Patrick Cosgrove has spent his entire adult life in service — as a U.S. Marine, a Minnesota Army National Guard Operations Sergeant Major, a corrections officer, a sheriff's deputy, and now as the owner and lead instructor of Midwest School of Diving. His career spans over four decades of uniform service, with deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

He joined the Marine Corps in 1983 as a Tactical Aircraft Navigation Systems Technician, then transitioned to the Minnesota Army National Guard in 1989 where he rose to Operations Sergeant Major. Along the way, he served 10 years with the MN Department of Corrections — including as a Special Operations Response Team member — and 12 years with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, where he was a Field Training Officer, Use of Force Instructor, and Public Safety Search and Recovery Diver.

Patrick took ownership of Midwest School of Diving in 2023, bringing that same systematic, safety-first approach to recreational and public safety dive training. He's a PADI Elite Instructor — a distinction earned by certifying 100 or more divers in a single calendar year with zero quality violations — and an ERDI Public Safety Dive Instructor, training law enforcement, fire, and rescue teams to OSHA and NFPA 1006, 1561, and 1670 standards.

He holds a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Business and Management from Excelsior University, and is a gradute of the U.S. Army Sergeant's Major Academy, the DOD Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection Advisor's Course, and is DOJ certified as a De-escalation Tactics Instructor. He's an active member of the Midwest Public Safety Divers Association and a driving force behind the annual North American Ice Diving Festival.

PADI Certifications

Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Specialty classes Pat teaches include:

• Drysuit
• Full face mask
• Ice diver
• Search and recovery
• Night diver
• Enriched air Nitrox

 
Divers Alert Network (DAN)

• Basic Life Support Instructor (CPR and First Aid)

 
Dive Rescue International (DRI)

• Public Safety Dive Rescue specialist
• Public Safety ice diver, Salvage and recovery diver
• Dive medicine specialist.

Handicap Scuba Association (HSA)

• Dive Buddy.