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Camp Lejeune, N.C. — For retired U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Adam Foutz, recovery has never been a straight line. Over the course of his nine-year Marine Corps career, Foutz consistently pushed himself toward new challenges, even as a chronic illness repeatedly forced him to adapt.
“I was always trial-and-error,” Foutz said. “The Marine Corps gave me opportunities, and I kept saying yes to them.”
Foutz began his career in Okinawa, Japan, supporting embedded training teams deploying to Afghanistan. Later, he served at a recruiting station in Nashville before pursuing one of his biggest goals: becoming a drill instructor.
That was when his health challenges began. Foutz was diagnosed with a chronic disease while preparing for drill instructor school. At the time, he said he did not fully understand the diagnosis or how dramatically it would change his life.
Despite this, Foutz pushed through training until worsening symptoms forced him to step away.
“I wanted to keep serving,” Foutz said. “I kept trying to figure out what limitations they were putting on me, but also what limitations I had.”
Rather than slowing down, Foutz volunteered for opportunities wherever he could still contribute. He later supported Marine Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Pendleton, California, 379155 379155 before eventually becoming a Marine Corps Water Survival Instructor while stationed in Quantico, Virginia.
But his condition continued to worsen, leading to his retirement in 2015.
“It got really bad,” Foutz said. “I was laying on the floor after a treatment and had trouble walking. I thought, this is not living. This is not what I thought my career would be.”
During recovery, Foutz focused on rebuilding himself mentally and spiritually while his body healed. Understanding he was unable to participate in physical activities for long stretches of time, he pursued a master’s degree online, often completing coursework while struggling through severe fatigue and treatments.
“It took years to get mentally back to a good place,” Foutz said. “And years beyond that to get physically back to a good place.”
Expanding his life motto, “just keep moving,” his focus has transitioned to “move intentionally.” Foutz was first introduced to adaptive sports in 2019 after receiving an email about the Marine Corps Trials program. At first, he hesitated.
“I had this stigma that you had to be an amputee or have a catastrophic injury,” Foutz said. “I ruled myself out because I was ignorant to what adaptive sports really was.”
But after learning more about the program and seeing other athletes share stories similar to his, Foutz decided to apply. He arrived at the 2020 Marine Corps Trials determined to compete in track and swimming. After months of training, he set an ambitious goal for himself: running a sub-five-minute 1500-meter race.
Then, on race day, things took another unexpected turn. Foutz woke up sick and was diagnosed with bronchitis just hours before the event.
“I remember thinking, if I have a fever, I can’t run,” Foutz said.
After being medically cleared to compete, Foutz stepped onto the track and delivered a defining moment of his recovery journey.
He ran a 4:50 and won the race.
“It was cool to win,” Foutz said. “But what was even cooler, was running alongside Team France and Team UK [United Kingdom]. Celebrating each other’s journeys meant more than the medal itself.”
That experience transformed how Foutz viewed adaptive sports.
For him, the programs became about far more than competition. They became a place where wounded, ill, and injured service members from around the world could connect through shared experiences. “You realize you’re not alone,” Foutz said. “It seems like an individual battle until you get to these events and see all these other people going through similar things.”
Since then, Foutz has competed with both SOCOM and Team Marine Corps while participating in track, swimming, rowing, cycling, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, and seated volleyball. He most recently attended the Team Marine Corps Training Camp at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in preparation for the 2026 Department of Defense Warrior Games in San Antonio, Texas.
Foutz encourages wounded warriors and transitioning service members to remain open-minded about adaptive sports, even if they initially believe they do not qualify.
“This program is for everybody, the wounded, the ill, and the injured,” said Foutz, sharing that the greatest benefit of adaptive sports is not physical recovery but connection. “Isolation eats at everyone. Adaptive sports give you the opportunity to connect and realize there’s a community around you.”
Through every challenge, setback, and recovery milestone, Foutz continues doing exactly what has carried him through the hardest moments of his life: just keep moving.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2026 15:19 |
| Story ID: | 565666 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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