The special forces veterans turned coral reef protectors

Brut America

These special forces veterans are now on a new mission: to rebuild coral reefs.   Meet the divers from Force Blue ...

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00:00We were serving our country, we're just serving our planet now.

00:11And that's where it's most vital right now, is this is where the fight is.

00:27The government spends a tremendous amount of money training us, you know, being the

00:31best of the best.

00:32So one thing that we can do is that we're very good divers.

00:36We bring a tremendous asset to the environment.

00:49As you plant that coral, you go back, grab another piece, there's already a marine life

00:54there, enjoying that piece that you just planted.

00:59You get to see firsthand the impact that you're making to our marine environment.

01:13We're all mission oriented guys.

01:15And when that mission no longer exists, then that's problematic for a lot of veterans.

01:22They have a tendency to gravitate towards that black hole, that alcoholism, maybe drug

01:27addiction.

01:28For us as veterans, it's not just about preserving the ocean, but it's also about preserving

01:32and restoring ourselves.

01:41The majority of those dives are in the middle of the night, two o'clock in the morning,

01:46extremely dark, visibility is very low, you can maybe see your hand in front of your face.

01:51Then I transitioned to becoming a member of Force Blue, and the very first dive that

01:56I did, it was transcending to take in the colors, the marine life, the coral reefs,

02:03everything.

02:04It really changed my view of being in the ocean.

02:08Almost as corny as it sounds, I became one with the ocean and one with the marine life

02:13because it really drove home the fact that regardless of the species, this is our one

02:18planet.

02:42So we've come full circle from unfortunately impacting our coral reefs in a negative aspect

02:47to impacting them in a truly positive aspect.

02:4925% of all marine life rely on our foreshore and seabed, and that's a lot of marine life.

03:19So if we lose them, all the animals, the food webs, the keystone species that are connected

03:26to our coral reefs are at risk as well.

03:30Corals also play a part in the air we breathe because a third of all oxygen comes from our

03:35oceans and corals are an important ecosystem that's connected to that process.

03:49Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease actually started here in Miami, Florida.

03:55What's particularly alarming about this disease is when you first see it present on a coral

04:00colony, it can consume and kill that entire colony in days or even weeks.

04:19When we went down, we got to see coral that we had planted two years ago.

04:28I mean, it just grows so much.

04:31I mean, little pieces, which are huge now, and just to see the marine life just enjoying

04:37it, it's truly wonderful.

04:49If you see this big Navy SEAL or this big Army Special Forces guy starts talking about,

04:55you know, climate change or impacts on the ocean, you know, people, whereas they may

05:02never listen to a political opposition, now have a tendency to listen towards a veteran.

05:07Leading by example is a huge thing in the military.

05:09My daughter knows that, and I hope that as I lead by example for her, she can care for

05:14our oceans.

05:15And then when she eventually gets married and has children, she can teach them as well.

05:19So let's take care of that planet for generations to come.

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