CAPT. TRAVIS NIELSEN
198th Regional Support Group
Arizona Army National Guard
Phoenix, Arizona

My unit had been in Kosovo for two weeks of a nine-month tour, and I was looking forward to the many benefits of my first deployment as a National Guardsman, such as full-time job experience and great pay. We were taking over for an aviation unit from Connecticut. This group enjoyed sports and competition and was hosting an end-of-tour basketball tournament on the camp. Of course, we, the spirited newcomers, assembled a team to play.

I know you’re already thinking, “Here we go with another story about a basketball injury.” To some degree, you’re right. Midway through our second game, another player undercut my jump shot, causing me to land hard on the outside toe-end of my running shoes. I crashed hard to the ground. My right ankle ballooned instantly, the pressure chipped a bone, and for the next month, my whole leg looked like a scene from a zombie movie.

My ankle — blue, black and yellow, suffocating in a bulky boot — looked and felt horrible. I worried I would be released from active duty, or REFRAD, after just arriving and wondered if I should ever play basketball again. Thankfully, the conditions allowed me to stay on the deployment, but it was too close for my professional comfort. I would spend the next six months rehabilitating my ankle and, in many ways, my safety mindset and reputation.

I learned several lessons from this incident. First, mishaps don’t always occur because of your own lack of skill. Sometimes, it’s someone else’s skill level that can be detrimental to your health. Thanks to my overconfidence in my years of experience playing basketball, I didn’t take the time to adjust my game to less experienced players. Nevertheless, despite its infamy among off-duty mishap statistics, I believe basketball has a place among Army recreational activities. Training on rules and techniques, enforcement of rules by vigilant referees and using protective footwear can reduce injuries. These definitely would have lessened the probability of my mishap.

The second lesson I learned was the psychological toll these situations take. The incredible pain bothered me for weeks. The possibility of getting sent home drenched me in anxiety. The gaudy boot embarrassed me in every professional or social setting. Anyone suffering an accident or injury can experience this emotional rollercoaster. It’s an unwanted stressor distracting you from giving your best effort toward the mission.

The last important lesson I learned is that safety is a mentality that lines up directly with Army values. Even in a situation as innocuous as recreational basketball, it was my duty to take care of myself so I could continue the original mission I was there to perform. Leaders at all levels have to be there for the mission and their Soldiers, and having a mentality of safety will help them get that mission accomplished.