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Twenty-four wounded warriors from the Air Force gathered April 30 through May 5, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the 3rd annual Warrior Games. The games are designed to introduce ill, injured or wounded service members to Paralympic sports. The Air Force team comprises active duty and Reserve Airmen from across the country who still desire to represent the Air Force. Their injuries range from post-traumatic-stress disorder to quadriplegia.

(From left) Caitlyn Riley, Jojo Ogg, Jarye Mack and Steve Austin react to a referee as they work the scorers' table during a wheelchair basketball game between the Air Force and the Navy teams. All members of the group are unpaid Warrior Games volunteers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Val Gempis)

The Warrior Games is a huge production with thousands of moving parts. There are athletes and coaches from each branch of service and this year, the British Armed Services. There are family members, spectators, reporters, equipment to be transported, venues to be set up and more. With all these people to attend to and tasks to be done, it would be a huge feat to get everything done without the help of volunteers.

The volunteers rise with the sun and are their jobs aren’t  done until long after it goes down to help make sure the games run as smoothly as possible.  At each event, teams of maroon T-shirted volunteers can be seen working diligently.

Each volunteer offers his time as well as his own money to pay for his airfare, hotel and food.

“We don’t provide anything for them except for (a volunteer) T-shirt. Maybe that’s the incentive for them,” said Rich Cardillo, the Warrior Games volunteer coordinator. “I don’t think it’s the T-shirt. It’s coming up here to support the service members.”

This year, nearly 400 people applied for 320 volunteer slots. The 320 chosen, who represent 14 states and live as far away as Hawaii, will take advantage of 640 volunteer opportunities during the course of the games.

“The online registration went active on the 1st of March, and we actually had to shut the site down in mid-April because we just had too many applicants for the volunteer requirements needed,” Cardillo said. “Over the last three years, the volunteer interest has grown every year. Last year we had about 300 applications. I think when volunteers start to learn about what’s going on, it’s their way of paying back the service member.”

With such a desire to serve, there are plenty of ways for volunteers, who are involved in almost every aspect of the games, to help.

“Most of the volunteers are connected with one of the seven sports for the Warrior Games,” Cardillo said. “In that capacity, they help set up, tear down, score, crowd control — anything having to do with that competition. Then there’s another group of volunteers that do more of the administrative work to keep the operations going. We have a small group this year working with VIPs as escorts, and we have some people working in the hospitality room with the family members. Wherever help is needed, we try to recruit volunteers to do that.”

Cardillo said a large number of volunteers are veterans and come from the Colorado Springs area, a military community and the city where the games are hosted. But the word is starting to spread across the country and the volunteers are making the trip to come participate.

Two adapted physical education majors from Texas Woman’s University heard about the games and decided to volunteer for the first time. The pair said they came to gain a better insight into adapted sports. They have learned more than they anticipated.

“(Adaptive sports) is something I really already believed in, but seeing competition and disability sport being a component of therapy is really reinforced being out here,” said graduate student Brooke Miller. “I had no idea until I was able to come out here and see it first hand and help with it.”

During their time helping the athletes and their families, Dillon and Miller have also become recruiters for new volunteers and advocates for the games.

“Even when we just post our pictures on Facebook, it just brings a lot of awareness (to the games) and the military,” Dillon said. “People are asking where we are and what are we doing. I think that in itself, just getting the message out there is really important.”

“I think if we could come out to help every year, we would,” she said.

Dillon said this experience has also inspired her to get people to start their own programs in their states to help veterans who can’t make it to the Warrior Games or to help train veterans who aspire to participate in the games.

Just a week before final exams and graduation for both women, they agreed it was time well spent. Even though they kept long hours and a busy schedule throughout the week, the experience was worth it.

“I know it sounds corny, but it’s life changing,” Miller said. “It really is.”

Some of the volunteers, like Dillon and Miller, have no affiliation with the military and being a volunteer has given them a peek into the life of military members, especially wounded warriors. For the veterans, volunteering for the Warrior Games can be a chance to be part of the fight again. Some of them know first-hand the types of sacrifices these service members have given.

