As his career in uniform draws to a close, the Army's first blind active-duty officer hopes to continue spreading a simple message: "You can do things that may seem impossible."
One way Maj. Scotty Smiley plans to spread that message: Do things that seem impossible. An early entrant on that list is completing the Ironman Coeur d'Alene triathlon in Idaho on June 28; a documentary film team planning to chronicle the run-up to the race and the event itself has launched a donation page to help cover production costs.
The race includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. Smiley, an assistant professor of military science at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, said he's competed in shorter triathlon events before, but never one at Ironman distance.
"Hopefully, it inspires and motivates others to do something they didn't think they could do,"he said. "No matter what your disability may be, it's about setting your mind toward that goal, and at least for me, I couldn't do it alone — it's about having a team, having men and women surround you that support you."
Then-Capt. Smiley lost his sight in 2005 after a car bomb in Mosul, Iraq, detonated about 30 yards in front of his Stryker combat vehicle. He returned to full active duty as part of the Army Wounded Warrior Program, serving with Army Accessions Command and later teaching in the U.S. Military Academy's behavioral sciences and leadership department.
Then came a company command, heading up the warrior transition unit at West Point's Keller Army Community Hospital. After all that came the captain's career course — "My career is a bit backwards," he said — and his current assignment, which he began about three years ago.
Along the way, he frequently spread his message through speeches, and also in print, writing "Hope Unseen" with co-author and fellow West Point grad Doug Crandall in 2010.
He climbed Mount Rainier in 2007, the same year Army Times named him Soldier of the Year. He received a General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award in 2010. He's been surfing. He's been skydiving.
He's built a family with his wife, Tiffany; their third son was born in 2012, five years after their first. The couple has roots in Pasco, near Spokane, which has helped in the decision to take medical retirement after 12 years of service. Smiley's last day is set for May 24.
"Family, I put as a priority," he said. "The Army's been fun, it's just a lot of requirements, and a little bit of a different stressor on my family, given that I'm blind, given that my wife has to take me to work all hours of the morning, all hours of the night. With three kids, poopy diapers included, it's a lot more stressful on the family. So I was ready for it, as was my wife."
Making the film
The team at Oregon's SkEye Studios has been granted a front-row seat to Smiley's hectic schedule. SkEye creative director Chris Kiefer met Tiffany Smiley through his sister, a TV news anchor, about four months ago and decided to pursue a documentary that would be the largest production his four-person crew has put together since its 2013 founding.
"It was kind of a no-brainer in the sense that we knew that this was a story that needed to be told," Kiefer said. "We just weren't really sure how it was going to pan out."
The race gave the filmmakers a focal point. The Smileys gave them access: Crews already have filmed multiple interviews and followed Smiley through two workouts, Kiefer said.
That just leaves funding. The studio launched its first-ever Kickstarter campaign last month, hoping to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of producing the documentary. As of Monday, that effort was within about two days of its deadline without cresting the halfway mark; Kiefer said plans were underway, should it fall short, to give crowd-funding another try, this time with a smaller goal to tackle a portion of the expenses. Interested donors can find the latest details at www.scottysmiley.com.
All proceeds raised beyond the needed funding, as well as any profits from the sales of the finished product, will go to groups hand-picked by the Smileys, Kiefer said: the Gary Sinise Foundation and One to One Women Coaching Women, a nonprofit whose clients include military spouses.
Producers hope the film will be ready for a Veteran's Day launch. Kiefer hopes to enter it in film festivals to draw interest from distributors, who could make it available via an online pay-per-view platform.
Making the race
Having a camera crew in tow for the triathlon may be the least of Smiley's logistical problems. He'll be led through the course by his brother-in-law, Andy Cooper, who competed in the 2012 race.
Their most challenging obstacles will come in the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
"I was wishing I could have him lead [in the swim]," Smiley said. "That was kind of our plan ... but in looking at the triathlon regulations that Ironmans fall under, and at the group that I'm a part of ... I have to lead the swim. I have to be in front, and I have to be connected to him.
Smiley's no stranger to the water, but he'll have to navigate a crowded 2.4-mile swim to start off his upcoming triathlon attempt
Photo Credit: Courtesy of SkEye Studios
From youth swim teams to lifeguard duties to completing the Combat Diver Qualification Course while a cadet, Smiley's not worried about his technique or endurance. Still, he said, "I'd like to do 2.4 miles in the water, not 2.8, or three ... time is an issue. Not just in the water, but on the bike and the run. It all adds up."
He's joined a CrossFit gym and extended his road work and time on the bike to meet the longer Ironman distances, prepping for a race he once classified as "a thing that crazies do, you know?" He thinks the effort, and the film, will provide another platform to reach those who've suffered unexpected setbacks and bring attention from others to wounded warriors dealing with those setbacks.
"Those that truly sacrifice, men and women who deploy, those who lose lives, lose arms, lose eyesight — it's about helping them," he said. "It's about that service. ... Hopefully, this documentary will continue to tell [that story]. Life is worth living, and it's about adjusting, and overcoming, and going through things most of us don't think can happen."
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
