BIO BOOK 20 OCTOBER - 27 OCTOBER, 2018 - Warrior Care and Transition
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2018 Army Athlete
BIO BOOK
20 OCTOBER – 27 OCTOBER, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS the invictus story.........................................2 schedule of events......................................4 invictus moto ...............................................6 invictus poem ...............................................7 invictus pledge..............................................8 invictus games army athletes.................9 2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 1
THE INVICTUS STORY
F
ollowing a visit in 2013
to the US-based Warrior
Games for wounded, ill and
injured military personnel and
veterans, Prince Harry, Duke of
Sussex, was inspired to create an
expanded international version.
The inaugural Invictus Games took place in London
in the fall of 2014 and attracted more than 400
competitors from 13 nations. The second Invictus
“ These Games shine a spotlight on the unconquerable
character of servicemen and women and their families.
They highlight the competitors’ “INVICTUS GAMES spirit.”
These Games have been about seeing competitors
sprinting for the finish line with everything they have
and then turning around to clap the last person in. They
have been about teammates choosing to cross the line
together. These Games have been a display of the very
”
best of the human spirit.
—Prince Harry, established the
Invictus Games Foundation
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 2
THE INVICTUS STORY Games took place in May 2016 in Orlando, Florida, and built on the excitement of the London Games with more than 500 competitors from 14 nations. The Invictus Games demonstrate soldiers’ and veterans’ indefatigable drive to overcome and the power of sport on their journey to recovery. Invictus Games competitors are the men and women who have come face-to-face with the reality of making a sacrifice for their country. They are the mothers, fathers, husbands and wives who have put their lives on the line and have suffered life-changing injuries. These people are the embodiment of everything the Invictus Games stands for. They have been tested and challenged, but they have not been overcome. They have proven they cannot be defeated. They have the willpower to persevere and conquer new heights. The Games shine a spotlight on the sacrifices these men and women made serving their country, and their indefatigable drive to overcome. The Invictus Games is about much more than just sport—it captures hearts, challenges minds and changes lives. 2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 3
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
20 october – 27 october, 2018
friday, oct 19
0830 – 1400........................ Golf
saturday, oct 20
0900 – 1530........................ JLR DRIVING CHALLENGE
sunday, oct 21
0900 – 1600 ....................... SAILING
1000 – 1300........................ CYCLING time trial
1330 – 1630........................ CYCLING CRITerium
Monday, oct 22
0900 – 1200 ....................... Wheelchair tennis
0900 – 1400........................ rowing
0900 – 21:00....................... SITTING VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, oct 23
0900 – 1200 ....................... Wheelchair tennis
0930 – 1230 ....................... swimming
1300 – 1600 ....................... SITTING VOLLEYBALL
(SEMIFINALS)
1330 – 1815 ....................... powerlifting
1730 – 2030 ....................... SITTING VOLLEYBALL
MEDAL ROUNDS
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 4SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Wednesday, oct 24
0900 – 1700 ....................... POWERLIFTING
1000 – 2045 ....................... WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
1730 – 2130 ....................... SWIMMING (FINALS)
Thursday, oct 25
0900 – 1240 ....................... Archery
0900 – 1800 ....................... TRACK AND FIELD
(PRELIMS & FINALS)
1300 – 1600........................ WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
(SEMIFINALS)
1400 – 1740 ........................ archery
1730 – 2100 ....................... WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
(FINALS)
FRIDAY, oct 26
0900 – 1810 ....................... ARCHERY (FINALS)
1000 – 1600 ....................... WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
1200 – 2100 ....................... TRACK AND FIELD
SATURDAY, oct 27
0930 – 1145 ....................... WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
(SEMIFINALS)
1300 – 1530 ....................... WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
(FINALS)
1930 – 2100 ....................... closing ceremony
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 5INVICTUS MOTTO ‘I AM‘ is the motto for the Invictus Games, inspired by the final two lines of the poem Invictus, penned by English poet William Ernest Henley. Invictus is Latin for unconquered. The speaker in the poem proclaims his strength in the face of adversity. I AM reflects and defines the Games’ core purpose: to provide a platform for personal achievement, to compete, not just against each other, but against oneself and prove that “I AM the master of my fate, I AM the captain of my soul.” 2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 6
INVICTUS POEM
“INVICTUS”
A Poem by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 7INVICTUS PLEDGE Your service sets an example Your bravery inspires me It is my honor now To support and give you courage To fight for you as you fought for us To keep your family close beside To take the steps you need to take
2018 ARMY ATHLETES 2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 9
Ross Alewine
Staff Sgt. (retired)
Retired Staff Sgt. Ross Alewine has
endured many surgeries due to
injuries he sustained over multiple
deployments. While recovering
at the Warrior Transition Battalion
at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Alewine
discovered adaptive sports and
made it his goal to excel in them.
