I am the Master of my Fate and the Captain of my Soul

Filed under Staff Stories, Warrior Games by on May 11, 2011 at 7:50 pm {no comments}

By Patricia Sands, WTC Stratcom

AW2 Soldier SGT Alonzo Lunsford coaches three 2011 Warrior Games wheelchair basketball players during training.

SGT Alonzo Lunsford is an AW2 Soldier and one of the coaches for the 2011 Warrior Games wheelchair basketball team. Much has happened since he was a coach last year for shot put and discus. Coach Lunsford was one of the survivors from the Fort Hood tragedy and was shot six times, resulting in blindness in one of his eyes. He is still recovering, but insisted on being at the Warrior Games for the players.

Asked why it was vital for him to return as a coach, he replied, “It is about the Soldiers and showing what is possible. These games are exciting and invigorating. The Soldiers feel alive and see progress with their mind and their bodies. Participating in athletics is very therapeutic. It releases negative feelings and gives an outlet for frustration. The Soldier can take the stress and tension out on the court and not on those in his or her life.”

Watching the players on the court, he added, “The teamwork builds friendships for life. We all have chewed the same dirt. These are my people and they have been through the same pain,” Lunsford said. “What we have been through is culture shock to those out of the military.” After listening to these words, I realized that it is therapeutic for him and the athletes to be together. It is another way to heal and is a reality about which civilians can sympathize, but cannot empathize.

He lives by the words in the title of this blog, “I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.” He will tell you that he may not be able to play basketball, but he can coach. He said life is about looking at what you have and making the most out of it. He is from a long line of military and law enforcement people. When I asked this father of five if he was planning on staying in the Army, he replied, “Of course, we are still at war. If I can be of service to the Army, I will stay. When the war is done, I will think about getting out.”

For now he hopes that Warrior Games will expand and more players will come forward. He believes the Warrior Games helps wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers and their Families, while educating and involving the public in a very positive way.

Go Army!

And the Army Goes Rolling Along

Filed under Staff Stories, Warrior Games by on May 10, 2011 at 7:51 pm {no comments}

By Patricia Sands, WTC Stratcom

The 2011 Warrior Games Army wheelchair basketball team started training yesterday to prepare for next week’s competition.

Keep that tune in your mind when you come to see the Army wheelchair basketball team play. They plan to advance and complete their mission. What is their mission? The gold medal.

SGT Daniel Biskey is back and he is going for the gold medal. Last year, Biskey and his team won the wheelchair basketball silver medal in the 2010 Warrior Games. He has had his mind set on this year’s event since the defeat to the Marines. To prepare for the 2011 Warrior Games, he played wheelchair basketball four days a week and hand cycled whenever possible. Being a tough competitor, he was only saddened that he had to limit to two events. He would prefer to compete in all of them.

Indeed, SGT Biskey, and all of his team mates are a force to contend with on and off the playing field. Biskey has demonstrated his resiliency in many facets of his life and has overcome great challenges. For example, in November 2009, SGT Biskey was injured in Afghanistan while on foot patrol. During that mission he stepped on a mine that exploded and resulted in a left leg below the knee amputation. To talk with him now, the mission continues and he hopes to find a new way to serve.

This week SGT Biskey is training with his battle buddies on the court. These ten players have never met each other before, but they are kindred spirits and instant friends. They are the seasoned warriors and their level of training is clear. With the leadership of wheelchair basketball Coaches Doug Garner and SGT Alonzo Lunsford, the team metamorphosed from playing as individuals to jelling as a force that took ground and learned tactical ways of working together. And this was just the first day.

The game mimics life in many ways. During coaching sessions, Performance Enhancement Specialist Richard Harris of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program asked the team to write goals. As they did, he spoke about the power of the mind and the connection with the body. He said their program has noted that there are five conditions that work toward a high level of performance. These are: confidence, goal setting, attention control, energy management, and imagery. He said these are mental skills and like physical skills, they can get stronger with practice. To get mentally tough, he said the daily strengthening of these conditions will bring out the best in each athlete, and their physical performance will follow. These suggestions are not just for use during the game of basketball, but for the Soldiers and Veterans to use long after the game is over.

What were the players’ goals? SGT Devon Maston said, “First, I want to win no doubt. But I want to have fun winning. Second, I want to become a better player and a better person. Third, I want to be there to help my teammates on and off the court.”

Without a doubt, they are already gold in my book.

