Waves of Valor

To her surprise, Terri Jeffcoat caught several waves in her first surfing experience. 

“I’m only as good as my coaches,” says the Air Force veteran and VA patient, who participated in the third annual Waves of Valor Surf Camp at Huntington Beach, Calif. – aka Surf City USA – in September. The event was organized by Team Red, White & Blue (RWB), the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and local American Legion members, along with community supporters.

“I’ve had people tell me, ‘You’ll never be able to surf; you’re too lame,’” Jeffcoat says. “A good friend of mine said, ‘I see you walk. You’re not going to surf.’ Then I met Chris Merkle at the VA and he said, ‘Come on out to surf camp. Let’s see.’ I’ll never again listen to anyone tell me I can’t do something.”

Merkle is a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and commander of American Legion Post 455 in Costa Mesa. He’s also president of Team RWB’s Orange County chapter and the driving force behind Waves of Valor.

“Team RWB was looking for a way to partner with VA to use physical and social activity in a way that would engage veterans and help them transition,” he says. “We started in Malibu as a veteran-to-veteran peer-mentoring model. It was more of providing an experience. The second year we made it a little bigger, inviting more people. The vet-to-vet model was great, but getting the community involved really helped make that transition piece happen.” 

The Los Angeles VA supports four surfing sessions every summer, two in Los Angeles and two in Orange County. Team RWB is efficient on the logistics side, running the events with only a few volunteers. Twenty to 30 veterans participate, and depending on the event’s size, a hundred or more members of the community might show up to help. They do everything from coaching patients to handling registration and retrieving surfboards.

“We purposely made (the surf camp) volunteer-intensive because we wanted heavy interaction with the community,” Merkle says. “People want to give back in a meaningful way, and their time is the most precious thing to ask. When somebody comes out and physically donates of themselves, that shows a huge commitment to our veteran population. We are trying to marry that with helping the vet transition and meet people in the community.”

VA occupational therapists select surf camp participants, who are medically cleared beforehand. If there are limitations, an occupational therapist may be present to ensure the veteran operates within his or her capability. 

“Some patients have greater needs, so we put more people out with them,” Merkle explains. “It’s a really high ratio, usually three or four volunteers per veteran in the water.”

Erik Gutierrez, health systems specialist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, calls it “a great example of how the federal government can come together with a nonprofit and the community to support veteran patients.”

Merkle says the surf camp is a shared experience that veterans won’t find anywhere else. “You just want to stand up,” he says. “You’re elated when you do, you’re disappointed when you don’t, and you have a whole group around you doing everything they can to make you successful.”

Each veteran is surrounded by a small group of people giving him or her instruction on how to surf. There are 20 other veterans in the water. For a while, they’re not thinking about whatever is going on with them physically or mentally. With a little coaching from their new friends, they just want to catch some waves.

“When they finally do, it’s an amazing feeling,” Merkle says. “When you’re flying across that water, it doesn’t matter if anything is wrong with you. In that moment, you are free. At the end of it, we see people introducing (the veterans to) their families and inviting them to come surfing again. The reason we do things like this is to try to get people together and make that connection.”

That connection starts in the water, where the volunteer coach and veteran first meet and get to know one another. 

“They’re out there for four hours together,” Merkle says. “They want to know about you, but they know those boundaries and have a real respect. They are out there giving their time and really want to share their love of the ocean with this veteran, who is trying to do something new and different.”

Todd Chandler, a 20-year Army veteran, is a VA patient who came to Waves of Valor to see what surfing could do for him. 

“I’m 53 years old, and this is the best I’ve ever felt in my life,” he says. “VA basically did it for me with programs like this.”

Some veterans love the surfing experience so much they attend other camps, where instructors marvel at their progress. Others pick up the sport on their own or continue with their new friends in the community. 

“If local veterans pick up surfing, they are welcome to come on out,” Merkle says. “I surf on Sundays, and I have a group of friends who are really accommodating, so even without the camps, we are happy to share the experience.” 

‘We have so much to offer’In addition to his leadership in the local American Legion post and Team RWB, Merkle is involved with other veterans organizations, including Team Rubicon. With a good understanding of the strengths of each group, he’s an example of how the Legion and post-9/11 veterans groups can collaborate successfully. 