MOS Alewine, who trains four hours a
11B— day six days a week, competed
INFANTRYMAN at a high level during the 2018
Events Department of Defense Warrior
CYCLING, ROWING, Games, earning the title of
SWIMMING, “Ultimate Champion”. He plans to
WHEELCHAIR bring that same discipline and grit
BASKETBALL to the 2018 Invictus Games.
“I want to lead by example,
challenge myself and show other Soldiers who have
injuries that they can still be a competitor,” Alewine said.
“Sometimes life gets hard and knocks you down, but you
always have to get up and give it your all no matter what.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 10Steve Bortle
Capt. (retired)
Retired Capt. Steve Bortle is
a self-driven individual. After
recovering from shoulder
surgery at the Warrior
Transition Battalion, Schofield
Barracks, Hawaii, Bortle made
goal setting a priority.
“Goal setting is important.
MOS Small achievable goals can
25A— lead up to something bigger.
Signal officer Find things that you love that
Events you can do after the Army that
CYCLING, ROWING, are sustainable. For example, I
athletics, signed up for and completed a
swimming half-marathon after injury.”
Bortle has his own goals set for
competing at the 2018 Invictus Games, and they aren’t
all about the competition.
“Making a difference means a lot to me. As a
special education teacher, I see things much like
I see adaptive sports for wounded, ill and injured
Soldiers: no one left behind. If I can’t show them it
can be done, then who can?”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 11david crook
SGT. (retired)
Retired Sgt. David Crook
greatly benefitted from
his time recovering at the
Warrior Transition Battalion,
Fort Sam Houston, Texas,
calling his experience
“incredible” and crediting the
WTB with helping him adjust
MOS to his new normal.
42A— Crook’s WTB experience also
human prompted him to take classes
resource in Kinesiology. He hopes to
specialist combine his studies with his
Events passion for sports and work
ROWING, with children to pass on
athletics, important life lessons like hard
powerlifting work, tenacity and team work.
Crook is representing Team
U.S. for the first time at
the 2018 Invictus Games and he will compete in
athletics, rowing, and powerlifting.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 12brandi evans
SGT. (retired)
U.S. Army veteran Sgt. Brandi
Evans grew up playing
volleyball, basketball and
running track. In 2003, she
was hit by a car, fracturing
her leg and shattering her
right knee. After six knee
surgeries, including a full
MOS knee replacement, Evans
68w— found herself again through
combat medic adaptive sports.
Events “Many Soldiers and veterans
ROWING, cycling, struggle with finding a sport
athletics, or activity that is therapeutic
powerlifting and helps their individual
needs. It is encouraging to
know that you are not alone
in facing struggles.”
Evans won multiple medals at the 2016 and 2017
Department of Defense Warrior Games and the 2017
Invictus Games. She is excited to represent Team
U.S. again at the 2018 Invictus Games where she will
compete in athletics, cycling, rowing and powerlifting.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 13Megan Grudzinski
staff SGT. (retired)
Hailing from the aptly named
hometown of Strongsville,
Ohio, retired Staff Sgt. Meagan
Grudzinski showed strength
when she sought help to
confront her Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder following a
deployment to Afghanistan.