William Reynolds, a retired Army captain, was injured in roadside bomb blast in 2004. After he retired in 2007, he went to work for Deloitte, the presenting sponsor of the Warrior Games, where he learned about the opportunity to volunteer at Warrior Games.

Reynolds is the wheelchair basketball volunteer coordinator for this year’s games. He schedules the 22 volunteers who help during the two simultaneously-played games each night.

“Being a wounded warrior myself, it was just a no-brainer to apply to come to the event,” he said. “Being able to support everybody here who has reached this pinnacle in their journey of rehabilitation — it’s amazing. Just being here and seeing them back on top of their game is great and (so is) being able to support them.”

Nancy Pfander, from the Colorado Springs area, is also a veteran who chooses to show her support for injured, ill and wounded service members by volunteering at the Warrior Games. As a retired Army nurse, she’ll always have a fondness for Army green, but she also has a special place in her heart for the Marine Corps.

“My son was a Marine and he was killed in Iraq on Nov. 4, 2006,” she said. “If he had lived, though, he would’ve been a triple amputee. I got to know a lot of the other Marines who were injured in the unit he was attached to. A couple of them come to the Olympic Training Center to train for Team Semper Fi, so I know how important physical activity is to their recovery.”

Pfander said she knows that events like the Warrior Games, which give wounded warriors reasons to live, are worth volunteering for.

“I just feel like I need to do something for the ones who are living,” she said.

No matter the reason they’re here, where they come from, their military affiliation or age each volunteer’s effort is valuable.

“Volunteers play a crucial role (in the Warrior Games),” Reynolds said. “It obviously can’t be run without volunteers. They’re like the cheerleaders for the whole event. They’re right there down on the ground interacting with the warriors really closely. They provide that personal nature for the event. Everyone here has a personal connection with the cause.”

Senior Master Sgt. Mike Sanders (left) and Maj. Scott Bullis raise their hands as they cross the finish line at the end of the recumbent cycling event of Warrior Games 2012 at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Because they crossed the line together and tied for second, retired Chief Master Sgt. Damian Orslene, who finished fourth, received the bronze medal. (U.S. Air Force photo by Val Gempis)

Air Force wounded warriors presented a strong showing in the cycling portion of the 2012 Wounded Warrior Games.

In the first event of the week, the Air Force team snagging the silver and bronze medals the in the men’s recumbent cycling competition.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Levi Marshall secured the winning time of 39:31, followed by Air Force Maj. Scott Bullis and Senior Master Sgt. Mike Sanders, who tied for second place at 43:07. Retired Chief Master Sgt. Damian Orslene rounded out the top three just .37 shy of second place with a time of 43:43.

The Air Force trio made an effort to finish the race together, regardless of medal rankings. Bullis and Sanders crossed the finish line hand-in-hand. Their shared second place turned Orslene’s fourth place into a third place bronze medal.

“I think that makes a great statement about what these games mean for (the Air Force team),” Orslene said. “If it wasn’t for these guys, I wouldn’t be standing here with a medal around my neck. It sets the tone for the Air Force team. We’re not all about individual awards; it’s about what we do for the team. These guys set the perfect example.”

Bullis and Sanders both agreed that their performance was all about the team. The pair knew Orslene had mechanical troubles with his bike and decided help their wingman earn his way onto the winners block.

“By doing something like what we did, we made a memory,” Sanders said. “And now we’ve got a team that is probably very motivated and inspired. We want them to do the same thing throughout the games.”

“It’s not about racking up medals. It’s nice to have them,” Bullis said. “It’s about everybody working together.”

Also in the men’s recumbent, Capt. Anthony Simone finished 1:35:53.

Other Air Force cyclists include Maj. Gregg Rich in the physical disability category, who finished with a time of 1:07:48; former Senior Airman Jeff Odom and Tech. Sgt. Christopher Wolff, both in handcycling events, with respective times of 27:30 and 29:59; former Staff Sgt. Adam Tanverdi in the men’s bicycle open finished with a time of 53:48; retired Senior Airman Jennifer Stone in the women’s bicycle event, finishing at 24:58; and retired Senior Airman Ramina Oraha in the women’s recumbent at 32:51.

