Combat Paper New Jersey lets vets vent

Published March 6, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Sean M. Crowe
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Veterans from the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., area gathered to participate in Combat Paper New Jersey. Feb. 24-28, 2014, here.

Combat Paper New Jersey. is a week-long work shop that is open to all veterans and offers them a comfortable environment to shred uniforms, make paper, share stories and then put those stories onto the paper, whether painted or written.

"We deconstruct the uniform, thereby deconstructing the experiences associated with it, and reconstruct it into a new experience on the resulting paper," said David Keefe, CPNJ director. "The program is open for interpretation by the participants. Ultimately, the process helps them deconstruct and reclaim their military experiences."

The veteran participants communicate their experiences in art form throughout the week and display them at a public exhibition at the end of the week-long workshop. Participants shared their creations, including paintings and poetry, and expand on them for the audience of community members, veterans and JB MDL leadership. Most participants who shared during the expo explained military experiences that sculpted the art and the artists.

"It's a complete transformation for most of our participants who go through the workshop," said Keefe.

The program is one of many the Military and Family Support Center hosts to increase quality of life as part of the 87th Air Base Wing mission to support service members and their families at JB MDL. CPNJ, like other MFSC programs, has the ability to foster positive relations among community members.

"We got a really good turnout here at JB MDL," said Keefe. "We had 10 participants, which is a pretty good number compared to some of the places we visit. The beauty of the program is the community-building aspect. It's a huge part of the program and a lot of participants find a group of people here who they can't find anywhere else."

CPNJ allows veteran participants to express their experiences through personal creativity.
"The program is open for interpretation and can be literally whatever the vet or service member wants it to be," said Kevin Basl, CPNJ coordinator. "It can be respectful, it can be an act of challenging their experiences, community building or it could also be something that helps them heal."

Each participant has a different viewpoint on the program if you ask them what it means.
"For me, it's been an introduction into art," said James Yee, CPNJ participant. "It's transformative and it's been a way for me to communicate my own personal narrative of my military experience in a familiar environment of military veterans. The military camaraderie transfers over to this program."

The veteran-only climate was cultivated by the program's founder, Drew Cameron, in Burlington, Vt., where he began the expressive process of cutting his uniform off his body and turning it into paper to use for art. Local veterans rallied around the cause, prompting him to found the Combat Paper program which he took around the country to colleges, art centers, museums and any other organization that would host the program. Linda Helm Kraff, Printmaking Center of New Jersey executive director, witnessed a Combat Paper event in New Jersey and decided to raise funds and find a staff to create CPNJ with the help and blessing of Cameron.

The staff takes the program throughout New Jersey, Washington D.C., Maryland and anywhere in the surrounding area with veterans willing to participate in making art in a safe environment.