AT EASE:

At Ease: Bridging the Military Civilian Divide is a community-based, multimedia project highlighting the complexity of voices, experiences, and perspectives surrounding military service since the Gulf War. The project’s multiracial voices include Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, active duty and reservists, queer and straight, male and female, physically disabled and able, combat and support staff, as well as military spouses.

North Carolina has the 4th largest number of active and reserve duty components in the country. Because of its military population, the state is often at the crossroads, and sometimes in the crosshairs, of opinion about military funding, military service, and the moral questions of war.

At the same time, the state is home to many families with no connection whatsoever to military service. This disconnection, seen across the country, contributes to a widening gulf in our society between those who serve and those who don’t, which also means a deepening sense of isolation for many. In 2014, when Hidden Voices entered this project, there were more suicide deaths than combat deaths. Our intent was to develop pathways for service members and their families to express their authentic experiences and thereby facilitate dialogue around the issues they brought forward.

Since that time, Hidden Voices has workshopped and conversed with hundreds of service members and their families. These exchanges have been held in facilities in Fayetteville,Jacksonville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Clayton, Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Goldsboro, and in private homes around the state. We are grateful for each participant’s generosity, authenticity, and introspection.