AUGUST 18, 2017, JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – The four Soldiers who stood over the shark tank knew what creatures lurked below. But as large flashes of gray streaked across the dark water, they willingly dove in to see if what many find terrifying could actually be therapeutic.
The directors of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium’s Operation Shark Dive have been working with ill, injured or wounded Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in a program that helps Soldiers heal physically and emotionally by diving with sharks.
Operation Shark Dive is one of several programs for Soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion, a battalion designed for Soldiers to recover and help transition back to regular Army units or civilian status.
The dive is part of the battalion’s adaptive sports program, a diverse program that offers on and off-post activities for wounded Soldiers to stay active and engaged in the community. The adaptive sports program also satisfies the physical training requirements for Soldiers in the battalion.
The dive is primarily designed for learning breathing techniques, said Brian Caskin, a physical therapy assistant for the battalion at Madigan Hospital on JBLM.
Caskin added that the process of controlling one’s breath in the tank mimics yoga and meditation breathing exercises, “with a more interesting view.”
“It is good practice for staying calm and for breathing control,” Caskin said. “They are addressing a fear while being forced to control their breathing.”
Staff Sgt. Jose Parra, Sgt. Steve Wurth and Spc. Jessica Knoerr, members of the WTB and participants in Operation Shark Dive, are no strangers to overcoming fear. They’ve each overcome their own obstacles, including a traumatic vehicular accident for one of the Soldiers.
None of them had even been snorkeling before the dive. The program gave them the opportunity to don a dry suit and respirator and submerge themselves in a tank, just arm’s length away from five different species of sharks.
Parra said swimming so close to sharks is surreal.
“It’s definitely a check off the bucket list,” Parra said. “I didn’t think I’d be checking off something like this.”
The partnership with Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium began in February. Since its launch, the WTB has offered monthly dives. There are plans to conduct two dives per month starting in September, said Caskin.
David Todd, a member of the shark dive team at Point Defiance, said the program aims to teach participants that sharks are vital to ocean life and are not the fearsome creatures of gory cinema.
“The experience is meant to be mesmerizing rather than high adrenaline,” Todd said. “We’ve all seen “‘Jaws,’ and most people would say sharks are intimidating, but some of the sharks are even timid around the four-inch long damselfish in the tank.”
Despite the tame nature of the sharks at Point Defiance, participants must stay in a cage during the dive.
Todd said staying in the cage is a matter of safety for the divers so staff can ensure the respirators work, as breathing with the equipment does not come naturally to everyone. He added that prohibiting divers from roaming is a safety measure for the sharks and coral as well.
The dive includes a small course on the types of sharks in the tank and the importance of ocean conservation.
The breeds of sharks in the tank are blacktip reef sharks, Japanese Wobbegong sharks, sandbar sharks — nurse sharks which are the heaviest in the tank at 350 to 400 pounds — and sand tiger sharks which are the most timid of the sharks in the tank, Todd said.
The dive includes a course on the ecological role of sharks and other sea life. At the end of the dive participants were encouraged to sign a pledge to protect the ocean and help keep it clean.
Sgt. 1st Class Erica Graham, a platoon sergeant for the WTB who also participated in the dive, said the opportunities are available for Soldiers to have adventures and experiences like this, but participating takes initiative on the Soldier’s part.
“It’s up to them to take advantage of the opportunities,” Graham said. “This one was about conservation and a sport that Soldiers with injuries can participate in, and there’s a lot more out there for those who want to do it.”
Operation Shark Dive is free to all Soldiers in the WTB, and Soldiers only need to sign up through their platoon sergeants or through the adaptive sports program desk to participate.
Point Defiance also runs a program for the public called the Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive that began in 2013. It is similar to Operation Shark Dive but it is not free and the course and time in the tank are condensed.
The Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive is available to everyone, non-military included.
By Spc. Erica Earl