SEATTLE - Suiting up for a swim in Puget Sound is the last thing most of these guys thought they'd be doing right now. They're much more attuned to humping 150 pound packs through the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. But it's one more step in the transition to life here at home for vets dealing with the emotional wounds of war.
"Once that realization kicks in that - there is something wrong with me - it's very humbling and it's very scary. Very scary," says scuba diver Scott Frazier.
He and the pod of about 8 men call themselves "scuba warriors." They are combat veterans who have seen war at its darkest depths. Frazier did 21 straight months as a combat medic in Iraq. Despite all the blood and death and carnage he witnessed, Frazier says the toughest part of the mission was coming home.
"I thought, 'Wait a minute, I left my buddies. I've got to get back to my guys. I'm not supposed to be here. You guys are wrong,'" he said.
When soldiers return from war, they can often feel like fish out of water -- longing for the camaraderie and even thrill of combat. But in the water they can take those same feelings to different, more productive places.
Scuba diving allows the vets to be a "unit" once again by watching out for each other in a risky situation, says therapist Alanee LaFleur, who helps the men process their emotional issues. Once the men begin to trust one another - they begin to trust others as well - and all sorts of things begin to surface.
"They start disclosing things," says LaFleur. "They start opening up, versus being very withdrawn and isolated."
Anton Stump is dealing with PTSD after surviving a roadside bomb attack in Iraq. He still has a hard time talking about it. For him, the water drowns out the noise of a war still rattling in his head.
"It's a great feeling," he says. "All your pains go away; all your worries go away."
But what about when the soldiers come up for air and they return to the combat of daily life? A life mundane to most, but to a war veteran just sitting in traffic can trigger trauma.
In those cases, the soldiers are taught to to take themselves back under water and to be confident that even in the most trying of circumstances they need only breathe.
"I just think about the next time I'm gonna go diving," says Stump. "Everything is to prepare for your next step in life."
"We want you to understand that if you can do this, there are other barriers in life that you can break thorough," adds Frazier. "But make no mistake, your brothers and sisters are still gonna be there for you."
The Scuba Warriors program is run completely from public donations and needs your help to fund more returning vets. You can find out more by visiting www.heartbeatforwarriors.org
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