The Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project provides disabled servicemen and women the opportunity to experience water sports such as sailing, water skiing, and scuba diving. During the July Adaptive Water Sports festival, eleven service people and their families were introduced to diving in a pool; nine of them accepted the challenge to travel to Bonaire and earn their c-cards. Bonaire was chosen for its plentiful shore diving, easily accessible reefs, calm waters, and staff with prior experience training disabled divers. Captain Don's Habitat is hosting the event this week, and locals have been donating money to help defray costs, like graduation dinner.
Of course, some warriors are unable to travel to Bonaire. For those men and women, they can still learn to dive, but they have to stick closer to home. For example, in North Carolina, instructor David Peed teaches Marines how to dive near Camp Lejeune. Working to become open-water certified, Lance Cpl. Collin Wolf, a 22-year-old wounded Marine from Boston who was in Iraq when a roadside bomb explosion sent shrapnel into his right leg, claims water activities are great for him: "I can't run yet, so just doing water aerobics or anything in the water, just using my leg helps."
Congratulations to the Wounded Warriors who accepted the challenge to try something new, and thanks to Captain Don's who is helping to make this possible.
