FORT DRUM, N.Y. - Three Soldiers assigned to 3-85 Mountain Infantry (Warrior Transition Unit) will compete as members of the Army team in the inaugural Warrior Games, May 10-14, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The games are part of an effort to inspire recovery, capitalize on physical fitness, and promote new opportunities for growth and achievement.
Staff Sgt. Nathan Haddad, Sgt. David Bratton and Spc. Daniel Kalgren will represent the Fort Drum Warrior Transition Unit and 10th Mountain Division (LI) in the event. They were selected by a committee that evaluated their injuries and abilities. They will compete in a world-class athletic competition against wounded, ill and injured service members from around the world.
The Warrior Transition Command is leading the execution of a DoDwide Warrior Games for wounded, ill, and injured service members. The event is sanctioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympic Military Program.
The Warrior Games will involve 200 competitors drawn proportionally from each armed service. The Army will provide 100 competitors, selected from Warriors in Transition and Army Wounded Warrior active-duty Soldiers, who will compete in individual and/or team events. Selection is based upon medical disability criteria.
Bratton and Kalgren will compete in the Ultimate Warrior event, which consists of 50-meter freestyle swim, 10-meter air rifle, 100-meter sprint track, 1500-meter track and field shot events. Haddad will compete in the air rifle and archery events. In addition, they may be chosen to compete in wheelchair basketball and sitting-volleyball team events.
All three Fort Drum Soldiers are attending marksmanship training clinics at Fort Benning, Ga., to prepare for the competition. Training clinics include familiarization of the air rifle / pistol; an overview of paralympics; an introduction to international shooting; target system; positions (classifications); and, range time. At the clinics, athletes will receive expert instruction from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and train with Soldiers from the Army World Class Athlete Program.
"We want all our nation's wounded warriors to strive to test new limits and achieve new goals as they demonstrate the power of ability over disability," said Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, commander of the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command. "Our service members continually rise to the occasion both in the call to duty and in their efforts to recover from serious injury. The Warrior Games will provide a unique challenge for those who wish to learn more about adaptive sports and compete at a national level."
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