The US Navy has a mandate to protect America and to further American interests abroad. An important branch of the US Naval Corps is diving. There are several military reasons to engage in diving as well as to carry out maintenance, search and rescue and salvage operations.

The US Navy as with all diving outfits is very aware about preserving the marine environment and all our divers are given training to damage marine resources as little as possible. This is particularly applicable when diving around coral reefs. As anyone who has taken a PADI course in Koh Tao can tell you, the corals are fragile and very important habitats that must be treated with the utmost care.

Approximately 25% of all known marine life is to be found living near coral reefs in the world. And yet corals are rapidly dying. The annual rate of coral loss is estimated as being 20 times the size of Manhattan Island. Corals are important for their biodiversity – they provide jobs, food, biomedical compounds and shelter from storms. The biggest cause for the loss of corals is coral bleaching. This is due to rising water temperatures that kill corals near the surface.

It is thus important that human activity adds as little stress as possible to these important underwater areas. Our divers are quipped with the knowledge and know how to go about their business while giving as little stress as possible to coral reefs.

The navy intends to protect the citizens of America as well as the marine resources of not just American waters but all waters. The navy at Mayport is no excpetion to this rule. It strives to minimize its environmental impact.