One Breath at a Time: Deep Sea Valkyries
One Breath at a Time
Some courage is loud.
Some courage is marked by grand victories in battle.
And some lives quietly beneath the surface of the ocean—carried long after the uniform is folded and the noise of combat fades. That is the space Deep Sea Valkyries was created to hold.
Deep Sea Valkyries exists for veterans and first responders who have learned how to endure extreme pressure but were never given the space to process what that endurance costs. Founded by those who understand trauma as lived experience—not theory—DSV creates immersive healing journeys designed to reconnect participants with breath, presence, and tribe.
Their Valkyrie Voyages blend licensed trauma counseling, peer support, spiritual reflection, and scuba diving. Not as spectacle. Not as escape. But as a return—to stillness, to trust, and to the quiet work of staying alive one moment at a time.
Standing Beside Them
A few months ago, Praesidus/Pass the Torch had the honor of attending one of Deep Sea Valkyries’ events—Axe-idental Heroes, a night dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental health for veterans and first responders.
From the moment we arrived, we weren’t treated as guests or sponsors. We were welcomed like family.
The event was equal parts meaningful and human—laughter between serious conversations, competition mixed with camaraderie. We participated in the axe-throwing tournament alongside veterans, first responders, and members of the DSV community, all gathered not to posture, but to connect.
For the raffle, Praesidus donated our Victory Sands Orange watch—a piece rooted in remembrance, service, and the idea that legacy can be carried forward in tangible ways. But the most lasting impression wasn’t the item on the table.
It was the people around it. That night wasn’t about awareness alone. It was about belonging.
We had the chance to spend time with members of the Deep Sea Valkyries crew—individuals who’s friendly and authenticity presence reflected the organization’s mission far more clearly than any mission statement could. Among them was Chaplain Jay, whose interview would later give voice to so much of what DSV represents.
When the Air Starts to Go
During our conversation with Deep Sea Valkyries Chaplain, Jay Tobin, a nearly 29-year veteran whose service spanned multiple branches, Jay shared a moment from a dive that stayed with him long after resurfacing.
“We go through this dive,” he explained, describing what should have been a routine experience. “And I realized I had a leak in my tank.”
It wasn’t dramatic at first—but it was serious.
“The hose on my tank was leaking air the whole time,” Jay said. “And we’re a long ways away from the boat.”
In diving, denial is dangerous. But panic only makes things worse. Jay could feel the margin closing.
“I am almost out of air,” he said plainly.
He needed to find help. The dive master, with confidence and experience, stayed calm, and slowly began to share his reserve air through his own mask. Calmly passing the regulator back and forth, they made their way safely back to the boat.
Jay didn’t tell the story for effect. He told it because of what it symbolizes.
Shared Air
Listening to Jay’s story after experiencing the DSV community firsthand brought everything into focus.
There are moments—underwater or in life—when the air starts to thin. When strength alone isn’t enough. When survival depends on recognizing the need for support and reaching for it.
Deep Sea Valkyries exists to be that shared air.
The women and men who journey with DSV are not trying to forget their past. They are learning how to live alongside it—without suffocating beneath its weight.
Healing, like diving, requires presence. It asks us to notice when conditions change and to trust that endurance doesn’t always mean going it alone.
Sometimes it means staying alive the only way possible.
One breath at a time.
Find Your Tribe
“In service,” Jay explained, “you’re trained to push through”—to carry weight, solve problems, and stay operational. But some moments cannot be powered through alone.
Later in the conversation, reflecting on finding your tribe and the need for support in moments of hardship, Jay said something quietly profound:
“When it’s impossible to cope, reach out. At the very least, in order to breathe.” The one thing that can always carry us from one moment to the next.
The sentiment captures the heart of what Deep Sea Valkyries offers.
Not rescue.
Not a vacation from your life.
But support—enough to keep breathing when circumstances make it feel impossible.
DSV doesn’t ask participants to perform strength. It offers an environment where the masks we wear to survive can slip away. A place where slowing down is allowed. Where trust is rebuilt through shared experience. Where no one has to carry the weight of their pain alone.
Working alongside Deep Sea Valkyries was an honor for us—one rooted not in a single event or donation, but in shared values. We are grateful to have stood, even briefly, within a community that understands courage not as endurance alone, but as care; not as silence, but as vulnerability; not as going it alone, but as accountability and support offered freely to one another. It is our hope that by telling these stories, we help shine a light on a mission that reminds us all: strength is sustained through connection, and sometimes the bravest act is choosing to share the air so that others can keep breathing.
To learn more, or to support their mission, head over to:
Deep Sea Valkyries | Trauma Therapy for Veterans & First Responders
To see more from the AXE-idental Heroes event, check out the video below!