Stories

Adaptive sports give you the opportunity to open other doors
December 19, 2023 — “I don’t think recovery ever ends. You are always growing and should always be striving for growth.” That’s what Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Olson believes as he reminisces over his journey from combat injury to recovery, competition to current-day activity, and how the world of adaptive sports was a game changer... MORE

Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael Loggins | U.S. Army retired Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Olson participates in seated shot put during the field competition, June 23, 2019 at the University of South Florida, during the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games in Tampa, Florida. Approximately 300 athletes representing teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command, United Kingdom Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force, Canadian Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Netherlands, and the Danish Armed Forces are participating in 13 events throughout the competition. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Loggins)

The Army takes care of Soldiers like no other company.
December 12, 2023 — Army Reservist, Sgt. 1st Class Derrick Miller loves being a military police officer. Most of his twenty years of service have seen three deployments and a lot of wear and tear on his body. At the end of his last mobilization in As Saliyah, Qatar, for nine months, he injured his knee. “Once I got to the demobilization station at Ft Bliss, Texas, they sent me for an MRI and said I needed to go to Ft Riley to have it fixed.”... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Derrick Miller) Sgt. 1st Class Derrick Miller (in the middle) plays a little wheelchair basketball at the Fort Riley SRU.

Return to duty Soldier making it his mission to help other Soldiers.
December 12, 2023 — He was a dynamo at the 2015 Warrior Games at Marine Base Quantico and the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, winning medals for Team Army and Team U.S., respectively, all while conquering a disease that changed his life. 2nd Lt Zedrik Pitts takes us back to where his military career and life took a sharp turn. “I was due to mobilize for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013. During that process, I got sick, and the docs informed me I had Graves disease. I learned it’s an autoimmune disease that, if untreated, can kill you.”... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Department of Defense photo) Then Staff Sgt. Zedrik Pitts competes on Team Army in track events at the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games at Quantico, Virginia

If you think the SRU is not for you, think again.
December 1, 2023 — Army Sgt. Ethan Barrera, a generator mechanic, never thought the last two years of his life would be spent in recovery... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo by Marsha Moore) Sgt. Ethan Barrera shoots an arrow with this mouth at Adaptive Sports Camp at Ft. Liberty in April 2023

Team Army member encourages using ARCP from the beginning of your wound, injury, or illness.
December 1, 2023 — Many know her by the nickname “Turbo,” which she aptly deserves because she forces more into everything she does as a competitor and in life—retired Army Staff Sgt. Beth King first came on the scene at an Army Trials Camp in 2019, 8 years after being severely wounded in combat... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Beth King) Beth King practices with her Javelin and hopes to make Team USA for the Paris Paralympics

A Soldier’s massive stroke changes a military family’s life, but they are making it work
November 20, 2023 — Major Jeremy Ditlevson and his wife Jeralyn were looking forward to his retirement next year. After five deployments, four to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, they felt their twenty years of service in the Army was good and were excited to move on to the next chapter in their life together... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Jeralyn Ditlevson) Maj. Jeremy Ditlevson with his wife Jeralyn in the ICU at OU Medical, Oklahoma City, OK, January 23, 2023.

“It’s all about sacrifice, but then you have to live your purpose.”
November 20, 2023 — In our first interview of this year’s “Where are they now” series, we caught up with Retired Army Specialist Brent Garlic. The multi-medalist from Warrior and Invictus Games since 2018, representing Team US and Team Army, had much to say about his time in the Army and how the Army Recovery Care Program, particularly adaptive sports, changed his life... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo by Pfc. Dominique Dixon) Spc. Brent Garlic of Team Army competes in wheelchair basketball at the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games in Tampa, Florida.

When we change ourselves, we influence positive change in the world.
November 16, 2023 — Some say seeing is believing, but for Capt. Brittany Wooten, the chaplain of Fort Belvoir’s Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU), there needs to be a reminder that even though some things are not seen, they should very much be believed. She’s talking about silent wounds and what the Army is doing to help Soldiers identify them and receive help to heal... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Capt. Brittany Wooten) Chaplain Brittany Wooten brought best practices from the Post Traumatic Growth Summit back to the Fort Belvoir SRU last week, incorporating puppy Yoga to help Soldiers recover and overcome.

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