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Operation Proper Exit, an initiative of the Troops First
Foundation, was facilitated by the 35th Infantry Division
along with U.S. Army Central Command during its journey
through Camps Arifjan and Buehring, while en route through
the Middle East in early December.
Operation Proper
Exit is a driving force for wounded warriors and Gold Star
families to continue to work through the trauma they’ve
faced and to help them find their path forward.
Normally, December is a time for closing doors on the
outgoing year and opening up a fresh new year full of
possibility. People make plans and resolutions to implement
positive changes in their lives. But if the past year’s door
is unhinged, it can be hard to close it and look forward.
Rick Kell, a retired advertising executive, began
visiting with wounded warriors at Walter Reed Medical Center
in 2005, and over the next several years, he learned a great
deal about the needs of these heroes. One recurring theme
among them was the need to return to that place where
fragments of their lives went missing, to put those pieces
back together, and to leave—this time, on their own terms,
and make a ‘proper exit.’
In Aug. 2008, Kell and
David Feherty co-founded the Troops First Foundation and
incorporated it as a non-profit organization. That same
year, Ray Odierno, then commanding general in Iraq, approved
OPE, and it became one of several Troops First Foundation
initiatives. Now in its 10th year, and having completed more
than 20 trips to the Middle East, with 10 trips to Iraq and
13 to Afghanistan, OPE has expanded to include Gold Star
Families.
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Master Sgt. Leroy Petry, Medal of Honor recipient, formerly of D
company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and command Sgt. Maj.
Andre Lawhorn visit briefly after presentations given during
Operation Proper Exit, at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, December 5, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tina Villalobos)
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Master Sgt. (ret.) Leroy Petry, Medal of
Honor recipient, formerly of D company, 2nd Battalion, 75th
Ranger Regiment, lost his right hand to a grenade that was
about to blow up next to his fellow troops in 2008. He had
just been shot in both thighs, when he managed to grab the
grenade and toss it away from his comrades. Although he has
since retired from the military, Petry now serves as a
member of the Troops First Foundation.
“I’m in phase
two of the Army, taking care of veterans and our military
the best way I can,” said Petry. “Nothing inspires me more
than coming over here and seeing you all.”
Petry
offered sound advice to current active duty troops.
“I hear it every time I go to Afghanistan from some of the
troops, ‘This isn’t what I expected. There’s not a lot of
action. This isn’t how I thought a war zone would be,’” said
Petry. “And war has changed. The tempo has slowed down for
U.S. troops. We’re in that advisory role. I tell a lot of
them, ‘Be careful what you wish for, because in the blink of
an eye, that could all change.’”
Soldiers injured in
battle or other situations sometimes wake up in a hospital,
days or even weeks later, missing those pieces of their
lives. In addition, the sense of having been ripped away
from their fellow Soldiers by force can leave them with
feelings of guilt, anguish, and anxiety. Their choice to
contribute was taken from them, perhaps along with some or
all of the functionality of their area of injury.
Cpl. Matthew Bradford, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.), now on his
second OPE trip, expressed the benefit he gained from being
able to return to the Middle East.
“What I
experienced on that trip to Iraq in 2011, it really changed
my life. I felt like when I got hurt here in 2007, part of
me was still here in this country, and when I came back in
2011, I had to get it home. Life changed for me then,” said
Bradford. “I served in the Marine Corps from 2005 to 2012. I
was severely injured in 2007. I lost both my legs and my
vision when I stepped on an improvised explosive device. I
got hurt on January 18, 2007, and I was at Bethesda on
January 21, in an ICU coma for three weeks. I was 20 years
old.”
Some Americans don’t think much about the
ongoing wars, some are even oblivious—but for those who were
injured in the fight, the wars can rage on. For some,
getting up every morning or being able to sleep at night is
a battle of its own, and the fight to do everyday things can
be daunting. Others battle unseen scars which inhibit their
ability to move forward and cope in healthy ways.
“I
am constantly reminded about my injuries, every morning when
I wake up and put my legs on and when I open my eyes up,”
said Bradford. “Then, you know, I think to myself, ‘Why be
mad? Why be discouraged about ‘now you’re a legless, blind
amputee.’ Go out and live your life to the fullest.’ Because
we live in the United States of America, we have the
opportunity to live our lives to the fullest, and that’s
what I do, and I love every minute of it.”
Bradford
described his devotion to the Marine Corps as something he
holds most sacred.
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Gold Star family member Jessica Charles (left), Cpl. Matt Bradford,
United States Marine Corps (ret.) (center), and command Sgt. Maj.
Andre Lawhorn cross the tarmac upon arrival at Camp Buehring, Kuwait
to interact with troops during Operation Proper Exit December 5, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tina Villalobos)
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“That’s who I am,” said Bradford.
“It’s who I was in 2005, when I raised my right hand and
stood on those yellow footprints. It’s who I was in 2007
when I got blown up. It’s who I am today, and who I will
forever be. I’m very blessed to have [not only] had the
opportunity to serve in the United States of America, but to
have worn the uniform as a United States Marine,
Infantryman—the best of the best.”
Bradford
persevered and re-enlisted in the Marine Corps to continue
serving and devote himself to working with other wounded
warriors.
“On April 7, 2010, I re-enlisted,” said
Bradford. “I was the first blind, double-amputee to do that.
I was assigned to the Wounded Warrior Battalion East, at
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Being assigned there and being
around other wounded warriors, it’s what I wanted to do.”
According to Bradford, his active lifestyle allows him
to continue to be a leader.
