Wounded warriors return to Afghanistan to find closure

Photo By Chief Master Sgt. Jared Marquis | An Operation Proper Exit volunteer welcomes a wounded warrior during a return trip here from Afghanistan on Nov. 2, 2014. Operation Proper Exit, part of the Troops First Foundation, provides the opportunity for wounded warriors to return to the battle space, share their experiences – both good and bad – and most importantly, leave the theater on their own terms. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jared Marquis/released)  

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

11.02.2014

Story by Tech. Sgt. Jared Marquis 

386th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA – Nearly all service members who have deployed know two dates for certain: the date they arrived and the date they are scheduled to leave. The goal is to serve faithfully until that scheduled departure date, board the plane and leave the battle space behind.

Unfortunately for some, it doesn’t work that way, including several current and former service members who stepped off the plane from Afghanistan here Nov. 2. These service members did not get the opportunity to pack their bags, out -process and get on the plane. Most of them were medically evacuated, and some don’t even remember leaving. Operation Proper Exit is working to change that.

Operation Proper Exit, part of the Troops First Foundation, provides the opportunity for wounded warriors to return to the battle space, share their experiences – both good and bad – and most importantly, leave the theater on their own terms, said Rick Kell, executive director of the Troops First Foundation.

This was the eighteenth Operation Proper Exit mission since the program began in June 2009. More than 100 wounded warriors have participated in 10 missions to Iraq and eight to Afghanistan.

Army Capt. Casey Wolfe, Headquarters Division, 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kansas, was one of the wounded warriors on this mission.

Wolfe, who was a scout platoon leader in Kandahar province, stepped on a pressure plate improvised explosive device in December 2011. What was initially thought to be a broken ankle turned out to be much worse, and there was talk of amputating his leg. However, after a series of experimental limb salvage procedures, he was able to return to his unit after 11 months, he said.

Wolfe said the ability to return to Afghanistan really helped him get the closure he needed.

“As a platoon leader, I felt really bad about leaving my guys there,” he said. “I had zero control over (leaving) in a world where I am used to having control over things. To go back and see that things are still going well over there and be able to talk to guys who are going through similar situations, that really helps seal the deal.”

Ultimately, that closure is what the participants of Operation Proper Exit want, said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Capel.

Capel, who now works with the foundation, talked about a phone call from a Soldier who was injured in Afghanistan and woke up five days later at Walter Reed Medical Center. The Soldier had no recollection of how he got there. He didn’t know what happened en route or where he made stops, and he wanted to come back and close those gaps.

“That’s what we do here at Proper Exit,” Capel said. “We bring the guys and girls back for closure. Only this time, that individual would not be (medically evacuated) in the back of an aircraft. He or she will walk off the back of the aircraft of their own accord.”

That is the goal of the program -- to ensure those who participate get the opportunity find that closure, although it may have taken them well past the date they planned to do it. These wounded warriors did finally leave the theater on their own terms.

• Date Taken: 11.02.2014
• Date Posted: 11.06.2014 01:38
• Story ID: 147131
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)