Photo By kevin walston | The team, part of the “American 300” organization’s “Never Quit – Medals and...... read more read more
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By Kevin Walston
USFOR-A Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Learning to fight through any type of adversity is something five members of a unique organization relayed to military service members and civilians during a two-day stopover here.
The team, part of the “American 300” organization’s “Never Quit – Medals and Music Tour,” spent the past two days at Bagram, telling their stories, and listening to concerns of military people and civilians as they tried to inspire each on how important it is to be resilient under the toughest circumstances. The team consisted of Salvador “Sal” Gonzalez, Dan Beery, Jeff Widenhofer, Charles Feldmann, and the organization’s founder Robert “Robi” Powers.
“None of us know what we’ll have to go through one day,” Powers said. “When placed under unique stress and adversity during unknown times, how we react to that experience could be the difference between how successful we are during the remainder of our lives.”
And Powers speaks from experience.
Back in March 2006, Powers was serving in Afghanistan in Regional Command-West when his noncommissioned officer, Thomas Stone, was killed during an attack.
“I can still remember it like it was yesterday,” Powers said. “His death, though out of my control, ignited a passion in me that keeps me going to this day.”
Powers said guilt and regret bombarded him for a long time after the incident, but he fought through the stress. After discovering that there were many other people who had undergone similar circumstances, he said he found the resilience necessary to create the organization he founded.
“American 300 is about creating lifetime connections backed by a mission of being the best we can be in duty to our country, family and friends,” Powers said. “The mission is based on bringing individuals who’ve faced resilient moments of extraordinary proportion in life to military bases around the world and allowing guest mentors to share their personal life stories and learn what challenges service members face.”
With millions of miles flown and four to six months a year living in barracks, tents and bunk rooms, Powers said his team supports the Joint Chiefs of Staff mission of Total Force fitness.
“Whether Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine, it’s really important that we all understand that we’re all in this thing together, and when necessary, we can rely on each other for support to get through the trying times,” Powers said.
Gonzalez is a prime example of the type of veteran Powers is talking about. During his first year in Iraq, Sal was involved in seven improvised explosive device incidents…the last of which nearly proved fatal, he said.
“I was a .50 caliber machine gunner on a Humvee when we were hit by a roadside bomb,” Gonzalez said. “The first six attacks only caused us minimal damage with no injuries to personnel … this one left my lieutenant dead and me in a coma.
“I woke up surrounded by my family, and the first thing I asked them was ‘What are you guys doing in Iraq,’” he remembered. “Little did I know that I was in the States, had been in a coma for a week, and was about to lose my left leg.”
Gonzalez described the following weeks and months of arduous rehabilitation as the most difficult of his life, resulting in a drinking problem that on a good day, led him to consume a bottle of Jim Beam a day.
“One day I just looked at myself, and with the help of some friends, decided that that wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life,” he said. “I decided not to let this disability discourage me, or keep me from doing anything I wanted to do.”
Today, he’s an established musician and rock climber, and travels around the world telling his story because “we’re no different than any of you.
“We’re not special, but have just happened to persevere through some pretty tough circumstances,” he said. “You don’t have to lose a leg or a friend to fight through the tough times…you’ve just got to understand that these tests we undergo just make us stronger when we decide to be resilient through the storms.”
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2015 10:30 |
| Story ID: | 181754 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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