Warrior CARE, team training returns to Eglin

Amy Mlekoday, a Warrior Games athlete, watches as the base honor guard present the colors during the National Anthem at the opening ceremony for the Warrior CARE and Warrior Games training events April 4 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The ceremony kicked off a week-long rehabilitative wounded warrior camp as well as a training session for the Air Force Warrior Games athletes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Warrior CARE, team training returns to Eglin

Brig. Gen. Christopher Azzano, the 96th Test Wing commander, speaks to the Warrior CARE attendees and Warrior Games athletes at the opening ceremony of the two events April 4 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The ceremony kicked off a week-long rehabilitative wounded warrior camp as well as a training session for the Air Force Warrior Games athletes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Warrior CARE, team training returns to Eglin

Tech, Sgt. Christopher Ferrell, Warrior Games team co-captain, shares his story with the Warrior CARE attendees and Warrior Games athletes at the opening ceremony of the two events April 4 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The ceremony kicked off a week-long rehabilitative wounded warrior camp as well as a training session for the Air Force Warrior Games athletes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Warrior CARE, team training returns to Eglin

Brian Shaaf, a Warrior Games athlete, uses a friend’s shoulder to stand during a moment of prayer at the opening ceremony for the Warrior CARE and Warrior Games training events April 4 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The ceremony kicked off a week-long rehabilitative wounded warrior camp as well as a training session for the Air Force Warrior Games athletes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Warrior CARE, team training returns to Eglin

Published April 4, 2016
By Kevin Gaddie
Team Eglin Public Affairs

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The week-long Southeast Warrior CARE event and Warrior Games team training began here April 4.

During the CARE event, 53 seriously wounded, ill and injured military members and veterans, and 30 caregivers will receive training on, among other areas: caregiver support; recovering Airman mentorship and employment; career readiness guidance; and team building.

More than 50 Warrior Games team members from around the country will train in various adaptive rehabilitative sports, including: wheelchair basketball; sitting volleyball; swimming; and track-and-field, to name a few, during the camp. This is the last training camp for the Air Force before the Warrior Games competition June 15-21 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

"We're really happy to see this sea of blue here," Brig. Gen. Christopher Azzano, 96th Test Wing commander, said of the attendees at the opening ceremony. "We know that for many of you, this is not an easy thing to do, but we applaud you for having the courage to take part in games that are going to make you stronger and get you back on the road to recovery."

Marsha Gonzales, Air Force Personnel Center warrior division deputy, said the CARE event will assist the new warriors strive for new horizons in their personal lives, while the training camp will test and help improve physically.

"We'll see first-time participants discovering the joy of what they can do, instead of focusing on what they can't do," Gonzales said. "The training camp participants will get pushed to their limits by their coaches. We're one team, one family, one mission - and that's to focus on care for our warriors and their caregivers, so they can go home and move forward in their recovery."

In 2011, the Department of Defense created the Military Adaptive Sports Program to enhance warrior recovery by engaging wounded, ill and injured service members in ongoing, daily adaptive activities, based on their interest and ability.

Since its inception, this program has assisted more than 158,000 wounded, ill and injured service members at 325 structured camps and clinics, for activities, according to a DOD news release.