1806 – Military Aquatic Rehab

Beginner / Lecture

 

Fort Myers, FL / Wednesday, July 2, 2008 – 3:00-4:00 pm – 1.0 credit hour equal to 1.0 CEC/.1 CEU

(Lecture: 3:00-4:00 pm)

 

Faculty: SSG Jessie White and SGT Kimberly Worster

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

The Fort Dix Aquatic Program is used for injured soldiers that cannot perform the regimental physical training that the army requires. We use progressions from the ATRI classes that we have taken and apply them in a military manner. We are seeing an increased population of orthopedic, PTSD, MTBI and other injuries here at Fort Dix. Most of these are soldiers returning from a deployed status and some are training to go overseas.  We use the water for resistance and low impact for all of our soldiers here at Fort Dix. This helps to keep the U.S. Army fit for when the soldier is ready to return to duty. We build from the inside out; using diaphragmatic breathing and core muscle engagement, explaining to each individual how much this will help strengthen the weak muscles/ligaments/tissues, etc. We use hydrostatic pressure and pain management techniques to enhance the well being of our soldiers. Though we are not therapists, we have built a relationship with the physical therapists and communicate regularly ensuring that the warriors continue to transition back to the Army’s fighting strength. Come and see our film of what’s working. It may work for you too!

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1) Describe military exercises and how they lead to function

2) Experience cadence movement and military drills

3) Follow the progressions for application to all settings

 

FACULTY: SSG Jessie D. White joined the Active Army in January 1992 and served in Germany until August of 1995. He became an instructor at Aberdeen Proving Grounds for soldiers that were just entering the military, training them in Advanced Individual Training until March 1996 when he got out of the Army. He joined the National Guard in May 1999 in Arkansas where he worked full time as a mechanic for the government. He moved to the Maryland National Guard in 2002 where was called to deploy to Iraq in June 2005. While serving in Iraq, he was hit with an Improved Explosive Device (road side bomb). With a destroyed ankle, he continued his mission with his soldiers until they returned home. Upon returning, he had full ankle reconstruction. As soon as he got the cast off, Jessie was in the water. He was introduced to aquatics when he came to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Dix, NJ, as an injured soldier. After his expedient recovery, Jessie saw the water as a tool for healing other soldiers. He later attended ATRI conferences in Chicago and Virginia. Now Jessie is a Platoon Sergeant with the Warrior Transition Unit with 38 injured soldiers from Iraq seeking help from him (mentally and physically). He is also an instructor of aquatic fitness and rehabilitation for the wounded soldiers. He has received numerous awards including five Army Achievement Awards and three Army Commendation Awards and numerous other awards due to service to country.

SGT Kimberly N. Worster joined the Military in 2003. She attended numerous schools, including Airborne School, Carpentry Masonry School, and Recruiting Retention School. After her move to Dallas, Texas, she deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, with an Infantry Company as a Truck Commander in June of 2006 and returned to the States in June of 2007. She started working for the Wounded Soldiers that are returning from or deploying to Iraq (Warrior Transition Unit) in Fort Dix, NJ, where she is now involved with the Fort Dix Aquatic Training Program. She has attended two of ATRI's conferences in Chicago and Virginia. She has received numerous awards due to service to country.