Twitter
Facebook
Hips swayed as 66th Transportation Company Soldiers shed their tops and shuffled across the floor in tan combat boots. Confused looks and shaking heads were replaced by smiles and laughter as inhibitions were lost to salsa rhythms.
Soldiers and spouses from the 66th Transportation Company learn salsa dancing as part of a program to open up communication.
The Soldiers were taking part in a new U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz resiliency program focused on the arts, offered at the Kaiserslautern Community Activities Center on Daenner Kaserne.
Company leaders recently found poor communication affecting unit cohesion – something they sought to change, said Capt. John T. Huckabay, 66th Transportation Company.
“Getting out and doing something like salsa dancing can break down barriers. Afterward, we can sit and talk about some issues, as couples and with the unit,” Huckabay said. “This is thinking outside the box and doing something different to bring all the leaders together.”
Last summer, when the company returned from Afghanistan, bonds stemming from the deployment were strong. But the company underwent a large personnel turnover. There were new Soldiers, new leaders and that affected unit cohesion.
“We’re trying to get our communication network opened up,” said Kathleen McMahan, the company’s family readiness group leader. “We’ve invited the senior leadership, and our first step is to couple communication therapy through music and dance.”
The FRG began working with a military family life counselor, a contracted specialist from the garrison’s Army Community Service program. That led to Ed Codina, director of the Kaiserslautern Arts & Crafts Center, who offered resiliency through the arts before, suggesting he teach salsa dancing to the Soldiers.
Dancing forces couples to overcome inhibitions and address their vulnerability. The main thing is breaking the ice, overcoming shyness, Codina said.
“In marriages, the biggest problem is when there is no communication. They are not talking to each other,” Codina said. “This gets them to touch, to glorify each other on the floor and to follow each other.”
One officer took salsa lessons in college. Most had never done it before, they said. By stepping outside their comfort zone and onto a dance floor, Soldiers can open communication lines with their spouses and fellow Soldiers. That may have a larger impact on the company, McMahan said.
“Hopefully, this starts some networking and bonding and brings the unit together,” McMahan said. “It’s awesome that the garrison has this.”
Codina would like to see the program expand and made available to more Soldiers, civilians and their families. For more information, call 483-6508 or 0631- 411-6508.
