1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,570 [bicycle pedaling] 2 00:00:03,570 --> 00:00:07,006 [water splashing] 3 00:00:07,006 --> 00:00:08,508 [breathing] 4 00:00:08,508 --> 00:00:10,076 (Male soldier) Wooo! 5 00:00:10,076 --> 00:00:16,082 [film projector] 6 00:00:16,082 --> 00:00:21,588 [somber music] 7 00:00:21,588 --> 00:00:25,325 (Female Veteran) My world was crushed because the Army was all I knew, 8 00:00:25,325 --> 00:00:28,495 and I'm like, "What am I going to do now?" 9 00:00:28,495 --> 00:00:30,930 You know, I still -- I guess it's just the whole thing 10 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:34,033 about being a part of something, part of something bigger, 11 00:00:34,033 --> 00:00:37,103 you know, a team, a family. 12 00:00:37,103 --> 00:00:39,038 And I had been doing this for nine years 14 00:00:39,038 --> 00:00:41,608 And I'm like, "What, what do I do now?" 13 00:00:41,608 --> 00:00:47,046 [somber music] 15 00:00:47,046 --> 00:00:47,914 (Male Veteran) Me, personally, coming to Army trials 16 00:00:47,914 --> 00:00:50,550 it gives me another opportunity to compete for the United States 17 00:00:50,550 --> 00:00:53,920 compete for the Army, and you know, hopefully from here 18 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,657 I can, you know, uh, kind of restart my adaptive career 19 00:00:57,657 --> 00:01:01,995 and continue, maybe someday, get back to the Paralympics 20 00:01:01,995 --> 00:01:06,466 and wear red, white and blue on my back again. 21 00:01:06,466 --> 00:01:09,502 [somber music] 22 00:01:09,502 --> 00:01:10,603 (Second Male Veteran) Adaptive sports, the Warrior Games, 23 00:01:10,603 --> 00:01:12,939 the trials, I mean, with my recovery it saved my life. 24 00:01:12,939 --> 00:01:15,708 You know, I was in a bad spot, 25 00:01:15,708 --> 00:01:17,210 then I had a guy one day just -- 26 00:01:17,210 --> 00:01:20,046 they say things happen for a reason -- he caught me in the hallway 27 00:01:20,046 --> 00:01:22,148 and he kind of is like, "Hey man, if you're scared to play 28 00:01:22,148 --> 00:01:25,084 don't come and play." 29 00:01:25,084 --> 00:01:28,221 And ever since then I've been in the trials and games, 30 00:01:28,221 --> 00:01:34,727 just being competitive again saved my life. 31 00:01:34,727 --> 00:01:42,035 [soft piano] 32 00:01:42,035 --> 00:01:45,104 (Third Male Veteran) I was pretty frustrated when I first had to get retired, 33 00:01:45,104 --> 00:01:46,606 because I didn't want to. 34 00:01:46,606 --> 00:01:48,041 I didn't want to leave Iraq. 35 00:01:48,041 --> 00:01:50,877 When I was injured, I was fully conscious. 36 00:01:50,877 --> 00:01:52,278 I was awake when they had to amputate me, 37 00:01:52,278 --> 00:01:54,047 and I couldn't have any pain medicine 38 00:01:54,047 --> 00:01:55,482 because I had lost so much blood, 39 00:01:55,482 --> 00:01:58,218 and I remember yelling at my company commander 40 00:01:58,218 --> 00:01:59,919 and he was telling me "You need to go home." 41 00:01:59,919 --> 00:02:02,889 "I still have my trigger finger, sergeant, uh, sir." 42 00:02:02,889 --> 00:02:04,757 And I didn't want to leave my guys. 43 00:02:04,757 --> 00:02:05,892 I felt like I had failed my mission, 44 00:02:05,892 --> 00:02:09,028 I felt like I was abandoning them. 45 00:02:09,028 --> 00:02:13,066 [soft piano, splashing] 46 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:14,567 I feel like I'm not forgotten by the Army, 47 00:02:14,567 --> 00:02:16,669 I feel like I'm still part of the Army somehow. 48 00:02:16,669 --> 00:02:19,172 And I'd like to hope I can still help contribute 49 00:02:19,172 --> 00:02:22,008 to give something back and serve in a small way, 50 00:02:22,008 --> 00:02:26,813 even if it's just letting freshly injured amputees, 51 00:02:26,813 --> 00:02:30,016 burn victims, PTSD, whatever level of injuries -- 52 00:02:30,016 --> 00:02:31,684 I've never compared injuries, 53 00:02:31,684 --> 00:02:33,186 pain is pain. 54 00:02:33,186 --> 00:02:35,421 And I think it would be, 55 00:02:35,421 --> 00:02:37,357 it feels good to know that they can see a triple amp 56 00:02:37,357 --> 00:02:40,627 and say, "Hey, maybe I can give this a shot maybe." 57 00:02:40,627 --> 00:02:43,496 And I see them, and say, "Oh, I can give that a shot too." 58 00:02:43,496 --> 00:02:45,164 And we just pick each other up 59 00:02:45,164 --> 00:02:47,467 just as if we were in a line unit. 60 00:02:47,467 --> 00:02:52,071 [somber music] 61 00:02:52,071 --> 00:02:55,241 [crowd clapping, talking] 62 00:02:55,241 --> 00:02:56,376 (Second Male Veteran) Thank you to everybody who comes out to support us, 63 00:02:56,376 --> 00:02:57,477 you guys are awesome. 64 00:02:57,477 --> 00:03:00,213 The staff, the squad leaders, the cadre, 65 00:03:00,213 --> 00:03:01,414 the coaches are amazing, 66 00:03:01,414 --> 00:03:03,850 and most of all the athletes. 67 00:03:03,850 --> 00:03:06,119 This wouldn't be possible without the athletes. 68 00:03:06,119 --> 00:03:09,155 You know, Go Team Army, let's go down to Tampa and whoop some butt! 69 00:03:09,155 --> 00:03:10,590 (Army coach) You know you're here for a reason. 70 00:03:10,590 --> 00:03:13,660 It's so many people who could've been here, 71 00:03:13,660 --> 00:03:16,229 but they picked you! 72 00:03:16,229 --> 00:03:19,866 You must understand, it's so many people out there 73 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:21,868 who wanna replace you. 74 00:03:21,868 --> 00:03:23,803 This is your moment to shine! 75 00:03:23,803 --> 00:03:25,905 Nobody takes that from you! 76 00:03:25,905 --> 00:03:28,708 Nobody can beat you, and you've proven that 77 00:03:28,708 --> 00:03:30,143 by getting here! 78 00:03:30,143 --> 00:03:31,945 What's your number one rule? 79 00:03:31,945 --> 00:03:34,047 [group cheers] 80 00:03:34,047 --> 00:03:36,316 (group) Go Army! 81 00:03:36,316 --> 00:04:10,316 [upbeat music] 82 00:04:10,316 --> 00:04:16,316 [upbeat techno music, camera clicking]