Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was wounded in an attack while serving in Washington, D.C., is making “extraordinary progress” in his recovery process, the West Virginia National Guard recently announced.
Wolfe was patrolling the streets near the White House with Army Guardsmen Spec. Sarah Beckstrom the day before Thanksgiving when a lone assailant approached them and opened fire at close range. Both Guard members were airlifted to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, but Beckstrom, a 20-year-old military police soldier, died of her wounds Nov. 27.
Wolfe suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Details of his condition have been scarce, but the 24-year-old personnel specialist is now preparing to transition from acute care at the D.C. hospital to an unnamed rehabilitation facility, according to a Dec. 12 release from the West Virginia Guard.
“Thanks to the immediate response of emergency personnel and the exceptional care provided by our trauma and neurosurgery teams, he received life-saving treatment, including emergency surgery to control bleeding and relieve pressure on his brain,” Jeffery Mai, a neurosurgeon at Washington Hospital, said in the release.
“Staff Sgt. Wolfe has made extraordinary progress. He is now breathing on his own and can stand with assistance—important milestones that reflect his strength and determination.”
Guard officials declined to provide further details, such as when Wolfe regained consciousness, or further details about his prognosis.
Wolfe is in an “early phase of healing,” Mai said. “His progress gives us every reason to feel hopeful about what lies ahead.”
Mai added that Wolfe is ready to transition from acute care to inpatient rehabilitation. Wolfe’s family “has chosen not to disclose the location of his rehabilitation,” the press release states.
“The support we’ve received from Andy’s military family, his hometown community, and people across the nation has been extraordinary,” Wolfe’s parents, Melody and Jason, stated in the release.
“We love the West Virginia National Guard, and they love Andy. They have shown that day and night and in thousands of ways.”
Wolfe’s parents added that President Donald Trump, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, and lawmakers from his state “have each shown genuine care and have played an important role in ensuring Andy receives the best possible care.”
Since the shooting, another 560 Guard members have deployed to D.C. at Trump’s request. The current Guard strength in D.C. is about 2,600, according to a Joint Task Forced-D.C. Most of the troops deployed to these cities have been from the Army Guard, but Air Guardsmen are taking part in missions as well.
The attack on Wolfe and Beckstrom has prompted many lawmakers to increase scrutiny of Guard deployments to cities such as D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and Memphis, Tenn. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) described the deployments as “essential” to dealing with America’s “current crime rates in our largest cities,” at a Dec. 11 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
But at the same hearing, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) argued that sending the deploying the National Guard troops into communities “is not a long-term solution or any solution to crime in our cities.”
