Vet Returns for Family, Fun

Photo By Spc. Eric Liesse | Charles James Shaffer, an Iraq war veteran who was severely wounded in September, accepts a memento of his visit, Dec. 9, from Joint Task Force Guantanamo commander Navy Rear Adm. David M. Thomas, Jr. after Shaffer's weeklong scuba diving trip with the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba Diving Program. Shaffer, who lived on U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay as a child, came with SUDS to complete his dive certification. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detained enemy combatants, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released. JTF Guantanamo conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the Global War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. JTF Guantanamo conducts planning for and on order responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.  

12.12.2008

Story by Pfc. Eric Liesse 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

By Eric Liesse
Joint Task Force Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Within U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay's community, scuba diving is a wildly popular activity. The Bay offers many unique opportunities for first-time and advanced divers. That is why the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba Diving Program, a non-profit organization out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, came to Guantanamo – to get wounded veterans in the water.

The program, a chapter of Wounded Warriors and Disabled Sports Project, teaches disabled and wounded recovering veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom how to scuba dive, or helps them get certified on more advanced programs such as rescue diving.

One former Soldier, recovering from severe injuries sustained in Iraq, joined the program and came to Guantanamo with a special connection to the base: he used to live here.

"My mom is the banker, and my stepdad is a [Burns and Roe, Dick Corporation] contractor," said Charles James Shaffer, a former private first class who was with the Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, 1-A Infantry, E Company, 2nd Platoon in Mosul, Iraq when he was wounded.

On Sept. 1, Shaffer was in Mosul conducting route clearance in a procession of tactical vehicles.

"There a kid was with a shape charge," Shaffer said. "He detonated it on our vehicle, injuring [the four of us] in our vehicle. Then we were hit by a cratering explosive while we were decelerating."

The attack mangled and severed Shaffer's right leg and his lungs were badly burned.

After treatment in Germany, where Shaffer's sister met with him, he was admitted to Walter Reed AMC on Sept. 5, and regained consciousness a few days later.

"My first question was 'How many died?'" Shaffer said. "My second question was 'Am I paralyzed?'"

He was happy to learn he still had use of his remaining limbs, though he knew the recovery would not be quick. Shaffer currently lives in Walter Reed's assisted living homes while he recovers.

Shaffer's activities with the SUDS Diving Program came at the suggestion of his mother.

"My mother told me about it, and she said it would be fun," said Shaffer. He joined the SUDS program, doing some work in pools at Walter Reed. In what he calls "coincidence," SUDS was planning a trip to come to Guantanamo Bay – just one of many dive sites the program has gone – so he made sure he was able to go.

Shaffer, a 24-year-old from O'Fallon, Ill., lived in Guantanamo as a child, from 1988 until 1992. His mother has been working on-island for about 20 years, while his stepfather has been here as a contractor for about 36 years.

The base is very different now according to Shaffer, especially with Joint Task Force Guantanamo aboard. Shaffer's last visit to the base was July 2001, so he considered coming to finish his diving certification an excellent opportunity.

"They asked me if I could swim," said Shaffer. "I said, 'Well, I could try.' I used be a really great swimmer, before the accident."

Now, he swims using webbed gloves to help propel him through the water, allowing him to swim almost as fast as before. After his five days here, Shaffer has logged eight dives between his time in Guantanamo Bay and in swimming pools back in the United States.

This Guantanamo trip is not the first for the SUDS diving program. They were here in February teaching wounded veterans the proper techniques of scuba diving.

Shaffer said he wishes to continue diving, hopefully sticking to the ocean. He also plans to see his unit come home when their deployment is scheduled to end in the spring.

• Date Taken: 12.12.2008
• Date Posted: 12.15.2008 10:42
• Story ID: 27699