By Peter S. Gaytan

 

Competitive sports provide a valuable and tCompeteherapeutic outlet for wounded and disabled veterans. Representative Marlin Stutzman has introduced a bill authorizing a monthly assistance allowance to disabled veterans training or competing for the Paralympic Team, as well as for the VA to provide assistance to United States Paralympics, Inc. In testimony before House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Jeff Steele, assistant director of the American Legion’s Legislative Division, explained, “We know that sports and physical activity can have a transformative effect on those with a physical disability, and the continued provision of funds will help to expand and provide greater access to sports programs for them.”

 

Research has shown that daily physical activity is vital to self-esteem, peer relationships, achievement, better overall health, and a higher quality of life. Unfortunately for many of our wounded, ill, and injured veterans, there are limited opportunities to participate in any regular sports activities. The U.S. Olympics Committee Paralympic Military Program is working to provide programs including ongoing sports activities at military treatment facilities and installations, regional and national sports camps, and the recently concluded Warrior Games. Participation in groups such as the Warrior Transition Units, Wounded Warrior Battalions/Detachments, and others has increased 23 percent over the last two years.

 

In a USA Today interview, Travis Greene, a former Marine who lost both his legs when wounded by an IED in Iraq, said, “Once I figured out I was still an athlete, even after losing my legs, that’s when my recovery really started.” Greene competed in shot put, discus, wheelchair basketball, and sitting volleyball at the Warrior Games in May.

 

In some ways more important than the national competition are the opportunities in local communities. The Paralympic Military Program has established 131 Paralympic sports clubs nationwide. They will host 10 military sports camps this year. VA provides $7.5 million annually, while the Department of Defense contributes $5 million. 

 

For more information on Paralympics programs, go to http://usparalympics.org/

 

Peter S. Gaytan is the author of For Service To Your Country – Updated Edition: The Essential Guide to Getting the Veterans’ Benefits You’ve Earned (Citadel, 2011), available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. He has served as an advocate in securing and protecting the earned benefits of America’s veterans for more than a decade. Gaytan is the Executive Director of the American Legion, the largest veterans service organization in America.