Outdoor Recreation creates adaptive programs

In decades past, servicemembers wounded in the line of duty had few options to help them adjust and cope with their injuries.
Not today. Wounded Warriors continue to thrive in active duty, in the workplace and in their daily lives.
Fort Belvoir Outdoor Recreation is helping to further the trend with the development of an adaptive recreation program. The goal is to help servicemembers gain a new perspective on life and serve as a morale boost while learning new life skills.
Call to action
ODR Program Director Brianna Carter was inspired to act after attending a National Institute on Recreation Inclusion conference in September.
The conference, according to its Web site, offers opportunities to discuss inclusion activities and ways to implement recreation programs for customers with and without disabilities.
"Most of it was focused on the private sector, but I knew there were plenty of ways we could adjust those programs to fit the needs here at Belvoir for our WTUs," Carter said. "We just didn't have that many options here."
WTU commander Capt. E. Trevonte Moten agreed, saying while Belvoir hasn't had its own special programs, the Soldiers have not gone without. "We haven't had our own local, homegrown program, but we've had an outpouring of community support from other agencies," he said, noting the Paralyzed Vets of America and the Wounded Warrior Program.
Capt. Chip Sell, a Wounded Warrior in Belvoir's WTU, said the objective was to bring each party together to create a more localized effort. "The goal was to sit down and pool these groups, organizations and facilities together and try to build a synergy by saying, 'You have personnel with need,' 'You have expertise in this field,' 'You have opportunities and transportation,'" he said. "There's no stigma with this. The goal is to get healthy and get back into the working world.
As the wife of a Marine facing his first deployment, Carter also felt compelled to support a program that could help families facing a potentially life-changing injury.
"If something happened to [my husband], I'd want something to help support him," she said. "There are so many elements to deployment - it changes not just the Soldier, but the family. Soldiers need to apply their energy to enjoying life again, not just medical appointments day after day."
Recreation with a cause
While physical activity is a great idea for anyone, it's especially beneficial to recovering servicemembers.
An Outdoor Recreation information sheet states there are higher success rates in recovery, rehabilitation and integration when Wounded Warriors are involved in sports, particularly adaptive sports. In addition, being outdoors gives a much-needed mental and physical reprieve.
Outdoor Recreation distributed a survey to WTU servicemembers to gauge interest in particular recreational features.
"We adjusted the regular activities we offer for our participants," Carter said. "We took some things off and kept others. We want to see what people are looking for and how we can meet that need."
Suggested activities included active sports like backpacking and hang-gliding, or other activities such as bird-watching or gardening interest groups.
After determining the interest level, Carter plans to make each sport and activity progressive in nature - Warriors can start any sports program at a basic level, then progress further each time they participate.
A sense of normalcy
Moten has implemented a regimen called the Comprehensive Training Program as a "roadmap the warriors follow from the minute they enter the door to the end of the program - either a return to duty or a transition to civilian life."
"It encompasses the body, heart, mind and spirit," he added. "In the fitness aspect, we address physical and spiritual fitness, and we embrace activities that cater to those things."
Adaptive programs, such as those that Outdoor Recreation is creating, help Wounded Warriors to recognize their worth.
"The benefit to this is to let these people feel that they have purpose," Moten said. "That is a key part of healing and transition, to let people feel as if they have purpose on the interior and exterior. This can give our Soldiers what they need for a successful transition."
Outdoor Recreation Director Kristin Mayer added that when Soldiers leave the CTP, they have a sense of accomplishment and feel a fulfillment of the void that was once there. "The attitude changes from 'can't' to 'can,'" she said.
Sell has personally seen the benefits of working with adaptive recreational programs. He's taken advantage of the Wounded Warrior kayaking program here at Belvoir with the help of Team River Runner, an organization that offers therapeutic whitewater recreation activities to servicemembers.
Sell had been an active kayaker, and appreciated an opportunity to get involved once again.
"Getting back into my sport, kayaking, it gave me back my smile. That's something I was missing for a long time," he said. "This helped me start enjoying my life again."
Overcoming stigmas
Many Wounded Warriors, Sell said, still feel there is a stigma about being involved in adaptive recreation programs. The idea that only able-bodied Soldiers should participate in recreation keeps some WTU Soldiers from getting involved.
Moten said that shouldn't be the case.
"People shouldn't be concerned with the idea that doing these activities somehow means you're not injured, as if to say, 'If I participate in recreation, I'm somehow an able body,'" he said. "We need to erase that negative stigma."
In fact, Warriors may miss beneficial opportunities to get the assistance they need, simply because of a misguided perception.
"Sure, you experience physical training," Sell said. "But there's so much more than that. You're given tools, training, support, engagement, peers who help, and you feel like you can achieve."
Keeping Wounded Warriors engaged in positive activities is key, Carter said. "We want to let Soldiers know that we offer something beneficial. Instead of destructive behavior, we can create supportive networks and friendships together. We just have to spread the passion of recreation to others, and I think we can do big things."