Donations, sponsorships sought for Task Force Dagger event here

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

Just before U.S. Army Fifth Special Forces Group Chief Warrant Officer Scott Schroeder deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, he told a friend that when he returned, he wanted to volunteer his time to the Task Force Dagger Foundation, a national support organization for injured and maimed veterans and their families – with a Key West connection.

Back to the world in the winter of that year, Schroeder found instead that he had become a potential client.

“We were driving in Zabul Province, when we ran over an IED and I ended up losing both legs, about the mid-thigh,” said Schroeder, of Clarksville, Tenn. “My right arm was also damaged, but the doctors were able to salvage it, to the point that it still helps me out. I spent the next year-and-a-half at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”

It’s for veterans such as Schroeder – and just as importantly, their families – that the annual “Dagger Dive,” and associated events, will take place here, in mid-June.

Some 10 to 15 injured veterans and their loved ones, from around the country, will be flown to Key West, hosted, and offered rehabilitative dive therapy on area shipwrecks, such as the U.S.A.F.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. A fundraising reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. on June 14, at the Harry S. Truman Little White House, in Truman Annex.

The Navy League of Key West, which serves as a local sponsor of the event, is currently seeking assistance from the community, including donations of lodging, restaurant vouchers, and financial aid.

“Everything we raise locally stays local,” said Navy League Vice President Preston Brewer, who has been working with Task Force Dagger for years. “We’ve been holding some fundraising events, such as our All American BBQ last fall, but we definitely encourage the public to come support these heroes, who make our freedoms possible, on June 14. Our goal is to raise $40,000 for this year’s Dagger Dive.”

The main thrust of Task Force Dagger is a shared belief among many veterans that when a service member is injured in battle, that person’s family is equally affected by the trauma, and should play a role in the process of rehabilitation.

“I was injured,” said Schroeder, who with his wife will celebrate 30 years of marriage this year. “But my whole family was injured, in a way. When we went to Key West in 2011, neither my wife or son were certified to dive, but the organization made sure they got schooled up, and we got to dive together. It was great. The mental part of all of this seems to me much harder than the physical aspect, and you have to learn to push yourself to do the things you used to be able to do. With Task Force Dagger, it’s always about the entire family, and I realize why. You have to heal with the family, too.”