Courtesy Photo | Six Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion West - Detachment Hawaii attended the 2011...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Six Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion West - Hawaii Detachment brought
home gold, silver and bronze from the 2011 Marine Corps Trials here.
Pfc. Matthew Roach, Lance Cpl. Joshua Kelly, 1st Lt. Richard Rush, Sgt. RaShon Palmer, Cpl. Clifford Sandy and Lance Cpl. Joshua Jablon represented Marine Corps Base Hawaii at the trials.
Competitors from various branches participated in the trials, hosted at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 18 to 27.
“We’re racking up the medals, it’s pretty exciting,” said Jessica Peters, recreation therapist, Naval Health Clinic Hawaii, who accompanied the
Marines to the trials.
Peters said the Warrior Games were established last year to give wounded warriors an opportunity to “heal through competitive sport.”
The games are funded by the Department of Defense Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, and the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment. Competitors engaged in multiple sports, including archery, basketball, swimming and cycling.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Carrillo, staff noncommissioned
officer in charge, Wounded Warrior Battalion West - Detachment Hawaii, said the detachment started a new archery team in preparation for the trials, providing the Marines with brand new
equipment.
An archery coach from Camp Lejeune, N.C., traveled to Hawaii and trained four of the Marines. In addition, two Marines attended an archery camp last September at Camp Lejeune.
“There have been huge improvements from ‘unable to hit’ to ‘dead on,’” Carrillo said.
Carrillo said he anticipated at least one warrior would be accepted to the Warrior Games.
Rush, who scored a silver medal in company archery, and bronze in the rifle competition, was excited about having been chosen for the Warrior Games.
He said he thought the games were a neat idea, and he was glad to be able to compete in a sport during his Marine Corps career.
“I was hoping to do a little bit better,” Rush said.
Still, he said he was “pleased with the outcome” considering he had not had as much practice as he hoped.
He said overall there was good competition at the trials, and he was excited to be chosen for the Warrior Games.
Rush, a former logistics officer with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was injured in Afghanistan’s Helmand province Jan. 9, 2010, suffering multiple injuries, including a collapsed lung and a broken left ankle.
Today, the 30-year-old from Coos Bay, Ore., battles constant back and occasional knee and ankle pain, Rush stays active at the gym and with archery. Last year, he took up archery again, nearly seven years after he first became interested.
Palmer of Greenwood, S.C. competed for the first time in the Warrior Games trials. Although he cannot run because of a stomach condition, he was able to compete in the discus and shot put portion of the track and field competiton. The 30-year-old earned a bronze medal in wheelchair basketball and gold in discus.
Palmer said competing in the Warrior Games trials reminded him of activities he once enjoyed but forgot about since he started dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It is awesome,” Palmer said. “You can’t explain how you feel after you get done with it. Just to compete is a great experience.”
Rush, Palmer, Sandy and Jablon were chosen to join the All-Marine Warrior Games Team to compete in the Warrior Games in Colorado, from May 16 to 22.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2011 18:53 |
| Story ID: | 66511 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 350 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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