Joint Base San Antonio – Ft. Sam Houston Ready and Resilient

Photo By Lauren Padden | David Richmond was the keynote speaker during a Ready and Resilient event at the Blesse Theater, June 28. Richmond is a combat veteran who served as the commanding officer to the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. He sustained a gunshot wound while deployed in Afghanistan. Throughout his four-year-long recovery he remained resilient and shared with U.S. Army North gems of leadership principles as well as resiliency tools. (U.S. Army photo by Lauren Padden)  

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES

06.28.2019

Story by Lauren Padden 

U.S. Army North

Training is imperative to prepare our Soldiers for every situation, however nothing can prepare you for taking a bullet.
David Richmond, former commanding officer of the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland spoke at a Ready and Resilient event at the Blesse Auditorium, June 28, to share his deployment experience in Afghanistan in 2008, and what happened when a bullet shattered his femur.
“Your life just takes a turn, and my life took a turn I wasn’t planning on and that really tests your mettle,” said Richmond.
Not only was the bullet testing him physically it also tested his team which still had a job to do in his absence. However, his next in command instantly stepped into his role without question.
“There wasn’t an interview process, he wasn’t asked if he fancied it, he wasn’t asked if he remembered the plan,” said Richmond. “You’re on this minute right now.”
That was the beauty of their planning and training, everyone knew the plan and the part they played as well as what the others were doing; therefore, despite having a man down, the mission continued.
Even with the deployed mission continuing, Richmond had his own challenges to overcome in his recovery. Richmond endured a four year recovery process after a bullet entered the back of his thigh and exited the front, shattering his femur in the process.
Richmond explained that when a Soldier becomes injured in combat, they are told, it’s a marathon not a sprint. However as Richmond describes, he wasn’t preparing for a marathon when he got injured.
“Marathoners know when their race is, they train for it and mentally prepare for it and have a finish line to focus on.”
Richmond had no such preparation, no training plan or known finish line and nothing prepares a person to be asked if they wanted to try to save their leg or remove it. Multiple surgeries and four years of rehabilitation later, he was able to keep his leg and he took the recovery in stride and shared the leadership principles he learned during recovery.
The main point he shared is, “That it is not about the leader, it is about the led.” He stressed, “It’s all about how you behave, how you look, the role model you are, the culture you set and the environment you create.”
Having lead with that leadership style in mind, his battalion persevered while he persisted with his rehabilitation.
During his rehabilitation he focused on the big picture and didn’t get distracted by the set-backs. His focus was to play with his children again, ride a bike and run again.
He kept his eye on the prize and met those goals again. His advice for others in a similar situation is, “Plot your course, pick your target and go.”

• Date Taken: 06.28.2019
• Date Posted: 07.02.2019 16:59
• Story ID: 330135
• Location: SAN ANTONIO, TX, US