Retired Senior Airman Kendall Madden aims at his target during the archery event at the 2012 Warrior Games. The Warrior Games are taking place at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Val Gempis)

Corey Carter, a recruiter with the Naval Recruiting District of Ohio in Columbus, earned a place in the top eight out of 33 archers. The top eight individuals in each event, compound and recurve bows, competed against each other in a bracket-style competition for a chance to win the gold. As the eighth-place compound archer, Carter was pitted against the first place Marine archer Mark O’Brien.

“With the amount of time that I had [to practice], I achieved what I came to do,” Carter said. “I made it to the advancement round, so that was good. I did everything I could.”

Carter and his fellow Air Force archers went up against teams from each branch of service and the U.S. Special Operations Command .The Air Force team had a good showing in the individual and team events, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Marines and Army from taking the gold and silver, respectively, in all four categories.

“I achieved what I came to do.” — Corey Carter

After three ends of six bows each, O’Brien out shot Carter and won the bronze for the Marines. This is the first year Air Force archers competed in the team events, and for four of the six team members, it was the first time competing in the competition.

Recurve team veteran Gwen Sheppard said she and her teammates are happy with their performance.

“We did better than I thought we would,” Sheppard said. “We didn’t get to practice as a team until yesterday. We had to start communicating with each other and we did that really well, so that was a plus. Each one of us stayed calm and called out the time.”

Both the compound and recurve teams made it to the bronze medal rounds, but weren’t able to secure the medals for the Air Force this year.

“The Army beat us, but they’re a strong team,” Sheppard said. “But we came close to the Navy, and next year we’ll get it.”

Carter, Noel Sepulveda and Kevin Taylor represented the Air Force on the compound team. Sheppard, George Stiltner and Kendall Madden made up the recurve team.

The Marines and Army swept the gold and silver in both team events. The Special Operations Command team earned the bronze in compound and the Navy in recurve.

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Wounded warrior athletes compete with many of the same rules and similar equipment as their able-bodied counterparts in traditional sports. However, they need some equipment that’s modified to accommodate their disabilities, such as the recumbent bicycle, lowered nets in sitting volleyball, and wheelchairs in basketball. These photos show some of the equipment our Air Force warriors are using in their Warrior Games competition.

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Many wounded warriors endure pain daily during their physical training and rehabilitation. The difference, as they train for athletic competitions like the Warrior Games, is they have a goal that provides extra motivation to fight through the pain in their workouts.

“If you’re just rehabbing to rehab, it’s not as substantial as if you have something you’re training for,” said Cami Stock, this year’s Air Force Wounded Warrior assistant coach and head coach for the first two games. “You’re going to do what you have to do because you know it’s an integral part of your recovery. But when you have a goal, it helps the mental side of it, and they’re able to push a little more, so their tolerance for the pain goes up.”

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Damian Orslene feels pain every day, but his athletic goals are more important to him now than they were before he was injured in Iraq in 2007. A cement truck loaded with explosives detonated near him, causing back, hip and shoulder injuries. He was also eventually diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Veterans Affairs pain management staff members asked Orslene to keep a pain journal to track the peak times of his discomfort. He threw it away five days later.

“I have to train a lot harder now, and I’m in pain every day,” Orslene said. “People ask, ‘Are you hurting?’ I hurt every day of my life. I’m in a lot of pain right now. It’s not a matter of if I’m going to be in pain today, but how much pain I’m going to have.”

Orslene, who is training for his third and final Warrior Games, works out five days a week. He trains in an Ocean Springs, Miss., gym and has a heavy workout two days a week, with a lighter regimen the other three days.

“Because my upper body was injured, and I’m 47, I have to give my upper body a chance to recover, so on Saturday, I have to do a lighter workout,” he said.

Orslene also rides his recumbent bicycle almost daily. He recently rode the Ride 2 Recovery’s Gulf Coast Challenge, a 450-mile ride from New Orleans to Panama City, Fla. But once Orslene began training for the Warrior Games’ cycling competition, his training focus shifted from endurance to speed for the 18-mile recumbent bicycle race.

