The second Roundtable of the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military (NIAHM) was held on November 30 at Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall, Virginia to discuss how to bring greater access to the arts and creative arts therapies for military service members, Veterans, their families and caregivers. Approximately 40 leaders from the military, Veteran, public and private sectors helped benchmark progress on the recommendations from NIAHM’s seminal 2013 report, Arts, Health, and Well-being Across the Military Continuum – White Paper and Framing a National Plan for Action, engaged in discussion, and recommended strategies that will lay the groundwork for the NIAHM’s next Blueprint for Action 2017 – 2020.  The keynote address was delivered by Lt Gen Martin Steele, Director of the Office of Military Partnerships at the University of South Florida/Tampa, and host of the 2017 National Summit, taking place at USF/Tampa Feb 2 – 5.

The Roundtable event kicked off with a pre-Roundtable afternoon symposium on November 29th, Celebrating a Unity of Effort – Exploring Integrated Health Strategies Incorporating Arts and Creative Arts Therapies in Defense Health, at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at Walter Reed Bethesda, and featuring speakers from Walter Reed, NICoE and the Uniformed Services University. The symposium was followed an opening dinner at the Army/Navy Country Club. The opening night panel moderated by Bob Lynch, president & CEO of Americans for the Arts, featured Bro Adams, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities; General George Casey, USA RET, Chairman, USO Board of Governors, 36th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Carol Harlow, Washington DC Office Director, American Legion Auxiliary; Koby J. Langley, JD MPA, Senior Vice President for Service to the Armed Forces, American Red Cross, and; Kathy Roth-Douquet, co-founder and CEO, Blue Star Families.

Learn more from the updated brief prepared for the National Roundtable, “The Arts: Promising Solutions for Meeting the Challenges Facing Today’s Military - Then and Now.”