Gold medal victory

Marine Corps Warrior Games athlete Sgt. Michael Blair and Maj. Susan Stark, head coach for the Marines Corps team, celebrate their service's gold medal victory in seated volleyball with Blair's 4-year-old daughter, Bella, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 13, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Graham J. Benson 

The visit, board, search and seizure team

 The visit, board, search and seizure team assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) boards and inspects two fishing skiffs for suspected pirate activity in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility May 6, 2010. Both skiffs were found to have fisherman and were released. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky, U.S. Navy/Released)

An aerial tour

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano receives an aerial tour of the coastline over Alabama May 11, 2010. Napolitano is in the area to inspect and observe ongoing operations to minimize the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact on public health, the environment and the economy as part of the federal government’s continued oversight and emphasis on interagency coordination in response to the spill. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley also joined Napolitano on the aerial tour. (DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel, U.S. Coast Guard/Released)

Opportunity to operate in a multinational environment

USCGC Spencer (WMEC 905) pulls into Montevideo, Uruguay, May 7, 2010, behind the guided-missile frigate USS Klakring (FFG 42) for a port visit. Klakring is participating in Southern Seas 2010, a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation that provides U.S. and international forces the opportunity to operate in a multinational environment. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Darryl Wood, U.S. Navy/Released)

Members of the visit, board, search and seizure team

U.S. Navy Sonar Technician 1st Class Anthony Benz, left, and Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Brian Chance, members of the visit, board, search and seizure team from the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99), help Somali mariners restore power to their vessel in the Gulf of Aden May 8, 2010. Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational force established to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson, U.S. Navy/Released)

Amputee Soldier Carries Torch at Warrior Games

By Elizabeth M. Collins
Army News Service

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 11, 2010 - A soldier whose leg was amputated below the knee carried the torch into the Olympic Training Center here yesterday during opening ceremonies for the inaugural Warrior Games.
 Army Sgt. Robert Price was the first servicemember to carry the torch before handing it over to representatives from each of the other services. Hall-of-Fame football player, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Vietnam veteran Roger Staubach completed the short journey and lit the Olympic flame.

Price, who remained in the Army after losing his right leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq, is a cadre member at the warrior transition battalion at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He was given the honor because he made sure other soldiers had the opportunity to compete as well. "I helped out quite a bit [with] other posts that don't have the training materials or for people to ... get them out and do their training at my post," he explained. "I just took the initiative [and] took over the BAMC part of it for the Warrior Games [to], get these guys to come in and start doing it at Fort Sam Houston. "I was actually very surprised," he continued. "I didn't even expect [to carry the torch]." He was happy to do it, though, especially because sports helped to keep him in the military. In fact, one of the reasons he decided to stay in the Army after losing his leg was to show other soldiers that they could, too. "I'm walking, living proof of that," he said. "I'm out there. I made a difference. I'm out doing the right thing, being better. The importance of having an event like this is it gives all these wounded and injured or sick servicemembers out here ... that sitting back in your room playing X-box, that's not what your life is about. There are other things you can go do, more things you can go out and do. There are a lot of sports activities. You can intermingle with your community again. Life doesn't come to an end just because you're sick or you're injured." Price didn't even make allowances for his injuries while training for the Warrior Games. Nothing, he said, could slow him down. He plans to compete in three sports: archery, which he took up after his injury three years ago; 10-meter prone shooting, because he's always loved to shoot; and sitting volleyball, which is a lot harder than it sounds, Price said, explaining that it requires a lot of core strength. "You've got to have some strong abs, some strong arms to move around," he said. Bearing the torch and taking part in the history-making competition isn't all fun and games to Price, however. Equally important, he said, are the friends and comrades who can't be there to cheer him on. "It felt great," he said, "but at the same time, you have happiness and joy, but you've also got the sorrow part that goes inside the back of your head when you're sitting there going, 'I've lost a bunch of friends. A bunch of people aren't here to see this, to experience this."

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Inaugural Warrior Games

Former Air Force Staff Sgt. Stacy Pearsall, Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Pollock II and retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeannie Goldy-Sanitate attend opening ceremony at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the inaugural Warrior Games, May 10, 2010. Pearsall, Pollock and Goldy-Sanitate are members of the Air Force team participating in the games. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Desiree N. Palacios