It's about me
North West Florida Daily News
By Kaylin Parker
Posted Sep 15, 2018
“One of the reasons that made me do it that very first time I did it, someone said, ‘it’s about me,’ and I get that all the time,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t a show. It wasn’t a pity party. It was about me, and that means something.”
Members of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors team bring fish to the weigh scales during the 6th Annual Soldiers on the Water deep sea fishing event.
Michael Snyder Daily News
DESTIN — Combat wounded troops, caregivers, service dogs and active-duty military were among the large crowd on hand Saturday for the 6th Annual Soldiers on the Water event hosted by the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors.
Natalie Sayles, who lives in Atlanta, has been coming for three years. She served as an Army combat medic for 17 years and was medically discharged in 2012 after breaking both her legs during training.
Sayles said she enjoys the “camaraderie” among the veterans.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to take care of myself medically, so I like to try to extend that favor ... through conversation, through talking,” Sayles said.
Soldiers on the Water features a free fishing trip for veterans or active-duty troops who have combat-related injuries.
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Peer programs key to helping vets move forward
Metro Daily News
By Jeff Malachowski
Daily News Staff
May 27, 2018
Young, who spent 42 years in the National Guard, served for 24 months in Iraq and said there was heavy fighting during his second deployment, which took its toll. Young learned of Project Healing Waters while on a group hike with Manson and felt the companionship of his fellow veterans would help be a distraction from his PTSD.
SUDBURY — The tranquility of a peaceful spring evening at Josephine Pond is a far cry from the battlefields of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead of hearing the pop of gunfire, more than a dozen veterans last week listened to the birds chirp and traded stories as they cast their lines into the small pond behind the Wayside Inn in hopes of landing a trout - a welcome respite for some of America’s heroes.
“It’s very rewarding and uplifting,” said George Kincannon, a retired Army first sergeant.
A national program with small chapters across the country, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing brings together disabled veterans from all branches of the military twice a month for an evening of fly fishing and conversation that doubles as a form of rehabilitation. The organization is one of many aiming to ease the transition back to civilian life and help veterans deal with grief and loss they experienced while serving in combat.
“It’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in an activity that needs your focus and not think about anything else,” said Bill Manson, program leader for Project Healing Waters’ Fitchburg chapter. “It’s something that pays dividends.”
Many of the close to 20 veterans that participate in the Fitchburg chapter suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Joe Young, a retired sergeant major with the Massachusetts National Guard, is one of those veterans. He said spending an evening fishing and socializing with his fellow veterans keeps his mind away from his memories of the battlefield during two deployments to Iraq between 2003 and 2005.
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