EL PASO, Texas (June 9, 2015) --- The crowd cheered and shouted words of encouragement as the athlete steadied his aim and shot, earning his position on the Army team for the 2015 DOD Warrior Games, scheduled for June 19-28.
Medically retired Capt. Frank Barroqueiro - who served in the Army National Guard for 13 years, culminating as an infantry company commander - earned a gold medal in the air rifle prone, a gold medal in the air pistol and a silver medal the men's archery compound category during the Army Trials on Fort Bliss, Texas, March 29 - April 2.
This will be his third trip to the games. During the 2013 Warrior Games, he took a gold medal in the men's archery compound, a silver medal in the team archery compound and a bronze medal in the men's SH1 pistol category. In 2014, he took the silver medal in the men's archery compound and gold in the team archery compound.
Barroqueiro's journey began when the Army gave him the opportunity to finish his bachelor's degree in education.
"I had always thought about serving, and the Army also provided me with the opportunity to finish college," he said.
While serving as an infantry company commander in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Aug. 27, 2009, he was shot during a firefight. He underwent 12 surgeries as the doctors fought to rebuild his arm. Barroqueiro said he had never touched a bow before he was injured.
"My big driving force was when I was in Landstuhl in Germany. There was a huddle of doctors in my room, and they were discussing how they were going to amputate my arm," Barroqueiro said. "I was watching a hunting show on TV, and I mentioned to the nurse that I would like to try that. One doctor looked at me and said I would never shoot a bow. Two years later, I won a gold medal with it. You've just got to keep trying."
Barroqueiro said adaptive sports gave him a renewed sense of purpose and encourages others to give them a try.
"They once again made me feel like I had a mission," he said. "There are loads of people who are hurt and wounded and get going on with things. You may not even have discovered what it is that you really are passionate about yet.
"There might be something waiting around the corner that you would be really good at. When you go out to these clinics where they have these things for the Warrior Games, try everything. You might be good at something and not even realize it."
Barroqueiro said his injury has made him more resilient.
"It completely changed my definition of normal. It ended my mission early. It was the first time I didn't complete my mission," he said. "It also ended my military career, something I really took a lot of pride and joy in. When that was gone, that was a very challenging transition for me. The archery definitely helped with that because it gave me something new to try, and I really had to invest everything into it..."
Barroqueiro is using the leadership experience he gained in the Army and his new love of the sport to pursue his coaching certifications in archery, he said, so that he can teach the sport to other wounded warriors and children with disabilities. He is also competing in USA Archery tournaments.
Barroqueiro said he will continue to compete in the Warrior Games, not so much for the medals for himself, but for his Army team.
"The Warrior Games is so important because it gives an opportunity to our nation's injured, ill and wounded to get back in the fight again and have someone on their left and right again, and they're fighting for a common goal," he said. "They have a mission one more time. They're working for something bigger than themselves. They're trying to win medals and the cup for the Army - not for individuals, that's the biggest thing I like.
"You get the opportunity to see individuals who have done phenomenal things," he said. "We have folks here who have been practically dead, but they came back, and they're here fighting and competing, so it's amazing."
Throughout the games, wounded, ill and injured Service members and veterans from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard will compete in track and field, shooting, swimming, cycling, archery, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
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