LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Air Force Wounded Warrior program officials have announced four athletes from the Joint Base Langley-Eustis community who will represent the U.S. Air Force during the 2014 Warrior and Invictus Games. The games are a set of Paralympic-style competitions including multiple modified sports. In the four years Airmen have participated, the number of Airmen athletes competing has grown exponentially.
During the Air Force Trials in Las Vegas, Nev., April 11, more than 100 wounded and ill Airmen's abilities were tested by the Air Force Wounded Warrior program, who selected a 40-member Wounded Warrior team for the Warrior Games at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Sept. 28 through Oct. 4. Additionally, 22 athletes were selected to compete for Team U.S.A. against more than 300 other athletes from around the world in the Invictus Games in London, Sept. 10 through 14.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Mitchell Kieffer, Air Combat Command staff operations research analyst, earned last year's Warrior Games' "Ultimate Warrior" title and was selected to compete again, this year. Motivation to compete in the Warrior Games has helped Kieffer recover after an ambush, during which he was wounded on a deployment to Iraq.
"The Warrior Games have helped me cope with the adversity and the stress of recovering from trauma and give me purpose to pursue new goals," said Kieffer. "They keep me driven and distracted from the monotony of a seemingly never-ending recovery."
Dwayne Parker, Air Force military police assistant and retired security forces Airman, is an alternate for this year's Warrior Games, but has been selected to compete in the international Invictus Games for Team U.S.A.
"It is exciting to represent the Air Force and Team U.S.A.," said Parker. "The Warrior and Invictus Games give wounded warriors an opportunity to forget about what we cannot do and concentrate on what we can do."
Staff Sgt. Derrick David, a former munitions technician currently a in treatment with the 633rd Inpatient Squadron, is also competing in the Invictus Games for Team U.S.A. David was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2010, and explained how the games have helped him.
"The Wounded Warrior Program introduced me to an adaptive sports camp where people with limited mobility can play sports," said David. "After attending various camps, I tried out for the Air Force Wounded Warrior team. On the last day of a grueling week of tryouts from cycling, swimming and sitting-volleyball, I found out I made the Invictus Team and I felt honored.
"I am using this as a tool for recovery," he coninued. "Over the past years, I have gone through numerous treatments from chemotherapy to pain management. It's rehabilitative and it creates drive. People go through injuries and illnesses and lose track of staying fit. The Warrior and Invictus Games help us stay motivated to get better."
Senior Airman Michael Napier, ACC aircraft armament systems journeyman, is representing the Air Force in the Warrior Games. Having been diagnosed with metastatic cancer, Napier underwent surgery and chemotherapy, beating the disease. He said wounded warrior competitors are his inspiration to push his own limits in the Warrior Games.
"I believe if you want something bad enough, like a medal in the Warrior Games, and you give it everything you have, you'll rebound from the low point in your life," said Napier. "You can accomplish things you had no idea you could."
For more information about the Warrior and Invictus Games or to learn more about events and activities available to wounded warriors, visit the Wounded Warrior program's website at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.