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Operation Proper Exit: giving wounded warriors peace of mind

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tong Duong
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  Under the prop wash of two helicopters and an entourage of security and support staff, six wounded warriors were given a chance Dec. 9 to retrace their last moments leaving Iraq...on a stretcher.

The six wounded warriors - four Soldiers, one Marine and one Airman - engaged in Operation Proper Exit, a program put together by the Troops First Foundation and the United Service Organization.

According to the foundation's Web site, the purpose of the program is to bring closure to veterans wounded in combat and to show troops in the war zone that injuries sustained in battle are surmountable.

For retired Air Force Staff Sgt. George Campbell, a 332nd Expeditionary Logistic Readiness Squadron Traffic Management Office member during his deployment in 2005, the trip back to Iraq was tough, but it helped to bring him a peace of mind.

"For me, coming back has been bittersweet. I was injured during a rocket attack here and I suffered traumatic brain injury, nerve damage in my neck and hearing loss, and was in denial for a long time," Sergeant Campbell, a Danese, W. Va., native, said. "I (will) never forget the day I left here. I said I would never set foot back in Balad."

While the objective of Operation Proper Exit is to give wounded warriors a sense of closure, the trip has helped members at the Air Force Theater Hospital as well.

"The last time I was deployed here in 2005, my fellow flight surgeon and I helped to move more than 6,000 people out of here," said Lt. Col. Robert Lehman, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group chief of aerospace medicine, deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. "We never knew what happened to them. It's an inspiration to everybody here to see how little things we do make a difference to them," the San Antonio, Texas, native said.

This event marks the eighth such visit here, and more than 40 wounded warriors have participated in the program which started in June 2009.

SIDE NOTE:

According to the Troops First Foundation Web site, Operation Proper Exit is for those wounded warriors who are thriving in recovery and are capable of returning to theater. The program itinerary stages a meet-and-greet tour to forward operating bases with a group of recovered soldiers. Two of four specific objectives have been identified:

· The sense of brotherhood inherent in today's military leaves a number of injured soldiers with the desire to return to theater after injury. By having a chance to visit, not only is their desire addressed, but they can bring stories from home to deployed troops when they arrive.

· For troops who have been injured in battle, this initiative provides them the opportunity to make a "proper exit" on their own terms as they walk to the aircraft and climb the ramp rather than being medically evacuated. This component has a positively resounding effect in offering closure to that chapter of their lives.

For more information, visit the Web site, http://www.troopsfirstfoundation.org/