COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Imagine waking up alone in a hospital bed, not aware of your surroundings, and a pit of fear overcomes you within seconds as you ask, “What happened? How did I get here?”
If an Airman woke up tomorrow and realized they were hospitalized after an incident that amputated a limb or worse, their thoughts may spiral out of control. They may soon find out they will likely become medically separated from the Air Force. What will they need to do?
This is a realization of the members of the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program. They are the first step of transition to life with a major disability and offer the help of a Recovery Care Coordinator within the AFW2.
The AFW2 is a congressionally-mandated and federally-funded program providing personalized care, services and advocacy to total force wounded, ill or injured recovering service members. The program focuses on specific personal and family needs through personalized support and advocacy.
“As a Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC), I provide AFW2 assistance to guard, reserve and active duty Airmen,” said Tim Griggs, AFW2 RCC for Alabama and Mississippi. “I am the first contact wounded warriors have with AFW2. After making contact with a wounded warrior, I provide assistance to the warrior and their family.”
The program was initially created as a DoD and Air Force initiative to provide personalized care to any Airman with a combat-related injury, but now provides the same level of care to anyone with a serious illness or injury requiring long-term care requiring a Medical Evaluation Board or a Physical Evaluation Board to determine fitness for duty.
“AFW2 is in place to take care of our warriors because it is the right thing to do,” Griggs said. “What we’re really trying to do is provide all resources to our warriors so they have the smoothest transition possible to become successful citizens and veterans outside the military. We want to give them a roadmap to recovery.”
One such program is the Recovering Airman Mentorship Program. The job of the RAMP is to motivate recovering Airmen by helping them develop one-on-one relationships with their peers who are further along in the recovery process. These mentors are resources for recovering Airmen who motivate through sharing their real-life experiences. The program supports physically wounded, ill, or injured Airmen, as well as those with invisible wounds.
“Let’s use Chris (retired Master Sgt. Aguilera) as an example,” Griggs said. “After waking up from surgery, he realizes his leg has been amputated and is devastated. As his RCC, I have two arms and two legs. Who am I to change his attitude about the amputation? RAMP pairs someone like Chris with someone with similar injuries who has already been through the program and provides that mentor to mentee relationship.”
Columbus Air Force Base recently hosted two Wounded Warriors, Aguilera and retired Master Sgt. Lisa Hodgden, who spoke during Wingman Day Nov. 17 at Kaye Auditorium. They told their stories about how they got their injuries and what AFW2 did to help them recover.
“We operate by the phrase, ‘Care Beyond Duty,’” Griggs said. “It really holds true to what we are about. Even after transitioning to life after the military, we still stay with them and track them for as long as they need us to. It really is an amazing and rewarding program.”
It is designed to change beneficiaries of the program from a hopeless or negative attitude to a can-do mentality, Griggs said.
“Our goal is not just to help these warriors recover, but to save their lives,” Griggs said. “We are changing lives and their outlook for the rest of their lives.”