National Guard Soldier Thankful for Soldier Recovery Unit

Story by MaryTherese Griffin

Army Recovery Care Program

FALLS CHURCH, Va.- Army Sgt. Alissa Rock is many things. She is a wife, a mom, a Soldier in the Indiana National Guard, a truck driver, and in the civilian world, she works in the insurance business. She wants to add something new: a lawyer. Her pathway to today began on Oct 21st, 2022. “I was injured on a deployment to the Middle East. I was medically evacuated to Germany, and from there, I was sent to the Ft Belvoir Soldier Recovery Unit.”

Rock explained she was involved in a mass-casualty exercise for training on this deployment. “It was a way for us to exercise the medics and Soldiers on base. My role was to lift injured Soldiers and get them into the medical clinic. Unfortunately, when I lifted someone, I had a severe herniation in my lower back.”

It took several weeks before Rock went to Landstuhl military hospital in Germany. “When I got hurt, I looked up regulations to see what I should do. That’s when I saw the Army Recovery Care Program. It was so helpful to see what was available. I’m glad I found the ARCP website. When the NCO brought the notion of going to an SRU to me in Germany, I was familiar with it, and I could go into it with a little education. Their website was most helpful!”

She had surgery in July of 2023 after having gone through months of physical therapy, medications, and injections. Ready to get into her recovery, Rock was made aware of the holistic approach that the ARCP takes with each Soldier. “We don’t want just to heal your body. We want to heal your mind, too. That’s what I learned from being at the SRU, and it’s a good thing because I’ve been through a lot of trauma with this injury, and the whole recovery, family separation, and job situation has been heavy,” she said.

Rock learned she wouldn’t be returning to duty but also about Transition Coordinators at the SRU and how they can help ease that heavy feeling. “Your gateway between the here and now and the future is your Transition Coordinator. You HAVE to meet them when you are in the SRU—no question,” insisted Rock.

She did! “When my TC, Mr. Coleman, first got a hold of me, I felt like a broken shell. I am 40 and didn’t know what I was going to do. I worked in the insurance business as a civilian, but I can’t do that job anymore with my injury. I lost all confidence. He shared his military background, and from there, he built me up from a sad, dark place to showing me all my benefits and possibilities to this exciting place I am at.”

That exciting place is back in school. “You are never too old to go to school, and I will tell you I am 40, and I want a bachelor’s degree in legal studies. I’m using VRE (Veterans Readiness and Employment) to pursue my bachelor’s, and I will use my GI bill for law school afterward.”

Rock is thankful for the nonprofits that partnered with the Fort Belvoir SRU, who brought her family to Maryland so they could all be together while she recovers and begins school. She can’t say enough about the help she’s received, and she is clear that each Soldier has to speak up if they need help. “Our leadership are not all mind readers. You have to tell them when something is wrong. I advocate for the SRU and tell my fellow Soldiers all about it. It’s never anybody’s intention to get injured in the line of duty, but knowing there is a resource like the Soldier Recovery Unit is amazing.”