Jeff Everhart of Tacoma spent the past three years working to leave the Army after he fell ill during a deployment to Iraq with the Washington National Guard. He came home with a goal in mind – a master’s degree that would help in his civilian career as a teacher.
He’s giving back today to the Wounded Warrior Project, a group that helped him along his journey. Everhart’s participating in a Tacoma cycling race to raise money for the nonprofit, which encourages injured veterans to take up new challenges and gives them resources to meet their goals.
He wants to help such outside groups gain a greater voice in the Army medical units that determine whether sick and wounded soldiers can stay in the military. Those units, called Warrior Transition Battalions, can be a difficult place for soldiers as they try to find a new footing in life after their military careers end.
Everhart, 50, was assigned to one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and he thinks they could gain from more collaborations with independent organizations.
“There are a lot of obstacles to private organizations,” he said, such as regulations or leaders who don’t see their value. “As far as the Wounded Warrior Project and other programs, if individual soldiers don’t keep their eyes open to these programs, they won’t know about them.”
He’ll be joined today in the race, called Soldier Ride Seattle, by about 200 other cyclists. About 70 runners also will be raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project in an 8K race called Believe in Heroes.
Runners and cyclists can still sign up to participate. Registration is $25.
Sign-ups begin at 7 a.m. at the LeMay Family Collection Foundation Marymount Event Center, 325 152nd St. E. A pre-race program is expected to start at 8:30 a.m., followed by the kickoffs for the cycling event and the run.
Sharon Wildberger, signature events manager for the Wounded Warrior Project, said the races are intended to raise money as well as awareness about challenges sick and wounded veterans face after they leave the military. The Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2003, and it recently opened an office in Seattle.
Everhart heard about the group a year ago, and he attended a Wounded Warrior Project conference in San Diego.
He considers himself fortunate in that he went into a warrior transition battalion as an experienced soldier with a background working in the civilian world. That gave him a strong sense of what he wanted to do after leaving the medical unit.
Younger soldiers who’ve never worked outside of the military don’t have that perspective, and Everhart thinks they could gain from private groups.
“If a soldier is going through this process, it’s time to deprogram,” said Everhart, a substitute teacher for Tacoma Public Schools. They need to “understand there’s life after the military. The road doesn’t end there. Isn’t that why they call it a Warrior Transition Battalion?”
Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646 adam.ashton@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/military
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.