KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Passengers emerge from the dim light of a military cargo plane into the stinging sunlight of mid-day southern Afghanistan. Outside the plane, they are greeted by Soldiers clapping as they make their way off the flight line. As the passengers pass by, each Soldier renders a salute before continuing to clap. Amongst the throng of service members, a few faces familiar to the passengers start to appear out of the crowd, which were individuals who served with the wounded warriors in years past.

These wounded warriors were in Afghanistan as a part of Operation Proper Exit, which was developed by Rick Kell and the Troops First Foundation to allow wounded warriors to return to the place where they were injured to help give them closure. Since Proper Exit was approved by the Army, there have been 17 iterations, the latest of which went to Kandahar Airfield July 10. These five Soldiers had a chance to be with their fellow Soldiers once more and leave a combat zone on their own terms.

One warrior walked on legs of titanium and fiberglass, adorned with an eagle on his chest and a 1st Cavalry Division combat patch on his right shoulder. This wounded warrior, Col. Timothy Karcher, still serves as the chief of staff with Operational Test Command. On the ground on Kandahar Airfield, where the 1st Cav. Div. currently commands, old friends and comrades met him with firm embraces, and briefly reminisced before the march of scheduled events forced them to move along.

Within minutes of touching down in Kandahar, Blackhawk helicopters lifted the wounded warriors back into the air to take them to Forward Operating Base Pasab to speak with the Soldiers there.

Karcher said just being able to thank the Soldiers in the fight was satisfying enough for him, because he couldn’t be with Soldiers in a combat zone otherwise.

“I miss being with Soldiers more than I miss my legs, but the fact of the matter is I get to come back and see you all,” he said.

The wounded warriors enjoyed town hall meetings where they met with Soldiers. There, they got the chance to answer Soldiers’ questions, both to give them insight and encouragement. Questions ranged from how they’ve dealt with the loss of limbs and eyesight to how their front-line care saved their lives. One question that was asked at both FOB Pasab and Kandahar Airfield was what Soldiers could do to help their injured buddies back home.

“If you guys could do one thing to increase the morale of those guys in some hospital trying to heal, contact them every now and again,” said Adam Hartswick, who served with the 41st Infantry Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, when he was wounded just more than a year ago. “I’ve got to tell you, when I got a call from the guys, it was the highlight of my week, because you are there lying in bed, and you want to know what’s going on with your brothers and sisters over here. So just pick up the phone and call.”

Karcher said each Soldier takes something different away from going back to Afghanistan, while pointing out that he was injured in Iraq, but said going to Afghanistan helped him feel close to the Soldiers still fighting the fight. For others, the takeaway might be something else.

“Today we were flying over an area south of Kandahar, and one of the young sergeants we were with flew over the exact place where he lost his legs,” Karcher said. “What Sgt. Adam Hartswick is going to take back with him is a sense of closure, and he’s going to take back a feeling that the enemy didn’t win, because he was right back where he was wounded 14 months ago and he won. I think that is going to be huge for him.”

Troops First puts on Operation Proper Exit to give injured Soldiers the opportunity to heal, not just their physical wounds, but the unseen pain that comes with being forced out of the fight while their brothers and sisters forge on. Even though, for some Soldiers, visiting the site of their injury is no longer an option, Proper Exit is still a way to give these Soldiers their proper leave of the battlefield, and maybe help a Soldier or two still in a combat zone.

“Rick asked me if I’d come, and I said I’d love to but I would have to ask my wife first,” Karcher said. “So I waited until she was in a good mood and I asked her. … She didn’t understand it at first and thought I just wanted to be near the fight. I just wanted to be around the Soldiers who are in the fight. I think at the end of it all, she accepted that, and she’ll understand it when I tell her all about the visit.”

An important aspect of the tour, and the second biggest highlight for Karcher, was to see and talk to the medics and doctors who patch Soldiers up so they can live another day.

The last event of the day on Kandahar Airfield was a visit to the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit where Hartswick was taken after being injured near FOB Pasab.

Hartswick expressed his deepest appreciation to the staff there for the work they do, and he chatted with them about what he remembered of the hospital.

“I remember the flags, and the ceiling. Not much else after that,” said Hartswick, as he looked around the emergency room where they first receive patients. The Sailor he was talking to explained the drugs they typically provide also have a limited amnesia effect to help reduce the trauma afterward.

“We’ve been to a couple medical facilities here in-theater, and to be able to talk to medical folks who are saving lives …” Karcher said. “I can’t describe how moving it is to talk to these people who are saving lives every day.”

At the end of a long day of flights and visits, Karcher and the other wounded warriors got to their rooms for the night and were finally able to slip off their prostheses and give their legs a rest. There, he explained how easy Kell and his team had made the visit.

“It is crazy easy,” Karcher said. “I had three forms to fill out, and next thing you know I had orders.”

Grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Proper Exit, Karcher expressed his appreciation for Rick Kell and his organization. He said organizations such as his and others that serve Soldiers and their Families are a blessing.