unhappy endings

[DRE]

There are quite a few wreck divers out there who approach wreck diving the same way (gear, procedures, etc) as cave. However, the typical wreck community are the NE wreck divers. They have point people as well (such as Gary Gentile) but their approach to diving is much more an anything goes mentality. They do a lot of solo diving, gear choice is completely personal and they're mostly after personal goals and glory (such as finding first class china on the Doria).
Because of this they have a much more macho attittude to diving. Example: most NE wreck divers wouldn't use nitrox and O2 for deco (they did everything on air) because to them adding two more bottles was an invitation to disaster. They usually never tried to accomodate their gear so they could properly carry those two bottles but that's another story.
There probably is as much infighting in the cave as in the wreck community, but at least there are more standards for cave than for wreck - and no, there is no dedicated agency for wreck diving.
As far as dangers are concerned, wreck is probably more dangerous than cave in that it is a less stable environment, but that is all the more reason to work with a very strict set of rules and standards to avoid possible CF's. Usually, however, the opposite is the case. Ever wondered why GI calls a NE wreck boat a StarWars bar scene?