(photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Timothy H. Wilson) Joe Mornini and Troy Crawford assist Rob Brown into a kayak as he prepares to practice techniques in the Comfort Zone swimming pool Monday. Brown became a below the knee amputee. He sustained a gunshot wound through his sciatic nerve during combat operations in October 2006 and is currently undergoing physical therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The program first began five years ago with a simple idea – to help servicemembers transition from the battlefield and cope with their injuries through various boating activities.

Over the years, hundreds of Wounded Warriors have improved with this physical therapy technique displaying a better sense of balance, focus and sequential memory, said Joe Mornini, executive director and owner of TRR.

‘‘We have a continuum of services,” Mornini said. ‘‘We can provide [anything] from flat water for people with traumatic brain injury who do not need a lot of stimuli to hard on whitewater for the guys who need something else to replace the adrenaline they had in combat.”

Mornini said the veterans’ experiences on the water, for the first time, mimics that adrenaline high felt on the battlefield. TRR has seen a blind veteran navigating whitewater rapids with great success and another, a double-arm amputee, using a bicycle-like kayak.

‘‘Once they get into that boat, they are no longer injured,” said Troy Crawford, a TRR team leader.

He said during a combat operation, an improvised explosive device exploded near him. As a result, he suffered deep-tissue damage on his back, legs, arms; nerve damage to his left leg, hearing loss and traumatic brain injury.

‘‘This is the closest thing we have to combat without actually getting shot at,” Crawford said.

‘‘This sport is made for combat veterans,” Mornini said. ‘‘It’s the best thing in the world for these guys.”

This program is supported by AMVETS and Disabled American Veterans with 16 locations nationwide and 12 additional sites are scheduled to open this year, Mornini said, with the help of hundreds of TRR volunteers.

‘‘We never have a problem with volunteers, we just need more of the active duty vets and disabled vets who are working and struggling through whatever happened while they were deployed and see this as a viable positive alternative,” Mornini said.

‘‘Some of the negatives ... a lot of the veterans we know start drinking, they play video games, and they disengage from society. This is a way to get back into a community, the boater community,” Mornini said. ‘‘The boater community is very supportive and accepting and very excited about working with wounded veterans.”

Mornini said being on the water provides a gentle therapy. For returning veterans, this therapy may provide much needed aid.

‘‘Everything in my head disappears. It’s like a fortress of solitude. It’s peaceful,” said Rob Brown, 25, who was shot through the sciatic nerve on his right side and has been a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center since October 2006.

Brown has been in physical therapy since he arrived at WRAMC. In October 2008, after two years of trying to save his leg, doctors removed his right limb below the knee cap.

Mornini said whitewater kayaking is unpredictable, gives a sense of danger, fast paced and requires training to become proficient. Combat veterans use the same adjectives when talking about battle. He added that kayaking replaces that adrenaline with therapeutic recreation.

‘‘It’s the camaraderie being around buddies in crazy situations. This whitewater kayaking is that same way,” Brown said. ‘‘You are out there looking out for one another. Plus, we get to shoot our stories off each other. Basically, be an ear for whoever needs to talk. This does not hurt you, but helps you heal.”

According to Mornini, both Brown and Crawford are skillful enough to be his safety net in difficult waters. The trio, along with other wounded warriors took a trip to the Grand Canyon in July on a 16-day whitewater rafting trip of over 225 miles. Brown and Crawford are class five kayakers, one of the highest kayaking rating skill sets for difficulty.

‘‘We are going to be there. That’s what we want to do here. We want to the [servicemembers] to know that this is a sport of health, fitness, excitement and families can do it,” Mornini said. ‘‘They are the age of my kids, the guys that are over there fighting ... you guys are serving our country. It’s our way of giving back and supporting you.

‘‘I encourage the clinicians at NNMC to let their patients know this program exists and how it can help our Wounded Warriors recuperate,” Mornini said.

TRR returns two-hour class is held monthly at the Comfort Zone at 6 p.m. The next class is scheduled for April 20. For more information, contact Mornini at 301-233-8882.