Heroes Begin Healing Journey

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Miller | CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Healy, Operation Proper Exit, speaks to the audience at the Town Hall Meeting August 8.Operation Proper Exit is a non-profit organization conducting battlefield circulation in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, visiting troops in Kuwait and Afghanistan  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

08.13.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Miller 

35th Infantry Division

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Retired combat veterans Marine Cpl. Brandon Rumbaugh, Army Master Sgt. Leroy Petry, Army Staff Sgt. Seth Stout, Sgt. 1st Class Joe Healy, Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Flike and Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Burgess Jr. arrived at Camp Arifjan to begin Operation Proper Exit August 7.
Operation Proper Exit is a battlefield circulation to Kuwait and Afghanistan initiative for combat veterans who are flourishing in the healing process and able to return to theater. The veterans meet with service members to talk about their personal challenges, their perspective on life after service and the changes they’ve made to be successful through the healing process.The next day’s events included a town hall meeting where Task Force Spartan and 35th Infantry Division Deputy Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Van, opened by saying it was an honor and privilege to welcome the warriors.
“We have an opportunity to hear first-hand what these brave men went through,” said Van. “Their selfless service and sacrifice is the embodiment of who United States Soldiers and Marines are.”
Each warrior stood at the lectern. One by one they describe their own personal account of their last day in combat. All of them experienced drastically different circumstances and outcomes, but they all have a single common trait, perseverance.
Stout recalled when he was an infantryman assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan and the vehicle he rode in was hit by an IED. Stout suffered severe traumatic brain injury and the long road of physical therapy was arduous. He said it was the support from his fellow soldiers and family that helped him pull through.
“There is a camaraderie that no one can describe unless you’ve been there and lived through it,” said Stout. “You don’t have to like every person you work with, but you respect them and trust them to look out for you because you’d do the same for them.”
After the town hall meeting, the warriors met Maj. Gen. Victor Braden, Task Force Spartan and 35th Infantry Division commanding general for dinner at the Hall of Heroes. Braden said each veteran had shown courage to voluntarily sign the dotted line and take the oath of enlistment into the U.S. armed forces knowing what the ultimate sacrifice might be.
“It takes selflessness and dedication to make those types of decisions,” said Braden. “These men have chosen to risk their lives for the greater good of our country and for that we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
According to Feherty’s Troops First, the non-profit organization helping Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans since its launch in June 2009, 67 injured service members have returned as part of Operation Proper Exit’s 10 trips to Iraq and 52 service members have returned as part of the program's 11 trips to Afghanistan.
Richard Kell, executive director of Troops First, says these trip play important role in the healing process for these combat warriors.
“It’s necessary for these veterans to return to the battlefield and provide an opportunity for closure,” said Kell. “For some of these guys, the place where were wounded was the last thing they remember from the battlefield.”
For these combat veterans, the opportunity to return to Afghanistan might help them heal and find closure for the internal wounds which can last a life time.
“I just want the Taliban to know they didn’t get me.”, said Stout. “I want them to know I never quit.”

• Date Taken: 08.13.2017
• Date Posted: 08.14.2017 04:22
• Story ID: 244744
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW