ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2025

FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY HELPS MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS RECOVER FROM INJURIES In 2019, FBI National Academy (FBINA) Session 276 invited U.S. military service members recovering from catastrophic injuries to join them in a circuit training workout at the FBI Academy for a day of fitness, camaraderie, and shared strength. The service members were enrolled in a recovery care program called the “Warrior Athlete Reconditioning Program”, an initiative designed to advance their recovery through exercise. The program follows the principle of “Exercise is Medicine” promoted by the American College of Sports Medicine which states that being physically active can improve health outcomes and should be an integral part in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions. T he recovering service members in this program work with MARC SAVINE, MPA and RACHEL JORDAN PHD, ATC, NASM PES/CES

FBINAA.ORG | Q3 2025

Following the workout, the FBI’s Training Division hosted a career fair to provide support to those service members medically separating from the military. Representatives from the FBI, other federal agencies and dozens of private employers networked and interviewed prospective service members for employment. For many of the attendees, provisional job offers were received and background checks for positions in national security were initiated. Plans to host a similar event in 2020 by FBINA Session 280 were halted due to the global pandemic, but the spirit of that day lived on. The event was re-established in 2022 with FBINA Session 285. Members of the FBI’s Physical Training Unit and staff from the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment rejoined forces to schedule these workouts quarterly at Butler Stadium on Marine Corps Base Quantico. During week five of the ten-week FBINA executive development program, members of FBINA Session 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294 and 295 exercised alongside recovering service members, often creating bonds last ing well after the event was over.

their military care teams to optimize recovery and craft recovery care plans for medical conditions such as complex musculoskeletal injuries, severe burns or amputations requiring prosthetic limbs. That spring, recovering service members from seven care centers located throughout the US traveled to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., for the inaugural event. Staff from the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment, the FBI’s Physi cal Training Unit and the Marine Corps’ Force Fitness Instructors created an inclusive circuit training workout that would test the physical fortitude of all who participated. All exercises offered modified options so everyone could participate within their level of medical clearance. Members of FBINA Session 276 paired up with recovering Marines, Sailors and Soldiers to tackle the exercises. This wasn’t just a workout. This unique program sup ported recovery in a way that had not existed before. It provided recovering service members an opportunity to engage in activi ties outside of the traditional therapy setting that allowed them to find strength to new challenges. The impact of this grassroots initiative was clear: it was a powerful moment that helped participants focus on their abilities, not their circumstances. The encouragement provided by FBINA Session 276 gave the recovering service members an opportunity to show they were still fighters, not defined by their disabilities, but by their courage.

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