Michael Bartscher

May 22, 2023
5 Min read
Recovery Stories

Michael Bartscher joined the German Air Force at just 18 years of age as a volunteer and would stay in the service for the next 40 years, eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier General.

Michael's storied and varied career saw him lecture at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, work closely with the Vice Chief of Defence and Chief of the German Joint Support Service and be in charge of logistics for several deployments in Afghanistan.

However, on one deployment to Kabul in 2014, Michael was shot and thankfully survived. He know suffers from severe leg pain and PTSD.

In 2015, Michael would receive a set back on his recovery journey after being in a car accident and was in a coma for 8 days.

Thankfully, Michael again pulled through and has been on the road to recovery; he took part in two Invictus Games', recently completed an Invictus Endeavour to hike the 154km long West Highland Way in Scotland and is optimistic for the future.

"There is still a long way to go in Germany for acceptance of military operations of the Bundeswehr abroad, with the consequence of death and injury. I hope that the Invictus Games 2023 will contribute to this."

Michael Bartscher

Invictus Games Sydney 2018 and The Hague 2020 - Competitor

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