This summer, FORCE BLUE will be putting six (6) recruits through two weeks of intensive training under the tutelage of some of the brightest minds in the fields of marine science, coral restoration and PTSD counseling.
Meet the Recruits
FOR THEM, it is the opportunity to rejoin an elite team of fellow combat veterans, to rediscover a new cause worth fighting for and to redeploy on positive missions around the globe.
FOR YOU, it’s a chance to make a difference in a veteran’s life, while at the same time helping to protect and preserve our planet.
USAF CCT
A Veteran Air Force Special Operations Combat Controller, Dan served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Niger, and Haiti in multiple theaters of operations ranging from combat deployments to humanitarian missions. An avid health and wellness advocate, he has also excelled in the competitive sports arena as a four time CrossFit Games Regional Competitor, Strongman National Competitor, and Spartan Ultra World Championship Finisher.
Dan entered the civilian world pursuing the path of entrepreneurship where he owns Evolution Athletics, a human performance optimization company and is the Co-Founder of the Spring Lake Outpost, a kayak and canoe riverine adventure center. Dan’s business endeavors highlight the overarching theme in his life of constant human and environmental improvement. His military experience as an Air Force Combat Diver has allowed him to continue pursuing the great unknown, one of which is the Deep Blue.
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USAF CRO/PJ
Maj (Ret.) Jay Casello served 24 years in the United States Air Force as a Combat Rescue Officer culminating with 7 years at the 212th Rescue Squadron in Alaska. As a Team Commander Jay led Pararescue (PJ) teams in multiple combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq and civilian search and rescue missions in Alaska ensuring survivor contact, treatment, and extraction in denied, adverse, and hostile territories.
Shortly after receiving his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Rhode Island in 1994, Jay enlisted in the USAF as a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Specialist and served 6 years as a field training and parachuting water survival instructor. Jay earned his commission in Dec 2001 and was picked to lead his class at the Pararescue Indoctrination Course, graduated in a class with a 90% attrition rate, and continued to excel through the career field pipeline. He has graduated several special operations schools to include the U.S. AF Combat Rescue Officer course, U.S. Army Combat Dive School, U.S. Navy Underwater Egress, U.S. Army Airborne, and the U.S. Army Military Freefall Parachutist school.
Throughout his career, he is credited with innumerable rescue missions resulting in over one hundred lives saved. Among other achievements, Jay has been awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Humanitarian Achievement Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal and multiple Air Medals.
Jay has been diving since 1988 and has gained vast, invaluable experience during Special Forces dive school and multiple rescue and recovery missions deployed both overseas and in the U.S.
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USAF CCT
Andy grew up on a retired farm property with this twin brother Matt in New Jersey. From a young age they treated everything like a competition. Their father had them racing go karts, dirt bikes, playing every sport they could, Feeding into the need for adrenaline and excitement. Growing up near NYC 9/11 hit their home town much harder than others. Right out of high school he started flight school thinking he wanted to be a pilot eventually for the military. But that proved to be too boring. He needed more. He needed to serve his country.
In 2009 he joined the U.S Air Force. After 2 years of training in 2011 he became a Combat controller assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics sqdn in Florida. Shortly after earning his Beret he married his wife, Anna. Then the deployments started. The lifestyle of being a special operator tested them both. The hardships of being gone all the time. Experiencing war, losing friends along the way, being severely combat wounded. He felt he was changing. He left Active duty life in 2016 and is currently a member of the 125th STS Air National Guard in Oregon.
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U.S. Army Ranger / Green Beret
Thomas Peck is a retired Army Warrant Officer with 22 years of service. He spent all 22 years of duty in Army Special Operations as both an enlisted soldier and Warrant Officer in either the U.S. Army Rangers, or the Special Forces Green Beret. He has logged well over one thousand dives in the waters of the Caribbean, Central America, Fiji, and the coastal regions of the United States. Tom has also worked on numerous humanitarian missions as a Commander or Assistant Commander of Operational Detachments in such countries as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippine islands, Iraq, Sudan, and Egypt; just to name a few.
He has a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Saint Martin’s University, and is also a recent graduate of Pierce College with an Associate’s degree in the Occupational Safety & Health (OSHA) program to be a certified safety technician. Tom has found fortune in marriage to his wife Charlotte, a retired school teacher, married for the last thirty-three years. She shares Tom’s love of SCUBA diving and appreciation of natural science and marine biology.
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USN EOD
Born in Danbury, CT and raised in Cupertino, CA, Jon is a former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician, who served from 2008-2014, with a combat deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, where he defused IEDs and helped train up the local counterparts. Beyond his combat deployment, he saw a lot of the country and other parts of the world supporting the United States Secret Service, traveling ahead of the President, Vice President, and various foreign dignitaries, helping ensure their safety during their diplomatic missions
After separating from the Navy, Jon found a new a passion within the sport of Natural Bodybuilding. He began competing in 2013 with the International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA). He turned Professional in 2014, in the Men’s Physique category, and has competed regularly ever since.
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Royal Navy, SBS
A Special Operations Forces veteran from the UK, Clarke served in the British equivalent of the U.S. Navy SEAL Development Group (DEVGRU), both as a combat diver and an operator. With over 17 years operational service under his belt, Clarke spent his military career giving his all for freedoms none of us should ever take for granted.
Clarke vividly recalls seeing the attacks of September 11, 2001 on TV while on base and remembers how instantaneously he knew his life would be forever changed by them. Shortly thereafter, fighting alongside his US brothers-in-arms, Clarke began operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Through these conflicts, he, like many others, had dear friends who were wounded or never came home.
From an early age, all Clarke ever wanted to do was to serve. He never had a “Plan B”. In his years since leaving the military, Clarke has struggled to find meaning and purpose — something that would allow him to give back and to again be part of something larger than himself.
Force Blue is giving him that opportunity; a chance to do good for this beautiful, but fragile planet and to once again serve alongside those brave and special people that are our veterans.
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What your support means…
$15,000
Will fund one of our recruits’ entire training including airfare, accommodations, meals, instruction, dive equipment and training certification dives.
$5,000
Will fund airfare, accommodations, meals and instruction for one recruit.
$1,000
Will fund head-to-toe dive equipment for one recruit.
$500
Will fund all (NAUI/CRF/NOAA) certification dives for one recruit.
$250
Will fund Nitrox air-fills for five days of diving for one recruit.
$100
Will fund lionfish culling equipment for one of our recruits.
$25
Will fund one Nitrox tank fill for one recruit.
News & Events
To find out more, visit the news & events page.
Aug 17, 2018
These Veterans Are Fighting A New War, This Time Against Attacks on South Florida’s Coral Reefs
Ritterhoff and Air Force Master Sergeant Roger Sparks joined WLRN’S Sundial to explain the dual undertakings of the organization.
Jul 24, 2018
FORCE BLUE on Public Radio International
Executive Director Jim Ritterhoff recently sat down with Bobby Bascomb of PRI’s “Living on Earth” to discuss the non-profit organizations unique approach to preserving and restoring both our returning combat veterans and the planet.
Jul 6, 2018
Force Blue Recognized as Non-profit Leader
As one of the final 40 Official Selections, FORCE BLUE will have the opportunity to present its work at this year’s festival and will be in contention for a coveted 2018 SHIFT AWARD.
Partners
FORCE BLUE is proud to partner some of the biggest names in marine science and marine resource preservation, both for its training and its mission deployments.
