Fort Campbell, KY – Several Soldiers and cadre within the Fort Campbell Soldier Recovery Unit recently expressed their creative talents via linoleum block printing in April.
Tim Brown, Art Director, and Ricky Andrews, Community Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator of CreatiVets, bring their creative know-how to support the therapeutic activity for Soldiers in transition.
The process includes picking out a preprinted picture of choice or freehand drawing their unique creation, transferring the image to a linoleum block, and then carving the picture into a large, ready-made ink stamp.
The final step in the process is applying ink to the raised areas of the linoleum and rolling it onto paper as its own art piece.
“Art helped me get through when I got out. I asked myself, how could I get more involved?” said Brown.
The SRU under the direction of Blanchifeld Army Community Hospital currently manages the care for over 200 ill, injured, or wounded Soldiers. In addition to helping Soldiers transition, the SRU runs an Adaptive Recovery Program that hosts therapeutic and physical events.
“Bringing programs like art and songwriting to the Veteran population is important. You never know the impact you’ll have on possibly saving someone’s life,” said Andrews.
Soldier and cadre comments about the event ranged from, “I’ve never done anything like this before,” to “My kids are gonna love this.”
SRU Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Clarisa Horton and her staff recognize the value of breaking from traditional treatment modalities.
“We strive to provide a variety of activities for our Soldiers in hopes that they are encouraged to participate and hopefully find a new and creative outlet while they are working through their medical care plan,” Horton said.
The SRU leadership spend as much time as possible to connect with Soldiers during therapeutic opportunities provided them.
“It is so fulfilling to spend time outside the office and converse with our Soldiers. Sometimes, they uncover unknown talents or find a new hobby to explore while socializing with fellow members of the SRU.”
Collaboration with community partners is the lifeblood of Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.
“We are very grateful to the CreatiVets team for offering their support for our organization and spending time with our Soldiers while leading them in a new and creative outlet our Soldiers may not be familiar with,” Horton said.
Building relationships with the local community and finding innovative ways to incorporate unique opportunities, such as Veteran-run art therapy, is crucial to BACH’s vision as the hospital moves toward future goals.
