Healing waters, healing warriors

  • Published
  • By Johnathon Green and Chris McCann
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  With ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military has been at war longer than ever, with an all-volunteer force, and service can take its toll.

To combat this, there are a number of projects and initiatives. One of the more visible - but quiet - programs is Project Healing Waters.

Fly-fishing tends to be a calm pastime, and many wounded service members find it soothing - especially fishing with other veterans who understand.

Sgt. Juan Aguilar of the Warrior Transition Battalion on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has been wounded twice during deployments, once in Afghanistan and once in Iraq. He was first introduced to Project Healing Waters in Seattle, Wash., in 2009, while he was receiving treatment at the VA facility there.

When he returned to Alaska just over a year ago, he met Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Henrie, director of Project Healing Waters, and has been active in the group tying flies and going out on trips ever since.

"My fiancée and I went out on a trip last year and it was great," Aguilar said. "We caught a lot of fish and it's really soothing - it's very therapeutic for me."

Participation is not restrictive; family members are welcome to come on fishing trips, and wounds don't have to be visible.

"You don't have to have taken a bullet, and you don't have to have been rewarded for your war accomplishments to feel like you can benefit from standing in the water learning a skill, learning to fish," Henrie said.

"Healing Waters is a good organization. I am thankful that they allow family members and significant others to participate in it. My take on it, like I tell Mike Henrie and some of these people - I like Healing Waters because (my fiancée) is able to do all this with me," Aguilar said.

"She has been a key part of my transition. She understands what I have been through; she knows when to ask, and when not to push when things aren't right. She is a big part of it. It's great that they allow me to bring her into this and she actually likes it."
"Healing Waters has given me the opportunity to do stuff that he enjoys," said Janelle Clough, Aguilar's fiancée. "I have never done any of this stuff - but they have taught us to tie flies, been patient with us and given us the opportunity to come out and fish. It's been good.

"I love to camp ... but fishing is new to me. So far I love it. It's definitely relaxing," Clough said.

The program in Alaska is rather small - usually around 20 service members attend each meeting - which allows volunteers to connect with veterans, and fishing allows for talking or silence, whichever is more helpful.

"You don't have to talk," said Henrie. "You can just tie your flies, and it feels good to just do that. Standing out in the river casting your flies, it's just you. You don't have to have a conversation, but you can if you want to. When you're fishing, it just feels good to be in the water."

The program has attracted not only those who want to learn to fly fish, but those who are eager to teach or just to help veterans.

Army Capt. James Williamson of the Maneuver Enhancement Brigade found out about Project Healing Waters from a doctor. Now he teaches fellow veterans to tie flies.
"I have never been injured during a deployment, but anything I can do to help them guys get back on track, I'm all about that," Williamson said.

"Project Healing Waters is a wonderful opportunity for military personnel and their families to enjoy," said Damon Blankenship, an instructor with the program. "After returning from a deployment, a service member has been separated from his family for a long time. Healing Waters gives these individual and family members a chance to get out in to the vast beauty of Alaska as a family to go fishing, camping and spend time together after such a long separation."

Project Healing Waters meets Thursdays from 4 p.m. until 6 on the second floor of the Veterans Administration hospital just outside the Muldoon Road gate.
Those who want to donate to the program can donate old fly-fishing gear to B&J Sporting Goods, Worldwide Angler, 3 Rivers Fly Shop in Wasilla or Mossy's Fly Shop, or contact Henrie at 552-7665 or michael.henrie@elmendorf.af.mil.