Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) Kary McNeal, USMC (Ret.), served more than 16 years in the United States Marine Corps, including multiple combat tours in support of overseas operations. His time in uniform shaped a lifelong commitment to leadership, accountability, and the responsibility to care for fellow service members; especially during and after the transition home.

During the final three years of his Marine Corps career, Kary served in recruiting, where he gained a different, but equally impactful, perspective on military service. In this role, he regularly encountered former service members struggling to find stability and purpose after leaving the uniform behind. Many were searching for any path that might help quiet the voices, settle the thoughts of past experiences, and make sense of life after combat. Some expressed a desire to return to service, not out of ambition, but because they felt they had nothing left to offer outside of it.

Kary’s journey into scuba diving began in the Marine Corps, where diving was rooted in discipline, control, and trust in both training and teammates. Over time, he discovered that the underwater environment offered something rare; a space where clarity replaces chaos, breathing becomes intentional, and focus returns. What began as a skill evolved into a powerful tool for mental reset and personal balance.

The founding of the Dive4Vets Foundation was influenced in no small part by Kary witnessing the profound impact scuba diving had on his lifelong friend, Evan Graver. Seeing firsthand how diving helped restore focus, confidence, and peace reinforced what Kary had already come to understand: this was more than recreation.

After years of research and reviewing multiple studies supporting the therapeutic benefits of scuba diving, Kary made the decision to act. What he experienced personally, observed in those closest to him, and confirmed through research became a clear path forward. He knew diving could serve as a structured and meaningful way to help veterans reconnect with themselves, rebuild confidence, and rediscover their value beyond military service.

As the founder of Dive4Vets, Kary is dedicated to helping combat-affected veterans rebuild confidence, independence, and purpose through structured, supportive underwater experiences. His approach is grounded in lived experience, not theory, focused on abilities rather than limitations, progress rather than labels, and restoring the “can-do” mindset forged through service.

Dive4Vets exists to serve those who served, providing a path forward through discipline, adventure, and community; one dive at a time.