TULSA, Okla. – For one Iraq War veteran, nothing keeps him from his love of hockey, and nothing keeps him from watching his beloved Tulsa Oilers play. Not even Post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as a mental health condition that is triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Some symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety.
Justin McKinney
Tulsa Oilers season ticket holder Justin McKinney knows those symptoms all too well. The Broken Arrow resident served two tours of duty in Iraq between 2004 and 2007 as a Combat Engineer in the United States Army. McKinney spent time in Sadr City and Taji during his tours, doing everything from building schools to searching for land mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). McKinney received two purple hearts after being injured twice during his time in Iraq.
Growing up in Oklahoma, McKinney discovered hockey at a young age after learning about Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He instantly fell in love with the game.
He then got to see the game in person at the Tulsa Convention Center after the Tulsa Oilers took the ice following the rebirth of the Central Hockey League. Mckinney was able to secure what at those times was a very difficult ticket to be had, thanks to an uncle who got tickets through his work.
“He always gave us tickets, so we would go to the games,” he said.
Doug Lawrence, Mike Berger and current Oilers General Manager Taylor Hall were some of his favorites from that time. He said that attending Oilers games solidified his love of the game, overtaking football as his favorite sport.
“Growing up in Oklahoma, I like football, but I would rather go to a hockey game than a football game any day,” McKinney said.
After graduating from Mannford High School in 1999, McKinney attended college briefly before returning to his hometown. He took a job working as a butcher in a grocery store, but after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he felt that he needed to make a change in his life and later joined the Army.
“For me, joining the military wasn’t about the money, it was about me getting away and learning something and not being so selfish,” he said.
According to McKinney, he had finally found something he liked to do and enjoyed the camaraderie that came with the job. From there he knew he wanted to become a career soldier.
“Either you’re going to go to school, or you’re going to be a lifer,” he said of serving in the military. “I had already gone to college for a little while and I didn’t like it, it wasn’t for me but the Army was,” he added.
So McKinney was off to Sadr City to work on infrastructure, guard churches and government buildings and provide presence patrols. He recalls the uneasiness during the elections, and watching young kids walk around with little clothing and no shoes in the desert heat. McKinney’s unit even took part in the humanitarian effort, having people send clothes and shoes for the children in the area.
“Here’s some guys shooting at us and we’re handing out clothes to their kids,” he said.
McKinney was injured during his first tour when what he classifies as a “small” IED flipped over three civilian vehicles and sent shrapnel through his vest into his shoulder.
“I call it a small IED. I wouldn’t be here if it wouldn’t have gone through the three civilian vehicles it had to go through to get to me,” McKinney said. “They were worried about me and thought I was bleeding out, but I just had a huge bruise, what looked like road rash and a little tiny cut,” he said of the blast that disintegrated his stabbing plate. “My vest saved me.”
Luckily, no one was killed or seriously injured.
When 2006 rolled around, McKinney was set to return to Iraq, and knew the dangers he would face.
“I came to terms with my own reality. I figured I wasn’t going to make it home,” he said.
He was scheduled to remain in Iraq until 2008, but in 2007 he was injured in Taji while serving as a husky operator, cutting his mission and as it would turn out, his career short.
As husky operator, McKinney was the lead vehicle, searching for mines and IEDs. He and the other husky drivers knew what they were doing, and according to McKinney in one month they found more than 200 IEDs. When the enemy figured out that their IEDs were being discovered, they ramped up their attacks and started hitting the husky drivers with more and more IEDs.
That’s when things took a turn for McKinney.
“I got hit by that last IED that was pretty good sized and it wasn’t good. It knocked my equilibrium off, my speech was affected and I couldn’t remember simple things,” he said.
McKinney underwent tests before being removed by medevac helicopter. Doctors found a bruise on his brain and sent him to Germany where they ran more tests. Finally, he was moved to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD. The multiple IED hits had taken their toll.
“The way they explained it to me was like a professional football player taking helmet to helmet contact on a day to day basis,” McKinney said. “There’s only so much your brain can take over and over again, stacking concussion on top of concussion, you just can’t do it anymore.”
McKinney says he has come to terms with the injury, but it crushed him when his neurologist in Fort Hood told that he could not go back to Iraq.
“He said you can’t go back, in fact, you can’t even be in the Army anymore. It really broke my heart,” he said.
After receiving a full medical retirement, McKinney then had to adjust to life outside of the war zone.
“It sucks when we come home because you don’t have your friends anymore. It’s hard when you’re injured and you’re all by yourself, and I was by myself a lot,” he said.
McKinney and his mother Teresa Gadlage
Then on a trip to visit family in Louisville, Kentucky he realized the extent of his PTSD. McKinney went to the Kentucky Derby with his mother and sister, but the large crowd on hand forced him to leave before the race began.
“I felt like something was going to happen, but I didn’t know what. I just couldn’t deal with it,” he said.
He returned home and continued to work on his recovery. Hours of therapy, working puzzle books and reading text books helped him. He researched the medication he was prescribed and decided on more natural techniques such as breathing exercises.
He got outside help as well.
McKinney reconnected with Vanessa, who is now his wife. They had once dated before he served in the Army. Now she offered a helping hand; she drove him to doctor’s appointments and spent time with him.
“She basically took care of me and got me to start going to more therapy,” he said.
McKinney found his greatest motivation, though, when he met Vanessa’s children, Cadince and Colt. After scaring them a couple of times with his anger and frustration, he told Vanessa that he didn’t want to put the kids through such incidents again. That’s when she assured him that she would stay by his side. That pushed him to work harder.
“The inspiration for me to try and get better was Vanessa and the kids, because she was there, she believed in me and she loved me,” McKinney said.
The two were married on July 4, 2012 and the family began attending Tulsa Oilers games together.
The McKinney’s would soon add another member to their family, and he too is a regular at the games. While attending therapy, his doctor told him of another patient that was receiving a service dog. She told him she thought it would be a good idea for him to think about getting a service dog as well.
So off to New Braunfels, Texas McKinney went to interview with Operation K9 founder, Joan Moss.
“I met Joan and we immediately had a connection. She understood me because she had been dealing with all of these soldiers,” McKinney said.
According to McKinney, his interview was complete when he attended a fundraiser with Moss and Ranger, a Labrador that Moss was training. When McKinney began feeling uneasy during the event, Ranger pulled away from Moss and pushed McKinney to the wall, placing his head on McKinney’s chest. As the crowd turned their attention to McKinney and Ranger, Moss told him the interview was over. She had seen what she needed to see.
“My mind went from the room to thinking what is this dog doing,” he said.
After meeting a Belgian Malinois named Tracer, McKinney knew what type of dog he wanted. Last December, he returned to Operation K9, and returned with a Belgian Malinois named Tazer.
Tazer and McKinney in their game-worn Tulsa Oilers jerseys
“He picked me; he came up to me and wanted to be around me. He slept right next to me that night, and we were pretty much friends at that point,” he said.
McKinney said there was a small adjustment period after bringing Tazer home, but the two bonded by throwing a wubba dog toy. From there, they moved up to Frisbees, and catching Frisbees is now Tazer’s favorite activity. Vanessa’s corgi, Geno, even gets in on the fun while trying to keep up with Tazer.
Over time, Tazer went on to bond with every member of the family, but it is clear that his primary objective is to help Justin.
“He wakes me up from nightmares,” McKinney said. “He will jump and pounce on me, whatever it takes to wake me up.”
Since then, McKinney says he hasn’t had as many bad dreams because he knows Tazer is there with him. He also helps McKinney when he is out in public and in large crowds. This has helped him to get back out into public, whether it’s a hockey game or a trip to the grocery store.
“He’s made it so much easier because he calms me down. Basically, I’ve got my battle buddy again,” McKinney said.
Tazer took in his first hockey game last year when the Oilers hosted the Rapid City Rush. According to McKinney, all was well until pucks started hitting the glass during warmups. And cowbells were another issue altogether. So he decided to hold leave Tazer at home until he could find a way to keep him calm during the games.
McKinney and Tazer at a Tulsa Oilers game
“I started researching things I could do to help him and found that the Coast Guard and Special Forces canine handlers use headsets and rec specs that go over the ears and eyes. The headset helps keep the noise down while the rec specs keep the headset down over his ears,” he said.
McKinney said he then began taking Tazer to different team functions such as the Stanley Cup watch parties and season ticket holder parties where he has received warm welcomes. And with his new gear, including a customized game-worn Tulsa Oilers jersey, Tazer is back at the hockey games this season.
“This year he’s done really well. We haven’t sat in our season ticket seats yet, but he’s been in the arena and he’s relaxed and settled down,” he said.
McKinney said having friends say hello has also helped make hockey games more enjoyable for Tazer.
“He loves it at hockey games when my friends come say hi to him, it’s like they are his people too; he understands they’re my friends. I think that’s important for him because it helps him to relax so he can do his job,” he said.
McKinney is now using Tazer to educate the public on PTSD, and to help raise funds for Operation K9. He said taking Tazer to visit schools and other groups is his way of paying it forward to the next soldier.
“I would say that Operation K9 gave me my life back, and I could never repay that,” McKinney said.
And thanks to Tazer and Operation K9, hockey is once again a big part of McKinney’s life.
When asked if he has any advice for other soldiers battling PTSD, McKinney shared his plan.
“The military trained us to take care of the enemy. What you have to do is figure out how to transition your enemy to PTSD. You have to put your sight on the target. The world is not your enemy, PTSD is your enemy.”
For McKinney, battling the enemy is easier now with his battle buddy and fellow Oilers fan, Tazer.
Contact the writer: john.hall@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on twitter: @ProHockeyNews @jhall218
For more information on Operation K9, visit: www.operationk9.org
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