FORT BLISS, Texas -- Many wounded, ill and injured Soldiers come to the Army Trials at Fort Bliss with the goal of making the team. Some are veterans, some reservists, some guardsmen, but many are still on active duty. For Staff Sgt. Tiffany Rodriguez-Rexroad, the goal is to use the games to heal and remain on active duty.
Rodriguez-Rexroad was injured when as a pedestrian, she was hit by a truck. In December 2015, she had hip replacement surgery and is still recovering.
Rodriguez-Rexroad is at Fort Bliss training for the 2016 U.S. Army Trials. She is trying out for the team for the first time, competing in cycling, field events such as shot put, and air rifle shooting. She is unable to participate in other events such as sitting volleyball until she fully recovers from the hip replacement surgery she had in December 2015.
Rodriguez-Rexroad is assigned to the Brooke Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Her hometown is Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, which she proudly claims has a population of 85.
More than 100 wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and veterans are at Fort Bliss to train and compete in adaptive sports including archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair basketball
The Army Trials are conducted by the Army Warrior Transition Command March 6-10, and will help determine who will get a spot on the 2016 Army Team for the DoD Warrior Games. Approximately 250 athletes, representing teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command and the British Armed Forces will compete in the DoD Warrior Games June 14-22 at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.
Rodriguez-Rexroad was especially appreciative of the coaches who have helped her, both at the WTB and at the Army Trials. Both her skills and conditioning have improved since arriving at Fort Bliss, she said.
She began adaptive reconditioning activities such as field events and shooting air rifles at the WTB. They helped her feel positive about herself. She started participating in cycling which enabled her to maintain weight and fitness levels and also led her to competing.
Cycling, she said, is her "favorite event," and she has been doing it for about a year. When she first saw a hand cycle at the Center for the Intrepid, she said, "That's cool, I want to try that."
Adaptive reconditioning includes any physical activities that wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and veterans participate in regularly to support their physical and emotional well-being. These activities can contribute to a successful recovery. "Being able to do this stuff makes me able to know that I'm not broken," she said.
To support each wounded, ill or injured Soldier's return to the force or transition to veteran status, the Army created a framework called the Comprehensive Transition Plan. Developed at a Soldier's WTU, the CTP is a plan of action that focuses on the their. The CTP uses six domains: career, physical, emotional, social, family and spiritual, to establish goals that map a Soldier's transition plan.
As the owner of the CTP, each Soldier takes charge of their own transition and becomes accountable for developing and achieving their goals. One requirement for goals is to comply with ongoing medical and military responsibilities. Competing in the Army Trials is one of Rodriguez-Rexroad's goals to help her transition back to active duty.
"I've always been athletic, and getting back into athletic activities is a great help for me," she said.
Rodriguez-Rexroad is clearly enjoying herself. "I like the camaraderie of the games," she said, "and I like being able to prove that Soldiers who are wounded, ill or injured are still able to accomplish things."
"If I don't make the team, I'm coming back again," she said.
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