The Walter Reed Interviews
Without a doubt, the highlight of the weekend for me was a trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It was a honor to be able to go there and talk to the soldiers, doctors and therapists.
At the Milblog Conference, Sgt. Hook, a Command Sergeant Major with 20 years service in the Army, said something on the first panel about his experience after visiting Walter Reed, and I would have to agree 100%. You walk in feeling sorry for these soldiers who have been so severely injured, you walk out feeling sorry for feeling sorry. They have such a determination and spirit to live and move on to the next stage of their lives. They are truly a special breed of people.
Walter Reed has gotten some bad press lately about the conditions in some outpatient housing. The criticism was deserved, but the story that caught everyone’s attention does not reflect the facility as a whole, but only a few rooms within a sprawling, college style campus. Within the hospital itself, the soldiers at Walter Reed are receiving the best care in the world, and are treated with the respect and dignity worthy of their service and sacrifice.
The lobby inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The campus at Walter Reed
Walter Reed Army Medical Center Hospital
A plaque honoring Walter Reed
Meet Josh Beliell
Meeting Josh Beliell from Greenfield Indiana was simply amazing. This young man joined the military at age 27, six years after graduating from Purdue University and starting his career. He wanted to do something more and he joined the military in 2004 knowing full well that he would be heading off to combat.
Josh lost both legs at the knee in an IED explosion in Iraq about six months ago and was working hard in the physical therapy area when I met up with him.
He had an infectious smile and was so upbeat about his future. The best word to describe him is inspirational. He is an incredibly impressive man.
During the interview, Josh brought up Soldiers Angels and how much they do for the soldiers at Walter Reed.
Meet Staff Sergeant Jared Hayes
Staff Sergeant Jared Hayes and his occupational therapist Captain Margie Ide working on some hand therapy.
I had the honor of speaking with Staff Sergeant Hayes and his mother Irmal.
Meet Captain Eivind Forseth
I met Captain Eivind Forseth of the 82nd Airborne in the occupational therapy area at Walter Reed where he was teaching some soldiers fly-tying.
As an avid fisherman, Eivind understands the mental and physical benefits of fly-tying and fishing. He is about to become CEO of an organization called Project Healing Waters which "salutes all of our brave armed forces, and strives to serve those who have come home wounded and aid in their physical and emotional recovery by introducing or rebuilding the skills of fly fishing and fly tying."
Meet Staff Sergeant Alexander Shaw
During my visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center I had the honor to meet Staff Sergeant Alexander Shaw.
Inside The Prosthetics Lab at Walter Reed
Part of my tour at Walter Reed Army Medical Center included a trip to the prosthetics lab. We’ve talked many times on the radio show about the amazing combat medical care that our soldiers receive. Thousands of men and women have been saved after suffering traumatic injuries that would have been fatal in previous military conflicts. There have been tremendous advancements in the development of prosthetics which allow our soldiers, sailors and Marines to go on to lead very active lives.
One great example of this is Nader Elguindi, who we interviewed recently on Pundit Review Radio.
You may want to lower the sound on your PC before opening this video.
Patriotic Prosthetic
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May 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am
The Stories You Don’t Know…
The most popular series on Blackfive.net is Someone You Should Know. Also, check out Someone You Should Know Radio podcasts (from Pundit Review Radio also available at iTunes). Two of the best resources are MilBlogs and Milblogging. Military.com also h…
May 7th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Wonderful interviews, Kevin. Thanks so much for this post.
It was great meeting you!
May 7th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Mary Ann,
It was great to met you as well. Thank you for everything you are doing for our wounded warriors in Germany. You have inspired me to do more, more, more!!
Kevin
PS; your sister was great on ESPN’s Derby coverage. I had no idea.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
[...] If you haven’t read Kevin’s post about his visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, you should head on over to Pundit Review and read it now. Make sure you listen to the interviews, they are awesome. Without a doubt, the highlight of the weekend for me was a trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It was a honor to be able to go there and talk to the soldiers, doctors and therapists. [...]
May 17th, 2007 at 6:45 am
[...] Kevin at Pundit Review had the opportunity to visit Walter Reed Memorial Hospital, and has an excellent report on it, complete with lots of great pics. [...]
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 pm
[...] At the milblog conference in May, I remember talking to Michael Fumento about going to Walter Reed and he mentioned that he was researching a story on the Orthopedic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Ward in Washington, D.C, and the surgical inpatient ward at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Here is his new Weekly Standard article, [...]