Words no person ever wants to hear – acute kidney and liver failure.
This was the reality for Army West Point rugby player DaVonte Carter Vault. In January of 2016, Carter Vault found himself battling strep throat and a high fever. Then one morning after getting out of bed, he felt an unusual amount of pain in his legs. Despite feeling ill, he continued to attend practice until his condition worsened.
“I went to the doctor because I was starting to have pain in my bladder. They ran tests on me for about a week, until a doctor consulted with me and diagnosed me with Rhabdomyolysis,” Carter Vault said.
Rhabdomyolysis is a serious medical condition where the death of muscle tissue is released into the bloodstream. It can lead to deadly medical complications, such as renal kidney and liver failure. Doctors were unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the condition, but believed it was a result of his fever. Carter Vault spent a long week in the hospital recovering before he began to experience acute emotional trauma.
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“I hated being in there. I was upset and bored being away from my teammates and friends,” he said.
The medical staff finally agreed to release him a few days early as long as he adhered to the strict recovery guidelines.
One of those restrictions – no activity for an entire month. This was something that he had never had to deal with as he spent much of his life playing extremely demanding and physical sports. Carter Vault was eager to get back on the pitch, but knew had to rest. He realized the more time he spent away from the rugby field the more he was able to focus on his skills as a player.
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A condition that almost killed him a few months prior somehow acted as a blessing in disguise.
“I started watching a lot of rugby on television and was able to focus more on the mental aspect of the game and what I could do better,” Carter Vault said.
After missing a few games and countless practices, he not only realized how much he missed playing the game, but being a part of the team and their brotherhood. A group that had always welcomed him with open arms from the start.
When Carter Vault first arrived at West Point, he had no idea what rugby was. He had played football at the nearby United States Military Prep School, but found himself disinterested. Once he settled in, he made his way down to the Anderson Rugby Complex for tryouts, where he was immediately thrown into live game action.
“I told them I had never played before, and they said they'll teach me on the fly,” Carter Vault added.
During his first few days on the team, current senior Hayden Cross and sophomore Sam Sutera acted as his two mentors. Sutera, who was a plebe at the time, was actually trying out with Carter Vault. He showed him how to properly throw the ball and explained the different fundamental aspects of the game. Cross was a member of the “B” squad in the same position as Carter Vault. Every day after practice ended, Cross would stay after to help him hone in on his skills. It was these acts of selflessness that resonated with Carter Vault and impacted him as not only a player, but a person.
“I’ve been able to use what they taught me and show the new players how to play the sport,” he said. “On the rugby team, we are constantly trying to make everyone around us better. Everyone is willing to share their knowledge and thoughts no matter what experience they have.”
Sometimes the knowledge that Carter Vault was able to give back to his fellow teammates did not always relate directly to the sport. It is something most Cadets have yet to encounter.
Carter Vault previously served his country and has already gone through a deployment. He is older than the typical cadet and has first-hand experience that many still in the Academy can only visualize. He’s taken the military knowledge he’s learned and helped his teammates and fellow cadets understand what it will be like out in the field.
“I look at it as though we’re building each other up in separate ways. They’re preparing me to succeed at West Point, and I'm gearing them up to become platoon leaders in their respective units,” he said.
After graduating high school, Carter Vault immediately enlisted in the Army. He was deployed to Afghanistan in February of 2015 with the 75th Ranger Regiment, where his main responsibilities were telephone operations and network administration.
West Point wasn’t on his radar until he was in advanced individual training. He received an email from the Academy, which sparked him to apply. At the same time, Carter Vault was invited to attend Ranger School and had to choose between the two. He decided his journey to West Point would have to wait.
Once Carter Vault finished Ranger School he applied to West Point for a second time. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive the news he was looking for and his mind seemed to drift in another direction. That was until he received a call from Major Jason Dupuis, a recruiter.
Still unsure, he replied, “Kind of, yes sir.”
Dupuis promised that he would contact those in Carter Vault’s chain of command to ensure they agreed with the decision. Shortly after, Carter Vault found himself on the road set to attend the United States Military Academy.
His transition from deployment to academy life was difficult at first, but that didn't stop him from succeeding. Carter Vault was always interested in engineering and space dynamics as a child. He would later declare a major in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Space Science.
During his time so far at West Point, Carter Vault found himself interested in and working closely with the internal reaction of materials. He recently entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Soldier Design Contest, where he generated a pneumatic actuator that can be used to breach doors.
“I’m hoping that it goes forward and becomes an idea the military will adopt, and actually use,” Carter Vault said.
The Jonesville, La., native’s recent success in the field of academics has also transitioned onto the pitch. Now in his sophomore season, the 5-10 center played in two games during the West Point 7’s invitational, and earned his first try of the year against service-academy rival Air Force on Nov. 3 in the 74th minute. He has become an integral member of the team this year, starting against the Cal Maritime Academy and Claremont College during their recent trip to the West Coast.
But to Carter Vault, being a member of this team means more than just contributing points during a game.
“The brotherhood to me means doing the right thing, and doing what those before you would’ve done,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of good men on the team who were brilliant leaders.”
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This is a standard all members of the brotherhood adhere to. It has allowed Carter Vault to realize what is really important – protecting those to his left and right who someday he’ll go into battle with.
He is thankful that his road has taken him through West Point and has given him the opportunity to be on the pitch surrounded by the brothers that he's met along the way.