and a paycheck all at the same time.

Once he entered the military he seized the opportunity to take a scuba diving and certification course offered by the army.

As a member of military intelligence, Gilchrist was sent around the world on assignment. “I went to so many different countries where the water was just immaculate, crystal clear. I think about Italy, Spain, and just off the coast of Morocco. It was just awesome.” Gilchrist took advantage of the opportunity being afforded to him by the army. Whenever he was given free time in the various countries, he made sure he took his scuba gear and discovered all the country had to offer.

While in the army, Gilchrist continued to take diving classes. He became a dive master and then an assistant dive instructor. Gilchrist decided he wanted to use his skills to help others. “My true love is to give the gift that my uncle gave to me as a baby.” He wanted to teach other young people to swim and to learn to love the water the same way his uncle James had taught him. In order to embark on his dream, he would have to become a full fledged PADI instructor. In 1997 he accomplished this goal.

The previous year Gilchrist founded a club, near the base he was stationed at, for the African American youth of Texas in the coastal region. The club, the Black Diamond Scuba Divers, was created to teach water safety, SCUBA diving and the importance of water conservation. When Gilchrist realized how unaware the youth were of the contributions made by African Americans in maritime history, he added that element to his program.

Gilchrist retired from the military in 1998 after 22 years of service and spent the next two years diving and traveling around the world. He spent time diving at the sites of ship wrecked slave ships off the coast of Ghana, Africa as well as many other locations.

In December of 1999 Gilchrist moved to the Atlanta area, partly because he knew there was a dive community already established in the area, the Atlanta Underwater Explorers, which meets once a month at Morehouse College. Once in Atlanta, Gilchrist met his wife, Chandra, who was also a diver.

Gilchrist established Sgt. Scuba, Inc., a continuation of his work in Texas, and it was recognized as a non-profit organization in the state of Georgia in 2004. He works out of his own back yard, where he has an office and a pool where he gives individual lessons, as well as at The Dive Shop on Sandy Plains Road in Marietta. The shop allows Gilchrist the use of their indoor pool for larger groups and during the cold winter months. Gilchrist explains that the shop has been extremely supportive of his mission to teach youth and adults alike.

Last year the Georgia Aquarium approached the Atlanta Underwater Explorers about their need for volunteer divers. While the aquarium would employ full time divers to keep the tanks clean, they would also need a group of volunteers to aid in the process.

Gilchrist’s wife encouraged him to apply and he did. In mid-October after a long application process, Gilchrist was accepted and was told he would start diving almost immediately. Since the beginning of November, Gilchrist has made 7 dives at the world’s largest aquarium.

Gilchrist’s responsibilities include cleaning the glass as well as the rocks and other stationary objects within the tanks. “Knowing I can help take care of all the fish there gives me a great sense of pride. It’s not a job for me, it’s an adventure,” he says. One of the greatest thrills Gilchrist has experienced in his short time at the aquarium was diving in the “Ocean Voyager” exhibit with the whale sharks that are housed there in the tank they call the “open ocean.”

Between Sgt. Scuba, Inc. and diving at the new aquarium, James Gilchrist could call himself a busy man, but on top of everything else he still works a full time job at Dobbins Air Force Base as a contract administrator and evaluator. He works four ten hour days and, with flex-time, is able to go in early and leave before too late in the afternoon. “I’m a good time manager,” he laughs.

For more information on Sgt. Scuba, Inc. or James “Sgt. Scuba” Gilchrist log onto www.youth.sgtscuba.org. For more info on the new Georgia Aquarium log onto www.georgiaaquarium.org.

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