“I’m still riding every day, but I switched to two interval workouts a week,” Orslene said. “You can only do it twice a week, or you’ll ruin your legs. Then, I do a really good power workout that is basically the equivalent of doing leg presses or squats in the gym, just trying to blast the legs. It’s varying the workouts, trying to build stronger legs. That just makes you faster because it’s all about speed and preparing me to be quicker.

“It’s also getting good advice, eating right and making sure I listen to my body and treat rest days as important as the ride days,” he said. “That’s not easy for me because I’m not a big rester.”

Like Orslene, Retired Senior Airman Jennifer Stone was heavily involved in sports before she was injured in a drive-by shooting in Denver after she returned from deployment in Iraq in 2006. Stone, who officially retired from her Air Force career in March, is also training for Ultimate Champion, the games’ pentathlon competition. The biggest challenges for her in that competition are air rifle shooting and cycling, two events in which she’s never participated. Stone also was working to make the Air Force’s track and field, swimming and wheelchair basketball teams during the selection camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Stone faces serious obstacles with her post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, which force her to be more careful in her training than she had to be before the shooting.

“Sometimes, it’s hard because you’re battling with yourself all the time,” Stone said. “You don’t know if you’re pushing yourself too hard, if there are stressors that may trigger you to go back into that state you were in before. I can’t do so much that it will stress me out, then trigger me so I have outbursts and anxiety. I really have to think things through because I know I can’t overwhelm myself. I have a tendency to do that because I think I can handle more than I can.”

Stone, like Orslene and some other wounded warrior athletes, was already heavily involved in her training before the selection camp because of her previous Games experience. Others, however, were just returning to serious physical training at the selection camps. Retired Master Sgt. Kenneth Gestring didn’t start his training earlier because he didn’t know if he would be accepted. He planned to continue his training after he returned home, especially in swimming.

“I still need to continue training in swimming to keep my endurance,” Gestring said. “If I go back and don’t keep swimming, then I’ll lose the endurance I’m building here. This is a good stepping stone for me to go back and make sure I find the time and a pool to swim some laps, keep that endurance up, and also maybe work on basketball.”

Even with the pain wounded warriors endure, balance is a major concern to make sure they don’t go too far and suffer setbacks in their rehabilitation. There are also days when they just don’t feel like working out. In Orslene’s case, he trains anyway because he doesn’t want to ever feel like he did after he was injured, when he didn’t have athletics in his life.

“My wife asks me why I continue to put myself through this,” Orslene said. “I don’t want to get in the habit of quitting because I don’t want to turn my back on sports ever again. I know what the alternative is.”

The biker’s handcycle broke as he struggled to finish the competition during the 2011 Warrior Games. As the wounded warrior continued his push up the hill, athletes from competing service branch teams clapped and cheered for him to reach the finish line.

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Such emotional scenes weren’t uncommon in the first two years of the Warrior Games. Athletes wanted medals, and each team wanted to win the Chairman’s Cup, but they also remembered the bond everyone in the competition shared.

“It’s true camaraderie, very competitive, and the teams really rally around the service branches,” said Laura Ryan, the U.S. Olympic Committee associate director who has served as operations officer for all three years of the competition. “But when something like that happens, they don’t hesitate to cross the lines to help the other teams to finish a challenge or try to do their best.”

Twenty-nine Air Force wounded warriors will get to experience this camaraderie again as they compete against 167 of their Army, Marine Corps and Navy, Coast Guard and Special Operations counterparts as well as 20 British service members in the 2012 Warrior Games from April 30 to May 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Archery, cycling, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair basketball competitions are scheduled to be at the U.S. Air Force Academy, with the opening ceremony and shooting competition at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

The U.S. Olympic Committee and Department of Defense created the first Warrior Games in 2010 to introduce wounded service members and veterans to Paralympic sports and to help them in their rehabilitation. Many athletes returned to their treatment facilities and Warrior Transition Units and participated consistently in sports programs, Ryan said. However, the goal of the Warrior Games is more than getting athletes involved in competitive sports. It’s encouraging a healthier and happier lifestyle.