“Since 2007, I’ve
participated in six Marine Corps Marathons, I’ve done six
half marathons, I’ve done seven Spartan races,” said
Bradford. “In November, I completed my first ever trifecta,
which is the sprint, the super, and the beast, all in one
year. I learned in the Marine Corps and also in therapy,
that if you lead by example, they will follow, and that’s
what I do. Everything that I learned in the Marine Corps has
helped me to get through my recovery and it’s everything
that I still use today.”
For Gold Star families who
have lost loved ones to the war, accepting what happened -
how and why - is a journey of its own, with pain and
emptiness that lasts a lifetime.
These families gain
a deeper understanding of their loved ones’ military lives,
beyond just seeing them in uniform. During their travels,
Gold Star family members typically wear the uniform of their
loved one’s service. There are some stops along the way,
where all OPE participants have an opportunity to address
and interact with currently serving troops.
Diana
Pike, a U.S. Army veteran and Gold Star family member, lost
her son, Chief Cryptologic Technician (Technical)
(EXW/IDW/SW) Christian M. Pike, when he died at Landstuhl
Regional Medical Center, Germany in March of 2013 from
injuries sustained during combat in Afghanistan as a member
of Echo Platoon, Seal Team Five, in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. For his heroism in connection with combat
operations against the enemy, Pike was posthumously awarded
the Bronze Star with Valor. He had served more than 11 years
in the Navy and had joined the special operations team in
2013.
Pike had followed in his mother’s footsteps, as
Diana Pike had served for more than a decade in the U.S.
Army’s cryptologic service and left the Army as a Sgt. 1st
Class.
“Since Christian’s death I have been stagnate;
not ‘living,’ just being,” said Pike. “I go to work every
day and meet all my responsibilities, but I haven’t been
able to find joy in living. I believed that in being
Christian’s proxy and making his ‘Proper Exit,’ I might be
able to find solace and comfort in walking the path he
walked, and gain a greater understanding of his presence in
Afghanistan. Christian was very proud of his service and
really believed in our participation in Afghanistan. I
wanted to feel what Christian felt.”
Going to the
theater of operations where their loved one was killed
allows Gold Star family members to gain a depth of
understanding and perspective that could not be attained in
any other way. While these families can never be made
entirely whole, OPE may offer greater avenues of healing and
acceptance, as it allows them to profoundly touch their
loved ones’ world.
Pike spoke of her OPE journey with
the wounded warrior veterans who became her comrades.
“I have come to love and admire these men,” said Pike.
“Their mere presence lifted me up – they are miraculous,
inspirational men. They demonstrate their tenacity, love,
and spirit of service every day. They told their stories of
victory, and how, after the worst days of their lives, they
kept moving, rebuilt their lives to greater successes,
greater love, and greater happiness.”
Pike went on to
describe her sentiments regarding the wounded warrior
veteran participants she met during OPE.
“I believe
these are men Christian would have loved and laughed with,
as I love and have laughed with them,” said Pike. “If you
know these men, you know their stories and their joy for
life. I couldn’t thank them enough for the gift they have
given me – how can I be mired when these men shine? I
cannot, it would be disrespectful. I love them for the joy
they have given me, and these words fall shamefully short of
the feelings I hold for them.”
Wounded warrior
veterans gain a sense of completion from OPE, as it bridges
a gap in time and fills a void left by the circumstances of
their injury and evacuation. These warriors and families can
gain a sense of being back in control. The warriors come
back to their area of operation and then leave it on their
own terms. They are consciously present and in control from
start to finish.
Because of interactions with
currently serving troops, participants also understand how
much they are still a part of a larger military family. The
camaraderie is tangible in the genuinely warm interactions
wherever they go. OPE provides warriors and Gold Star family
members an opportunity to see that a difference has been
made in the theater of operation where these warrior
veterans served.
Senior Airman (ret.) Aubrey Hand III
was injured by a bomb on a route clearance mission. Despite
the injury, Hand leads an active lifestyle that includes
snowboarding and hand-cycling, hobbies he acquired after his
injury.
“We had to go in and out the same road,” said
Hand. “They knew it. They put a couple of barrels into a
culvert. So now I’m a below-knee amputee. Life is definitely
different. Everybody that’s here, everybody that’s around
me, everybody that supports the military, that’s the only
reason that I can do what I do now.”
Staff Sgt.
(ret.) Luke Cifka lost both of his legs on his second
deployment, in Logar Province, Afghanistan in 2013, when he
stepped on a pressure plate improvised explosive, resulting
in a bilateral above-knee amputation and having the bones in
his hands broken.
“I tried out for the sniper
effects and got picked up,” said Cifka. “That’s when I
really fell in love with the Army. My favorite past time is
that I like to shoot. I will never stop. Ever. When I was
hurt, my hands were broken. Every bone in my hands was
broken. I lost most of the feeling in the fingers and that
created some problems for shooting. It was only because I
had good leadership and good examples to follow, like Leroy
[Petry]—who came to visit me in the hospital that I was able
to kind of channel that into recovery and get back and
shoot, which is what I do now. I am a full-time firearms
instructor.”
Now, on his first journey with OPE,
Cifka shared his gratitude for the opportunity.
“I
met Rick and some of the guys with Troops First several
years ago,” said Cifka. “When Rick asked me to come on this,
I said ‘no.’ I said ‘no’ for about four years. I just wasn’t
there. I wasn’t able to mentally get over that gap of going
back into a war zone in a wheel chair.”
But Kell
continued to reach out to Cifka over the years.
“[Kell]
kept at it. He kept taking guys back,” said Cifka. “I am
very grateful that they didn’t give up on me. We’ve only
been here a couple of hours and it is already making a
difference.”
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Tina Villalobos
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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