For the third straight year, a team of 12 U.S. service members who were severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will compete in Oregon's iconic 2012 Hood to Coast Relay race. Team Warfighter Sports is the only team of wounded military to participate in Hood to Coast. This year's team brings 12 all new participants, with a wide range of disabilities including amputation, spinal cord injury, nerve and muscle damage, visual impairment and traumatic brain injury. The team is sponsored by The Standard, in partnership with Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA).
In an inspiring feat of resilience and courage, they'll take on the world-famous, 197-mile Hood to Coast Relay. Armed with the latest technology and the support of their teammates, Team Warfighter Sports will compete against more than 12,000 other runners in a grueling race that starts at Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mt. Hood and finishes at the city of Seaside on the Oregon coast.
"These individuals' ability not only to compete, but to excel, in an event as competitive and challenging as Hood to Coast is truly inspiring," said Greg Ness, chairman, president and CEO of The Standard. "We're excited to partner again this year with DSUSA, whose mission of providing rehabilitation and opportunity for wounded warriors mirrors The Standard's values."
Disabled Sports USA's Warfighter Sports program is a schedule of events that help military members with permanent disabilities train for and challenge themselves in extreme and endurance sports, as well as other recreational sports and competitions.
"We're pleased to partner with The Standard again in 2012 and bring a new team of warriors back to this one-of-a-kind event," said Kirk Bauer, executive director of Disabled Sports USA and a disabled Vietnam veteran. "Through rehabilitation sports programs, DSUSA has served thousands of severely injured service members from Iraq and Afghanistan who are now yearning for an opportunity to test their skills to the extreme, as they did in the military. Our Warfighter Sports program provides this — helping them to not just survive their injuries, but to thrive and achieve personal and professional success."
About The Standard
The Standard is a leading provider of financial products and services, including group and individual disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, group dental and vision insurance, absence management services, retirement plans products and services, individual annuities and investment advice. For more information about The Standard, visit www.standard.com.
The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries: Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Mortgage Investors, Inc., StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., StanCorp Real Estate, LLC, and StanCorp Equities, Inc.
About Warfighter Sports
Warfighter Sports, a program of Disabled Sports USA, offers sports rehabilitation for severely wounded warriors in military hospitals and communities across the U.S. through a nationwide network of more than 100 community-based chapters. Since 1967, Disabled Sports USA has proudly served wounded warriors, including those injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, offering more than 30 winter and summer sports at more than 100 events each year. Warfighter Sports rebuilds lives through sports by improving self-confidence, promoting independence and uniting families through shared healthy activities.
Contributions cover all expenses for participation, including individualized adaptive instruction, adaptive sports equipment, transportation, lodging and meals for the warrior and a family member. Since 2003, more than 6,000 of the most severely wounded and their families have been served, including those with amputations, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, visual impairments and significant nerve and muscle damage. For more information, visit www.warfightersports.org.