Greg Combs plays brain games. His quest for more activities to stimulate brain activity after traumatic brain injuries led him to found the first Moore County chapter of Guitars 4 Vets.

Combs was an Army Ranger in the 80s and survived a traumatic brain injury while on deployment to Central Asia with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Over the next decade, he became an avid cyclist, and competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. After he retired, he began teaching at Methodist University in Fayetteville, but at home, he continued pursuing cycling. That led Combs to open May Street Bicycles. After renting for a few years, he decided to devote his full efforts to the cycle shop and retired from teaching.

“On my first celebration bike ride after we did the upfit in the new building, I got hit by a car,” said Combs. “It ripped the helmet off my head.

“I hit the pavement without a helmet and it took about a year and a half to relearn the ABCs, standing up without falling down and all that basic stuff.”

That injury, coupled with those sustained during his military service, led the doctor to recommend a consistent regimen of brain games.

“The neuropsych said, “Hey, when you get older, you’re going to get early onset dementia, and some other things, if you don’t keep challenging your brain,” said Combs.

Combs and his girlfriend began taking guitar lessons as part of his attempt to stave off those potential ill effects, that’s how he learned about Guitars 4 Vets.

“I started getting what they call GAS, Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, and I’m Googling, “What’s a good beginner guitar?’ and this website pops up: Guitar 4 Vets,” he said.

It said, “Hey, if you’re a veteran with a brain injury, or PTS, or anger issues, Go to your nearest chapter and you get 10 free lessons, and then when you graduate, you can get a free guitar.’ I’m like, ‘Cool.’”

He searched for the nearest chapter, and at the time, he couldn’t find one nearby, definitely not close enough to make it reasonable or easy for someone to participate.

“I said, ‘That’s insane. We need to have a chapter here.’ I wanted to get lessons too, so I reached out to Guitars 4 Vets,” said Combs.

He found out he could begin instruction virtually, if he had a basic understanding of chords, and he noticed the benefits to his mental health almost immediately. He followed that with an application for a local chapter, which they approved, and opened the Southern Pines chapter of Guitars 4 Vets in May 2023.

“It’s been like a year and eight months, and I just signed up student 94 today,” he said. “We have 23 volunteer instructors and folks donate guitars so the students can practice and we sell them for fundraising.”

Once they graduate, students are awarded a free guitar to continue the pursuit and practice what they’ve learned, and that’s where the local chapter of Guitars 4 Vets sets itself apart.

The goal is to keep them in the mix, instead of, ‘Hey, here’s a guitar.’ And I never see you again,” said Combs.

“That’s not cool. We don’t want that, because I’ve had some buddies gone to suicide. I went to nine funerals since I’ve been out of the military. Some of these folks, I mean, They’re out in the middle of nowhere in the world, and there’s no one there to have a connection with, and the depression takes over. I don’t want to see that.”

So Combs and the 23 instructors for the Southern Pines chapter have begun to arrange socials and open mics for the students and graduates, primarily at Hatchet Brewing company.

He said anyone can come to the open mic nights, which occur on the third Thursday of each month, and the growing community around the Southern Pines chapter of G4V gathers to jam on the second Friday of each month.

“A student who finishes their 10th lesson, they get a free guitar. Well, we have them do the graduation at the jam. So that way everybody gets a group photo with the graduates,” he said.

“We have six guitars to give to graduates next week, next Friday at Hatchet. And then all members, graduates and family members come in and our chapter is going to pay for whatever food they want to eat from the food truck. They can buy their own alcohol, but we’re going to pay for their food and just have fun.”

The chapter is always looking for support and instructors, and Combs hopes he can devote more time to the endeavor eventually.

“Surprisingly, it’s growing leaps and bounds,” he said. “I have a little bicycle shop, and I jokingly tell people I have retirement hours. My goal is for somebody to want to take over the shop, so I can do nothing but Guitars 4 Vets and just keep speaking the music language — just keep paying it forward and try to get more students and eventually recruit more people. I mean, I would love to have 50 volunteer instructors and 250 students , but you never know, right? The main goal is just keep the doors open and keep the program running and and have fun.

“I got to tell you, it’s been phenomenal having so many people volunteering to help us, and there’s a huge target market here. We have a lot of veterans that could benefit from this outlet.”

Learn more on the website.