“This is an (annual) event used as a tool to support larger programs in an effort to get more and more injured service men, women and veterans into regular physical activity, competing in their communities, interacting and engaging with their families and friends, and just really having better overall health and life,” Ryan said.

“There’s research out there that points to the fact that anybody who has a physical disability who participates in regular physical activity has an overall higher self-esteem, employment rate and education rate,” she said. “There are so many positives that go along with it, and we’re not just talking about competing on a high level. We’re talking about shooting hoops on a club team or maybe going out with your kid to a park. This is a big event for us, but it’s really a tool to get a lot of our folks into that other programming.”

Athletes eligible to compete are considered wounded, ill or injured, and may have a disability such as an arm or leg amputation, back or spinal cord injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder or be visually impaired. Athletic eligibility for the Warrior Games differs from the Paralympic Games because athletes with brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities that aren’t Paralympic eligible or classifiable are allowed to compete in the open category.

“A major difference of why this isn’t necessarily a Paralympic event is because our competition is open to everybody who is served by wounded warrior care programs,” said Steve Cowles, the U.S. Paralympics military programs manager. “In the case of the Air Force, anybody served by Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care is eligible to compete in the Warrior Games. Not all of these people would classify and be able to participate in a true Paralympic event, so our (event) is a little more broad. That’s why we have the open category and allow some of the (athletes who suffer from) traumatic brain injury and PTSD who may not be severe enough to be classifiable in a Paralympic event. Because they’re in this program, they’re allowed and welcome to compete.”

This year England-based charity Help for Heroes will join the U.S.’s Veterans Affairs, the United Service Organization, Fisher House Foundation and Bob Woodruff Foundation in supporting the Warrior Games. The British team will compete against the five U.S. teams in archery, cycling, sitting volleyball, swimming and track and field.

“With our athletes Britain-bound this summer for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are excited to host our friends from the U.K. for this exciting competition,” said Scott Blackmun, the U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive, in a news release. “The Warrior Games truly exemplify the power, not just of sport, but of the human spirit. The USOC and our partners at the DOD and VA are committed to ensuring that physical activity programming is available at the community level for our nation’s heroes to participate in sport.”

Kevin Flynn and members from his team at ATG Rehab in Colorado Springs, Colo., provide support for athletes’ equipment during the games.

“We were asked at the beginning to help with their equipment needs,” said Flynn, a former Marine. “Very few of the teams had their own equipment, and the Olympic Training Center had a bunch of used basketball chairs that we duct-taped and super-glued and wire-tied together to try to make work for these guys.”

Flynn’s company specializes in rehabilitation equipment, like custom wheelchairs, for patients of all ages. Although they typically don’t work on adaptive sports equipment, Flynn’s and his team’s skill sets transfer over and allow them to work with the sports equipment. They can support teams’ equipment needs from wheelchairs to bicycles.

“We’ll do whatever we have to do to keep these guys’ equipment running so they can participate in the games,” Flynn said. “Any equipment they have, we’ll figure out a way to keep it going.”

Another team that supports the athletes is Bill Beiswenger and his team of technicians at Abilities Unlimited, which is also based in Colorado Springs. The company helps athletes who wear prosthesis keep their devices in shape during the games.

Staff members are on call at the event site where they roam to help any athlete who needs prosthesis or orthoses support. There is also one assistive technology provider and a technician at each event to make sure the equipment meets specifications and to repair the equipment on site.

Beiswenger, a Navy veteran, continues to serve his community with his specialty. The team works with disabled veterans and their family members year-round through the military medical system as well as during the games.

“We do whatever we can to help any veteran,” he said. “To me, anyone, especially if their (injury) is service-connected, we need to help them have quality of life.”

Both teams have volunteered their time to support the Warrior Games athletes since the games began. In their experiences working with the wounded warriors, the leaders of both teams said the athletes take good care of their equipment, but sometimes issues do arise.

“A lot of the sports equipment is so specialized, it’s not something you’re going to be able to go to (any store) and find a part for,” Flynn said. “Typically, you just get broken spokes, flat tires, worn-out bearings or maybe a bent footrest or something like that from a collision, fairly minor stuff.”

