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For over three years it has been my honor to welcome home
America's wounded warriors. In my job as the chief of the Army's
Medical Evacuation CONUS Hospitals, my team and I are charged with
representing our senior leadership in greeting and attending to the
newly evacuated wounded and accompanying families.
We have met hundreds of wounded warrior flights and thanked
thousands of wounded for their service to our country. Additionally,
we organize National Capitol Region tours for those evacuated
warriors remaining in the area awaiting medical treatment.
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Buses stand by to transport sick and injured patients from the
Andrews Air Force Base, Va., flightline across base to Malcolm Grow
Hospital's 79th Aeromedical Staging Flight, Nov. 3, 2006. (U.S. Army
photo by Tom Mani)
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Now, a few days before retiring from the Army, I often
reflect on what I have learned. The duty has been both
inspiring, and very humbling. I've seen great tragedy. I've
been a constant witness to others' pain. I've heard many
stories of remarkable courage. Most importantly, I've seen
the power of resilience and I've learned this: our soldiers
are highly resilient men and women, and resilience is
crucial to their success.
Each week our team has
listened to and documented amazing stories of danger and
crisis and necessary struggles for recovery. I will never
forget the thousands of hands I shook and eyes I held; all
of which share our military path, either themselves wearing
the uniform or as loving family members attending to those
that do; all of whom manned our nation's ramparts.
One of the things that I tell people when they've asked me
to explain what we – our Wounded Warrior Flight team – do is
this: we put flesh and blood on statistics. For us, it's not
about the numbers or the trends, although those things are
also important, it's about the soul. Who are these warriors
that are evacuated? What is their story? Who are they as
human beings?
You know who America's wounded warriors
are: they are an extraordinarily diverse group of amazing
men and women. They are young and not so young. They are
from America's heartland. They are from inner cities. They
are from Guam and Samoa and elsewhere. They are recent
immigrants. They are from long and deep-rooted American
families, often able to recount war stories from previous
generations. Many, incredibly, have hacked their way through
a tough life to even get here. They are from intact families
and broken homes. And, they are all connected by the idea of
service.
It has been said that service is the most
important word in the English language. Even the sound of it
– service – is powerful, decisive, lingering. It has been my
distinct pleasure to serve. The concept of service
fascinates me, and I've often asked our wounded warriors why
they do it. They've given many reasons.
I remember
talking to the wife of one badly wounded soldier. She was a
small lady, less than five feet tall. We both stood over the
unconscious body of her badly wounded husband. Her answer:
“He was bred for it.” I remember leaning over another
warrior, an amputee from rural America, and he said, “If not
us, Sir, who would do it?” Another warrior, a senior leader,
explained it this way, “I thought doing something meaningful
would help me feel better about myself.”
Beyond a
desire to serve, it is personal resilience which makes it
possible. Without a foundation of resilience, it is
exceptionally difficult for any wounded warrior to recover
and lead a productive life. I think we can learn resilience
by studying examples of it. Resilience is reinforced by
learning from the experience of others. There is no better
place to look than at America's wounded warriors.
By U.S Army Col. Claude Schmid
Medical Evacuation to CONUS
Hospitals Team Chief, Joint Forces Headquarters National Capitol
Region
Provided
through DODLive
Copyright 2013
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