FORT BLISS, Texas (March 7, 2016) -- During opening ceremonies for the March 6 to 10, Army Trials, the Fort Bliss Warrior Transition Battalion Rock Band cut loose with Billy Joel's 1977 hit "Movin' Out." The song title suitably captures the near-term plans for one of the athletes in attendance that night, Sgt. Davey Jones, who will soon say goodbye to fellow Soldiers and staff of the Fort Bragg Warrior Transition Battalion, where recovered from a shoulder injury.
As it happens he will also be saying so long to his fellow Army adaptive sports teammates.
The Army Trials are being held in advance of the 2016 Warrior Games, held June 14 to 22, at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Over 100 wounded, ill and injured Army athletes are competing for 45 coveted slots at the Warrior Games.
Aside the eight lane lap pool at the Fort Bliss Aquatics Center where he had just completed practicing his finishing technique in the freestyle and breaststroke, Jones spoke of his coming transition back to duty, making a permanent change of station to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.
Jones spoke of the cartilage injury in his shoulder and knew that incident was more than a fluke when he reinjured himself while training for Special Forces duty.
After the second occurrence Jones said to himself "I need to get this fixed." He was then assigned to Fort Bragg WTB where he discovered the resiliency-building qualities of adaptive sports.
"The WTB and adaptive sports really helped in getting me reclassified back to active duty," said Jones. "I'm a very resilient person. The sports helped me kick it up a notch and made me want to continue my service in the military."
As a kid growing up in the rolling hills of northwestern Vermont, Jones played ice hockey and soccer. He also learned how to swim at an early age.
"I love being in the water," said Jones, who is also competing in shot put, discus, and archery at Army Trials. Upon arriving at WTB, Jones discovered that it offered swimming as an adaptive sport and immediately signed up.
Though accustomed to the water, Jones recognizes that he has a lot to learn when it comes to swimming competitively. "What's incredible for me in coming to Army Trials, is the quality of the coaching," said Jones. "They're simply amazing."
Jones' favorite technique in the pool is the breaststroke, considered among the slowest of the primary swim strokes owing to the limited propulsion that is generated. It is said that breaststrokers are born and not made on account of its unnatural motion and mechanics.
"I've trained the breaststroke a lot more than I have the others," said Jones, who added that it's also among the preferred swim strokes for those undergoing physical recovery.
In coming to Army Trials, he very much looks forward to the competition and in bettering his individual time. However, Jones admits that, for him, it's more about having the opportunity to again participate in organized adaptive sports before returning to active duty. It's also about being around the many friends he has made in previous Army Trials, saying "I don't know when I'm ever going to get to see them again."
Although this is his last hurrah in terms of Army Trials, Jones is looking forward to joining a U.S. Masters Swimming team once he and his wife arrive in Washington State.
Before "movin' out," Jones insists that he'll do well at Army Trials, but will also have a great deal of fun, saying, "That's what I'm all about."
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