“I did a mission with Team Rubicon (Superstorm Sandy) and it really changed my life,” Merkle says. The organization has a fantastic model that gets veterans back into action, but it’s not always compatible with work or school, he adds. “You can’t wait around for a disaster.”

Team RWB is something Merkle can do locally to serve others and connect with veterans. It’s also open to others, he says, “and I needed that for my transition. I’ve been in school forever, and I’ve never had one veteran ask what my major is or what I’m doing. But every single civilian asks, ‘What are you going to do with that? Do you know somebody?’ It’s just a different mindset. Very often, vets are comparing, not sharing, whereas civilians are more forward-thinking. They are constantly thinking about how to better yourself with that (education).”

Merkle served as a platoon sergeant in the Marine Corps infantry, but he’s modest about his combat experience. “I would rather be known as a student or a hard worker first. Then, when people find out about my military service, it will be in addition to whatever else I am.” 

Currently Merkle is attending Vanguard University of Southern California, where he’s completing a master’s degree in clinical psychology or family therapy. His goal is to be able to offer improved services at the North Orange County Vet Center in Garden Grove, where he works as an outreach coordinator. “I try to be a resource for whatever veterans need,” he says.  

So during the week, he’s VA. On the weekends, he’s Team RWB. Merkle is also carving out time to offer his local American Legion post new ways for members to serve young veterans and introduce themselves to the community. 

“If we are seen only on Memorial Day and Veterans Day as the old guys waving in the parade, that’s what we are going to be relegated to: the parades,” he says. “We need to be active. If we are out in the community showing what we can do, we are not such a novelty act. We’re a functional part of society. We have so much to offer.”  

 Merkle’s post meets in a community center once a month. “We are trying to do a twofold thing,” he say. “We want to reinvent what people see when they think of veterans. We also want vets to engage in the community.” 

Put another way, Merkle is drawing on the wisdom and guidance of older veterans while capitalizing on the muscle, youth and energy of post-9/11 veterans to remind people about what the Legion is and what it does.  

He’s aware of the current trend of starting campus posts to reach out to younger veterans but says it’s crucial to include those who came before. 

“We keep getting a rotating group of college students, but once they graduate they move on, so the post keeps going up and down,” Merkle says. “We really need the advice of a Vietnam veteran, and I want to make sure that they run the post in sort of a facilitator role. That’s my goal, my vision. We’d like to bring them into the light now and say ‘Hey, it’s your turn.’ Kind of give it back to them, because they’ve helped us a lot. 

“On the post-9/11 side, I want to emphasize the service aspect. We love parades, we like being thanked for our service, but (collaboration with organizations like Team Rubicon and Team RWB) gives the community a chance to interact with veterans in a much more meaningful way. I want to give back to my community, and I think the community will appreciate it because we’ve been getting so much lately that it’s good for us to start giving it back.”

For those who served in the military, there’s always the temptation of hanging on to what they used to do and a decrease in physical activity, Merkle says. 

“We know what the endorphins do and what the feeling of community service does. As guilty as it sounds, by building something or helping someone else, you are actually helping yourself out. It’s good for veterans to give back to the community and make themselves a commodity. 

“In the military, you have that unit pride and camaraderie that comes with being part of a team,” he continues. “When you get out, you lose that unity and accountability. That’s what you get with these organizations. When you put on that American Legion cap or what we call ‘the eagle’ – the Team Red, White & Blue logo on the shirt – it gives you that sense of unity. No matter where you are, you have a common bond. And if it offers accountability. If you miss a meeting or an event, people will be looking for you and asking why.” 

The biggest struggle, though – even throughout the different veterans organizations – is the issue of how to actually reach veterans. In each, there is a core group that carries the load, Merkle says. 

“We have all these great ideas and programs, but how do we reach the guys who need it? I want to bring the skills I’m learning with these post-9/11 groups to the Legion, because it is doing a good job of reaching out. And I want to encourage other veterans who have made a successful transition to help another do the same.   

“People say the military needs to do a better job of transitioning veterans out, but that’s not the military’s job. The military’s job is to fight wars. The transition is up to veterans and the community around them.”  

Michael Hjelmstad is a Marine Corps veteran, writer, film producer and member of American Legion Post 43 in Hollywood, Calif.