FALLS CHURCH, Va. –
Sgt 1st Class Adrienne Toliver is proud to have served 34 years in the Maryland National Guard. “I signed up during my last year of high school. My situation was unique; I had a civilian career and a military career. I started as a traditional Guardsman. In the civilian world, I work at the Defense Intelligence Agency as a contractor,” said Toliver.
On her last deployment, Toliver had a severe issue with her foot. “When I was down range, I was having problems with my foot, and I needed surgery, but of course, when you are on a deployment, you're not going to have the type of surgery available there. Once I returned home, I knew I needed to have my foot fixed.”
Toliver ended up at the Fort Belvoir Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) in November 2022 and shares that being there was surreal. “I had heard of the program since it was Warrior Transition Command but never thought I would be here. I sent Soldiers here for different reasons, and I even visited them, but I never thought I would be one of those Soldiers,” said Toliver, who had surgery on her foot and now had a long road to recovery ahead.
Toliver says her experience is that many in the National Guard don’t realize the SRU is also for them. “Coming to the SRU is very important regardless of whether you are on Active duty or National Guard orders. When I came to the SRU, it was to recuperate physically, but they worked with me mentally and spiritually with the care team.”
The Army Logistician tells the story of her time at the SRU to everyone she can. She wants to show just how much they work helping Soldiers to heal. “It was life-changing coming here. Not only did I have physical issues, but my sister passed away when I was on deployment, so the SRU treated me with a holistic approach,” said Toliver, who went on to explain her need for spiritual and emotional health support.
“She looked up to me; I am the oldest sister, and my job is to protect my siblings. I struggled because I couldn’t protect her or save her.”
Toliver, while in pain physically and emotionally, found a way to continue with her job as well as her education. She started school on deployment with a master's in healthcare administration. “I did it because of my sister who was sick from Feb 2022 and passed Aug 12, 2022- I know I was doing it for her. I completed my master's degree while here at the SRU with a 3.7 GPA,” she says with a smile.
She shares that part of her journey at the SRU includes the copious amount of help available, which she recognizes would be extremely difficult for Soldiers, particularly National Guard Soldiers, if they don’t come to the SRU and choose to recover independently. “I like how the SRU is set up with many subject matter experts (SMEs) to be there for that Soldier! They have finance, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Transition Coordinators. My TC, Mr. James Coleman, is like a plethora of knowledge; he has the answers, or he will get the answers for you. He’s always setting up morale trips for the Soldiers at the Ft Belvoir SRU. One of my favorites was Top Golf, BUT… we went to Lourdes, France. It doesn’t get any better to go on this pilgrimage. I’m not Catholic, but this was something else. I was in awe; just being able to go to the grotto and be in the healing waters was amazing.”
She awaits medical retirement and is thankful she could get the necessary care before returning to full-time civilian life. Ensuring her fellow Guardsmen know about the Army Recovery Care Program will always be part of her story, which she is happy to tell.
“If anyone recommends you go to the SRU, even if it means being away from your family, go. You never know what will happen down the road, and for a National Guard Soldier, once they get back to civilian life, they would be on their own to take care of their issues. The SRU helps with everything, so take advantage of it—don’t try to navigate it on your own.”