Resource Guide

Wounded Warriors welcome at the Exchange

  • Published
WACO, Texas --  Staff Sgt. Shad Fowler was on a patrol in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated nearby and changed his life forever. After being medically evacuated, he recovered and remained on active duty. Fowler said that after that, "I ended up deploying two more times to Iraq, and when I came back this time, my body kind of gave out on me."

Fowler is now going through physical therapy and at the same time participating in an internship program where he works at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's Waco Distribution Center. The center ships more than $745 million of goods annually to Exchange facilities throughout the central United States.

The Exchange supports wounded or injured warriors by participating in Operation Warfighter. Operation Warfighter is a federal internship program for wounded, ill, and injured service members, according to the Department of Defense website. The main objective of OWF is to place service members in supportive work settings that positively impact their recuperation.

This program provides an opportunity for transitioning service members to augment their employment readiness as they build their resumes, explore employment interests, develop job skills, experience formal and on-the-job training opportunities as well as gain valuable work experience.

"The way the program works is troops who are going through treatment get to participate in an internship to learn a marketable skill," said Chris Haefner, the Exchange's chief of organizational development and recruiting. "The idea is to help prepare them for the time when they leave the service. With the Exchange being a $10 billion-a-year business, we can offer some unique training opportunities."

The Exchange's wounded warrior program is currently operating in two places, but will grow in the future, particularly in locations underserved by other federal agencies.

"Right now at the Exchange our OWF program is in its infancy," said Haefner. "We have two locations with fully operational programs: Fort Hood and the Waco Distribution Center."

Haefner said Exchange officials are planning to expand into several more locations, including: Joint Base San Antonio; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Riley, Kan.; and the Newport News Distribution Center in Virginia.

Five people have been place in the program, all with highly successful results for both sides, say officials. The organization works to place people in fields they are interested in or that they already have some background in.

"We had one person working in our FMO (field management office) and another in our admin office at Fort Hood (Texas)," said Haefner. "We placed another service member, Staff Sergeant David Shaw, in our [loss prevention] department, which is similar to the work a store detective or security agent would perform."

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime," said Shaw. "Getting wounded takes something from you and you feel that with a disability, you can't perform. Operation Warfighter places you in an environment where you can show yourself and others that you can still be the best."

Fowler, who previously served as a battalion motor sergeant with the 1st Cavalry Division, works in the Waco Distribution Center maintenance department inputting records and checking the readiness status on long-haul trucks.

"It's a very welcoming environment down here," he said. "I do recommend this program. (Courtesy of AAFES)