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NEWS | Aug. 16, 2022

Warrior Games invade Disney

By Robert Whetstone Army

ORLANDO (August 16, 2022) -- In the 1940 Disney animated film, Fantasia, there is a scene called the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” where Mickey loses control of a broom who then gathers all his “broom” friends and they invade the sorcerer’s castle, flooding it with water. Today, just like in Fantasia, wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers have gathered with their Team Army friends and marched into Disney World, ready to compete with their sister service counterparts and Canada in the 2022 Department of Defense Warrior Games.

The path for Team Army participants began in May during the Army Trials at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Active duty participants competed in person, while veterans did so virtually, all vying for 40 positions on Team Army. When U.S. army Staff Sgt. Stacy Englert got the call informing her she made the team she felt alighted.

“I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them how excited I was,” said Englert. She was proud to do something for her branch and for her country. Englert is from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and is unfazed by all the eyes that will be on her. “I’ve got eight other teammates (from JBLM) with me,” she added.

Teams from the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command, and Canada, join Team Army in the annual event. COVID provided a slight hiccup in execution the past few years, but Warrior Games are back on track and Team Army participants couldn’t be happier.

For U.S. Army veteran David Snypes Jr., 2022 will be his third Warrior Games. When the games were cancelled in 2021 it was a letdown for some, but Snypes stayed motivated. “Last year when it (Warrior Games) got cancelled, it was tough,” he explained. “You just get ready; you get in a zone, especially when it’s in a place like Disney. The family was ready to come.”

Teams will compete in 12 adaptive sports, which include, archery, cycling, field, golf, indoor rowing, powerlifting, precision air sports, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby.

You can follow the games at: https://www.dodwarriorgames.com/