Airman is Tinker’s first Wounded Warrior hired

Published May 7, 2010
By John Stuart
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- It was five intense months that the senior airman was deployed to Iraq, and when the combat fireman returned to the United States he knew something just wasn't right. Still, following his 2007 tour, the young Airman wanted to go back for another stint.

"I wanted to help," is how Benjamin Pruitt put it. But he never made it back to the Middle East. And gradually, over the next two years, he would come to understand how the external conflict he'd observed had turned to inward conflict.

"Between the explosions and all the other chaos that was going on in Iraq and the things we witnessed as fire fighters, helping people out over there starts to take a toll over a period of time," Mr. Pruitt said. "After coming back you don't realize it. I know we did a lot of good there but it also affected us all in a different way."

Mr. Pruitt had always wanted to be in the Air Force. To hear him say it, he was going to be a lifer -- one of those 20 or 30-year guys.

But that changed for him on Nov. 24, 2009, the day he was medically discharged from the Air Force. His ailment wasn't easily observable from the outside, though he bore a few scars of battle there too. His was internal, the lingering emotional fallout of the experience coupled with a possible mild traumatic brain injury.

"I always felt like the Air Force was going to be my career, that I was going to put in 20 to 30 years," Mr. Pruitt said. "That all changed for me and I just had to deal with that change."

But Mr. Pruitt couldn't effectively deal with it, at least not at first. The month after Mr. Pruitt was discharged was a hard one. Buffeted by the loss of employment and utility bills they couldn't pay, Mr. Pruitt and his wife needed help. They moved back to Oklahoma City from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., to be near Mr. Pruitt's family in Moore.

But now, thanks to a committed cadre of support staff at Tinker, Mr. Pruitt has a heartening vision for the future. It started on an ordinary day back in January when he answered a very important phone call.

On the other end was a man named John. Amazingly, he was going to help.

John Wood does just that -- helps people for a living. A retired chief master sergeant, he now pours his efforts into a new goal: helping medically separated Airmen who are ill, injured or wounded gain access to medical assistance to get them back on their feet. He's the regional recovery care coordinator for the upstart Air Force Wounded Warrior Employment Program, and it's a job he takes seriously. It's also a job that, on a January day this year, changed Mr. Pruitt's life.

"Honestly I was shocked and I didn't know that I was able to get that much care," Mr. Pruitt said. "That was the best treatment I'd ever had. That was a great blessing to our life honestly."

Mr. Wood helped Mr. Pruitt access some grant money through the Operation Home Front program. Mr. Wood also connected him with Tinker's Airmen and Family Readiness Center, where Pruitt got help from the Air Force Aid Fund. Mr. Pruitt also had help in securing medical treatment from military doctors that was seminal to recovery. Mr. Pruitt is the first Wounded Warrior to cycle through the program at Tinker.

At its core, the Wounded Warrior program seeks to help medically separated Airmen through the process of healing after a time of upheaval. It's a path of procedural complexities, where there are often many benefits for Airmen, but few people to explain the process.

At Tinker, there are several individuals who assist these Wounded Warriors from three military branches -- Air Force, Army and Marines. Tinker's 72nd Medical Group helps care for 20 of these Wounded Warriors in various capacities.

Mr. Wood is one of 17 care coordinators Air Force wide and represents a new frontier in Airmen care. He's been in Oklahoma since July 2009 and currently helps 10 Airmen across six Air Force bases in the region. Though he deals with intricacies of the system, he has a simple goal at heart.

"I want each one of them to look back at the time they served in the Air Force and say 'this was a very small time in my life yet it really set me up for success,'" Mr. Wood said. "I want them to look back and say I'm okay because there was a great team at Tinker that helped me with that transition phase of my life.'"

But Mr. Wood is quick to point out he is just one of many pieces to the quality care puzzle.

For Mr. Pruitt, grant money wasn't the only thing he received. He also got a job through the Wounded Warrior Program. As of April 28, Mr. Pruitt began his new GS civilian career on base with the 72nd Medical Group. He's now a drug testing program administrative manager, overseeing a host of duties.

Mr. Pruitt bolsters a staff of four that oversees all 7,000 drug tests administered on base annually. Abe Kelly is Mr. Pruitt's administrator in the Med Group. He's excited to have him on board.

"Being a veteran myself I understand the complications of being wounded, especially in the work force. So when I heard Mr. Pruitt was available I was more than happy to take him," Mr. Kelly said.

Mr. Pruitt said he is thrilled to be at the Med Group, too.

"I'm really happy to get back to the work place and get back on my feet," Mr. Pruitt said. "I want to be around the Air Force and help out and still contribute even if I can't be part of the uniformed service."

Mr. Pruitt hopes that his experience will give him opportunities to help others in similar situations.

"I know how it is to get deployed, come back and readjust," Mr. Pruitt said. "I understand what they're going through and sometimes the readjustment process is easy and sometimes it's harder for some people."

Mr. Pruitt isn't a different person overnight because of the Wounded Warrior program. He still has bad days along with the good. He suggests that Airmen who might qualify to look into the Wounded Warrior Program though. He knows what it did for him.

"It's been a life saver, really. It's meant everything to me."

For more information about the Wounded Warrior Program contact Mr. Wood at 736-2389.