Stories

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Fort Drum Soldier grateful for his new lease on life from the Soldier Recovery Unit after horrific car accident
October 20, 2023 — Sgt. Chris Long always loved to fish. He had fly fishing as an eventual bucket list thing he wanted to try- “someday.” Little did he know that bucket list wish would help get him on the road to recovery after an accident. “It was phenomenal. I am a decent fisherman, but I have never been fly-fishing. It was a goal for me, and I am grateful I got to do it in the Ft Drum SRU.”... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Sgt. Chris Long) Sgt. Chis Long at work maintaining Blackhawk helicopters at Ft Drum, New York.

“This team is ready to help, so reach out and take it.” ~ CW2 Emanuel Delgado
October 12, 2023 — After eleven years in the Army, CW2 Emanuel Delgado says his path in life took a hard and unexpected turn. “I was on a deployment in the Middle East. I woke up in the clinic, and they told me I had a full-body seizure. They had to MEDEVAC me out.”... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy CW2 Emmanuel Delgado) CW2 Delgado gets to know Batilda at the LETS program on August 23, 2023, in Northern Virginia.

"It will take a major life event to get me out of this Army. I definitely got one." - Maj. Kevin May
October 12, 2023 — "My adult mindset has been the Army. I was in ROTC and contracted with the Army when I was 18. I planned on doing my contract for about ten years and then hoped to enter Federal Law Enforcement. But when I found a Civil Affairs job at Ft Liberty, it made me want to stay doing it because it was perfect for me, so I worked for 12 years in the Army. I said to my wife, it's going to take a major life event to get me out of this Army," said the Special Operations Governance Officer... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Maj. Kevin May) Maj. Kevin May with his two sons, Grayson, three, and newborn son Oliver.

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to stay in the Army; the SRU can and will help you return to duty.
October 12, 2023 — After being in Poland for a year-and-a-half-long rotation with the Army, Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Tanksley reluctantly made a side trip to the Fort Bliss Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) instead of going home... MORE

Photo By MaryTherese Griffin | (Photo by MaryTherese Griffin) Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Tanksley running track for Team Army at the 2023 Department of Defense Warrior Games Challenge in San Diego, Calif June 2023.

“If you end up with a choice of going to an SRU, please go.” – Staff Sgt. Santanae Mack
October 12, 2023 — Staff Sgt. Santanae Mack had multiple deployments to Djibouti, Africa, and she knew she had a big job to do every time. “I managed the construction yard on my deployment. Between moving lumber and using power towels, lots of heavy stuff, I did a lot of damage to my body,” said the Maintenance Supply Specialist... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Staff Sgt. Santanae Mack) Staff Sgt. Mack worked with heavy equipment in the construction yard on one of her deployments to Djibouti, Africa.

Listen to your body
October 12, 2023 — We’ve all been there. We feel a pain somewhere in our body, and we dismiss it. Perhaps it keeps happening, and we then justify it and keep going. Army Sgt. Kaylin Mc Clendon fit that description when it came to her back pain... MORE

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class George Bell | Sgt. 1st Class Dawn Page, Team SOCOM, and Sgt. Kaylin McClendon, Team Army, celebrate after a track event during the 2023 Department of Defense Warrior Games, June 6, 2023. The DoD Warrior Games Challenge is comprised of over 200 wounded, ill and injured service members and veteran athletes, competing in 11 adaptive sporting events June 2-12, 2023, at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, Calif. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class George M. Bell)

Soldier wounded in combat reflects on the last 20 years of ADA
October 12, 2023 — This is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This year’s theme is “Advancing Access and Equity: Then, Now and Next”. Things have come a long way, according to Retired Army Sgt. 1st Cass Roy Mitchell, who is the Lead Transition Coordinator today at the Fort Drum Soldier Recovery Unit... MORE

Courtesy Photo | Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Roy Mitchell embraces adaptive sports by working out on a hand cycle.

From enlisted to officer…an injured Soldier’s journey to recovery and a new reality
October 4, 2023 — Staff Sgt. Tanner Kane always knew he wanted a career in the US Army. He never imagined going from enlisted to being an officer, yet that’s what is on the horizon for the former infantryman turned recruiter and soon-to-be student... MORE

Photo By Pfc. Seara Marcsis | U.S. Army Sgt. Tanner Kane takes off for the cycling event, June 23, 2019, at the timed cycling competition during the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games. The DoD Warrior Games are conducted June 21 - 30, hosted by Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida. It is an adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans. 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 will compete in archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, field, wheelchair basketball, indoor rowing, powerlifting, and for the first time in Warrior Games history, golf, wheelchair tennis, and wheelchair rugby. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Seara Marcsis)

I’m still a work in progress, but I am excited about getting better
October 3, 2023 — Army Specialist Timothy Capps never thought he would need a Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU). The combat engineer from Upstate New York learned about the SRU at Fort Carson, Colorado, in December 2022... MORE

Photo By Spc. Robert Regan | U.S. Army Spc. Timothy Capps wins gold in the track event June 6, 2023 during the DoD Warrior Games Challenge, Naval Air Station North Island in San Deigo, California, June 6, 2023. More than 200 wounded, ill, or injured warrior athletes representing the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Command are competing in 11 adaptive sports including archery, track and field, swimming, rowing, shooting, powerlifting, cycling, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair rugby. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Regan)

We’re like an OnStar button for Soldiers or Veterans
October 2, 2023 — Retired Army Master Sgt. James Malone knew he would continue helping Soldiers even as a civilian. After 21 years of service, he worked as a medical liaison officer. He started his civilian career in 2010 at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and eventually worked with the Army Recovery Care Program. As a Lead Recovery Care Coordinator, Malone is now at Fort Cavazos, Texas... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy James Malone) Lead Recovery Care Coordinator James Malone assisting Staff Sgt. William Stropatterson with retirement benefits at Fort Cavazos Texas.

