What’s Good: Scuba Diving Missions Help Veterans With PTSD

It seems like an unlikely pair: US veterans and coral reefs. I mean really what can one do for the other? Well, one organization has figured out that they can not only help to save the environment but also help those who served our country and now have PTSD.

Force Blue is an organization that recruits former military personnel to go on scuba diving missions where they help plant, nourish, rescue, and preserve coral reefs along the coast of Florida. Why recruit former military members? Well, the co-founder of the mission project, Jim Ritterhoff, came up with the idea when he went scuba diving with a friend of his whom was a veteran suffering from depression. Ritterhoff's friend enjoyed the scuba diving experience so much that they realized they could do something with this idea to help other veterans, which is where Force Blue comes in.

Since the launch of this organization, Force Blue has recruited dozens of veteran workers dealing with PTSD for the mission. Not only have they helped veterans, but they have also done over 1,250 dive hours along an 80-mile stretch of coastline. The team has applied antibiotics to more than 1,200 corals and reported that they  experienced more than 75% success in stopping or slowing the stony coral tissue loss disease.

For more information about this organization, check out the full story here.