Wounded Warriors try out to represent Navy

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - David Vernaza suffered traumatic brain injury after his convoy was attacked in Iraq in 2004, leaving the former Navy Seabee with a series of crippling physical injuries and others that caused a fun-loving man to live in a dark world within his mind.

But after receiving years of treatment at a veterans hospital in Miami, Vernaza started to participate in sports as part of his therapy that he says helped change his life along with the dedicated support of his family.

I had a lot of guilt. I had a lot of resentment, said Vernaza, who retired from the Navy in 2007 after 17 years of service and was unable to use his right arm when he returned to the U.S. and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

This past week, he and more than 60 other sailors and Coast Guardsmen who are wounded, ill or injured descended on Naval Station Norfolk to compete for a spot on Team Navy as it prepares to compete in the 2014 Wounded Warrior games in Colorado this fall.

It still makes me feel part of the Navy, Vernaza, of Orlando, said about the trials to compete in shot put and discus. Every one of us more or less understands each other. Its uplifting. Im a different person here. Im my old self, the happy-go-lucky guy, the one who tells jokes.

The military says getting Wounded Warriors into competitive sports helps expedite their recoveries, prevent further injuries and provides a morale boost as athletes realize theyre still part of a valuable team. This is the fifth year the military has fielded teams to compete against each other in Wounded Warrior games, and a select few will travel to London this fall to compete in the inaugural Invictus Games for a global competition against other nations.

Just being able to come together as athletes and share common stories of their recovery, we found that it was just transforming and accelerated the recovery, so it grew larger and larger every year, said Capt. Brent Breining, director of the Navys Wounded Warrior-Safe Harbor program.

About 40 people will be chosen to represent Team Navy this year, and 20 of those sailors will get to travel to London. The adaptive sports they compete in include archery, wheelchair basketball, cycling, swimming and seated volleyball, all sports chosen by the U.S. Olympic Committee, who may choose athletes to compete in the Paralympics. While some may compete at the highest levels, thats not necessarily the most important goal.

When the Navy retires them and sends them to middle America wheres there no more Navy, theres no more nothing, then they feel alone. So our goal is to bring them back into the fold, said Marty Martinez, the Navys lead for adaptive sports, family and transition support.

Our goal is to get the sailor or the Coast Guardsman out of the house, off the couch, back into some kind of rhythm, back into some kind of team and to get them moving again.

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Wounded Warriors try out to represent Navy