The Defense Department launched the 2015 Warrior Games June 19 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. Some 250 athletes who have been wounded or injured, physically or emotionally, during their military tenure, will participate in the games, which run through June 28. Teams represented the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy/Coast Guard, US Special Operations Command, and the British Armed Forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford were in attendance for the ceremony as was Maj. Gen. Richard Cripwell, the United Kingdom’s defense attaché to the United States. “You’re the pinnacle of DOD adaptive sports programs—activities that have helped our men and women heal together … in mind, in body, and soul,” Carter told participants during the opening ceremony. He added, “And, after inspiring us with your service on duty, you continue to do so this week … on the court, around the track, and in the pool.” The Air Force Association’s Wounded Airman Program hosted a pep-rally last week for Air Force athletes, coaches, and caregivers and will be on-site at the Warrior Games for support. (DOD release)
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.