In 2018, we formed a Joint Recovery Team (JRT) with Task Force Dagger Foundation (TFDF), a non-profit organization that supports Special Forces Operators and their families. The JRT was formed to develop a maritime heritage and archaeology education program, in conjunction with the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), for medically retired Special Forces veterans. The hands-on program introduces veterans to the history of WWII and its underwater maritime heritage. This project stands to be the first of its kind that engages medically retired veterans in the recording, understanding, and appreciation of WWII maritime heritage in the Pacific. The plan is to hold the educational program yearly with returning and new recruits to feed into a program of archaeologically-trained diving veterans.
In 2018, the JRT was able to dive, search, and document 82 targets in Tanapag Lagoon, Saipan. With the success of 2018’s efforts, JRT returned to Saipan in 2019 to conduct test excavation on one of the sites located in 2018 and search for a lost B-29. These JRT missions to Saipan focus on the partnerships formed to support medically retired veterans looking for a new MISSION-PURPOSE-FOCUS.
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