About forever ago, I received a tweet from Team Red, White, & Blue, asking me to be an athlete for their organization. It surprised me as I was completely unfamiliar with the program, but thanks to the interwebs, I was able to figure the details out pretty quickly.
In short? Team RWB is perfect for me!
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Per their website, Team RWB is an organization that aims to “transform the way wounded veterans are reintegrated into society when they return from combat and exit their position.” As one would imagine, Team RWB believes that strong relationships between wounded vets and individuals in society are a critical element to make the transition back into civilian life as smooth as possible.
I have some dear family members that are in the military and spend more of the calendar year overseas than they do stateside. They selflessly miss holidays and family events to protect and defend our country. I’m definitely not going all political on this one, but I think the job that these men and women do is completely invaluable.
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| Ignore the face 🙂 |
Fortunately, none of my family members or friends have been severely injured while serving in the military. However, through my volunteer work teaching adaptive skiing in the winter, I have seen plenty of individuals who have. My educational focus and background is on outdoor education for special needs populations, and this often includes wounded war vets who have returned stateside and are trying to re-learn their favorite hobbies. Some of these men and women are suffering from mental trauma as a result of things they have seen while others are learning to function without the use of limbs.
I often wonder and admire at the courage of these individuals. It’s difficult and terrifying to attack and learn new hobbies on a normal day, but I cannot imagine learning to do all of these things with a new body in tow. Their determination impresses me daily, and I am thrilled to be able to represent an organization that recognizes such inspiring people.
I am proud to “wear the eagle” at my coming races, and I look forward to sharing more with people I meet. I think that it’s the least that I can do!