Disabled Vets Experience ‘Miracles on Mountainside’

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo., March 28, 2012 – Ralph Gigliotti of the Veterans Affairs Department’s Rocky Mountain Network had warned about 400 disabled veterans gathered here for the annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic to expect miracles to unfold in the days ahead.

“Tomorrow, each of will start chasing your miracles on the mountain,” he told the veterans as they prepared to kick off a six-day clinic jam-packed with sporting events designed to push them to new heights and enhance their rehabilitation.

Midway through the clinic, even some of the skeptics say they’re experiencing firsthand why the popular event, now in its 26th year, has come to be known as “Miracles on a Mountainside.”

Anthony Jeffries admits he resisted coming to his first clinic this year. A Marine Corps veteran rendered a quadriplegic during a 2007 car accident, he said the staff at his VA treatment facility in California “practically beat me with a stick” to get him to participate. “It was the fear of the unknown,” he said.

But on the clinic’s opening day, Jeffries accomplished something he never dreamed possible, skiing down Snowmass Mountain on adaptive skis. “I don’t smile much, but I was smiling a lot then,” he said. For Jeffries, the run down the mountain was the springboard to a whole new world of opportunity. Now he’s looking forward to the clinic’s trapshooting event, which he hopes will be a foray to his longtime love of hunting.

Jeffries’ mother, Nancy Barrington, said she’s seeing the change in her son since arriving here. “He’s starting to open up,” she said. “He’s seeing that there are still things he can do.”

Jeffries agrees. “I figure that if I can ski down a mountain, I can probably do a lot of other things that I thought I would never be able to,” he said.

That, Gigliotti said, is exactly what the winter sports clinic is designed to help veterans realize.

Alan Burger, a 50-year-old Navy veteran who lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle accident 30 years ago, experienced his own personal miracle during a clinic-sponsored outing at the T Lazy 7 Ranch in nearby Aspen Highlands. He took the controls of a hulking snowmobile and navigated through the snow-covered trails -- the first time he’s driven a vehicle in three decades since his life-altering accident.

“It was awesome!” he exclaimed before climbing back into his wheelchair. “I wanted to go faster!” The freedom was so liberating, he said, that he now plans to apply for his driver’s license as soon as he gets home to Kansas City, Kan.

Burger called the experiences at the winter sports clinic “an epiphany for me,” and another major step in his road to physical and emotional recovery.

Always in constant pain due to his injury, he had found himself spiraling into substance abuse. But on May 31, he’ll celebrate a year of sobriety, and swears, “I’m never going back.” Instead, he said he’s been focusing on getting himself in shape, putting in three to five miles a day in his wheelchair as part of his exercise and nutrition regimen.

Berger said the clinic has opened his eyes to even greater possibilities. Gone, he said, are the days when he felt he had no choice but to sit on the sidelines watching others enjoy life. “This had made me realize that I can do anything I want to do,” he said. “I don’t have to be a spectator anymore. I can get out there and live life.”

Jon Engles had plenty of spectators cheering him yesterday on as he experienced his own miracle at the winter sports clinic. A former Navy petty officer 3rd class who lost his right leg and most of his right arm in a 2000 motorcycle accident, Engles struggled up a 24-foot rock-climbing wall positioned in the middle of Snowmass Village.

Clinic participants gathered to encourage him as he labored inch by inch up the wall, finally exploding into cheers when he reached the top and rang the bell to announce his accomplishment.

Among those celebrating was Tricia Strombom, Engles’ coach from the VA Center in Portland, Ore. “This is huge,” she said, an extension of a transformation in Engles she said began on the ski slope the previous day.

“I looked at his eyes, and you could just see the switch flip,” she said. “You could see that moment of ‘Wow, I can do this. And if I can do this, what else can I do?’”

As he reveled in his achievements, Engles said, it’s the support and camaraderie he’s found in his fellow disabled veterans that makes them possible.

“I love being with all the veterans,” he said. “There’s no pretense. It’s everyone together, encouraging each other and just about having a good time.”

What draws them together, he said, is a common understanding of what each other is experiencing and a common base. “We all served, and come from the same blood,” he said.

Jose Lopez called the supportive atmosphere these veterans provide each other a key to his rehabilitation. An Army veteran who was working as a Defense Department civilian sports specialist in Germany when a 2007 motorcycle accident landed him in a wheelchair, Lopez said he initially feared he was destined for a nursing home.

One of his therapists introduced Lopez to adaptive sports a year later, and he quickly began taking advantage of every opportunity offered to him. “It changed my life so much,” he said. “I do more things now in a wheelchair than when I was walking.”

Thinking about how far he has come, and watching other disabled veterans move forward in their rehabilitation, Lopez said he understands what makes the winter sports clinic the “Miracle on a Mountainside.”

“It’s everyone together, creating that atmosphere of support,” he said. “That’s the miracle.”

Inaugural Meeting of North American Defence Ministers Joint Statement

The Honorable Peter MacKay, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, the Honorable Leon E. Panetta, U.S. Secretary of Defense, General Guillermo Galván Galván, Mexican Secretary of National Defence, and Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza, Mexican Secretary of the Navy, met today in Ottawa for the inaugural trilateral meeting of North American Defence Ministers. The Ministers issued the following statement on their meeting:

 “By virtue of our geography, our peoples, and our trading relationship, our three nations share many defense interests. Threats to North America and the hemisphere are increasingly complex and require non-traditional responses. Building upon the trilateral collaboration under the North American Leaders Summit process, we share a determination to enhance our common understanding of those threats and of the approaches needed to address them.

