{"id":1292586,"date":"2022-02-11T23:07:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T04:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1292586"},"modified":"2022-02-11T23:07:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T04:07:39","slug":"army-veteran-finds-solace-through-california-nonprofit-operation-surf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/army-veteran-finds-solace-through-california-nonprofit-operation-surf\/","title":{"rendered":"Army Veteran Finds Solace Through California Nonprofit &#039;Operation Surf&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Farmy-veteran-finds-solace-through-california-nonprofit-operation-surf%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1292586&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-904569210-640x335-1.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">An Army veteran says he has found solace through the nonprofit Operation Surf in California, which places veterans together in group settings through its OS6 program and teaches them to surf.<\/p>\n<p>Operation Surf is based in Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. The organization\u2019s mission \u201cis to channel the healing powers of the ocean to restore hope, renew purpose, and revitalize community,\u201d its website <a href=\"https:\/\/operationsurf.org\/\">states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Veteran Dylan Henry served in the Army for nine years and now serves in the National Guard, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ksby.com\/news\/local-news\/operation-surf-helps-veterans-recover-by-teaching-them-how-to-surf\">according to<\/a> KSBY.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019ve experienced a lot of, you know, hardship within the military and even before for the military, a lot of my pain comes from from before the military, but it was enhanced while I was in the military, you know?\u201d Henry told the outlet.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> \u201cWe\u2019re on the front line, we\u2019re out there just going toe-to-toe with the enemy. I mean that\u2019s our job. A lot of the pain caused after war is something that really sticks to us a lot and that we share,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>While walking along Avila Beach last year, the Army veteran came across Operation Surf. Little did Henry know, the program would help him immensely.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Van Curaza, the founder of Operation Surf and a former professional surfer, highlights the importance of caring for veterans.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Curaza told KSPY:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>You know, our wounded military are very important to \u2013 not only our our house, our community, our county, our state and our country. We need to care for them. We need to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure that you know, they can transition back into a healthier way of living and I think surfing can do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>In 2017, Netflix featured Operation Surf in the documentary short entitled <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/search?q=resurface&amp;jbv=80184055\">Resurface<\/a>, <\/em>which chronicled Curaza\u2019s and the organization\u2019s previous work with veterans.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Henry recently completed Operation Surf\u2019s OS6 program.<\/p>\n<p><span>The OS6 program \u201c<\/span><span>is a six-month, locally-focused program that provides veterans with an opportunity to bond through surfing, keep each other motivated, and move forward in life with a new perspective,\u201d Operations Surf\u2019s website <a href=\"https:\/\/operationsurf.org\/programs\/os6\/\">says<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>During the program, veterans make pacts with one another to surf as a group twice weekly and veterans who fulfill their commitments to each other \u201c<\/span><span>graduate with a new sense of community, plus a new wetsuit and a surfboard to call their own,\u201d according to Operation Surf.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> \u201cThe whole program you know, it\u2019s just, it was very healing for me and everything that he talked about was about healing through the ocean and just when you\u2019re out there nothing else matters. It helped me find peace within myself,\u201d Henry told KSPY.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Curaza said the program could be the therapy many did not know they needed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cI think the biggest transition that you can see are the people that don\u2019t think they need it, and they find out they needed everything that they were experiencing,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Henry says the atmosphere, including the ocean and the group, can provide necessary vulnerability veterans can have trouble finding in other settings.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cTo sit there with them and be vulnerable \u2013 that\u2019s what it\u2019s about because we\u2019re not vulnerable,\u201d he told KSPY. \u201cWe don\u2019t like talking about our feelings because that\u2019s what we\u2019re not taught in the military. We\u2019re taught to suppress it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Curaza says helping others is where he finds meaning and draws strength for his own personal struggles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> \u201cMy journey \u2013 I realized that helping and focusing on others helps me get through my challenging times,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest gift \u2013 is helping other people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Saturday at 12:00 p.m., Operation Surf will host a meet and greet for its next OS6 program.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/operationsurf\/posts\/5244728508878971\" data-width=\"640\">\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/138558809495992\/posts\/5244728508878971\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\">\n<p>Central Coast Veterans!<\/p>\n<p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/138558809495992\">Operation Surf<\/a> on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/graph.facebook.com\/138558809495992\/posts\/5244728508878971\/\">Monday, January 31, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Army veteran says he has found solace through the nonprofit Operation Surf in California, which places veterans together in group settings through its OS6 program and teaches them to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1292586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1292586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1292586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1292586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1292586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}