Photo By Sgt. Paris Maxey | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Allaijah Churchwell competes in the qualification round with a...... read more read more
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. July XX, 2025- Walking is an age-old tradition for staying in shape. Through social media, it has grown exponentially as a hobby for staying healthy, in shape and managing certain ailments.
Fit culture has become global and it is a major component of U.S. Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness system (H2F) which prioritizes physical fitness and the building of mental and emotional resilience which are all interconnected.
Many Soldiers are a part of walk and run clubs within their units and even use walking as a mode of travel to get to their units to carry out their daily mission and task.
On December 9, 2023, Staff Sgt. Allaijah Churchwell was doing one of his favorite things; taking a daily walk. As he was going along mentally focused on how he would carry out his task for his unit that day, he was suddenly struck by another service member riding on an E- bike.
“I broke five ribs, ruptured my spleen, and two femur bones,” said Churchwell. “It was truly devastating and I felt really isolated after I was injured. Then I came to the Soldier Recovery Unit and those feelings of isolation and loneliness started to go away.”
Churchwell has dedicated nine years to the Army with deployments to Poland in 2018 and Australia in 2023 under his belt. Although originally from Wahiawa, Hawaii, it wasn't until he arrived at the Schofield barracks Hawaii SRU that he found a new passion and purpose there through adaptive sports.
“I wish more people knew about the program (adaptive sports),” he explained. “I know it is known within the Army and the public knows about it, but I hope it gets more attention for all the great work they are doing. They have helped me grow mentally, physically, and even spiritually. I am practicing yoga now too.
My first sergeant told me the program would help me get back into the fight, and he was right, said Churchwell.”
The Army Recovery Program has a diverse range of activities and programs for Soldiers within the SRU that allows military members and veterans to become active, get education, career continuation programs, and even opportunities to advance education toward new careers.
The opportunity to compete as an athlete through adaptive sports creates opportunities that has made the journey for many Soldiers’ recovery life changing.
“Bringing everybody together from all different branches, competitions like the DoD Warrior Games is a beautiful sight and I hope they continue it, and I hope to compete for years to come,” said Churchwell. At this year's DoD Warrior games, Churchwell is competing in archery, field, swimming, track, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby.
At one point he was physically knocked down causing him severe injuries and mental turmoil, but he got back up and chose to get back in the fight and walk with a renewed sense of purpose.
“I can’t thank the SRU enough for walking side by side with me,” he added. “It has been an awesome journey to recovery, and my future seems so bright now."
For more information about the 2025 DoD Warrior games, go to, https://dodwarriorgames.com/ or https://www.arcp.army.mil/, Check us out at #TeamArmy competing in archery, cycling, field, indoor rowing, powerlifting, precision air, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2025 16:57 |
| Story ID: | 543937 |
| Location: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Finding my way back home: Staff Sgt. Allaijah Churchwell side by side recovery with the Army Recovery Care Program, by Kyra Davenport, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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