Capt. Amy Brown, a dietitian with 47th Combat Support Hospital, listens as her husband, Capt. Sam Brown, a former platoon leader with 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, tells the story of his injury to paratroopers of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), while visiting Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Dec. 29, as part of Operation Proper Exit. The two met during his convalescence in a military hospital at which she was working and they married shortly afterwards. Photo by Spc. Mike MacLeod

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Army Giving Shattered Soldiers New Dreams

Five severely wounded veterans returned to Iraq just after the 2009 Christmas holiday as part of the third installment of an evolving program to help wounded warriors heal from traumatic combat injuries.

The group, consisting of amputees and severe burn victims, visited deployed paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division as part of Operation Proper Exit, a program designed to return the injured to the scene of their battlefield injuries to help them find psychological closure.

Richard Kell, founder of the nonprofit Troops First Foundation that runs the program, estimates the number of wounded Iraq veterans who fit its criteria – those that are mentally and physically moving forward with a recovery plan – to be between 1,000 and 1,500.

In its third rendition since June, the program has now helped 18 wounded soldiers and Marines move on with their lives, said Kell.

“Can we really make a dent? We’re gonna try,” he said.

The goal is to make one trip per month following the Iraqi national elections in early 2010.

While Kell does not expect to get the majority to Iraq before U.S. forces leave in 2011, he and the program’s other principles, Col. David Sutherland, a former brigade commander in Diyala province, and Command Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Wilson, the highest ranking enlisted soldier of United States Force – Iraq, are considering ways to multiply the reach of the program.

“Lots of ‘gold star’ families would like to come here to find closure as well, so see where their loved ones died,” said Kell. “We’ve considered making our alumni available to talk to those families, so that they can tell them that their sacrifices have extreme value here in Iraq.”

That kind of mentorship from prior participants has already been leveraged by Operation Proper Exit by asking one wounded warrior from each trip act as a mentor for the next, a role fulfilled on the first trip by Sutherland.

“This time we brought back Sgt. 1st Class [Joshua] Olson, who is a great [noncommissioned officer],” said Kell. “I’m learning what that’s all about. He looks after his fellow soldiers very well.”

Having an alum return as a military mentor with following groups is the most significant structural change to the program, he said. Additionally, the program has also reduced the number of meetings and command briefs to allow wounded warriors maximum time with soldiers on the ground.

“That’s the most effective use of their time,” said Kell.

However, the greatest change from trip to trip is the identity that each group takes on, he said.

“The first group viewed themselves as ambassadors to keep the door open for future trips. They made sure that, when they did talk to the press, they were very honest and truthful about their experiences,” he said.

“The second group wanted to report back to families of their fallen comrades that their sacrifices were not in vain, that they had significant meaning, and that they added a great deal to the quality of life here in Iraq and potential for long term security. I think they found that to be true.”

“The identity for this trip so far would have to be called ‘Schlitz’s Trip.’ Sgt. 1st Class [Mike] Schlitz is an amazing young man who has been burned on 85 percent of his body.”

Ret. Sgt. Bill Congleton holds a microphone for Sgt. 1st Class Mike Schlitz, during a town hall meeting with paratroopers of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade), while visiting Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Dec. 29, as part of Operation Proper Exit. Photo by Spc. Mike MacLeod

Doctors harvested the remaining 15 percent for skin grafts so that Schlitz has given up 100 percent of surface of his body, he said.

“His ability to reach out and want to make other people feel good is an amazing quality. This isn’t to take anything from the other warriors, but I think we will all leave here changed [by him],” said Kell.

While one of Schlitz’s future goals is to continue with small venue public speaking, some participants prefer to avoid the media during the Operation Proper Exit trips.

“We let the press be the warriors’ own decision,” said Kell.

“If five out of five of our current group chose not to have their photographs taken or talk to the media, the reality is, that’s okay,” he said. “We also guarantee them that, if they do agree to talk to the press and it does become a burden, we well end it.”

Kell cited an incident with a reporter who attempted to interview two wounded warriors during a visit to a war memorial at Forward Operating Base Normandy. The reporter was asked to stand down.

“Ironically, that moment of separation helped him gain greater insight into what this program is all about, and it came through in the article he wrote,” said Kell.

As the five wounded warriors told their stories one by one to more than 100 paratroopers at a “town hall” meeting at Camp Ramadi, Kell made one last point.

“We’re not going to make the soldiers make that decision before they get here. What you see is five soldiers in here that want to tell their stories, and they’re getting encouraged to tell their stories, and they’re getting comfortable with telling their stories.”

“I would tell you a week ago I’m not so sure they all felt they would be sitting in there doing this.

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Mike MacLeod

The last time Sgt. Christopher A. Burrell was in Iraq he was pulled from a burning vehicle in Sadr City, a neighborhood in Baghdad. A tourniquet applied by another Soldier saved his life, but a nurse here at the Air Force Theater Hospital had to break the tragic news—his left leg was gone, taken by an explosively formed projectile.

Now, almost a year and a half later, and after months of rehabilitation and physical therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Burrell returned to Iraq with five other amputee combat veterans as part of Operation Proper Exit.

“I don’t remember much, but I remember my nurse,” Burrell said, remembering the incident, which occurred December 2007. “Shelly. She was an angel, there to comfort me when I was in a difficult spot.”

Operation Proper Exit, a pilot program sponsored by the Army and the Troops First Foundation target=”_blank” through the United Service Organizations, allows Soldiers wounded in combat to return to Iraq. The goal of the program is to give these Soldiers an opportunity for closure, and to see the progress made in securing and stabilizing the country, Burrell said.

“It kind of helps you heal mentally and emotionally, to close that chapter in your life so you can move on,” he said. “The progress that’s been made—it shows that we made a sacrifice but it was for a reason.”

The six amputee combat veterans, who were accompanied by civilians with the Troops First Foundation, toured the Air Force Theater Hospital here, speaking with medical personnel. Most of the Soldiers received some kind of treatment at the hospital before they moved to Germany for further medical care.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jamal Hogan, a nurse, said he remembered providing medical care for two of the Soldiers himself during a previous deployment in 2007.

“It’s awesome,” he said with a smile, hugging one of his former patients. “To know that people made it—he’s alive, walking around. That means a lot to me.”

Following the hospital tour, the veterans participated in a town hall-style meeting, which began with a standing ovation by approximately 200 Soldiers at a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facility at JBB.

After telling the audience their own personal war stories, the veterans fielded questions ranging from how they dealt with physical recovery to post traumatic stress disorder to their long-term goals.

Sgt. Robert Brown, who lost his right leg to sniper fire in September 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, said he was training to qualify for the U.S. rowing team at the 2012 London Paralympics games.

Nearing the end of the meeting, a young Soldier stood up and asked them, with everything they’ve experienced, if they would be willing to return for another tour in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Every one of the Soldiers nodded.

“Sure, we’d go back,” one of them said. “We’re here with you right now, aren’t we?”

MNF-I