This summer, service members in Special Operations Command's Warrior Care Program took home 111 medals in a half dozen different events. The adaptive games were held in Colorado Springs in from July 18-26, following a ten-week training program.
The Warrior Care Program provides help and rehabilitation for all service members and veterans, giving them resources to aid the recovery process. One of the services it provides is adaptive sports. The SOCOM participants this year earned medals at rugby, wheelchair basketball, track and field, cycling, archery, and swimming.
Additionally, the Warrior Care Program helps service members transition back into civilian life with medical care and career planning.
"Their mission becomes recovery," explained Kelly Ammerman, who is the director of U.S. SOCOM’s Warrior Care Program. "If you give them the opportunity and create the space to do it, they will surprise you – and a lot of times they will get back to the team."
The adaptive sports program gives the service members something to work towards and also builds a sense of community and team building through sports.
"When I became sick, there was no clear road map for how to navigate it," said SOCOM adaptive athlete Jerry Millan. "The Warrior Care Program gave me that community I was missing, and now I can help others walk the path I once had to forge on my own."