MAYPORT, Fla. — Navy Region Southeast hosted a three-day Navy Wounded Warrior RESET program aboard Naval Station Mayport, May 18-20. This event welcomed enrolled Navy and Coast Guardsmen Wounded Warriors and their caregivers to a unique opportunity to RESET – Recreation, Employment, Support, Education, and Transition.
The purpose of the event is to provide information on benefits and organizations for those who are or will be medically separated from the service while they build a new plan for their lives, while fostering a support network among their peers. The recreational activities are created as a catalyst for the growth of building relationships among the service members, their families and caregivers.
“This is important as many service members feel alone on their new path, often struggling in connecting with others who may not understand what their new challenges in both healing and forging a new normal outside of the military,” explained Therese Pederson, Navy Region Southeast Navy Wounded Warrior Transition Coordinator.
Participants in RESET had the opportunity to attend various events such as a resource fair, beach party, family color run, golf lessons, and an Esports video game tournament.
The event that created the biggest buzz was golf lessons with Jim Furyk, a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former major winner at the 2003 U.S. Open.
“Golf is amazing game, and it helps so many different people. Golf has given me so much and I want to give back to those that have sacrificed so much for our country,” said Furyk. “For those Wounded Warriors, I think being out here in the outdoors, the mental health, physical side of it, the game has a lot to offer.”
RESET is fairly new. The first event was piloted in 2018 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Navy Region Southeast hosted two more on board Naval Air Station Pensacola in 2019 and 2022, taking a brief break due to the pandemic.
“Wounded Warriors are going through some of the most difficult circumstances in their lives and Navy Wounded Warrior is able to be a support platform for them as they traverse their recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration,” says Autumn Devine, Navy Wounded Warrior Regional Program Director.
Navy Wounded Warrior is the Navy’s sole organization for coordinating the non-medical care of seriously wounded, ill and injured Sailors and Coast Guardsmen, and providing resources and support to their families. Through proactive leadership, the program provides individually-tailored assistance designed to optimize the success of the Wounded Warriors’ recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration activities.
Navy Region Southeast manages and oversees shore installation management support and execution for 18 installations within the Southeastern United States, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Source: Navy Mil
