New mission for combat veterans: protect coral reefs

Special operations veterans are turning their combat skills to something new: saving our world's coral reefs. Thanks to Force Blue, a nonprofit group, these American heroes are healing, protecting, and saving the Earth's critically endangered marine ecosystems. In the process, they are healing and saving themselves.

Jim Ritterhoff, the executive director and co-founder of Force Blue, and Anthony Bunkley, a special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman, came to Fox 5 News to talk about the group's mission.

"The idea for FORCE BLUE grew out of a dive trip co-founders Jim Ritterhoff and Rudy Reyes took to the Cayman Islands in Summer 2015 to meet up with their friend, Keith Sahm, General Manager of Sunset House, the oldest continuously operated dive resort in the Caribbean," the group's website reads. "With dynamics that mirror those of a traditional military training program, FORCE BLUE will give former combat divers and Special Operations veterans a chance to learn about and explore one of the most critically endangered ecosystems on the planet and to adapt their training and teamwork to aid in its protection."

In helping Force Blue, you're helping veterans and helping our planet.