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WEST POINT, N.Y. - After sustaining a traumatic brain injury in
Afghanistan, Spc. Quintarious Almon, from Anniston, Alabama, had to
choose: stay in the military or pursue his dream of playing college
football. The former high school football defensive end found out he
was facing an either/or situation when the Army said it would not
endorse him playing college football with a TBI.
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U.S. Army Spc. Quintarious Almon, 257th Transportation Company
(HET) Detachment 1, serves during a practice sitting volleyball
session of the Army Warrior Trials at the U.S. Military Academy,
West Point, N.Y., July 12, 2014. The Warrior Trials are held
annually as part of an adaptive reconditioning program for injured
services members. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. James K. McCann)
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“I wanted to stay in the military, so that's what I
fought for,” said Almon, who was medevaced to the Fort
Benning Warrior Transition Unit in 2010. There, he worked
through giving up his college football dream and moving into
the world of adaptive reconditioning.
“When I
realized I couldn't do that anymore, I kind of just gave up,
but then I was like, okay, well, they have adaptive sports
now, so this is new to me; I'm going to run track,” said Almon. “I could
run all day if I had to... it's something I really enjoy.”
That was one of his high school sports that he could
still safely participate in, so Almon went back to training
again for his old races of the 100-meter dash and the 4x 100
meter relay, adding on the 200-meter dash as well. He
competed in the 2011 Warrior Games but didn't place; in the
2013 games, though, Almon was prepared for the fast-paced
competition, coming home with gold medals for the 100-meter
dash and the relay, and a silver medal for the 200-meter
dash.
Now, Almon is trying out once more for a spot
on the Army's Warrior Games team during the 2014 U.S. Army
Warrior Trails at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point,
N.Y., July 15-19. This year, he's trying out for the sitting
volleyball team as well — a sport he enjoyed at Fort Benning
but never got into competitively before.
“It's a
challenging sport. I felt like anyone could play if they
tried stand up regular volleyball, but to actually sit down
and play it, it's more of a physical and mental challenge,”
said Almon, a motor transport operator by trade. “To me, I
like it more than stand-up; it's more fun.”
While he
said that his goal is to earn gold medals in all of his
events at the Warrior Games this year, Almon also enjoys the
camaraderie of the Army Warrior Trials and watching others
succeed.
“I like to see people overcome their
disabilities; that's why I have the job I have now,” said
Almon, who holds the civilian position of a military
adaptive sports specialist at a nonprofit in Alabama that
offers adaptive reconditioning programs.
He got into
that position after he left Fort Benning in 2011, returning
to his home Reserve unit — the 287th Transportation Company
in Anniston — and continuing to get care for his TBI at the
Birmingham VA Medical Center.
Almon said “it's always
a great joy” to help the camp participants, who are all
Veterans with post-9-11 service-connected disabilities.
“These are some of the newly injured; some of the people
we get there haven't been outside for five years. It's kind
of wonderful, what kind of people you meet,” said Almon, who
is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades in his work, helping to
hire coaches, serving as an instructor himself, or even
acting as a mentor, encouraging disabled Veterans to reach
for more independence.
He said he doesn't often tell
them about his own TBI, with its lingering symptoms of
headaches and memory, hearing and vision loss; he tries to
go through life, including in his athletic pursuits, finding
his own ways to adapt and succeed.
By U.S. Army Suzanne Ovel
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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