MOS “When I returned from
74d— Afghanistan, I felt so isolated.
chemical None of my friends were
specialist veterans, and my Reserve unit
Events was in Illinois.”
ROWING, cycling, While Grudzinski was
athletics, getting the attention she
swimming needed, she also discovered
adaptive sports. At the 2016
Department of Defense Warrior Games, Grudzinski
set three Warrior Games records in track (400, 800
and 1,500 meter) and won multiple golds at the 2017
Warrior Games as well.
Grudzinski, now a nursing student, is competing
in athletics, cycling and swimming at the 2018
Invictus Games.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 14Stephanie Johnson
specialist
Spc. Stephanie Johnson has
experienced more than her
fair share of trials, tribulations
and challenges. Johnson
survived an indirect fire attack
while deployed to Afghanistan
in 2013. She suffered a
shattered left femur and badly
MOS fractured right foot, which she
92f— had amputated in 2016.
petroleum Johnson says adaptive sports
supply played an important role in
specialist her recovery. “I have always
Events been a competitive person
cycling, and adaptive sports has let me
athletics, get that part of myself back
sitting after my injuries.”
volleyball, Johnson, who spent five years
wheelchair recovering at the Warrior
basketball Transition Brigade at Walter
Reed National Military Medical
Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was recently cleared to
continue on active duty and plans to complete her 20
year career.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 15Michael Kacer
staff sgt. (retired)
After suffering a traumatic
brain injury and losing his left
arm in 2008 in Afghanistan,
retired Staff Sgt. Michael
Kacer says his recovery at
what was known then as
Walter Reed Army Hospital,
in Washington, D.C., helped
MOS rebuild his life.
11b— “I had lost so much self-
infantryman esteem and self-confidence.
Events I needed to heal physically,
athletics, emotionally and mentally,
rowing, and being around other
swimming Soldiers and the staff helped
me bond again with people
and regain what I lost.”
Now, 10 years later, Kacer is working to reach
Paralympic status and become a high school teacher.
“I’m going to set a high bar and live the most out of
my life. I was given a ‘today’ when I didn’t have the
‘tomorrow.’ Now I have to make the most of it.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 16Altermese Kendrick
staff sgt.
As a Chaplain’s Assistant,
Staff Sgt. Altermese Kendrick
leans on her faith and calm
demeanor to excel in her job.
She also leaned on those
qualities while recovering from
an extensive labrum tear in her
right hip along with persistent
MOS back pain that took away her
56M— ability to move quickly and
religious complete regular workouts.
affairs Kendrick recovered at the
specialist Warrior Transition Battalion,
Events Fort Sam Houston, Texas
archery, where she used adaptive
rowing, reconditioning to help her stay
powerlifting active. She began competing
and represented Team Army at
the 2017 and 2018 Department
of Defense Warrior Games.
Now, Kendrick is representing Team U.S. at the 2018
Invictus Games. “Representing the Army and the
U.S. is an honor which I am thankful to have been
blessed with.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 17Ryan Major
sgt. (retired)
Retired Sgt. Ryan Major lost his
right leg and right thumb after
stepping on an improvised
explosive device in Iraq. Not
long after, Major also lost his
left leg and two of his fingers
to a fungus. Major was in a
dark place, but found light
MOS after discovering adaptive
11b— reconditioning at the Walter
infantryman Reed National Military Medical
Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Events
athletics, “Adaptive reconditioning
rowing, allowed me to build my
swimming, self-esteem and confidence
wheelchair and helped me be more
rugby open to trying other adaptive
reconditioning activities like
cycling and swimming.”
Major competed in the 2017 Invictus Games, and he is
happy to be representing Team U.S. again this year.
