Photo By Sgt. Abigail Clark | U.S. Army Sgt. Bianca Hayden with the 122nd Theater Public Affairs Support Element,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- For the longest time, Washington Army National Guard Sgt. Bianca Hayden had been driven to seize every opportunity that life throws at her. However when one day life decided to throw her a curveball, she was forced to choose to persevere or to let go of everything she’s worked for.
Originally enlisted in 2018 as a petroleum supply specialist with Oregon Army National Guard, Hayden made it her goal to make the most out of her military career. However, she never would have expected to turn into the military athlete she is today.
Hayden was a member of Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2020, where she volunteered to join Bravo Company, as a door gunner on Chinook helicopters.
“Getting the opportunity to fly and perform crew duties was exciting,” said Hayden. “From the sky, the view was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.”
After returning from Afghanistan, Hayden was promoted to sergeant and due to her passion to continue serving her country, she volunteered to mobilize again. Only this time, she would be with Charlie Troop, 1-82nd Cavalry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, to Poland as a cavalry scout.
“Even though aviation was all I knew, I decided to take a promotion and try something new,” said Hayden. “That ultimately brought me to Poland as a cavalry scout.”
While navigating the physical and mental stress of being a cavalry scout, as well as facing the challenges of being the only female scout in her new troop, Hayden would soon face one of the toughest experiences she has ever gone through.
While in Poland, Hayden found time to maintain her regular routine of going to the gym daily. One day, when conducting her workout, she heard a pop in her left shoulder while doing a dumbbell shoulder press. The pain was intense and immediate.
“It was a bad injury and a long recovery process,” said Hayden. “My initial diagnosis didn’t call for anything serious so I continued work as normal. I stayed in Poland for four months after I was injured trying to navigate what the next steps would look like for healing and recovery. It wasn’t until after I got back to the states that we learned that I fractured my humerus, tore my labrum, and ripped my bicep in half.”
That was only the beginning. After going through the process of demobilization from Poland, Hayden became a member of the Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. One of the roles of the SRU is to determine whether its members are capable of returning to duty or if they will need to be medically discharged from the military.
“I was very heavy on returning to duty,” Hayden emphasised. “I did everything I could to make sure I checked all the boxes and a part of that was participating in activities the SRU provided.”
In her free time, Hayden took part in many of the adaptive sports that were offered such as volleyball, basketball, rugby, cycling, and swimming as well as going to archery and air rifle ranges.
“While I was participating in all those things, they told me there was an opportunity to try out for Team Army,” said Hayden. “It was for an adaptive team that would compete in the Warrior Games.”
About a year and two surgeries later, Hayden finally deemed herself ready for a new challenge and decided to try out for the team.
“I thought maybe I should put my hard work towards something like competing,” said Hayden. “So, I signed up to go to Army trials and I tried everything and because I was in a sling, I competed with one arm. I did swimming with one arm, archery with one arm and my mouth, air rifle shooting, shotput, and discus all with only one arm.”
Hayden successfully made the team and went on to compete in the Warrior Games, earning medals ranging from bronze to a majority of gold.
“From there I made it onto Team U.S.,” said Hayden. “I competed in an open category for those who are deemed heeled or those whose injuries affect their abilities on a lower level.”
Her most recent gold medal win was for alpine skiing for Team U.S. during the Invictus Games 2025 in Whistler, Canada. The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in which wounded, injured, and sick service members from many different nations can compete in multiple sporting events.
All of Hayden’s hard work and dedication paid off in ways she never expected. Her experiences brought her to new heights, although she often faced many lows in the beginning stages of her recovery.
“It was really frustrating when I first started,” said Hayden. “I struggled with day-to-day tasks like putting my hair up. I was trying hard to fight getting medically discharged and then was competing in all of these sports and there were a handful of times where I thought about whether I should keep pushing or if I bit off more than I could chew.”
On top of the fear of potentially being forced to let go of everything she’s worked for, the self doubt weighed heavy on Hayden. Luckily her passion and drive to be the best version of herself made it possible for her to persevere.
“I would say that despite all of the anger, tears, and sweat, I could never be mad at my injury,” said Hayden. “It’s brought me so many experiences and I've met so many people. My life has been changed by the other service members I’ve met and hearing their stories made me realize that people are all experiencing different things and we’re all here to push each other.”
Making the most out of her time at the SRU granted Hayden a full recovery and the choice of returning to the high demands of being a cavalry scout, go back to her roots as a fueler, or find a new opportunity.
Hayden thought it would be best to take on a lighter load. Although she still actively trains for Team Army, she decided to pursue a spot in a different unit, seeking guidance from a long-time mentor Sgt. Maj. Jeffery Dvorak with the 122nd Theater Public Affairs Support Element (TPASE), 56th Theater Information Operations Group, Washington Army National Guard.
“The reason I recruited Sgt. Hayden into the 122nd was her incredible drive,” said Dvorak. “She has enthusiasm to learn all aspects of the position she is in, her wonderful creative mind and most of all her optimistic and infectious positive attitude.”
Hayden joined the 122nd TPASE, where she will have the chance to not only share her story, but to also tell the stories of many others.
“There have definitely been moments of anger and sadness and times where I wanted to retreat,” said Hayden. “But I’m happy that I keep pushing. And as long as I can share my story and help others, it’ll all be worth it.”
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2025 16:03 |
| Story ID: | 500021 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 208 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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