As a U.S. Army sergeant serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan, J.D. Williams was a leader of men.

Today, more than seven years after his military career – and very nearly his life – was ended by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, Williams is still very much a leader. And the work he does these days may be more important than leading a squad in battle.

A Montana native who now lives in Woodburn, Williams lost both legs and his right arm when he stepped on that IED. The explosion could have destroyed his life; instead, it gave Williams’ life new meaning.

One of the founders of a nonprofit organization called Mohawk Outdoors, Williams is using his love of hunting and other outdoor activities not only as therapy for himself but as a way of healing other combat veterans.

“After I was injured, I saw an article saying that my elk-hunting days were over,” Williams said Monday during an interview at the home he shares with wife, Ashlee, and 8-year-old daughter Kaelyn. “That motivated me to get out and do it again. I killed four elk that season.”

Adapting to his physical limitations, Williams has been able to hunt with both bow and rifle, as the trophies at his Woodburn home demonstrate. He flits around that home in his motorized wheelchair and becomes animated when talking about what his outdoor adventures have meant.

“I’ve been on hunts in Africa, Canada and throughout the U.S.,” he said. “That has healed me tremendously. I don’t feel like I’m wounded half the time.”

While finding joy through continuing his outdoor adventures, Williams has also found an outlet to help his fellow combat veterans.

“When he got injured, he had a lot of concerns,” said Ashlee Williams, a Logan County native who married Williams in 2009 after meeting him through a friend the year before.

“One of those was about hunting. Personally, I could tell what it would mean if he couldn’t do that again.

“He has really taken it upon himself to find new ways to adjust so he can be active. It has helped him grow as a person because he is helping others and he’s also learning from the experience himself. I’m really proud of him.”

J.D. Williams only started Mohawk Outdoors a year ago, but he has already helped a number of veterans. One of them is Portland, Tenn., resident Derrick Hatfield, who served 13 years in the Army before a spinal injury forced him to retire.

“When I first met J.D., I had just gotten out of the military and was struggling to figure out the whole civilian thing,” Hatfield recalled. “That was two years ago. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen J.D. upset about something. He’s always laughing and in a good mood.

“To see him with the injuries he has come as far as he has, it makes you realize you can do it, too.”

Williams started Mohawk Outdoors, naming it after the Mohawk Scout Unit he was part of in Iraq, because he saw hunting and other outdoor adventures as good therapy for those who had seen combat.

“Being in combat was the most exciting thing I’ve done in my life,” he said. “You’ll never experience an adrenaline rush like getting shot at. Veterans come back from that and can’t find anything similar. That’s what I love about hunting, the excitement. You’ll never get the excitement you lived through in combat, but this is similar.”

Former Bowling Green police officer Brett Hightower, himself wounded in action while serving with the National Guard in Afghanistan, helped with a fundraiser for Williams and his family while Williams was still in the hospital. He said the way Williams has bounced back is extraordinary.

“I think he’s a great example,” said Hightower. “A lot of guys who get injured really struggle. He (Williams) really hasn’t asked why it happened. He asked, ‘What’s next?’ He decided to move forward and make the best of things.”

Williams and his Mohawk Outdoors partners are starting slowly, planning for three hunting trips per year. He has already found great support from hunting-equipment companies like Kryptek Nomad, Swagger and Big and J and from the Rockcastle Shooting Center in Edmonson County.

Williams, who said he was glad he stepped on the IED because it may have prevented one of his fellow soldiers from getting maimed or killed, maintains that feeling of brotherhood in his work with Mohawk Outdoors.

“I’m just a dumb grunt in the Army, but I have seen my buddies struggling (after they return to civilian life),” he said. “That’s what makes me want to do this.

“I would like to see other communities do what we’re doing here. If we get patriotic Americans coming together and doing stuff for veterans, I know it will lower the suicide rate. I want to have a Mohawk guy in every state.”