On March 25 at 2 p.m., the Advanced Science Diving Program at Florida State University Panama City will hold a dedication ceremony honoring the late U.S. Navy Capt. John Michael “Jack” Ringelberg in the Holley Academic Center’s Allan Bense Atrium.
Ringelberg, who died in 2024 at the age of 85, served 16 years as a Surface Warfare and Engineering Duty Officer specializing in salvage and deep diving operations, and was the first commanding officer of the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City, according to an FSU Panama City press release.
“Capt. Ringelberg’s importance to the military, and by extension, the civilian dive community, cannot be overstated,” Mike Davis, director of dive operations at FSU Panama City’s Advanced Science Diving Program, said in the press release. “As the inaugural commanding officer of the Navy Experimental Diving Unit, he was singularly responsible for identifying and validating the safety measures we all use today. It is not only appropriate to honor him with this memorial, but to use this as an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to his legacy of safe aquatic exploration.”
Ringelberg was also active in the community: memberships in the Panama City Rotary Club and St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club; past president of the Panama City Music Association; former trustee on the board of Holy Nativity Episcopal School; and a founding member of the Man in the Sea Museum.
For more information about the diving program at FSU Panama City, visit appliedstudies.fsu.edu/asdp
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: FSU Panama City to honor first Navy Experimental Diving Unit commander
Reporting by Tyler Orsburn, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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