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Local dive school offers free and VA-reimbursable scuba training for veterans, seeks partnerships
Summary
Aquatic Adventures, a local dive operator, described programs that provide free scuba certification to eligible veterans, VA reimbursement routes, and adaptive diving options for people with disabilities.
Aquatic Adventures, a local dive operator, told the Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee Sept. 18 that veterans can obtain free or VA-reimbursable scuba certification and that the program offers adaptive options for veterans with disabilities.
“Every dollar that goes back into Dive for Vets goes straight back towards veterans,” said Mike Robinson, owner of Aquatic Adventures, describing a nonprofit program based in Fort Lauderdale that offers a free first scuba-certification to veterans who provide a DD214 and have a disability other than dishonorable discharge.
Robinson said many of Aquatic Adventures’ courses are VA-reimbursable if veterans use remaining GI Bill benefits; the operator is pursuing state education-recognition to allow broader VA tuition funding and to accept GI Bill benefits without charging veterans up front. He said the facility also offers public-safety diving training, lifeguard instruction, and career pathways from recreational certification to instructor trainer.
Robinson described adaptive diving opportunities and said veterans with significant disabilities, including paraplegia or amputations, can experience diving with assistance; he noted fully quadriplegic veterans could experience the buoyancy and therapeutic aspects of water even if they could not earn a full certification. He recommended Balmorhea State Park and Santa Rosa, N.M., for clear-water training locations.
Robinson encouraged veterans to bring VA forms (VA Form 22-803 referenced in the presentation) and noted the facility keeps training records for seven years to assist reimbursement. He also offered to provide course handouts and connect with city needs for lifeguard or public-safety training.
The presentation was informational; the advisory committee did not take action.
For veterans interested in the program, Robinson said to contact Aquatic Adventures directly; he said staff can help complete VA paperwork for reimbursement.
