The Hague was the first time Andreas Rückewoldt actively participated in the INVICTUS GAMES. His first visit to the Games in Toronto, Canada, in 2017 was a huge physical and mental strain for him, but with the help of his son he got through it. He attended the Games again in Sydney, Australia, before realising his dream of participating himself in The Hague.

The idea for the INVICTUS GAMES has been around since 2013, when Prince Harry, who was serving as a soldier in Afghanistan, and on a trip to the Warrior Games in the USA, saw how the power of sport can help injured people. The word "invictus" means "undefeated". It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women and represents what these men and women can achieve after an injury.

Andreas Rückewoldt has clearly analysed the Games and their significance. The German INVICTUS team is not the German national team of soldiers, but it is primarily about the personal rehabilitation process and the reintegration of injured soldiers into daily service.  The rehabilitation process of soldiers who have been injured in action was already an integral part of the Bundeswehr. The games are integrated into the sports rehabilitation programme of the Bundeswehr Sports School in Warendorf. With the so-called military service of a different kind, the Bundeswehr offers something unique in the world for injured soldiers. It is a system that reintegrates soldiers like Andreas Rückewoldt into everyday life through or despite the illness. In case of illness, the soldier receives his full salary during the sick leave. At present, it is very difficult for the affected soldiers with a trauma sequelae disorder such as PTSD, because the images about the situation in Ukraine remind them of their own experiences.

Andreas Rückewoldt also talks about the veterans' pickups, a car that is used in countries like the USA, Australia, Canada and England to honour veterans and their families. The pilot drives it all over Germany and always receives positive feedback. Even people who are critical of the Bundeswehr ask about his experiences and have their picture taken with him. His aim is to show what happens during the soldiers' missions and also that they had to leave some comrades behind in the field. 

Repost from 19 July 2022

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Name: Andreas Rückewoldt

Occupation: Soldier, German INVICTUS GAMES 2022 team in The Hague.

How did you find out about INVICTUS GAMES?

It's a crazy story. In 2017, I met a comrade in Warendorf who is herself mission-disabled. She went to the INVICTUS GAMES in Toronto a week later. I promised to take her to the airport and there I met the German INVICTUS GAMES team. I've been deployment-damaged for 20 years with deployment-related PTSD and the games were new territory for me. When I drove back, I called my partner and said to her: book two flights to Canada. I'm going to the INVICTUS GAMES. She booked immediately, but it turned out that I didn't have a passport and I had to apply for a temporary one. Then on Sunday I flew to Canada with my son.

I was very happy that my son, who was 17 at the time, was with me because I couldn't go to these games alone. The emotions I experienced when I saw the athletes affected; this was a turning point in my disease progression. I saw what other sufferers had achieved. The INVICTUS GAMES is not about winning medals. It was unique and words cannot describe it.

"I've been to the World Championships and the Olympics, but nothing compares to the INVICTUS GAMES. The INVICTUS GAMES Family has also grown steadily since 2017."

One officer lost both legs and both arms. He was put on a kind of frame and took part in rowing with it. He won a medal in his class, which Prince Harry wanted to present. Running behind the prince was his little daughter, who took the medal and presented it to her father. It broke my heart, but also showed me what is possible. Mentally and psychologically, the INVICTUS GAMES are a full load and my son had to support me strongly. In 2018, three of us flew to Australia for the next Games. I paid for the financing myself. Never once have I met anyone who didn't find the event unique. I've been to the World Championships and the Olympics, but nothing compares to the INVICTUS GAMES. The INVICTUS GAMES Family has also grown steadily since 2017. 

©IG23

And your own nomination?

When I came back from Toronto in 2017, I told my troop doctor at the Bundeswehr hospital that I would like to do the course at the sports school in Warendorf. I was checked sport-psychologically and physically to see if I could take part at all. In 2018, I got the "go" to take part in a small, 14-day course. They would work out together what sport I could do. First and foremost, it's about the rehab and not the sport. It's about giving the soldier a structure and reintegrating him into day-to-day service as a soldier. After all, we are not the soldiers' national team, although many nations see their teams differently.

"But! Sport should not be a substitute drug, of course."

And in your case, the concept of the sports group in Warendorf helped?

