FORCE BLUE: Weapons of Reef Construction

Posted 27 November 2017 by Carol Brighton

A group of special operations veterans are not done serving. Transferring skills from military dive training, the retired warriors are responding to a different kind of planetary threat: the loss critical ocean habitat.  FORCE BLUE is a non-profit organized by veterans to rebuild coral reefs. In their new mission, the group is not just helping to heal critical marine ecosystems; the program also therapeutically serves to support vets as they deal with issues related to military service and make the often difficult transition to civilian life.   

Aptly put by Jenny Krief on the team's facebook page: “What a synergistic partnership ... oceans healing our Vets and our Vets healing our oceans. The rhythm of the undersea world has the power to heal the soul, and these Vet combat divers have the knowledge and training to heal our reefs. POWERFUL!! They deserve all the support we can give them financially and by spreading knowledge about their organization.”

The team is currently responding to reefs ravaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. According to a facebook page post earlier this month, “the group, working with a team from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at Cayo Diablo in northeast Puerto Rico, on a grant obtained through the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, rescued 425 large fragments of Elkhorn Coral that had been ripped from the reef by Hurricane Maria. FORCE BLUE divers brought the fragments up from the impact site, carefully loaded them on to a SeaVentures boat (pictured right) and transported them to a nearby location more suitable for reattachment.”

FORCE BLUE has launched a campaign for their ongoing coral restoration missions to the Florida Keys and Puerto Rico. The Force Blue facebook page reports: “The damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria was, by any measure, great. But our resolve in restoring these reefs is, by all measures, greater still. Please, help the Special Operations veterans of FORCE BLUE make the sort of positive impact only they can make.” Check out the Video trailer below for more information.

More posts relating to Marine Resources:

Back to the Drawing Board on East Coast Offshore Drilling / Seismic Testing - Updated May & July 2017

Avoiding a Collision Course - Local & Global Action on Marine Mammal Ship Strikes

Visit the Natural Resources Page