A lighthouse in the storm
September 18, 2023 — Ask retired Army Sgt. and Team Army Member Jason Smith what adaptive sports have done for him, and he wastes no time with his heartfelt answer... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Margaret Smith) Ret. Army Sgt. Jason Smith wins gold, in men’s rowing for Team U.S., at the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf Germany.

Help is available to translate your military skills into the civilian workforce
September 18, 2023 — The idiom “don’t reinvent the wheel” is alive and well in the world of Transition Coordinators who assist service members medically retiring from the military. Reinventing skills from the military into civilian speak is a big part of what they do, according to Regional Transition Coordinator Gary Simpson, of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “It doesn’t matter what job you did in the military. It can be translated into civilian, or every day speak.”... MORE

Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Ben Scott) Mr. Lonnie More, Acting Chief, Career, Education and Readiness welcomes Transition Coordinators from across the country to training. Hosted by the Army Recovery Care Program, in Colorado Springs Sept 11-15 TC’s came together to discuss challenges, solutions and success stories for medically retiring service members

Clueless on what to do when you medically retire from the Army? Read this!
July 31, 2023 — Former Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Howard helps Soldiers when they medically retire from the Army. She is a Recovery Care Coordinator today at our Fort Stewart Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) for good reason. The Avionics Equipment Repairer explained things have changed but she was clueless who to talk to when faced with the end of her 14 years in the Army... MORE

Photo By MaryTherese Griffin | (Photo by MaryTherese Griffin) Jennifer Howard and a few of her fellow Recovery Care Coordinators at the 2023 ARCCD Biennial Training at Fort Liberty, N.C. in June 2023.

My new normal is allowing me to return to duty
July 27, 2023 — Sgt. Samuel Casey is in the South Carolina National Guard. The notion of having to make adaptations to his life due to medical issues didn’t thrill him but he knew it was necessary... MORE

Photo By MaryTherese Griffin | (Photo by MaryTherese Griffin) Return to Duty Soldier, Samuel Casey, shares his road to recovery through the Army Recovery Care Program while competing on Team Army in San Diego. Casey competed in powerlifting and swimming for the Army at the 2023 Department of Defense Warrior Games Challenge.

Put your pride to the side and ask the questions, even the dumb ones.
July 27, 2023 — Retired Sgt. Maj. Alim Ahmand has a message for Soldiers, and he feels more confident than ever sharing it. “Put your pride to the side and ask the questions. Even the dumb ones.”... MORE

Photo By MaryTherese Griffin | (Photo by MaryTherese Griffin) Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Alim Ahmand gave an opening day talk at the 2023 Biennial Training at Fort Liberty, N.C.

Soldiers, take that time in the SRU seriously - you will never have it again in your life
July 20, 2023 — When Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle established the quarterly theme “Army Medicine: Our People Create the Standard of Excellence,’ it was a easy choice to focus on our Fort Stewart Soldier Recovery Unit’s Dr. Yvonne Larochelle... MORE

Dr. Yvonne Larochelle works with athletes on stretching at the 2023 Army Trials at Fort Liberty, N.C. in April 2023.

“Even after you serve, the Army is there for you”
July 18, 2023 — Having someone in your corner when you need help is a plus. Lawyers, counselors, teachers, planners, and more all advocate for many in need. Soldiers have Recovery Care Coordinators (RCC’s) who go to the mat for them when they separate from the Army. At a recent conference of RCC’s from all over the country, Col. Faith Junghahn, who worked with the program as a U.S. Army Major years ago, gave the final talk at this year’s Biennial Training for ARCCD at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, June 30th... MORE

Col. Faith Junghahn gives closing remarks at the 2023 ARCCD Biennial Training at Fort Liberty, N.C., June 30, 2023.

Finding the Taliban’s IED was the best thing that ever happened to me facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonlinkedin sharing buttonpinterest sharing buttonsharethis sharing button
July 12, 2023 — Retired Army Staff Sgt. Kory Ferris makes no bones about it when he looks at where his life is today. He works for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Having his life change forever when he hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Afghanistan in 2011 is the catalyst he says to his life now... MORE

In recovery at Walter Reed, Staff Sgt. Ferris is taking his first steps, on his own, post-injury. Bethesda Md., 2012.

You can’t be scared of the future because it’s going to come with or without you
July 7, 2023 — Army Staff Sgt. Derrick Thompson works in communications in a variety of ways and is happy to sum it up. “I’m a radio guy. I make things talk to other things,” he says. The married father of three travelled the world and moved his family around in typical military fashion, working hard toward 20 years of service. That is until a little over a year ago, while in Korea, something strange started happening to his body... MORE

Team Army’s Staff Sgt. Derrick Thompson warms way up before his race at the 2023 Department of Defense Warrior Games Challenge in San Diego in June

I didn’t want anyone else to fall through the cracks like I did, so I became an advocate.
July 6, 2023 — Richard Rodriguez advocates for Soldiers, Veterans, and Families. His time in the military and shortly before led him to where he is today... MORE

Veteran turned Advocate, Richard Rodriguez, at the 2023 ARCCD Biennial Training at Fort Liberty