I have chronic deployment-related PTSD; chronic depression. It won't go away. But through the sports therapy group I have regained quality of life and structure in my life. But. Sport should not be a substitute drug, of course. You must not fall into a hole after the INVICTUS GAMES. I experienced in Toronto and Australia that soldiers are pushed up for 1 week. When you come back to Germany, normal life starts and nobody shakes your hand anymore. Some comrades then fall into a big hole.

In which sport did you compete in The Hague?

I competed in archery and cycling. I was supposed to go to the 2018 World Military Championships in China in Wuhan, which of course didn't work out. I fractured my spine and walked on a rollator for four months at that time. 

Did you achieve your goals in The Hague?

I achieved my goals to a certain extent. Due to my spinal injury I was in a wheelchair for several months and could only prepare to a limited extent. I didn't know whether I would be able to withstand this mental and physical strain. On the last day, when I sat on the bike and reached the finish line, I said to myself: Rücki, last year I was in a wheelchair and now at the INVICTUS GAMES. It was a feeling of happiness and the tears flowed. Since then I wear an INVICTUS tattoo on my arm, because the games have become a part of my life and my destiny.

What are you doing in the Bundeswehr today?

I was re-employed by the Bundeswehr in 2016 in a special kind of military service and became a professional soldier in 2019. Today I work as a pilot. My battalion is located in Holzminden, Lower Saxony. Panzerpionierbataillon 1. It is "from practice for practice" and I look after soldiers with deployment injuries, physical or mental. I also do a lot of work with veterans. There is a pilot in every battalion; part-time or full-time. The pilot looks after soldiers who have been injured in action; soldiers who are generally ill, including soldiers with cancer. To every soldier who comes to me, I first say: Congratulations, you did everything right, because you realised to work on it!

You are also known in social media for your veteran pick-up. 

My aim with this is to give a better public image for us from the Bundeswehr. In several countries, such as the USA, Australia, Canada or England, there are so-called veterans' pick-ups with which soldiers are honoured. As a pilot, I also wanted to have a car in Germany to draw attention to the veterans. A well-known racing car designer created it based on photos of my experiences abroad. The car is a symbol of my gratitude to soldiers and their families all over the world. When I drive it around Germany, I get a lot of positive feedback. Even from other people who are critical of us soldiers. My aim is to show what happens during our missions. It's not always peace, joy and happiness in the field. I had to leave some comrades mortally wounded in action. 

I'm also part of the German Comrade Military Bikers, which is about helping veterans who have been injured in action get into a new social environment. My partner also works with them and takes care of their families. This has become my life's work.

"Rücki" and "Vocko" and the Veteran truck of Mr. Rückevoldt ©IG23

How long ago were your traumatic events?

It started with Bosnia 25 years ago, then Kosovo, later Afghanistan. It started in the 90s and ended in Afghanistan in 2010, the most loss-making time we had, with many seriously wounded and dead.

How do you see the position of soldiers and the Bundeswehr in society?

The position of soldiers in public was different until the end of compulsory military service. After the end of compulsory military service, people couldn't wrap their heads around the Bundeswehr. Since the war in Ukraine began, this has changed. Not like in Mali or Afghanistan, the war is on the doorstep: about two and a half hours away by plane. In 2010 in Afghanistan, many comrades died in international battles, but you hardly read anything about it in the press. 

You have spent your life in the Bundeswehr. Are you satisfied or would you have liked to do something differently?

The system of how I came back to the Bundeswehr through or despite my illness is unique. The military service relationship of a special kind is unique in the world. Soldiers who have been severely injured in action are reinstated into employment. This does not exist in the USA or in England. I am proud to be a soldier again and I am proud of what the Bundeswehr is doing for veterans and for those who have been injured in action. In case of illness, the soldier receives his full salary. I'm glad I had military training, otherwise I would have crashed. At a point when nothing worked anymore, the Bundeswehr saved me.

"Standing there and not being able to do anything, the moral responsibility, it destroys you inside."

What is everyday life like with PTSD?

When I see pictures in the media, like the current ones from Ukraine, I am always reminded of Sarajevo. I was there in 1996, or in Bosnia in 1995-1997, and in Kosovo in 1999. That makes the situation very difficult - for me and my comrades whom I look after. We often ask ourselves why we have not learned from our experiences.

What kind of attention would you like to see for INVICTUS GAMES?

Through the games, we now have the unique opportunity for the people affected to have a connection with the public. 

Dear Mr. Rückewoldt, thank you very much for this interview.

IG23