WTC Stratcom will be covering the various wheelchair basketball games all next week. Follow the coverage on the WTC blog, WTC Twitter page, and AW2 Facebook page.

Medal of Honor Recipient SSG Salvatore Giunta Selected as Warrior Games 2011 Torchbearer

Filed under Staff Stories, Warrior Games by on May 8, 2011 at 7:47 pm {one comment}

By Jim Wenzel, WTC Stratcom

Medal of Honor recipient SSG Salvatore Giunta, shown here at the New York Stock Exchange, will serve as torchbearer at the opening of this month’s Warrior Games.

Medal of Honor recipient SSG Salvatore Giunta of Fort Collins, CO, has been selected to be the torchbearer for this year’s Warrior Games Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, on May 16, 2011.

The competition, which is a joint effort between the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Department of Defense, will take place on May 16-21, 2011. The Warrior Games will feature 200 wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army Special Operations Command. Competitors will compete in shooting, swimming, archery, track and field, cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball.

Giunta, the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War, was awarded the nation’s highest military award for heroism by President Barack Obama at the White House on November 16, 2010. Guinta received the award for repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire in order to save American lives and for rescuing a fellow Soldier from the hands of the Taliban.

Although he is very humble about the honor and has often claimed that he is an “average” Soldier simply doing what any other would have done in his place, no other Soldier is better suited for bearing the Warrior Games torch. “It is an honor to have SSG Giunta light the torch at the opening ceremony,” said Warrior Transition Command (WTC) Commander BG Darryl A. Williams. “His heroic action is an inspiration to the wounded, ill, and injured competitors that he represents.”

The Warrior Games is a way for wounded, ill, and injured athletes to push themselves beyond their limits and to recognize that with exceptional effort and determination they can achieve success in competition and in other areas of their lives. The Warrior Games is also an opportunity to showcase adaptive sports programs at Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) and wounded warrior units within all the service branches to demonstrate that physical activity, especially sports, is an important component of healing and rehabilitation. To learn more about the Warrior Games, please visit the Warrior Games Web page on the Warrior Transition Command website.

Support in the Form of Four Paws

Filed under Behavioral Health, Staff Stories by on May 6, 2011 at 10:42 am {4 comments}

By Christin Barden, AW2 Advocate and Air Force Veteran

AW2 Advocate and Air Force Veteran Christin Barden, pictured above with her husband Edward, intends to help manage her PTSD and TBI with the help of her dog Bravo and training from Paws and Stripes.

Last week I was introduced to my new best friend. He is a rescued, 12-month-old black lab I named Bravo. Like any good friend, he provides me physical and emotional support when needed, helps calm my anxieties, and unlike humans, never judges me.

Although I have had tremendous support from Family and friends when I found out I was receiving my dog, several people questioned why I need Bravo to help me face my injuries. People wanted to know how I could benefit from him.

The people closest to me understand, but others in our communities and even in the AW2 community may not realize the significant impact from a canine companion. This is when I realized that I had an opportunity to educate people about the invisible wounds of war and how dogs like Bravo, can play a part in healing.

I am a Veteran and an AW2 Advocate who has post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury, and mobility issues. Most people think I have it all together, however very few know about the level of pain, stress, anxiety, and sometimes depression that I live with every day since my military service.

Bravo helps me attain freedom that I have not experienced in a long time. Although we are bonding really well and already in love, we have a lot of work to do together and I am looking forward to our journey together.

Every week we will work with trainers and will face challenges that are far outside our comfort levels. The training will force both of us to confront our anxieties and in the end, this experience will teach us both to trust again. I guess it is like going through basic training again. Although I may get some barks at me, I won’t get any yelling. Stay posted for more information about my adventure in the coming months.

Editor’s note: The expressed comments and views of guest bloggers do not reflect the views of WTC or the United States Army.

SGT Seyward McKinney Returns to Warrior Games

Filed under Adaptive Sports, Soldier Stories, Warrior Games by on May 5, 2011 at 5:55 pm {no comments}

By Donna Butler, WTC Stratcom

SGT Seyward McKinney will compete in the 10K recumbent cycling and sitting shot-put events at the 2011 Warrior Games.

In March 2009, AW2 Veteran SGT Seyward McKinney’s life changed. After returning from Iraq, McKinney was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain. She was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and underwent numerous surgeries and nine days after the last, one of the vessels in her brain leaked, which caused her to have a stroke. Paralyzed on the right side of her body, she lost her right-sided peripheral vision. Although her injuries are not combat-related, she is a living testament that non-combat related injuries can challenge Soldiers just as much as combat-related injuries.

