Photo By 1st Sgt. Daryl Madrid | Retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Lugo participates in the Soldiers Undergoing...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba made their ninth appearance at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, this week, giving seven former service members the opportunity to spend five days diving in the surrounding tropical waters.
Of the seven divers, retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Lugo, age 32, from Passaic, New Jersey, has been diving with SUDS for more than six years.
“I got involved with SUDS when I was in Walter Reed. In 2007, I was injured in Iraq by a roadside bomb,” Lugo said. “I did my scuba certification in Puerto Rico in 2009.”
The program is designed to help improve the lives of our injured service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. SUDS offers scuba certification programs through Scuba Diving International. The program is run by a dedicated staff of volunteers who are passionate about helping our injured service members and about the sport of diving.
“This is my first time to Guantanamo, and I’m definitely enjoying the trip, the community here definitely welcomes us here very well and has been showing us a great time,” Lugo said “The dives are awesome, nice clear water. I’ve only really seen that in Puerto Rico, and it’s something different. It’s not like everyone gets to come out and do it.”
John W. Thompson, the SUDS nonprofit organization president, said that he could always count on GTMO to give SUDS a warm welcome and accept the Wounded Warriors with open arms.
“I’m very glad that John came into my life and brought me out and showed me this whole different world that I would have never probably ever seen,” Lugo said.
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.19.2015 19:24 |
| Story ID: | 154919 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Hometown: | PASSAIC, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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