Female Veterans Dive for Shipwrecks

Three U.S. Armed Forces veterans joined an all-female dive team
for a week in November to conduct shipwreck surveys at Channel Islands National
Park. They were sponsored by the Wounded American Veterans Experience SCUBA
(WAVES), a program that helps vets recover from trauma. The rest of the team
included archaeologists, biologists, and instructors with the National Park
Service (NPS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I am lucky, blessed, and honored to be here,” said Gina Harden,
who started her U.S. Navy career as the branch’s seventh female military deep
sea diver. “With my 35 years as a navy diver, I can help mentor these veterans,
to listen, to be a sounding board, and to support them.”

The other two participants were U.S. Army veterans Bonnie Casler
and Alexandria McIntyre. “It’s the calm underwater,” said Casler, “the bubbles,
the peace and quiet, that I haven’t felt in years.”