Fmr. Marine Using Dance To Help Vets, Families Heal After Deployment

That is an uplifting account my friend PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - pun intended :-)
"Independence Day is one of our most patriotic holidays. And a former U.S. Marine is Roman Baka showing his love of country in a unique way. As Nikole Killion explains, he's using dance to help veterans and military families heal after deployment.?

Veteran artists help heal a war-scarred world: Roman Baca at TEDxSanAntonio 2013
"I am an enigma in both the military world and the dance world. I am a ballet dancer that wanted more out of dance than just the typical ballet or contemporary dance work, I wanted choreography to deal with real world issues, so I joined the Marines. I am the military veteran who donned combat boots and cammies in a ballet I choreographed on a stage in New York City promoting social change through the art of movement.

Last year I had the opportunity to travel back to Iraq as a civilian and work with two groups of young people from Erbil and Kirkuk, Iraq. Erbil is a Kurdish city, a minority in Iraq, and has been struggling for its independence for generations. Kirkuk is an Arabic city that is still ripe with violence from years of war. We brought these two groups together and taught them to choreograph a dance work about their challenges, misconceptions, fears, joys, and their hopes for a safer Iraq.

After returning to the US I am faced with the possibility of taking a Marine team, trained in art, back to Iraq to conduct a workshop for Iraqi youth."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjwFMgsQmBI

FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj Robert Thornton CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones SSG Donald H "Don" Bates PO3 William Hetrick PO3 Lynn Spalding SPC Mark Huddleston SGT Rick Colburn CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke SP5 Jeannie Carle Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey Sgt Albert Castro

Thanks for sharing.