More than 8,000 disabled veterans have returned from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. They face daunting challenges as they journey down the road to recovery. Many have been living in military hospitals for years and lack the professional skills necessary to pursue an alternative career when they do leave.

Veteran Job Programs Needed

As the number of wounded grows, so does the need for programs that assist them beyond their release from duties and their in-hospital care. That’s where the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation comes in. This specialized vocational school is a place where 30 film industry professionals share their video and photojournalism expertise with participating wounded Marines.

Through the 10-week apprenticeship program, the Marines learn skills that will help them rebuild their lives and find careers outside of the military. And as they learn the art and craft of visual storytelling, many have found the new skill has not only enhanced their resumes greatly but is also a therapeutic outlet through which they can begin to heal emotionally.

Let Them Tell Their Own Story

According to a story that ran in The New York Times in early February of 2008, the film program is the brainchild of Kevin Lombard, an Emmy-winning cinematographer and documentary filmmaker, and his wife Judith Ann Paixao, who assistes in his productions.

A friend with ties to the Marines suggested that Lombard make a documentary about the wounded, but Lombard was struck with another idea. “Why not give these Marines the tools to tell their own stories?” he wondered.

One of the foundation’s missions is to provide wounded Marines with new and marketable professional skills for careers in media following their rehabilitation. Unlike many training centers, however, the film studies do more than instill the disabled veterans with film, video, sound design, graphics, and photojournalism skills. It also enables and empowers them to tell the world about what they’ve seen and been through in the course of duty.

Range of Disabilities

Ranging in age from 20 to 40, the participants’ injuries are as varied as their backgrounds. One Marine has a shoulder largely damaged by rifle fire, while another walks with the help of a prosthetic limb. Yet another approaches video and still cameras in a new way due to his severely reduced vision, the result of a grenade that hit his tank.

Among the veterans enrolled is a 22-year-old former Marine lance corporal named Brent Callender. Callender was shot by a sniper and was then ejected from a vehicle leaving him with a broken spine, pelvis, and kneecaps. The program helped him overcome some of the despair he felt about his injuries and his future.

Provides Job Skills for Veterans

Ultimately, the program is a viable way to help wounded service members navigate the transitional life phase marked by injury-induced physical and mental challenges. And the Marines participating are successful in achieving that goal as they apply the same discipline and resolve that assisted them in carrying out their military missions to their classroom efforts.

Membership in a production crew union is also a tangible benefit of the program. It’s a path to a dream that includes living and thriving with disabilities. The fact that some Hollywood producers are already calling on the students for services doesn’t hurt, either.

The program’s initial $2 million price tag was largely funded by foundations and private donors. The program’s founders hope to find the monies to see it continue. And next time around, in addition to veterans whose war injuries forced them to retire, the Marine Corps plans to allow active-duty wounded Marines to enroll as well.

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