Who’s up for kickball?
Fort Carson’s Spc. Tyler Nelson doesn’t typically unwind by getting a manicure.
But he wound up on the receiving end of one March 13 at the Warrior Transition Battalion’s spa day, after being lured in by the promise of a free haircut.
He enjoyed his manicure. And he was man enough to admit it.
“This is greatly appreciated,” said Nelson, a Minnesota National Guardsman who was sent to the battalion to heal from wounds he suffered during a 2011 deployment to Iraq.
“A lot of (WTB) soldiers don’t have cars to go get stuff like this done.”
Warrior Transition Battalion soldiers, spouses and kids indulged in free haircuts, manicures and massages at the unit’s barracks earlier this month courtesy of cosmetology students from Paul Mitchell The School in Colorado Springs.
“Pampering gives soldiers hope to see past the difficulties they’re suffering here in the battalion,” said Capt. Dell Harlow-Curtis, a chaplain who organized the monthly spa day for the battalion, comprised of soldiers with serious injuries and long-term illnesses.
The military is turning to a holistic approach to soldier wellness but must be creative due to automatic spending cuts triggered in March that are taking a $46 billion chunk out of the Department of Defense’s budget through September and $500 billion over the next decade.
Events like the spa day improve soldiers’ morale at no cost to the Army — or to troops, Harlow-Curtis said.
“Soldiers don’t always have the financial resources to get a haircut,” he said. “Eight, nine dollars could mean gas to get back and forth to work.”
Cosmetology student Tetitia Grimes spent the afternoon cutting hair in honor of her husband, a Fort Carson soldier.
Volunteering gave her a chance to enjoy camaraderie with other military wives and give back to the troops.
“If there’s any way I can help, I want to,” said Grimes as she worked on Army wife’s hair. “My husband talks a lot about how much the little stuff matters.”
As she worked, Paul Mitchell instructor Robert Maestas supervised.
“I like to hear their stories, thank them for their service,” said Maestas, who shook the hands of soldiers and family members as they left.
“Even the wives, they’re traumatized every time their soldiers go ‘over there.’ They need a little thanking too.”
Michaela Naundorff smiles after looking at her haircut in the mirror Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at Fort Carson. Paul Mitchell School students treated soldiers and their spouses to hair cuts and manicures as part of the monthly spa day for the Warrior Transition Unit soldiers. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE
Stylists Letitia Grimes, left, and Candy Grutel cut hair for soldiers and their spouse Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at Fort Carson. Paul Mitchell School students treated soldiers and their spouses to hair cuts and manicures as part of the monthly spa day fo Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE