Injured soldiers learn scuba diving skills in Florida

Injured soldiers have been learning scuba diving skills this week during a trip to Key West in the United States. The trip was arranged by Texas-based Task Force Dagger Foundation, an organisation that was set up by four retired Special Operations soldiers in 2009 to support severely injured soldiers.

After losing both legs and the full use of his right arm in an attack in Afghanistan, 45-year-old U.S Army Special Operations soldier and Army Chief Warrant Officer, Scott Schroeder, was reintroduced to scuba diving with his wife and son during the week-long trip to Key West.

The soldier and his family from Clarksville, Tennessee, participated in the recreational therapy programme which was set up to focus on injured soldiers and their partners and children.

The family took to the waters of a shallow reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and while Schroeder refined his scuba diving skills, his wife and son worked towards earning their open water scuba certification.

"We're in a hospital environment all the time, and to come out here as a family is a great thing," Schroeder explained. "Emotionally, we're recharging and rehabilitating."

Ironically, Schroeder had contacted the managing director of Task Force Dagger Foundation, Keith David, prior to his accident in Afghanistan to offer his time to help injured soldiers.

"I originally thought I was going to be on the giving end," he said. "Here I find I'm on the receiving end of the foundation, and I'm blessed that they were there to help me and my family recover together."

Schroeder learned to scuba dive in the 1980s but following his accident he had to take a refresher course to adapt his skills around his new special high-tech prosthetic “swim legs” and now the family can enjoy scuba diving holidays together.

"Every time we go on a vacation, one thing he wants to do is go diving, but he won't do it because we're not certified," added Laura Schroeder. "So now, when we go on vacations, we can certainly go out with him."

Keith David explained that the foundation's family focus enables it to stand out from other similar organisations.

"When the soldier is injured or wounded, the whole family is wounded," he noted. "One of the things we try and do is help them heal as a family unit."

Key West is one of the most popular scuba diving destinations in the United States and is home to warm crystal clear waters thriving with shipwrecks, reefs and marine life.