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Warrior Care
Internships give recovering service members the opportunity to test out a potential career field.
Within the Defense Health Agency, Operation Warfighter (OWF) allows Recovering Service Members the opportunity to intern with over 200 federal agencies. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam Grimm utilized this program, and with the help of his OWF Coordinator, Sandra Ambotaite, interned at Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Hawaii.
In 2018, Grimm was introduced to the Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) program after being flagged for Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) review. Prior to this he had served as an explosive ordnance disposal technician. He was moved from his primary specialty, and was in a mobility training program that wasn't utilizing him to his best abilities. Grimm has heard about the OWF program and knew that it could help him find a purpose again. After being accepted into the program, Ambotaite and Grimm began searching for agencies that could help him find a new career and sense of purpose.
After several months of looking for suitable positions, DPAA expressed needing help in their travel office. The DPAA is an agency within the Department of Defense whose mission is to recover our military to their families and the nation. Grimm has had previous missions with DPAA in the past as a bomb tech, and therefore sincerely appreciated their mission.
During his 6-month internship, Grimm had the opportunity to work with military and civilian personnel, helped process DTS orders and vouchers, and learned the importance of meeting deadlines. "For an agency that has a 100+ mission queue at any time, falling behind can affect real world missions" explained Grimm. "I was happy to help their mission."