Sports
Service members, veterans compete in DOD’s Warrior Games
Stars and Stripes
June 23, 2024
Team Army takes advantage of practice time during a sitting volleyball workout during the 2024 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., June 20, 2024. (Robert Whetstone/Department of Defense)
The Department of Defense Warrior Games will once again highlight the resilience and determination of America’s wounded warriors.
The games officially began Friday in Orlando, Fla., at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. Hundreds of wounded, ill and injured active duty and veteran service members are competing in adaptive sports as part of their recovery journeys.
“The Warrior Games is a medium for recovery, wellness and personal development,” U.S. Army Maj. Casey Turner, the adaptive reconditioning officer in charge at the Army Recovery Care Program, said in a news release. “The impact of Warrior Games is not confined to the 10 days of athletic competition. The journey these athletes endure starts from the moment they sustain their injuries and begin their rehabilitation processes.”
This is the 14th year of competition, bringing together teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command and the Australian defense forces.
Brandi Evans, a staff operations and training specialist at the Texas Soldier Recovery Unit at Fort Bliss, Texas, is a former competitor. Now she serves as a mentor.
“When I first served as a mentor, I believed that it was the next best thing to competing,” Evans said. “But over the past few years, I found that what I do for the athletes is far more rewarding than any medal.”
U.S. Army veteran Christopher Parks participates in sitting volleyball practice during the 2024 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., June 20, 2024. (Jesus Morales/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army Spc. Brooke Jader listens to instructions at sitting volleyball practice during the 2024 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., June 20, 2024. (Clara Soria/U.S. Army)
The Army Recovery Care Program promotes adaptive sports that provides opportunities for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers and veterans to start and continue their road to recover and overcome their life-challenges. Warrior Games are part of the process.
Athletes will compete in archery, cycling, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, field, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, shooting, indoor rowing and powerlifting.
“This event and all the lead-up events promote the pillars of Army values and help participants to achieve their personal best within their new normal,” Turner said.
The games run through June 30.
For more information, visit dodwarriorgames.com.
Contributing: The Orlando Sentinel, Tribune News Service