“When (athletes) start competing, they’re probably running harder, and every once in a while they might come up with an irritation on their residual limb that we can make an adjustment to the socket to eliminate that,” Beiswenger said. “Sometimes we find they practice and they train with their prosthesis, but when they get here, they fail and they can’t compete with a broken prosthetic foot. So we would try to get them a new foot as soon as possible so they can compete. Every once in a while there might be a fine-tune alignment thing to make sure the prosthesis is aligned as perfectly as possible for the type of competition they’re doing.”

Beiswenger said a prosthesis that’s made for running, especially at high speeds, is different than one made for walking. When people walk, they walk with a heel-toe gait so their heels hit the ground and then roll forward to their toes. But when people start running, they run on their toes, so the prosthesis are usually longer and aligned for that faster gait.

Both teams try to do all the repairs they can on site, although sometimes athletes need to go into the office to get fixed up.

“If they have minor things that need to be done, we just take care of it,” Beiswenger said. “If they have major things that need to be done, we’ll either contact the prosthetist in their community or get them new parts and work with whoever we need to to make sure they can compete during the time they’re here.”

The support teams may not be compensated monetarily or awarded any medals during the games, but both team leaders agreed there is a benefit to using their skills to support injured, ill and wounded service members.

“It fills my heart with joy to see these guys — they’ve been through hell and the worst things in the world have happened to them — out there enjoying themselves in competition and the camaraderie,” Flynn said.

“It’s a great thing to be able to help someone out, and you go in there and watch them compete, and you see the big smiles on their faces because they’re feeling like they’re part of something,” Beiswenger said. “You know they’re not thinking, ‘I have a disability,’ right now. They’re thinking, ‘I’m out here with my colleagues, and this guy Bill helped me.’ It’s a good feeling.”

In June 2010, a helicopter carrying seven rescue personnel crashed in Afghanistan. The rescue crew was on its way to save injured service members in the field when the helicopter was struck by enemy fire. Five crew members died from their injuries.

But two survived.

Today, those two battle-bonded Airmen, Capt. Anthony Simone and Master Sgt. Christopher Aguilera, face another challenge together on a different field. They are competing in the 2012 Warrior Games on the Air Force team. This is the first Warrior Games for each of them.

“I love archery, and I love cycling, and I can do both of those here,” Simone said. “And seeing Aggie, that’s why I love coming here.”

“It’s really awesome to look over and see Tony at the games pushing himself,” Aguilera said. “It’s a definite motivation.”

Both of the Airmen have had a long journey on the road to recovery, but they continue to fight for themselves and the Air Force.

Aguilera, who was a gunner on the helicopter, literally broke most of his body during the crash and sustained severe burns.

“I wasn’t scared, but quite honestly, I thought I was going to die,” Aguilera said. “I couldn’t breathe right, I couldn’t talk right, and I could barely lift my head because (all of my bones) were broken. We were surrounded by the enemy. I thought everyone was gone and I was going to be with my brothers in heaven.”

The crew of the second bird in their two-ship formation rescued Simone and Aguilera. The tables were turned, and the rescuers were now the ones being rescued.

“I had a lot of pain so I was hallucinating a lot, and for some reason I thought I was at a campfire or something,” Aguilera said. “It was really the aircraft on fire. I kind of woke because the dirt (from the rotor wash) was hitting my face, and I looked up and saw the three pararesuemen from our two-ship walking up to our bird. It’s a bad day when you see guys who see a lot of ugly stuff looking at you like ‘This is bad.’”

Aguilera is back at work with his unit, the 66^th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and even received an “excellent” score on his physical training test, without any waivers.  He said his next professional goal is to get back on flying status.

Simone didn’t break any bones in the crash, but he incurred a traumatic brain injury that affects the left side of his body and his memory. Simone doesn’t remember anything about the day that changed his life.

“Thank goodness he remembers what happened,” Simone said of Aguilera. “Thank goodness my gunner remembers it because I have no idea. I can trust everything my gunner says, always.”