McKinney is stationed at the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) and is working diligently to learn how to overcome her injuries. Her efforts have empowered herself to reach another milestone in her life—competing in the 2010 Warrior Games. She competed in the women’s sitting shot-put, in addition to 10K recumbent cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. These events helped her attain the sense of teamwork she enjoyed in the Army and now can continue to enjoy with athletics. At the 2010 Warrior Games, she won a gold medal in cycling and a bronze medal in shot-put. These two achievements demonstrated to McKinney that with determination and passion, she could continue to succeed.

Over the past year, she continued physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and uses horseback riding as a way to help treat her injuries. Her performance at the 2010 Warrior Games inspired her to continue striving to reach other goals. Since 2010, McKinney purchased a home, participated in a Paws for Purple Hearts internship to work with animals that assist wounded, ill, and injured Veterans, and competed in the New Orleans Ironman competition. These achievements inspired McKinney to raise the bar.

Today, McKinney continues to not let her injuries stand in her way. In a short few weeks, she will return to the Warrior Games to compete in 10K recumbent cycling and sitting shot-put. Her father, William McKinney, is her coach and personal trainer and helps her train for the Warrior Games at the YMCA. Every week, she completes aggressive workouts three times a week and bikes on various local trails. When asked why she is competing again, she responded, “I’d like to keep improving my time on the bike and distance on the shot-put. Looking for speed and distance this time will hopefully lead towards the opportunity to earn another medal.”

She sees the Warrior Games as an opportunity to compete against herself. It’s an opportunity to prove to herself that if she can make it to this level athletically once again, then she can continue to succeed in other areas of her civilian life.

Learning How to Speak Again

Filed under Soldier Story by on May 4, 2011 at 10:51 am {3 comments}

By Alan Morales, WTC Stratcom

AW2 Soldier SGT Ian Ralston at an awards ceremony at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

When you say good night to a loved one or say thank you to a stranger, you use an ability that most of us take for granted—speech. After my interview with AW2 Soldier SGT Ian Ralston, I asked myself, how exactly do I speak? Do I first think about speaking? Do I tense my muscles and ligaments to form words? The reality is that for the vast majority of us, we don’t think about how we speak, we just speak. For Ralston, this was an ability he thought he had lost forever.

Ralston has very few recollections from the event that changed his life in Taji, Iraq. It was July 2010 when his vehicle was attacked by an improvised explosive device (IED) hanging from the ceiling of a concrete overpass. Ralston describes, “It was like the movies. Everything turned to slow motion, my hearing was muffled, and all I could hear were the voices of other Soldiers crying out to me, asking if I was okay. Then, it all turned to black.”

A few weeks later in Landstuhl, Germany, a physician informed Ralston about his injury. Heavily sedated at the time, however, he doesn’t remember talking to a doctor and it wasn’t until he was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, when he truly understood his injuries. His first clear memory since the attack in Iraq, he awoke, stared at his Family, and tried to speak. That’s when he knew and thought to himself, “I will never speak again.”

The IED attack paralyzed him from the neck down, preventing him from speaking or eating. He eventually had a tracheotomy tube placed in his throat to help him breathe; however, after a few days, started to choke. The doctors quickly removed the tube from his throat and realized he was trying to mouth words. This was the first day of his journey to learn how to speak once again.

Ralston spent weeks working with speech therapists to relearn how to speak and eat. Because certain parts of his throat did not completely regain the ability to move, he had to learn alternative ways to shape syllables and vowels. He walked a tightrope, balancing positive and negative emotions that often left him spiritually drained. He described, “I was scared. I spent a month in bed doing nothing. Now, I was trying to speak, working so hard and not getting very far. I felt exhausted. I often thought to myself, this is just a waste of my time.”

Nevertheless, inspiration came from another source. Ralston was accompanied by his Family members who took turns driving the 12 hours from their hometown in Iowa to Walter Reed every week to be with him. The dedication of his Family shed light on his opportunity to regain what he thought he had lost. As Ralston explained to me, it wasn’t just the chance to speak again, it was the chance to say, “I love you” to his girlfriend or even simply tell a joke. He became inspired and chose not to look at each day’s progress, but the overall journey. He quickly became determined to make his dream a reality if not for him, for his Family and loved ones.

