Scuba for wounded warriors

Harvard Gazette -

Julie Broad, director of Alumni Affairs and Development systems, vividly remembers when she watched video of the program called Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba Diving (SUDS Diving).

“It really caught my attention,” Broad said. “I’m a former scuba diver, and it resonated with me immediately — the experience you get out of learning to dive and … being underwater.

I support a lot of other military organizations, but this spoke to me personally because I could relate to the diving experience.”

This holiday season, Broad is making a tax-deductible donation to the nonprofit group through Harvard’s annual Community Gifts program, which accepts donations to hundreds of charities.

A chapter of Disabled Sports USA, SUDS Diving improves the lives of injured military men and women who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many of the service members in the program at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are dealing with severe injuries.

Some SUDS participants use their prosthetics underwater, while others use gear such as webbed gloves for propulsion.

Motorized underwater scooters are employed to assist veterans who have lower limb injuries.

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