MEET OUR MILITARY MOTIVATORS FOR THE AUSTIN MARATHON
The Comfort Crew has identified motivating stories that will encourage our runners to accomplish their personal running goals during this year’s Austin Marathon and Half Marathon. Last year, several of our runners sent their finisher medals to their Military Motivators as a token of their appreciation. Meet our Military Motivators to see why our runners are so inspired during their running journey.
VICTORIA AND GABRIELLE These two beautiful young ladies lost their Dad, Tech Sgt Mark Smith, on August 5th, 2013. His helicopter crashed during a training mission when he was preparing for his third deployment to Afghanistan. He was 30 years old. Their family was close and they were making plans to celebrate Gabrielle’s 6th birthday that week. The day before the accident they released baby sea turtles together.
We met the girls and their Mom, Jessica, during our USO sponsored Tour when we visited Okinawa. When Sgt Smith died, the local USO had provided the girls with one of our resources, the Grief Comfort Kit that was created to support children experiencing loss. Jessica said the book and video “What on Earth Do you Do When Someone Dies” found in the Grief Kit her daughters received helped them to celebrate their dad’s life.
JULIET MADSEN Juliet’s husband, Peter, was a Black Hawk pilot – she and her husband have both answered the phone to hear that their spouse has been injured while deployed and had to care for their children while handling the chaos of a badly injured spouse. Juliet now works with military families just like her own; working to improve care for Post-Traumatic Stress for Children and raising awareness of the benefits of Art Therapy in Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury. Juliet lives with her husband of 23 years and their three children in Castle Rock, Colorado.
In 2004 Juliet suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in Iraq. The effects of that injury have had long standing effects including multiple strokes, a heart attack, kidney damage and eight surgeries, but Juliet has also become an award winning Artist, an accomplished Triathlete, Author, and successful Veteran Entrepreneur. Juliet attributes her survival to sports like waterskiing, swimming, skiing, hiking, cycling, and triathlons. Juliet is an award winning fiber artist whose work hangs across the United States and Europe. She is on the Board of Directors of R4 Alliance, a collection of recreational and activity based programs, which encourage Veterans to get out and use physical and recreational activity to recover from their injuries. Juliet became involved with R4 Alliance to help other families survive the challenges of deployment and more importantly the difficulties of surviving deployment. The Comfort Crew is a member of R4, and had the honor of connecting with Juliet at a conference last year.
SSG (RET.) BOBBY HENLINE On April 7, 2007, tragedy stuck when Bobby’s humvee was hit by a roadside bomb near Baghdad. Of the five men in the vehicle, Bobby was the only survivor. Bobby is an American Hero who spreads joy and hope through his love of stand-up comedy and motivational speaking. Bobby generously shared his family’s story with us which helped to develop our newest resource, Together Again: Helping Military Families Reconnect, which will impact thousands of military kids dealing with a parent returning from deployment: http://youtu.be/c1zzj7QQG0A
SSGT (RET.) JOHNNIE O. YELLOCK, II, USAF Staff Sergeant (Ret) Johnnie O. Yellock II, born April 5 1984 in The Netherlands, comes from a dual Veteran family and was raised primarily in Texas. In 2002, he graduated from Keller High School before receiving his degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Tarleton State University in Stephenville Texas in 2006. SSgt Yellock enlisted in the Air Force on 17 April 2007 as an EOD technician and quickly cross-trained to Combat Control (CCT). In July of 2007 he entered the CCT pipeline, completing it in June 2009. He was a military qualified static line and free fall jumper, and a U.S. Army qualified combat scuba diver. He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron (STS) Hurlburt Field, FL. 
SSgt Johnnie O. Yellock II served his first deployment as an STS Joint Terminal Attack Controller in support of Combat Search and Rescue Afghanistan. Two of his best friends were Killed In Action just before returning home. SSgt Yellock then deployed in June 2011 as a JTAC in support of USSOCOM Special Forces tasked with Village Stability Operations. On July 6, an Improvised Explosive Device struck SSgt Yellock’s vehicle and he sustained serious life-threatening injuries to his lower extremities resulting in MEDEVAC to BAMC San Antonio where over the course of three years underwent rehabilitation and 30 surgeries to date. Johnnie medically retired from active duty on November 27 2013 and began working for HelpingaHero.org as their Veteran Liaison soon after. In addition, he spends his time giving back to the DOD community by networking, speaking, and fundraising.
LT (RET.) MIKE THORNTON In May 1992, Lieutenant Thornton retired being the last Congressional Medal of Honor recipient serving on active duty in the Navy. He currently travels over 300 days a year doing speaking engagements and supporting troops. Lieutenant Thornton joined The Comfort Crew Military Advisory Board in 2012. You can see Lt. Thorton’s incredible story first-hand at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1KrzKavns
Join the Comfort Crew Team by running in the marathon/half marathon or volunteering at our waterstop on February 15, 2015!
Copyright © 2013 The Comfort Crew
