Jose Corona

Staff Sgt. Jose Corona served four years on active duty in the U.S. Army and 18 years in the Army National Guard. His military career includes deployments to Iraq in 2006, Afghanistan in 2013, Poland in 2018, and Kuwait in 2023. After returning home, he felt numb, detached, paranoid, and depressed. Anger came easily, and over the years, those symptoms went largely unaddressed. During his deployment to Kuwait, Corona suffered an accidental fall from a vehicle that severely damaged his left shoulder, ultimately requiring surgery. At first, the pain limited his ability to exercise and fully participate in rehabilitation. Even after surgery, his mobility remained restricted, and at times he questioned whether he’d ever regain full function. While assigned to the Soldier Recovery Unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Corona began focusing on both his physical and mental recovery. He sought the behavioral health support he had postponed for so long and learned to adapt to new physical limitations. Through adaptive sports, he discovered he could still compete and train using his remaining strength.