FALLS CHURCH, Va. –
Sgt 1st Class Luis Goenaga-Beauchamp, or "G" as he is called, doesn't just work for the Army Recovery Care Program; he has also been a Soldier in need three times in his 24-year career. "I've had a total of nine deployments- One of my deployments in 2007, I was throwing up blood. My squad leader sent me to the hospital, and they discovered I had a hiatal hernia situation and needed surgery. That was my first surgery. I went to the Ft Stewart Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) to recover."
This return-to-duty Soldier had two more stays at SRUs because of related medical situations, Fort Bliss after a deployment to Honduras in 2011 and Fort Moore in 2019. Between the last two SRU visits, he would endure several more surgeries on his road to recovery. After another couple of deployments, "G" said he knew the program so well he might as well work for it. "I applied for this tour and was assigned as a squad leader on Ft Cavasos SRU in June 2023. Then, in December, I was transferred to MRC -West at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as an operations NCO for the RCO Office."
SFC "G" shares what he conveys to Soldiers today about the opportunities before them should they need them. "These SRU's are so important. They focus solely on the Soldier and their condition. Regular units in the Army focus on mission, readiness, training, and getting ready to deploy. While you have your condition, you are not entirely focused on getting better."
He says it's not a place that's the career killer either, something that has been rumored over the years that keeps Soldiers unsure if they should go to an SRU. "When you transfer to an SRU, your main mission is to get better to go back into the fight," said "G."
His compassion for Soldiers in the SRU, and having been there himself, makes him the right person to speak for the wounded, ill, or injured Soldiers who typically want to go home and be with their families to recuperate. "As a Soldier and as a human being, we are thinking about now, like the 50-meter target. But I tell soldiers that the actions you take now will affect you in the long run, like the 200-meter target. If not taken care of immediately, your injuries could adversely affect your health and your life, including your family, if you don't take action now."
He also says it is the Soldier's responsibility to advocate for themselves. There is assistance from the Career Education and Readiness branch to help Soldiers with education, careers, and certifications; the wonderful Transition Coordinators in that branch help with the ability to return to duty or transition out of the Army and useful daily events in adaptive reconditioning from sports to art to music and so much more. "G" says Soldiers need to know the Army won't let them down. He urges them to accept the help immediately.
"While you think nothing is going to happen to you as a Soldier because you are always mission capable, once you get injured and you see that future crumble, you're in pain and on medications; if you don't have that support group, that team, that village you can get to a depressed stage and spiral out of control. A lot of times, once you get to that point, it's hard to get out of that place,"
Thankful the Army Recovery Care Program was there for him and Soldiers today, Sgt 1st Class "G" can't say enough to those future Soldiers who may need an SRU one day. "The Transition Coordinators, Squad Leaders, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists all that make up the SRU help you, motivate you, and show you there is a reason to live. Sometimes, as a Soldier, you don't see past a certain point and shut down. Please know there IS so much more out there, and it starts at the SRU."