“Participating at the Invictus Games allows me to
show my love for the military. It is such an honor to
represent the Army and my country.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 18Ryan McIntosh
staff sgt.
In December 2010, Staff Sgt.
Ryan McIntosh stepped on
a pressure-plated land mine
while on a foot patrol mission
in Afghanistan resulting in
the amputation of his right
leg below the knee. However,
despite his circumstances,
MOS McIntosh was determined to
11B— heal as quickly as possible.
infantryman “Six weeks after I stepped on
Events the land mine, I was walking
archery, sitting again. Two weeks after that, I
volleyball was running again.”
McIntosh, who recovered at
Fort Sam Houston, was selected to the Army World
Class Athlete Program in 2013 as a track and field
athlete. He now competes in para-archery and
serves as a Paralympic liaison for WCAP.
McIntosh won the first ever U.S. Invictus Games
medal at the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014 – a
bronze in the 100 meters.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 19Chris Parks
1st lt. (retired)
Adaptive sports have allowed
retired 1st Lt. Chris Parks
to rediscover the sporting
spirit he briefly lost after
developing a bacterial
infection that left him
in a coma and led to the
amputation of his leg.
MOS Though he confronted
65d— depression and anger issues
physician’s upon waking up from the coma,
assistant Parks says he had to adjust to
Events his new normal quickly.
athletics, Parks found adaptive
cycling, rowing, reconditioning while assigned
powerlifting, to the Warrior Transition
wheelchair Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas,
basketball which helped with his recovery,
both physically and mentally.
Parks, who competed in the 2016 Invictus Games,
is ready to take on athletics, cycling, rowing,
powerlifting, and wheelchair basketball at the 2018
Invictus Games.
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 20Tim Payne
staff sgt. (retired)
After losing his legs to an
improvised explosive device
in Afghanistan in 2011, retired
Staff Sgt. Timothy Payne
relied on his Army values to
shape his overall attitude.
“My appreciation for Army
values, the Soldier’s creed
MOS and the Warrior Ethos helped
11d— me to adapt and overcome
infantryman adversity and become the
man that I am today.”
Events
athletics, Payne credits physical fitness
cycling, and adaptive reconditioning
swimming with helping him maintain a
healthy lifestyle and attain a
sense of “mental clarity.”
Payne is proud to represent the Army and his
country again at the 2018 Invictus Games. “After 11
years in the military, you get used to being a part of
a team; they feel like family.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 21Joel Rodriguez
staff sgt. (retired)
In 2014, retired Staff Sgt.
Joel Rodriguez was in a
devastating car accident that
derailed his Army career.
The accident left Rodriguez
with a broken neck and a
severe spinal cord injury, but
he didn’t let his new normal
MOS stop him from setting and
15Q—air traffic achieving new goals. He took
control the passion he had for serving
operator in the Army and put it into
adaptive sports.
Events
athletics, Rodriguez is proud to
rowing, represent join Team U.S. for
swimming, the first time at the 2018
wheelchair Invictus Games.
rugby “We’re in an age where your
disability has nothing to do
with what you can do. It’s about finding something
you love and working hard on it.”
2018 INVICTUS GAMES TEAM ARMY 22Christina Truesdale
Maj. (retired)
Retired Maj. Christina
Truesdale developed chronic
neck issues from years of
jumping out of planes and
road marches. She has also
suffered several traumatic
brain injuries, a tethered
spinal cord and chronic lower
MOS back pain, but through it all
64B—Veterinary Truesdale remained optimistic.
Preventive “I just kept going. I set small
Medicine goals and reveled in those
Events small accomplishments. These
athletics, were key to my recovery.”
Cycling Truesdale built her small
victories into representing
Team U.S. at the 2018 Invictus Games where she will
compete in archery and cycling.
“The Invictus Games aren’t just another athletic
competition. They help you reflect on all of the
things you faced to get to the competition and
gives you perspective on how far you’ve come.”
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