MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) offices at military installations around the world provide a lot more than just recreation opportunities to their communities; they also help service members transition between home life and deployment by offering a wide variety of stress-relieving outlets. Adventure trips are part of the package, and scuba diving programs have become a major hit at bases worldwide. In addition, scuba diving is offered as a rehabilitation option for disabled service members through both military and private-sector venues. The surreal underwater world offers divers a venue for peace and serenity, so it’s no surprise these programs are popular among military men and women who often otherwise lead hectic, chaotic lives.
This January at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Navy welcomed a group of disabled service members for a SUDS (Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba) event, offering eight wounded warriors a rehabilitation opportunity that provides both physical and mental therapeutic benefits. The program, free to all participants, is based at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and serves Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom service members who are under physical therapy and occupational therapy care. The SUDS foundation works with Guantanamo Bay’s Reef Raiders Dive Club to coordinate the annual events and provide gear for divers, and more than 100 people volunteered to help with this year’s event.
“It makes you weightless in the water, so it really takes away any obstacles you have on the land,” says participant Michael Martinez of his SUDS diving experience. “All of the pressure and weight on your joints doesn’t matter when you are in the water. None of that matters down there.”
In Hawaii, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii’s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s (FMWR) Outdoor Recreation Center teamed up with Island Divers Hawaii last year to offer a diving program for soldiers stationed there. Although FMWR offered diving opportunities with contracted instructors since 2005, the new partnership corresponded with the opening of a new outdoor recreation facility on Schofield Barracks, which allowed Island Divers Hawaii to set up shop on base and hire service members to help run the dive program.
Throughout the year, the program offers diving courses ranging from Open Water Diver to post-instructor level though its Hawaii Scuba University, and beginning divers who aren’t sure if they want to commit to a full certification course are encouraged to get their feet wet at an introductory pool session. The shop also conducts daily dive charters and offers full scuba sets for rental to certified divers. Service members have the option to pay for their courses with GI Bill or Vocational Rehabilitation benefits, and the Open Water course rate is the lowest on the island at $195 for all classes, materials and rental gear.
“This program is such a great opportunity for soldiers, especially since the certification is good for life and allows them to dive in Hawaii year round,” says Ron Locklar, chief of the Community Recreation Division at U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii.
At Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia, Patriot Scuba operates the MWR office’s scuba program and employs many military veterans as dive instructors. A private enterprise operated by a retired Navy captain and his wife, Patriot Scuba works closely with Fort Belvoir MWR to offer certification courses, equipment services, diving trips and more.
“We knew even before the store opened that we would like to work with the military,” says Merial Currer, co-owner of Patriot Scuba with her husband, Jeff. In addition to local dives, the company has taken groups on extended excursions to places like the Florida Keys, Grand Bahama, Roatan and more.
Similar programs are offered through the MWR offices at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico, Naval Base-San Diego in California and elsewhere. Each offers a different array of certifications and gear, but all aim to provide exciting recreational experiences for the military communities they serve.
“The goals for the program are to provide a safe recreational outlet to the war fighter, family members and staff of Joint Base Lewis-McChord and to promote the sport in which all can become ambassadors of the underwater world,” says Joe Kubistek, public affairs specials for Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Danielle Taylor is the Senior Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine.