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Meet Adaptive Athlete: Luis Rodriguez

 

 

CPL LUIS RODRIGUEZ

US ARMY, RET.

 

DOB: August 19th, 1968

DOI: October 1999

PATHOLOGY: Lumbar Spinal Cord Injury

23 Luis Rodriguez Headshot

Corporal (Ret.) Luis Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico, but was raised in New York with his family. He enjoyed competing in basketball and football and was also a boy scout, earning the honor of Eagle Scout. After high school, Luis pursued college and earned his Masters degree. He then joined the Army as military police where he served in many countries throughout his 20 year career. The latter half of his service was spent in Central and South America where he patrolled along the Panama Canal. 

 

In September 1999, while making an arrest, a struggle broke out. In the fight, Corporal Rodriguez hurt his back, requiring surgery on his lower back. After returning to Puerto Rico to continue his service, Luis was deployed to Iraq, where his main role was to safely and securely escort VIPs. During that deployment, he re-injured his back which led to his medical retirement in May 2005. 

 

After his service, Luis worked as a supervisor at a Navy base before joining the USPS as a criminal investigator. At that point, he went back to school to pursue teaching and became a history teacher. Luis has always had a passion for service and noticed  there was a need to transport veterans to their VA appointments. He stepped in and has helped his fellow veterans living in Puerto Rico by driving them, sometimes four to five hours, to appointments.

 

During his time at ATF, Luis wants to focus on bettering himself in order to better serve those around him. His goals are centered around helping ease the pain in his back, as well as reignite a fire to take care of his body. Post-ATF, he is hoping to expand his mission to help veterans in Puerto Rico.

 

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