Orie J. Braun
Underwater explorer, instructor, and Member of the Explorers Club. From cave exploration in Alaska to the wrecks of the Baltic Sea, training the divers, instructors, and recovery teams who go deeper.
Orie started as a volunteer at a local dive shop and never stopped going deeper, rising to COO of Halcyon Manufacturing in High Springs, Florida, while building one of the most complete résumés in technical diving.
He is an active instructor for Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), an Instructor Trainer for SSI, and a past President of the National Association for Cave Diving (NACD). As Regional Coordinator and Training Chair for the IUCRR in Florida and Alaska, he trains and mentors students, instructors, and public-safety recovery teams around the world.
His exploration work runs cold: cave exploration in Alaska, sunken wrecks off Kodiak Island and the Baltic Sea, and warm, from stacked deco hours at Ginnie Springs to reef diving in the tropics. He establishes safe diving protocols for government and private teams, and contributes to dive-equipment development and research.
Credentials earned in the dark, the cold, and the deep.
A teaching résumé spanning recreational, technical, cave, and freediving disciplines.
GUE Fundamentals Instructor
Foundational skills, configuration, and team protocols for the GUE system.
GUE Cave 1 Intern
Overhead-environment training toward full cave instructor certification.
GUE Tech 1 Intern
Decompression and technical diving instruction track.
Instructor Trainer
Certifies and develops new instructors across multiple disciplines.
Freediving Instructor Trainer
700+ freedive sessions; training instructors in breath-hold diving.
Cave Guide · Alachua Sink & Black Lagoon
Permitted guide for Alachua Sink and Black Lagoon at Hart Springs.
Projects at the far reaches of human discovery.
Recent exploration projects across the world's most demanding water.
Cave Exploration · Alaska
Frigid, remote overhead systems in the far north CaveKodiak Island Wrecks
Sunken wrecks off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska WreckBaltic Sea Wrecks
Cold, low-visibility wreck diving in the Baltic WreckGinnie Springs & North Florida Caves
High-flow cave systems; stacked decompression hours CaveIUCRR Rescue & Recovery
Public-safety dive training in Florida & Alaska MissionIndustry, agency, and community leadership.
The organizations Orie helps build, certify, and keep safe.
Diving is an adventure, a calling, a dream come true.Orie J. Braun
Ready to go deeper.
Training, mentorship, expedition support, and public-safety dive instruction, worldwide.