Soldiers, veterans help disabled have fun

( Above and below) Soldiers and other volunteers help people with disabilites onto water crafts during a trip to Lake Thurmond June 20. Retired Chief Warrant Officer Jeffrey Snover met retired Spc. Scott Winkler at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in 2004 while the pair underwent physical therapy for injuries that left them both wheelchair bound. Now both medically retired, the two joined together and started "Champions Made From Adversity," a local non-profit with the mission of "advancing the lives of physically disabled persons and their Families through sport and leisure activities."

CMFA's objectives are to provide opportunities for the disabled that are similar to the activities of the nondisabled such as individual and team sports, and mentoring programs. They teach life skills through sport and leisure activities so that participants strive to increase their level of independence, earn the respect of the community, and increase leadership skills so they are seen in a positive light. The organization currently provides sports clinics, camps, competitions, and ongoing activities targeting the more than 60,000 physically disabled in the Central Savannah River Area.

Photos by Capt. Michael Lind On June 20, over 80 Soldiers from all four battalions of the 15th Regimental Signal Brigade and the Noncommissioned Officers Academy teamed up with the CMFA and MCG Health to put on an adaptive water skiing clinic on Lake Thurmond. More than 50 participants with disabilities and their Families enjoyed a day at the lake swimming, tubing, and waterskiing. For some of the participants this was the first time they had ever been in a boat or in a lake. With the help of the Soldiers each participant was fitted and seated into a tube or a water ski, both equipped with chairs, and launched out on the lake behind a motorboat for a quick tour of the lake.

"Their excitement was so obvious in their faces," a volunteer from Charlie Company 73d Ordnance Battalion said. "I had no idea this would be so rewarding."

Soldiers who volunteered that day all felt a higher sense of selfless service and gained a greater understanding of what truly makes them American Soldiers: compassion.

The participants looked up to the Soldiers, but it was the Soldiers that viewed them as heroes.

"The adults and kids here today have overcome so much and continuously face challenges that we will never be able to really understand. They are in a fight every day," commented a Soldier from the 551st Signal Battalion.

Many of the adult participants were former Soldiers wounded in combat like co-founder of the CMFA, Winkler. Winkler is also a paralympian who represented the United States in the Beijing Olympics for the shotput event. "It's all hard work and the will to not let your-self give up," he said.

Learn more about the CMFA at www.cmfa.us