Six thousand men were to be trained and equipped with self-contained diving gear including a diving jacket and trousers, diving shoes, and a diving helmet fixed by four bolts. They would be weighed down with of lead and be sustained by liquid food and an air purification system with two 3.5-liter bottles of oxygen at . They were expected to be able to walk at a depth of , for a period of up to ten hours. Personnel were organized into six-man squads with five squads to a platoon, five platoons plus a maintenance platoon to a company, and three companies to a battalion of approximately 540 men. The 71st Arashi was headquartered at Yokosuka with two trained battalions and four battalions in training. The 81st Arashi at Kure was planned for 1000 men to be trained by 250 men from Yokosuka. A similar 1000-man Kawatana unit was planned for Sasebo.
