Vice Adm. Forrest Faison, Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Force Master Chief Hosea Smith, director of the Hospital Corps, attended the start of the DoD Warrior Games 2017 in Chicago June 30, to support the athletes and family members in attendance.

Faison and Smith visited with the wounded, ill and injured military members and their families and applauded their persistence in their continuing personal growth.

"Several influences play a role in the growth of these athletes," said Faison. "Physical exercise and social interaction is key to their development. This leads to an increased sense of self-esteem, self-worth and comradery."

The wounded warrior athletes are comprised of active duty and veterans with upper-body, lower-body and spinal cord injuries, serious illnesses, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment and post-traumatic stress.

Navy Medicine provides several avenues of rehabilitation which help service members continue to persist through their injuries and continue to function in their daily lives.

"Navy Medicine's top priority is to save lives," said Faison. "We now have the highest survival rate of any conflict. We don't stop after the member's injuries are healed. We provide post care and mental health education. We also provide services such as mental health education to the family because they are hurting as well."

In addition to Navy Medicine, other high ranking military and civilian officials came together in support of this year's Warrior Games.

"These athletes are still a part of our team," said Faison. "As leaders, we are trusted with the health and well-being of our members, and we have to honor that trust. We have to let them know we are here for them because they are our family and they are doing a fantastic job."

The Warrior Games were created in 2010 as a way to enhance the recovery efforts of wounded warriors through the use of adaptive sports. The teams represented the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Special Operations Command, as well as the United Kingdom Armed Forces and the Australian Defense Force. These teams will compete in a variety of events including cycling, archery, sitting volleyball, shooting, swimming, track and field and wheelchair basketball.

The Warrior Games are an important venue to showcase the incredible fighting spirit of our nation's wounded service members while raising awareness of the daily sacrifices made by our service members and their families in defense of our nation.

"We will continue to honor the trust placed in us by the men and women in the service, and to do that we have to provide several things," Faison said. "We need to sustain service and care. We also need to continue to have the highest survivability and preserve and expand on the techniques that are working, and expand on the academia of medicine and treatment. If we can do this then, we can look into their eyes knowing we are doing everything we can for them."

The games are a way for the wounded warrior athletes to prove to themselves they have the strength and courage to move forward and to continue to excel in their daily lives.

"I am honored and humbled to be here," said Faison. "These athletes are showing great resilience and fortitude in the sacrifices they made for this country. They don't do this for fame or honor; they do it to make a difference for the good of the country, and to defend the freedoms we have today."




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