'Warrior Games' Put Wounded Vets Back in the Fight

QUANTICO, Va. — They are American national treasures -- our military wounded warriors.

Injuries have taken more than a million out of the fight since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But many are overcoming through the healing power of sports.

More than 200 elite athletes competed in this year's Department of Defense Warrior Games, held in Quantico, Virginia.

The competition kicked off with an opening ceremony similar to the Olympic Games.

The crowd of spectators cheered as the 250 participants, clad in track suits bearing the seal of their respective branches, marched in formation as the military band played the melody synonymous with the Olympic Games, "Bugler's Dream."

But these men and women aren't your typical athletes.

Wounded in Battle

From the time Cpl. Marcus Chischilly was around 10 years old, he dreamed of being a U.S. Marine.

"I was the kid in high school that was watching the invasion of Iraq on TV," Chischilly recalled. "I remember looking over at my mom and telling her this is what I'm going to be doing."

His dream turned into a nightmare during his fourth deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, when an IED (improvised explosive device) took his left leg. The explosion also caused extensive shrapnel wounds all over his body.

During his two-year recovery, he thought only of returning to the battlefield.

"I felt like I had to continue my job and to focus on taking care of the guys that were to the left and to the right of me," he told CBN News.

But his wounds were too severe.

Warrior Athletes

Four and a half years later, Chischilly, whose friends and family call him "Chilly," now leads his fellow Marines in a different fight.

After months of training, sweat, and perseverance, teams from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard took over Quantico Marine Base to compete in this year's Warrior Games. The United Kingdom also sent a delegation to the competition.

For 10 days, participants were surrounded by the love of their family, support from their respective branches, and honored by a grateful nation.

"The sacrifice of wartime service is very real and very graphic," Sen. Tim Kaine, R-Va., told CBN News. "Yet what we're celebrating here today is people who have sacrificed a lot, but then have gone through a very tough ordeal to rehabilitate and thrive and survive. We're celebrating them."

They are called "warrior athletes."

Some have scars that are obvious, while others' wounds are harder to see. The competition is open to the wounded, ill, and injured.

To get here, the athletes had to compete and qualify. But the journey to the games started much earlier.

Their rehabilitation and recovery involves adapting to a new way of life, demanding that they push themselves and re-learn what it means to get back up after falling down.

"They are life-changing injuries, but you've got to adjust, overcome, and manage as best as you can," Rob Cromey-Hawke, captain of the U.K. Armed Forces team, said. "From there, [you] look at the positives and try to achieve from the inspiration of others and at the same time inspire others with it."

Serve and Protect

While their competitive drive is undeniable, if you ask any of the warrior athletes what these games are really about, they will tell you it has little to do with winning gold or the coveted Chairman's Cup.

"We're very competitive, but in the same sense we're cheering each other on," Sarah Rudder, a Marine participant, explained.

"We're cheering for other branches," she continued. "We're telling each other 'congratulations, good throw' and being able to know that we're still brothers and sisters in the end."

The athletes are bound by the sacrifice they gave in fulfilling the oath "to serve and protect." The games have also shown them that they are still part of the team.

"Once we get them back into the fight, they become a part of the team," said Maj. Gen. Juan Ayala, commander of the task force responsible for the 2015 Warrior Games. "They become a part of something greater than themselves because that's what they came in to do."

Chilly agrees.

"It gets a little more meaningful when we're all here together," he told CBN News. "We're all suffering and the coaches are pushing us and having us earn more capabilities for ourselves. We're doing it together. We're doing it as one."

Meanwhile, they inspire all those who are privileged to watch them persevere, not only as warrior athletes but as American heroes.