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Operation Amped: Surfers give back to veterans
For Tom Tapp, the motivation for Operation Amped comes down to one fundamental idea: Giving others the opportunity to be and feel free. To Tom and his friends in Southern California's surfing community, the sport is a portal to a state of complete, uncompromised freedom.
One day he was watching a news report about injured soldiers coming home from Iraq, and a connection clicked in his head. "These were people who were told they were going over to fight for freedom, and for a lot of them who were returning home with serious injuries, they are feeling a little less free," Tom observed. "Many of them in are in a strange place that they are trying to make sense of."
Tom decided to have his SELP project help wounded vets tap into the freedom that surfing offers. "For my friends and me, nothing is more freeing than going out surfing, and I wanted these veterans to experience that and be free of the constraints that injury might have imposed on them."
Tom made a phone call to a military base, and it turned out that the base's liaison officer, who picked up the phone, was himself a surfer and immediately took to the idea. "It was just completely grassroots," Tom said. "I just called and said, ‘We're a group of surfers and we want to honor veteran soldiers and give back to the people who have been over in wars (past and present).'"
That first, modest incarnation of Operation Amped has snowballed from a small, one-day affair to multi-day events held annually. While Operation Amped is still the primary organizer, other people and corporations (like Billabong, Chipotle, and Monster Energy Drink) are coming aboard, getting involved in sponsoring events. This is setting the stage for future growth and, ultimately, more veterans being able to participate. "A couple of our corporate sponsors have become a driving force in organizing several events," Tom explains. The William Morris talent agency in Hollywood, for example, recently hosted a big event in Malibu.
The organization is also expanding its activities for the veterans who want both to master surfing and get a head start on their careers. "We're going to pair each veteran with an older professional and surfer, who can not only buddy with them and teach them how to surf but also work with them on creating a future after the military," says Tom. "Veterans who want to go into business will be paired with a CEO, those who want to go to art school will be paired with a professional artist, and so on."
Down the road, Tom sees the organization growing. It has already broadened its outreach efforts to reach veterans of other wars and from other generations, including some who are in their 80s. “It’s pretty inspiring to see the commitment and compassion of these surfers come together with the courage of these veterans,” says Tom. “I feel honored to be a part of so many people’s lives.”
See more articles about Grads Making a Difference.
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