“I am very self-driven and don’t try to let obstacles get in my path and trip me up,” shared Ralston. “I stay positive. I stay motivated for my Family. Back then, I knew that if I pushed myself, then I could improve my life and improve theirs.” It took him approximately four weeks to relearn how to enunciate words and be able to digest more than a few ice chips. On the phone, I remarked at his ability to speak. I realized that for each word, he had to learn how to recalibrate his brain so his throat muscles could correctly mouth and vocalize words. I realized that speaking is no longer intuitive for him.

Before ending the telephone interview, I asked Ralston about the future. He shared with me that he intends to attend college and earn a bachelor’s degree in history to pursue a teaching career. When asked why teaching, he responded, “As a former trainer in the Army, it’s a good feeling when you realize what you are saying is getting through to your students. You get to see their eyes light up.” I ventured to say that the feeling must be similar to what he felt when he first spoke to his Family and girlfriend. It was a spark that inspired them and inspired Ralston to continue driving forward.

Welcome to the AW2 Community Support Network

Filed under Community Support Network by on April 29, 2011 at 4:04 pm {no comments}

By Patty Sands, WTC Stratcom

Join me in welcoming the newest organizations in the AW2 Community Support Network. These organizations are part of the 223 AW2 Community Support Network organizations that help better the lives of AW2 Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families. Click on the links below to get to know them.

The AW2 Community Support Network was created based on direct requests from severely wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, Veterans, and Families. Wounded Soldiers stated that connection with their local community and community leaders was essential for their success and reintegration. For more information, please visit the AW2 Community Support Network webpage.

Do you know of a caring organization that wants to assist wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers, Veterans and their Families? If so, please email the AW2 Community Support Network at the below email address. I welcome your recommendations and referrals.

Send organization referrals to AW2CommunitySupportNetwork@conus.army.mil

The Story Behind the Photo, CPL Kendra Coleman

Filed under Soldier Story by on April 29, 2011 at 12:12 pm {6 comments}

By Tania Meireles, WTC Stratcom

AW2 Soldier CPL Kendra Coleman is featured on several AW2 outreach materials.

“I want to give back to the Soldiers who fight for my freedom and sacrifice their life for me,” said AW2 Soldier CPL Kendra Coleman about her future.

At 20-years-old, she knew she wanted to fight in the war on terrorism and joined the Army on July 25, 2007. She served with the 173D Special Troops Battalion, part of the 173D Airborne Brigade Combat Team as a military police (MP) officer and paratrooper. She deployed to Afghanistan on November 19, 2009, and her job was to train Afghan police and keep the local village of Charkh safe.

On May 11, 2010, she was clearing a village, she recalled, “I was hugging a wall to clear a corner, and after I cleared the corner I looked down. That’s when I saw a randomly placed pile of tires. I could feel the evil in the air.”

An improvised explosive device (IED) immediately exploded and she was knocked to the ground. “I knew I was hit,” she said. “I reached down to my left leg pocket to grab my tourniquet. My pocket wasn’t there, just the remaining pieces of what was my left leg.”

She is currently assigned to a Warrior Transition Unit and receives care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Brooke Army Medical Center. “WRAMC has given me my life back,” she said. “The medical care I have received here at WRAMC has been phenomenal.” Now using a prosthetic leg, she said, “I almost feel like me again.”

One of the highlights of her recovery was participating in a snowboarding program. “I never thought I would snowboard again, but I did it,” she said. “I got back up on my board—it was an amazing feeling of achievement.”

With the assistance of AW2 Community Support Network member Sentinels of Freedom, she plans to attend college. “They provided me a four-year scholarship to the school of my choice, all expenses paid including living expenses,” she said.

Coleman wants to attend Georgia Institute of Technology to earn a master’s in prosthetics and work with other wounded warriors at an Army Military Treatment Facility. She hopes to motivate other wounded warriors to never give up, stating, “Don’t let the enemy determine your future—improvise and overcome.”

Warrior Games Marksman Hunts for Gold

Filed under Adaptive Sports, Staff Stories, Warrior Games by on April 28, 2011 at 1:23 pm {no comments}

By Jim Wenzel, WTC Stratcom

Warrior Games shooter SPC David Oliver poses at the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Brigade marksmanship training range.

Warrior Games 2011 is just around the corner. On May 17, roughly 200 Warrior Games athletes from all the military services will gather at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO to compete in track and field, cycling, swimming, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, archery, and shooting events. The members of the Army shooting team in particular, are determined to continue last year’s winning streak. In 2010, the Army shooting team was awarded 9 of the 12 shooting medals.

