Photo By Joshua Cox | Veterans participate in the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Soldier Ride onboard NAS...... read more read more
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The Wounded Warrior Project’s (WWP) Soldier Ride program conducted a cycling event onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Feb. 7, 2020.
More than 30 wounded veterans participated in the bike ride – a unique program created by WWP more than a decade ago. The ride onboard the air station covered more than 15 miles.
According to the WWP official website, “Solider Ride is a unique four-day cycling opportunity for wounded veterans of all ability levels to use state-of-the-art adaptive hand cycles, trikes and bicycles to ride together as a team. During these events, warriors use cycling and camaraderie to overcome physical, mental, or emotional wounds.”
The Wounded Project has three Soldier Ride teams across the country.
“We travel most of the year putting on rides for veterans,” said Adam Faine, Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride manager. “Whatever is going on with the warrior, whether they have some paralysis, an amputation, or just back injuries, knee injuries – we can fit a bike to them and get them out of the house, off the couch, riding with other veterans and having a good time. It’s truly life-changing.”
Faine said when veterans leave the military, they often lose a sense of purpose and identity, and the Wounded Warrior Project serves to reconnect, honor and empower veterans with programs like Soldier Ride.
“We bring them out and we show them that they’re still loved and still supported,” Faine said. “They get with their fellow veterans and the camaraderie is just amazing to see.”
For veterans like Ernesto Fragoso, the Soldier Ride onboard NAS Pensacola was an opportunity to be around fellow warriors in a familiar environment again.
“This is actually my first (WWP) event,” said Fragoso, a Marine veteran and Jacksonville, Florida, native who participated in his first WWP Soldier Ride. “So far what I’ve learned is everyone’s amazing – great people. Everyone cares for each other, and everyone’s nice – good camaraderie.”
For me, it’s helping me get out and socialize with people, Fragoso explained. After I got out of the Marine Corps I didn’t do much. I kind of just stuck to myself and didn’t talk to a lot of people. This is definitely helping create a good network of people to talk to, and feel like a part of a family.
Early in the ride, the warriors stopped at the location of the Dec. 6, 2019, shooting on the base. The event participants paused for a moment of silence to honor the Sailors killed and the service members and first responders injured in the attack before embarking on the remainder of the ride.
| Date Taken: | 02.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2020 11:06 |
| Story ID: | 362542 |
| Location: | NAS PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 153 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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