Simone is still undergoing treatment four times a week at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and uses a recumbent bike and adapted bow that allows him to keep participating in the sports he loves as he regains the use of the left side of his body.

Through everything they’ve been through, individually and together, the pair said they’ve learned to share each other’s successes and not to put their recovery on a timeline.

“Honestly, at the end of the day, I’m just happy to be alive,” Simone said. 

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Jennifer Stone

Rank when retired/separated: senior airman

Age: 30

Hometown: Denver, Colo.

Current residence: Denver, Colo.

Years in service: 5

Injury/disability: Post-traumatic stress disorder

Sport/sports: Cycling, shooting, swimming, sitting volleyball, track and field, wheelchair basketball and Ultimate Warrior.

What do the Warrior Games mean to you? 

This is my third Warrior Games. It builds back the confidence I lost through my injury. It also builds camaraderie and the competitiveness I had and gives me the chance to excel. I love to compete, especially for the Air Force.

What motivated you to try out for the Air Force Warrior Games team?

It was coming out to see people with similar circumstances and see what they were going through. There are a lot of people who have been through worse circumstances, and they still come out and compete.

Invisible Wounds

Ultimate Challenge athlete heals from shooting, battles PTSD

by Tech. Sgt. Mareshah Haynes

A casual observer might note Jennifer Stone’s confidence and air of capability, but could not guess that she is also a disabled veteran and survivor of post-traumatic stress disorder.

After a deployment to Iraq, Stone was visiting her hometown of Denver when she was shot in a drive-by shooting. Bullets went through her chest and ricocheted inside her body, hitting each of her major organs.

She successfully recovered from her physical wounds, but Stone still needed to heal from invisible wounds.

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“At first, all I could think about was physical recovery because when the second bullet went in, it hit all my organs,” Stone said. She didn’t realize anything was wrong emotionally until her next permanent change of station. “I wasn’t around a support system that had known me for a long time, so it was hard to explain what I was feeling.”

Stone deployed once again to Iraq, but this time things were different. As a security forces member, Stone was required to carry a weapon, but her fears kept her from being able to perform her duties.

“I couldn’t arm up for a while because I was having trouble around weapons. I wasn’t sure if people were going to be careful with them,” she said.

After speaking with a counselor, Stone was able to cope with her fear, and began arming up again, but on her next deployment, she was diagnosed with PTSD and eventually medically retired from the Air Force.

“All of a sudden I started having paranoia,” she said. “I stopped eating, I stopped drinking water. Things just started to fall apart and unravel. I started to hear and see things. It was all bad.”

Now, Stone said, things are getting back to normal thanks in part to programs like the Warrior Games.

“It’s taken me a while, but I’m getting there,” she said. “There always is going to be something that reminds me (of the shooting). I always think about it. It’s always in the back of my mind.

“It’s been hard, but the wounded warriors have helped me through it. Through sports, I’m building back my confidence. I’m getting my second wind.”

This is Stone’s third time competing at the games and she continues to push herself to achieve larger goals each time. Last year, Stone competed in swimming for the first time, and took the silver medal for the Air Force team. This year, she is competing  to be the Ultimate Champion.

The Ultimate Champion is a pentathlon-style event. Athletes are assigned points according to their ranking in each sport they compete in. The athlete with the most points at the end of the games earns the title of Ultimate Champion. Each service is allotted two slots and this year, Stone will fill one of those slots as the first woman to compete for the title.

Stone said this will be her last year competing in the Warrior Games, but the lessons she’s learned from the games will follow her forever.

“I love sports, I love to compete and I loved being in the Air Force, so why not show that by competing in sports for the Air Force,” she said. “It’s still a job. You’re still fighting for your country, but in a different way.

“The Air Force was my first love because I felt like I gave everything thing I had to it,” Stone said. I will continue to do that. I’m going to go out, give it my best, and I’m going to go out at my best as well. That’s why I’m continuing with the Ultimate (Champion).  They’ve helped me get back to some kind of normalcy, and I feel like I owe them the best of me when I go out. And that’s what I’m going to do.”