Honoring a Veteran Biography

In 2022 WAVES Project reached new milestones and touched the lives of more veterans than ever before.

Karen Cocozza learned about WAVES Project from a fellow veteran. She thought, “why not, I’ll try it”, and applied to the program in February 2020. She grew up in a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After High School, her sense of adventure and a desire to earn money for college inspired her to join…

“It was an absolute honor to dive with all of you Wonderwomen! ”
— Charlamain Caycedo

WAVES Project has been training in the Southern California since 2011. We became a 501(c )3 nonprofit in 2013. In the beginning, training veterans across the country wasn’t really a thought. Being in Southern California, we had a veteran rich community to train. As we began to develop an internet presence with our website and…

JD Chiniaeff grew up on the water, going to the beach or water skiing on the rivers and lakes. “I never knew my dad had gotten certified as a diver in the sixties until I was in my early twenties. He kept asking me when I was going to get certified and I kept saying…

Dave Fitzgerald began his diving career with WAVES Project in 2018, his chosen dive buddy was his son Alex.  After his Open Water Certification, he began volunteering and continuing his dive training. Dave has worked his way up to the level of Dive Master, helping train other Veterans and leading fun dives to keep them…

Occupational Therapists incorporate deep breathing exercises to help promote relaxation and coping techniques to help assist with keeping you centered and focused. Deep breathing is a great mindfulness technique to help with reducing stress and feelings of anxiety. OT’s can use these tools to help assist with self-regulation and resetting your fight or flight response,…

After seeing our Social Media post about our accomplishments in 2021, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and WAVES Project diver, Rafael Monroy contacted WAVES Project to share his feelings and the impact of our program on his life. “I was compelled to share my truth about the chart that showed 392 veterans lives that were positively…

KEY WEST, Fla. – Dry Tortugas National Park hosted volunteer divers from the Wounded American Veterans Experience Scuba (WAVES) Project who spent a week helping the coral reef ecosystem at the park and in return received therapy, healing and relief from their service-connected disabilities. Seven veterans traveled to the remote Dry Tortugas archipelago, from Oct.…

Five female veterans of the US Armed Services joined the National Park Service for a week of removing marine debris from Biscayne National Park, July 5-11, 2021. The veterans were sponsored by the Wounded American Veterans Experience SCUBA (WAVES Project), non-profit established to provide opportunities for veterans with service-connected disabilities and their families to experience…

WAVES Project Veteran Jeff Houser This September 11th marks the 20th anniversary of a day that changed so many lives. In an effort to raise funds for the WAVES Project, a non-profit organization, I’m running the Surf City Half Marathon in remembrance of all those that lost their lives that day and the many years…

March is Women’s History Month and WAVES Project is honored to spotlight one of our “Women of WAVES” trailblazers.  Bonnie Casler, MSG, (Ret) joined the Army in 1977 after graduating from college with a degree in Education.  She was the last graduating class of WAC (Women Army Corps), which was dissolved as the Army became…

One of the people who began working with the WAVES Project in the early days is Waco Merchant – US Marine Corps veteran and an SSI Assistant Instructor. Waco is also a veteran who received injuries to his body while serving, including cracked vertebrae and injuries to his knee and shoulder resulting in several surgeries.…