To help you, you have to embrace help.

FALLS CHURCH, Va.- “All I could think about was getting to any Soldier, to anybody that needed help. I wasn’t thinking about anything but trying to do what I could. If anybody called for help, if anybody needed help with any task whatsoever, I endeavor to fulfill that task,” said Army Spc. Julian Pizzichini recounts the fateful morning in January 2024 when the base he was deployed to in the Middle East came under attack.

“It happened around 5:30 a.m. I was asleep, but because we've come under a lot of bunker calls on what we call a hair trigger, any slight sound would have awakened me; I heard a low, deep, fuzzy sound, and then a loud boom! The shockwave just threw me off my bed and into a wall.”

The small arms/towed artillery repairer from the California National Guard was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury and other injuries sustained to his back from lifting debris to free fellow Soldiers. “I'm here at the Joint Base Lewis McChord Soldier Recovery Unit getting help for my TBI, back injuries, and combat stress disorder [PTSD]."

Thankful for the opportunity to physically recover, Pizzichini is equally focused on his mental health. He explains that events like what he experienced from his last deployment can have lasting effects. “I was still operating on autopilot before I broke down and just started processing everything, and it wasn't until I hit stateside that I realized that I couldn't believe what happened to me. When I started processing my grief, it truly hit me that we lost our three engineers from Georgia. It was such a small outpost, and the command team we had, helped foster a family environment, so everybody knew each other very well.”

He still recalls what it was like trying to escape the destruction while focusing on helping others. “There was just steel metal everywhere, and I had to climb through because it was just chaos. There was debris everywhere, and we had to help those we knew were there. I still hear their cries for help.”

Coming to the JBLM SRU filled Pizzichini with trepidation. “I remember being anxious coming in, not knowing what to expect. Then I met Dave Iuli. He was a breath of fresh air because he's a combat veteran and an SRU veteran. He’s been through it, but now he works here. He’s amazing and hasn't just helped me out, but he's helped out so many other Soldiers,” said Pizzichini.

He pointed out the care from Iuli, an adaptive reconditioning specialist, and the rest of the cadre is second to none.

Iuli has been instrumental beyond adaptive reconditioning, and Pizzichini says his experience as a Soldier in Recovery is useful support. “Just talking with him has helped me advocate for myself to my nurse case manager, and that communication has helped convey my unique needs to my care team,” said Pizzichini, who noted that advocacy also helped with physical and occupational therapy.

He encourages any Soldier coming to an SRU to take advantage of the help available there. “By this, I mean you fully involve yourself and take advantage of what they offer here because, at the same time, they can show you the way, but to help you, you have to embrace that help.”

No one recovers alone, and Pizzichini is proof that accepting help for both physical and mental health issues at an SRU is the first step. ”Your care team is the key because at the end of the day, they're the ones who can help you along the way, and that kind of dynamic support will lead to a more comprehensive recovery .”