A group of rehab veterans to unleash themselves at the JCC on Saturday

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – “There are vets who want help too, but don’t know how to ask for it, you know? So there must be more conversations, ”said Juan Dominguez.

And that’s exactly what Dominguez and his cronies, known as The Resilient, did on Friday night: tell visitors to Jefferson Community College about the band’s history.

The group was formed by the Walter Reed Medical Center. Three of its members were seriously injured in combat, rehabilitating themselves through their love of music.

Greg Loman was one of the animators.

“Instead of listening and talking about music, we were doing it physically despite all the obstacles we faced,” said band member Greg Loman.

The Resilient would go on to become a renowned rock band with the help of rock and roll legend Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

“And then move on to original songs by taking that classic rock and adding a little bit of each of our own influences,” said Nathan Kalwicki, also in the group.

Some of these influences go beyond the simple musical genre. Part of their music fueled by the difficulties and inspirations that some of them experienced as soldiers.

“Find a way to come back from this, find reasons to come back from this. We can all find it, and we all have the strength to be able to do it and that’s a big part of it, ”said Timothy Donley.

The group hopes that through their music, they will be able to provide answers to civilians who wish to help ex-combatants in the rehabilitation phase.

The group will give a concert on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. at JCC’s McVean Gymnasium. Admission is free and open to the public.

Masks are mandatory.

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