A Strong New Partnership: Force Blue, Chefs Brigade and CRCL

Connecting, organizing and educating are the three essential parts of the Chefs Brigade (CB) mission, and it all starts with a simple connection. That was the case when the CB team had a chance meeting with Force Blue at Capitol Hill Ocean's Week in 2023, an annual conference in Washington, D.C. addressing issues related to the oceans, including fisheries, science, conservation, and management.

‍

It was the conference’s last night and CB, Copeland's and the Louisiana Seafood Board were participating in a sustainable fisheries event together, when CB team members had a chance meeting with Force Blue.  Within a few minutes of talking, both organizations realized this could be a strong partnership.

‍

Force Blue grew out of a simple scuba diving outing with three friends: Jim Ritterhoff, Rudy Reyes and Keith Sahm. All three men were experienced divers, but while Ritterhoff and Sahm were recreational divers, Reyes was a trained U.S. combat diver and suffering from PTSD and depression following multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trip was nothing short of revelatory for Reyes, who confided that because his military dives were always mission-based for a specific operation, he never really even noticed fish during a dive - he was singularly focused.

‍

Following the dive, the three started talking about Reye’s experience and how there were many more like him, former special forces divers, and then it dawned on them that there was a way to benefit these military divers, and also marine conservation - Force Blue was born. 

‍

“Force Blue is, as far as we know, the only nonprofit organization in the world that retrains and redeploys former special operations veterans from all branches of the military, who are some of the highest trained underwater operators in the world,” says Ritterhoff who is now Force Blue’s Executive Director. “They have the training to be a force multiplier for a marine science community that could use the help, and it allows these special operations veterans to continue to serve, giving them purpose.” 

‍

CB Executive Director Troy Gilbert recognized the partnership possibilities with Force Blue, which has done numerous deployments in US coastal areas, and bringing in CB's partner organization, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), could mean even greater potential. 

‍

“Chefs Brigade is about connecting people and organizations to support our restaurants, chefs, foodservice workers and other organizations in order to strengthen the future foodscapes of the Gulf Coast region, which certainly includes our threatened fisheries,” says Gilbert. “I realized Chefs Brigade could make use of our extensive network with our restaurant partners to link with Force Blue, who brings highly trained guys and gals with serious maritime skillsets, and CRCL, who's mission is coastal restoration. This new triad could join forces to make a very real impact on our coast and fisheries. Plus, now we're allies with a bunch of ex-Navy SEALS and other badasses.”

‍

Gilbert invited Force Blue to take a Chefs on Boats trip in 2023, and then a three day-long scouting mission this spring with CRCL in the waters and fisheries surrounding Grand Bayou, an area located in the coastal marshlands of Plaquemines Parish. For a long time, Force Blue has wanted to work in the Gulf of Mexico for many reasons including that one of their staff members, Steve “Gonzo” Gonzalez, a retired Master Chief SEAL is from St. Bernard Parish.

“Gonzo has advocated for us to work in the Gulf from the very beginning because he knows how dire the situation is for Coastal Louisiana,” says Ritterhoff. “During the two trips we made this summer we immediately saw what he was talking about: miles and miles of land loss, and disappearing fishing communities.”

‍

While the expeditions did show the  precariousness of the coast’s current state, it also gave the three organizations a chance to forge bonds, and see that together they could make a difference. CRCL’s Executive Director Kim Reyher made the trip to Grand Bayou.

‍

“Chefs Brigade has been an important partner of CRCL for years, and we are grateful that they have helped us team up with Force Blue to further multiply the positive impacts we are making along the coast,” says Reyher. “This collaboration really exemplifies the benefit of building a coalition: When we work together, we can accomplish great things.”

Ritterhoff couldn’t agree more. He feels the partnership will result in a number of positive deployments working alongside CB and CRCL, and he also thinks this joint effort could mean uniting people and groups when Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and our country needs it most.

‍

“I have met a ton of people who are very engaged in caring about our veterans, and I’ve met a ton of people who are very engaged about caring about our environment,” Ritterhoff says.  “And I’ve yet to meet the person who doesn’t care about either one of those things.”

‍