Fort Leavenworth German officer dives with sharks at Kansas City Zoo

A sand tiger shark swims close to German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor in the Department of Army Tactics at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during his hour-long volunteer dive to help clean the shark tank...

1 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A sand tiger shark swims close to German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor in the Department of Army Tactics at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during his hour-long volunteer dive to help clean the shark tank of the Sobela Ocean Aquarium Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Walther said the sharks in the tank start to play “chicken” with him, swimming closer and closer, the longer he is in the tank. He also noted that the sharks are always given the right of way. Walther is part of a volunteer contingent of divers who help maintain the aquarium habitats. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

Volunteer divers, including German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, help maintain the shark habitat, seen here Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo aquarium. Photo by Brian...

2 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Volunteer divers, including German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, help maintain the shark habitat, seen here Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo aquarium. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

3 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A sand tiger shark swims close to German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor in the Department of Army Tactics at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during his hour-long volunteer dive to help clean the shark tank of the Sobela Ocean Aquarium Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Walther said the sharks in the tank start to play “chicken” with him, swimming closer and closer, the longer he is in the tank. He also noted that the sharks are always given the right of way. Walther is part of a volunteer contingent of divers who help maintain the aquarium habitats. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and fellow volunteer diver Tyler Laughlin clean rock features while volunteer Boyce Richardson keeps an eye on the sharks in the shark...

4 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and fellow volunteer diver Tyler Laughlin clean rock features while volunteer Boyce Richardson keeps an eye on the sharks in the shark tank of the Sobela Ocean Aquarium while aquarium visitors watch Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Walther is part of a volunteer contingent of divers who help maintain aquarium habitats. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

5 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Volunteer divers, including German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, help maintain the shark habitat, seen here, by cleaning rock features Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo aquarium in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

From the observation area, children watch German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and other volunteer divers help clean the shark tank Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo...

6 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From the observation area, children watch German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and other volunteer divers help clean the shark tank Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Although divers add an extra element of interest to the aquarium view, Kansas City Zoo Dive Safety Supervisor Shannon Hunt said that divers make every effort to blend in and not draw attention away from the animals, nor do they interact with the animals. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, cleans rock features in the main tank while careful not to disturb a moray eel in the Kansas City Zoo aquarium Jan. 26, 2025, in...

7 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, cleans rock features in the main tank while careful not to disturb a moray eel in the Kansas City Zoo aquarium Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

Volunteer divers, including German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, seen here Jan. 26, 2025, help maintain the shark habitat by cleaning rock features at the Kansas City Zoo...

8 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Volunteer divers, including German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, seen here Jan. 26, 2025, help maintain the shark habitat by cleaning rock features at the Kansas City Zoo aquarium in Kansas City, Missouri. According to the zoo’s website, dive volunteers are supervised by the zoo’s dive safety officer and animal care staff to help with habitat upkeep. For more information about the zoo’s competitive volunteer diver program, visit https://kansascityzoo.org/volunteer/dive-volunteers/. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

9 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A sand tiger shark swims close to German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor in the Department of Army Tactics at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during his hour-long volunteer dive to help clean the shark tank of the Sobela Ocean Aquarium Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Walther said the sharks in the tank start to play “chicken” with him, swimming closer and closer, the longer he is in the tank. He also noted that the sharks are always given the right of way. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

Volunteer diver Boyce Richardson (with stick) keeps an eye on the sharks to alert divers when they need to move while German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, clean rock...

10 / 10 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Volunteer diver Boyce Richardson (with stick) keeps an eye on the sharks to alert divers when they need to move while German Lt. Col. Marc Walther, Command and General Staff College exchange instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, clean rock features in the main tank Jan. 26, 2025, at the Kansas City Zoo aquarium. According to the zoo’s website, dive volunteers are supervised by the zoo’s dive safety officer and animal care staff to help with habitat upkeep. For more information about the zoo’s competitive volunteer diver program, visit https://kansascityzoo.org/volunteer/dive-volunteers/. Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp (Photo Credit: Photo by Brian Allen/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp) VIEW ORIGINAL

Fort Leavenworth German officer dives with sharks at Kansas City Zoo

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