Official Notes Value of Triumph for Troops in Recovery

Official Notes Value of Triumph for Troops in Recovery

09/19/2014 04:48 PM CDT

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2014 - The Defense Department's goal for its injured, recovering and ill service members is to help them triumph, the special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for warrior care policy said at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Resilience summit this week. Guy Stratton said that whether it's adaptive sports, yoga, gardening or a combination of resources that his Warrior Care Policy office extends to recovering service members, inspiring recovery is key. "The integrated disability evaluation system, recovery care programs, military adaptive sports and education programs all complement one another," Stratton told the summit audience in Falls Church, Virginia. "From the time a member comes into one of our resources, it's not a single program. It's a combination of programs that reinforce another." Various resources By harnessing various resources, including other agencies such as the Veterans Affairs Department, those who are recovering can "own their journey to recovery" by returning to duty or reintegrating back into society, he said. "But whatever path they wind up in," he added, "we want to make sure they triumph." It's also important to remember that an injury doesn't change who a person is, Stratton noted. "While dealing with challenges, they're also going through a period of 'redefinement,'" he explained. "It doesn't change who they are. It allows them to find who they want to be -- who and what they can be." Stratton said he doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all program. "All heal in different perspectives," he said. "One [program or activity] is not better than another. They are all roads or a means to an end to help that person recover as they make this life journey."