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Nearly 200 wounded veterans from across the U.S. competed in the 2026 Warrior Games in San Antonio. It’s an eight-day competition featuring 12 adaptive sports for veterans with disabilities in recovery.
Wounded Warriors is hosted by the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command. Director of the Warrior Games, David Paschal, has been involved in the Warrior Games since 2021. He says the concept of wounded veterans competing in adaptive sports started in 2010 by the U.S. Olympic Committee. It’s now run by the Department of Defense.
“We had many seriously injured soldiers that needed an opportunity to focus on using sport, leveraging sport in their recovery journey," said Paschal. “So the Olympic Committee ran the event for about four or five years. They turned it over to the Department of Defense, now the Department of War. Each of the service teams ran it for a year, and then the Army took over as the executive agent in 2021.”
Paschal says the Warrior Games gives veterans a chance to reconnect as a brotherhood and sisterhood.
“I think the thing they miss the most is that teamwork, that sense of camaraderie, so that helps provide that camaraderie and a goal to participate,” he said.
Recently retired Air Force TSgt Wiley Moore, who lives in San Antonio, said he was introduced to archery after he injured his back, hips, and knees in a car accident almost five years ago.
“I started out at the Soldier Recovery Unit here at Lackland Air Force Base, and their recreational therapist introduced me to archery. And eventually I grew to love it. And I just kept practicing and practicing and practicing, and I put hours and thousands of arrows down range to get to where we're at today,” said Moore.
Moore adds competing in archery helps his mental health.
“It's helped me learn to calm my mind whenever it's racing too fast, because there's a shot process that you have to repeat all the time, and to go through that shot process, I have to calm my mind down, which calms my body, and it's very relaxing sport,” said Moore. “It helps me when I'm anxious or depressed. I just go to the range, and everything is better once I leave,” he added.
Diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord, 28-year-old Army veteran, 1st Lt. Jani Merritt, is competing in her second Warrior Games. She recently competed in the Parasports Games.
“I'm still able to shoot archery, I'm able to do powerlifting, I'm able to do everything I used to do. It's in a different format, a different form, but I'm still able to do it,” said Merritt. “So, it means that I still have more meaning in my life. I still have more goals to accomplish. I'm also going to apply for (the) Invictus (Games), which is the next step after the Warrior Games.”
Merritt’s talents with a bow and arrow didn’t go unnoticed by her fellow competitor, including retired Army Master Sgt. Christopher Morago.
“She's something special,” he said with amazement. “She's like a female Robin Hood. You ever seen like a cartoon where they pull back that arrow and it goes into the other arrow, and it goes into the other arrow? It's amazing, that lady is amazing, one of a kind. You'll not find a better archer than that one right there. Merritt is wonderful.”
The U.S. Air Force was also out in full-swing supporting each other.
Retired Air Force SSgt Curtis Belew from Castroville began his injury recovery with archery after he sustained multiple back injuries.
“I hadn't shot in about 20 years, and then that first month after that first care event that I did, I went out and shot a deer, and then I just started entering competitions. And now I've done competitions all over the country now, so it's really just been that springboard for me, and I just love it,” said Belew.
Retired Air Force MSgt Eva De Jesus Collazo suffered a spinal cord injury after a car crash. She said adaptive sports have helped her to connect to other individuals who are in recovery from their injuries.
“There are some people who (are), sadly, worse than I am, and they're capable of doing more than I do. So, the sky is the limit for anyone,” said Collazo.
Collazo’s Air Force friend, retired A1C Angela Moore from Washington, D.C., lives with traumatic brain injury. She’s considered the “Spirit of the Team,” cheering the competitors with an Air Force-themed spirit stick in hand.
“I support our whole team and all the other teams too, because we have to all make sure we stay focused on why we're here,” she said. “We're here to make sure we all remember that we're here not just about medals and competitions, but we're here for a recovery, too. Go team!”
The Warrior Games continue in San Antonio through Saturday, June 20 at the Henry B. González Convention Center.