Despite the fact that last year’s winner was determined by a slim three tenths of a point, SPC David Oliver is looking for gold when he journeys to Colorado next week. Oliver was an infantryman serving in Afghanistan in December of 2009. He was serving as the gunner of a vehicle when it was attacked and rolled off the side of the road. His right arm sustained a crushing injury which required medical evacuation to Walter Reed and amputation of his arm at the shoulder.

Oliver immediately signed up for the Warrior Games after he heard the announcement at a Walter Reed Warrior Transition Brigade (WTB) company formation in January. When asked why he chose shooting, his response was both direct and confident, “I’ve always been a naturally good shot.” Oliver strengthened his natural ability by completing additional training time on the range each week and additional strength training. Noting that his injury has since turned him from a right-handed to left-handed shooter, and asked if it was difficult to switch hands, he replied, “Not really. When it comes down to it, the fundamentals of shooting are the same.” It is clear that this Sacramento, CA native mastered the mental resiliency required to meet the high pressure environment of the competitive shooting range.

MSG Howard Day, the Warrior Games shooting coach for the Army team describes the course of fire for the rifle competitors as 40 pellets shot in 70 minutes at a target roughly 30 feet away. The difficulty of this feat can only be gauged upon examination of the target. The ten scoring rings are grouped on a paper square no bigger than a cocktail napkin, and the “ten” ring is about the width of a pencil eraser. Day explained, “one dropped shot and you might as well pack it in and go home.” The finalists will most likely be determined by a computer that can calculate exactly how close to the center of the ten ring each shot is placed.

Although Day concludes that the Warrior Games are “not about the medals,” it is clear that SPC David Oliver will bring his best competitive game to Colorado Springs and feels that he will show strong for the Army and himself. As for the future, Oliver places a high priority on staying in the Army but will keep all options open. There is no doubt that he will succeed when he applies the same shooter mentality and focus he is exercising on the range to explore his future career options.

We Rode Hard, Met the Challenge

Filed under Adaptive Sports, Guest Blogger, Soldier Story by on April 28, 2011 at 10:20 am {one comment}

By LTC Marc Hoffmeister, AW2 Soldier

(left to right) AW2 Soldier COL Dave Haines, former President George W. Bush, AW2 Soldier LTC Patty Collins, and AW2 Soldier LTC Marc Hoffmeister brought their A-game during a mountain biking trek this week in Texas (Photo courtesy of Paul Morse).

When John Wordin, director of Ride 2 Recovery, invited me to mountain bike in Texas, I was more than excited at the opportunity. When he informed me that we would be riding with former President George W. Bush, I was speechless. Biking has been one of the greatest means of recovery I’ve had. It brought me freedom from the hospitals, built back my fitness level, and got me back in the fight. And now it brought the opportunity to ride with the president! As an avid mountain biker, I assumed 100 km of trail with the president wouldn’t be all that tough—after all, he’s not all that young. Fast forward to today as we wrapped up the final miles of the Warrior 100, and I can honestly say the man brought his A-game and he knows how to handle a bike.

Fourteen wounded warriors joined the president at the Lajitas Resort in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Lajitas, TX, for three days of mountain biking, April 25-27, 2011, as part of the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s Social Enterprise Initiative. The event brought together warriors representing the Ride 2 Recovery, World Team Sports, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and the Wounded Warrior Project to highlight the continuing commitments they have made to support our wounded.

Make no mistake, this was no pleasure cruise. The 100 kilometers of trail was rocky and technical, demanding intermediate to expert level bike handling and a high level of fitness to maintain the demanding pace set by the president and his special guest, Lance Armstrong. Between the two of them and the dry desert heat along the Mexican border, all of us had our work cut out for us to keep up the pace. But we met the challenge head on, just as we’ve maintained our strength of purpose in recovering from our wounds—there was no way we were going to be dropped by the president, so we rode hard and met his challenge.

Former President George W. Bush and professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong set a demanding pace for the group of riders (Photo courtesy of Paul Morse).

The Warrior 100 was a once in a lifetime experience which reminded me how strong our warriors are in their recovery and how incredible the support we have is, literally from the top down. The support for the event was phenomenal as well. Everything was thought of and perfectly coordinated; lodging, food, transportation, bike maintenance. It was obvious how professionally the president’s staff had planned and executed this event. It was a privilege I will not forget and an experience I hope others will share as well. The president stated the goal is to repeat this event in the future, but first you have to get back on the bike.

Check out interviews, pictures, and video from the trail at www.w100k.com.

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