 “Our countries are committed to working together to address challenges in the region. We know that transnational threats require transnational responses. With this in mind, we have agreed to enhance our cooperation to support efforts to counter transnational criminal organizations and to respond to natural disasters in the hemisphere.

 “Our meeting today has established the framework necessary to build North America’s resilience by pursuing a practical agenda built on sustained trilateral cooperation on issues related to defense. As part of our initial work plan, we intend to:

·         Develop a joint trilateral defense threat assessment for North America to deepen our common understanding of the threats and challenges we face. 

·         Explore ways to improve our support to the efforts of civilian public security agencies in countering illicit activities in our respective countries and the hemisphere, such as narcotics trafficking. 

·         Explore how we can collaborate to increase the speed and efficiency with which our armed forces support civilian-led responses to disasters. 

·         Continue to work together to strengthen hemispheric defence forums. 

 “We have agreed to meet on a regular basis in order to build on today’s historic meeting and continue our cooperation in addressing shared continental threats.

 “We will pursue this trilateral agenda respectful of national sovereignty and in coordination with other agencies in our respective governments. The results of our meeting will be conveyed to our respective leaders in advance of the upcoming North American Leaders Summit.”

Ground Breaking Starts Construction of Bridgeport Commissary

By Mario Icari, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest Public Affairs Office

BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest and members of the Marine Corps Mountain Training Center (MCMWTC) in Bridgeport, Calif., celebrated the start of construction of a commissary facility with a ground breaking ceremony, March 27.

Officer in Charge of Construction Marine Corps Installations West Commanding Officer Capt. Michael Williamson; Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) representative Ben Wainwright; MCMWTC Commanding Officer Col. Philip Chandler; MCMWTC Executive Officer Lt. Col. John Carroll; KBR Operations Director Roy Raines; and local representatives from Lincoln Military Housing in Colville were in attendance at the ceremony.

The 17,241 square foot project includes a 13,353 square foot commissary and a 3,888 square foot Marine Mart convenience store.

The project supports the Marine Corp Mountain Warfare Training Center Command and was developed by NAVFAC Southwest in conjunction with DeCA and Marine Corps Community Services.

"One of this project's benefits is that the families of the Marines and Sailors stationed here, in the most remote base the Marine Corps has in [continental united states], will not have to drive 45 minutes to get to a grocery store," said James Castelluzzo, NAVFAC Southwest design manager for this project. "This will decrease the travel time during inclement weather that families will have to be on the road to get basic necessities."

Panetta Attends Historic Trilateral Defense Meeting

American Forces Press Service

OTTAWA, Ontario  – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta attended an historic trilateral meeting here today with defense leaders from Canada and Mexico to discuss common challenges and improve continental security.

“This is the first trilateral meeting of defense ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico and it's a real honor for me to have this opportunity to be here in Ottawa to participate in this historic event,” Panetta said during a post-meeting news conference.

Panetta said the meeting provided the defense ministers with “an unprecedented opportunity to try to bring together our nations in a common approach to continental security.”

The ties between the North American nations “are deep, and they are abiding,” not just because of shared geography, he said.

“We share a similar identity rooted in the principles of liberty and democracy,” Panetta said. “American and Canadian forces have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan for the last decade.

“The United States and Mexican forces have long cooperated in a number of areas, especially in the fight against illegal drug traffickers,” he added.

Panetta expressed his gratitude to Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay for Canadian forces’ partnership in Afghanistan.

“The mission there is on track, thanks largely to the efforts of countries like Canada and their tremendous contribution and sacrifice,” he said. “I can't tell you how much we appreciate what the Canadians have done to be part of this effort. And I understand and recognize the sacrifices that have been made on behalf of this effort.”

MacKay said it was important for the three nations to work together to improve continental security for North Americans.

“When it comes to the security of North America, none of us can afford to work in isolation, and that has been an easy conclusion to arrive at,” he said. “Our discussions today began with what I believe is an important dialogue on security and defense in North America that we will continue through regular meetings.”

MacKay, speaking in English, French and occasionally Spanish, discussed the importance of the trilateral meeting.

“Through our discussions today, we were able to better identify a number of opportunities to better coordinate our efforts on issues related to national defense,” he said. “We discussed the need to advance a common understanding of the threats facing North America.”

The three leaders also will be exploring ways to cooperate more closely on humanitarian assistance and disaster response, MacKay said. “We have defined a way forward and now is the time to go to work to operationalize … some of the discussions and the agreements that we've had today,” he said.

The leaders also discussed the need for a common threat assessment on challenges facing the area, better military-to-military relationships and improved regional engagement, Panetta said.

“Looking ahead, the U.S. is exploring other ways to improve our defense collaboration and to focus on areas like cyber security and defense support to civil authorities,” he added. “We continue to take steps on a bilateral basis as well.”

Panetta said he discussed the fight against drug cartels, disaster relief training and exchange programs with his Mexican counterparts. He also had “very constructive” talks with McKay, he said, about capacity building in Central America, NATO's long-term approach in Afghanistan, ongoing NATO reform efforts and America's commitment to the F-35 program.

“All of these steps herald a new era of defense cooperation on this continent,” he said. “A new effort that I believe will advance security in the Western Hemisphere and around the world.”

“Our nations are more than just neighbors,” Panetta said. “We are friends, we are partners, we are one family – una familia, un famil – committed to forging a better and more secure future for our people.”