For retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Clarence Davis, life in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) was defined by precision, pressure, and pride.
Stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky with 1st Battalion, Davis served as an armament specialist on MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) Black Hawks. He maintained and operated weapons systems on helicopters supporting some of the military’s most elite and secret missions.
“You volunteer for it. You assess. Not everyone makes it,” Davis said. “So, when you do, that’s something you carry forever.”
His career included 13 combat deployments and assignments in the Army’s premier Special Operations aviation unit. He rose in ranks from a Private to a Command Sgt. Major. His identity was deeply tied to the uniform.
Until it wasn’t.
While preparing for his 14th combat tour, Davis’ career came to an abrupt halt when medical officers determined he needed multiple surgeries, forcing an abrupt end to his career.
“I thought I let everyone down,” he said. “Everything I worked for, it just stopped. My identity was ripped from me.”
Like many Veterans leaving high-performing units, Davis faced more than a career transition – he faced a loss of identity.
He also was forced to step away from the physical activities that once defined him.
“I couldn’t do the things I loved anymore,” he said. “Fishing, basketball, football – running, now that was my baby.”
For a time, he felt lost and isolated.
“I was a loner,” he recalled.
That began to change in 2022, when staff from the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center introduced him to adaptive sports.
At first, he resisted.
“If I couldn’t run, I didn’t want to do anything else,” he said.
But then his care team encouraged him to try an adaptive bike.
“I tried it, and I fell in love with it,” Davis said.
That single decision became a turning point. Since then, Davis has explored a range of adaptive sports from cycling and sled hockey to rock climbing and pickleball. What started as a physical outlet became something more.
“It’s therapeutic,” he said. “In every way.”
What surprised him most wasn’t the sports -- it was the people.
“You get around other Veterans, and something just clicks,” Davis said. “You share stories, you push each other. That camaraderie is still there.”
Through programs like the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, Davis found a community that felt familiar in a different way. The clinic, sponsored by VA and DAV, hosted each year in Snowmass, Co. For over 40 years, the clinic has allowed profoundly disabled Veterans to participate in adaptive Alpine and Nordic skiing, sled hockey, scuba diving and a number of other adaptive activities, sports, and education.
Davis found the event focused less on rank or role, and more about shared experience and forward movement.
“Coming to these clinics, you meet Veterans much older and younger than you,” he said. “You’re getting different perspectives and that diversity is important.”
Today, Davis has rebuilt his sense of purpose. He’s a certified personal trainer, an avid pickleball player, and a mentor to other Veterans navigating life after service.
“I’m a totally different person now,” he said. “I’m still leading, just in a different way.”
| Date Taken: |
04.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.24.2026 19:11 |
| Story ID: |
563581 |
| Location: |
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: |
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: |
13 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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This work, From Special Operations to Adaptive Sports: A Night Stalker’s New Mission, by 1LT Bailey Breving, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
