Tom Wiggins, PhD, Airborne Ranger (RET) served in the Army for four years – or, as he likes to say – ‘just long enough to get shot.’
He was born and raised in Florida but has lived in Platte City since 2016. He has been stationed at Fort Leavenworth since 2009.
Wiggins enlisted in the Army immediately following 9/11.
“Although my active-duty service was only four years, they were very intense,” Wiggins said. “I served in 1st Ranger Battalion out of Savannah, Ga., which I did five combat deployments with, four to Afghanistan and one to Iraq. I was severely wounded in action in 2004 by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) and small arms fire. I spent the last year of my service recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, (Bethesda, Md.).”
He was on a mission somewhere along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border in 2004 and he and his fellow soldiers were doing a night movement when they were ambushed from higher ground on all sides.
“The attack was well coordinated, taking out the lead vehicle preventing us from escaping the kill zone,” Wiggins said. “I was a top gunner, and my vehicle took the initial RPG. I have been told that I absorbed much of the explosion possibly saving some personnel on my GMV (Gun Mounted Vehicle). That being said, I feel lucky that I was immediately knocked unconscious and do not remember much of the battle. A couple of other rangers who were also severely WIA (wounded in action) were awake for the entire nightmare. I died three times between the battlefield and Bagram. I was in a coma for weeks during which time I was transported to WRAMC (Walter Reed). When I finally awoke, it was to a soundless world. I had been rendered completely deaf.”
He spent the next year recovering and rehabilitating before medically retiring from the Army in 2005. In 2009, he returned to the Army as a DA (Direct Action) Civilian. He still works for the Army.
He was recruited back to the Army as a wounded warrior. The Army briefly funded a program to bring wounded warriors back to Army civilian service to share their leadership experience with future warfighters. It was at this time that he decided to write a book called “Disabled Leadership.” The book opens with a brief version of his own disability to set the stage for what the reader can expect. He also shares many other stories from wounded warriors and other disabled leaders he has encountered over the years.
The stories cover a wide variety of disabilities, including, deafness, blindness, autism, PTSD, paraplegic, dyslexia, mental illness, limb loss, addiction and many others.
Wiggins has been teaching leadership in some capacity at Fort Leavenworth since 2009.
“Since my injury, I have met and worked with hundreds of wounded warriors, disabled veterans, and other disabled leaders,” Wiggins said. “I began thinking about the leadership concepts that the Army teaches through the disability lens. It became obvious to me that many of the disabled people I had encountered demonstrated superior leadership skills, competencies, and traits than the rest of us. Disabled Leadership is an attempt to capture these lessons and traits so that everyone might better emulate them. There are of course some inspirational stories along the way too.”
He said Disabled Leadership (DL) is a theory that he has coined which he defines as a person’s ability to gain self-awareness of their greatest weakness and develop it into a platform to conceive, believe, and achieve life goals through empowerment built from a foundation of resilience.
While the pandemic set back some plans that he had hoped to accomplish for DL, he is currently piloting a 12-week DL course for a major corporation.
“The concepts we are covering in this course closely follow the reading,” Wiggins said. “DL is very exciting and has tremendous potential for the disabled community, which includes many veterans.”
Disabled members of the military served as inspiration for Wiggins after his severe injuries sustained in battle.
After more than six months in Walter Reed, he was starting to feel like he was stuck and was feeling a little sorry for himself.
When he decided to get up and go check out the gym, which he assumed would be empty, he found it bustling with wounded warriors.
“The first thing I saw was a soldier with a missing arm doing pull ups,” Wiggins said. “Just incredible. To this day I am still in awe when I have disabled leaders come to the courses with such severe disabilities ranging from war injuries to cognitive and motor function disabilities. They don’t ask for special treatment and typically are the first to volunteer to lead. I share many great stories in the book. They remind me that my disability doesn’t define me. I use it to empower me to achieve anything I set my mind to.”
Through his book and the courses he teaches, Wiggins helps veterans reflect on their experiences or disabilities and think about how they can use them to improve themselves and their communities by just sharing their story or possibly formulating the desire, dedication and discipline to overcome or leverage challenges.
“An example I use is that I could barely read before I became deaf,” Wiggins said. “Suddenly, if I wanted to communicate, I had to read. I remember the first time I tried to watch TV with closed captions. I didn’t even make it five minutes. I couldn’t keep up. But my disability forced me from my comfort zone. I made myself into a good reader, which eventually became a good learner.
“Ten years later I had read myself through a PhD and published five books. I believe that our disabilities can be tremendously empowering if we can learn to leverage them. I subscribe to the theory that leaders aren’t born great, they are made great, and the greatest leaders often overcome some sort of adversity.”
When Wiggins joined the military he was young and single with no real family responsibility, and although the training was tough and the deployments were brutal, the experience seemed like a grand adventure for him.
“They made me the man that I am today. In the early days of the Global War on Terror, Rangers were on standby 24/7. It was very difficult for the guys with families to always be leaving without any notice. I am grateful for those Rangers and their families.”
Although Wiggins is deaf, his job is essentially to listen to people. “My injuries don’t define me. There are facts in life that maybe we can’t change, but how we perceive and treat them makes a tremendous difference. No matter how dark it may seem now, the sun will shine again so plan for a beach day.”
Like many veterans, he misses the camaraderie in the military. He has linked up with a few other Ranger veterans in the area and they meet for Ranger night at least once a month at the American Legion. “A veteran’s time in the service will end, but the camaraderie lasts a lifetime,” Wiggins said.
When people ask him if he would do it all again, he tells them he’s not sure. Experience changes perception. He’s proud that he stood up and did what he believed was right at the time. He put his country ahead of his education and career and did his part to ensure that there wouldn’t be another 9/11.
For Wiggins, Veterans Day is a good time to reflect on the sacrifices veterans have made for their country. He believes everyone should respect the difficult job soldiers are asked to do and show appreciation every chance they get for the sacrifices military members have made.
“Soldiers do more than most people realize for relatively little gratitude,” Wiggins said. “It’s not hard to say ‘thank you’ so I will every chance I get. Thank you for your service and Happy Veterans Day.”
He is proud to still play a small role in the development of Army leaders who sacrifice in service to their country.
For those who have sustained physical injuries or PTSD during their time of service Wiggins advises them not to isolate themselves.
“I have been there. It can be difficult to relate to other people, especially civilians, given your experience,” he said. “Get involved with local veteran organizations or even the VA. Reach out to old Ranger buddies. In my experience, nothing good comes from isolation. I know it can feel like the war is over and no one cares anymore, but there are still a number of resources out there for us and your Ranger buddies will always care. If you don’t know where to start, email me at rangerwiggins@gmail.com and we will figure it out together.”