The nonprofit special operations veteran group known as Force Blue splashed their way into Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena this week to do conservation work in Lake Huron and connect with the local community.
Force Blue is the only group in the world that retrains and redeploys veterans after returning home from duty to help restore marine resources. As a part of their mission, they have embarked on a five-year journey to work with and visit every national marine sanctuary in the country.
During their visit to Alpena, Force Blue has been working with Thunder Bay to document shipwreck sights, take water samples, and repair buoys in the area.
The sanctuary's director Jeff Gray told WCMU that this has been one of the coolest projects he has ever had the opportunity to work on.
"We're getting real work done to protect the Great Lakes, but at the same time we're working side by side with these incredible veterans," Gray said. "We're hopeful that this is not a one-time event and this becomes something where they're coming back year after year."
Steve Gonzalez, better known as Gonzo, is one of the veterans with Force Blue who came to Alpena. He said that as a retired Navy SEAL it's hard to find things that get him excited, but this trip was able to achieve that.
"You have about 100 (shipwrecks) that have yet to be found. And I had no idea, nor did any of our other veterans," said Gonzalez. "New Orleans was a steamboat that sank here, and I'm born and raised in New Orleans so it was really neat to be in the water on top of it."
Along with their work in the lake, the group has been participating in community outreach events such as holding a public lecture and heading into Thunder Bay Junior High School to speak with the students there. A public screening of Force Blue's documentary, Frog Fathers, is also planned to take place on Saturday, Sept. 21.
"The community here in Alpena and Thunder Bay has been amazing," Gonzalez said. "Every night we've gone out to dinner people see us wearing our Force Blue shirts and are just blown away and so happy to have us here."
"And of course they're so appreciative of our veteran's service, but also that we're out and engaging with the community. It's really fun and it really excites our guys just to go that extra mile. It makes you want to serve just a little bit more," Gonzalez continued.
Gray said there's been a film team on location as well to produce a documentary that will be screened at their film festival in January.
"Even after they're gone and move on to their next project, they're going to have a great outreach education piece that can be used to talk about the Great Lakes," he said.
