Greg Piper Opens Up About Diving as a Veteran

How does military diving compare to recreational?

It’s quite different. It’s not recreational. It’s done mostly at night, with almost zero vis. Twin tanks—you don’t get to choose your equipment, uncomfortable fins, one-size-fits-all mask. It a very different experience.

When I went out and got certified, it was actually quite laughable. The military is very strict, you learn to dive very well. You’re very familiar with your equipment. The standards are very high. And so, when I had a rec. instructor smiling and shaking my hand for being able to remove my mask—I found that stuff to be a little comical.

In the military, they’ll throw a shoulder into you, spin you around, take off your mask, tie up your regs. Again, it’s very different.

And I understand. We’re trying to get people into an industry as recreational divers, so the last thing you’d want to do is put ‘em in a black mask, in zero vis—then start tying up their regs. But the drownproofing and all the other stuff [the military] does. It’s different.

Is diving a good sport for veterans?

Any time that groups of veterans or other people that share the same experiences can be around one another, I think it’s a good thing.

There’s a ton of people who are amputees. A friend of mine lost his leg from the knee down in Afghanistan. So I think it’s important. Anything we can have—climbing, diving, whatever it is—that gets [us] together, and amongst one another—and even introduced to a new sport. Especially with a disability, diving allows them to go out and have a sense of worth. A lot of times, people lose that.

Freedom of movement is one of my favorite things about diving. It doesn’t matter how many times I do it. The best part—regardless of what the dive holds—is that minute when you roll back off the boat. Being surrounded by the water, and that first minute of descending through the blue. It’s weightlessness, it’s silent—which is a huge plus. For veterans, like anyone, it can be soothing, but also, it can provide healing and an experience that’s almost surreal.

Is there something about diving that specifically calls to veterans?

People in the military tend to be more OCD, and they tend to get more involved in what they’re doing and want to understand more and educate themselves. That’s the main difference: in the military you’re trained on everything, every piece of equipment that you use, you have to maintain it. So I think you’ll find that a veteran is going to be much more in tune with their equipment and take much better care of that equipment.

I think the more you get in tune with your equipment, the less trusting you are of letting others handle it, because you understand the risk. The risk, in this case, that a mistake will cost you your life.

How does your time in the military manifest in your diving?

Me? I maintain all of my own gear. Just because, I know that it’s right and it’s hard to trust other people with that stuff and it’s always in immaculate condition. It’s always cleaned when I’m done.

And that’s my photography gear and my diving gear. But again, it’s kinda just an OCD thing with me. …I always have my own analyser and I I always make sure it good because I feel like it’s my life, and if something goes wrong it’s inevitably my choice to check it myself or be sure it’s right.