--- title: "How US military veterans are set to dominate the Paralympics" date: "2020-02-05" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/how-us-military-veterans-are-set-to-dominate-the-paralympics/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Sports" - "Veterans" --- # How US military veterans are set to dominate the Paralympics ![]() In March 2018, the United States Paralympic Team sent [18 U.S. military veterans to PyeongChang](), South Korea to compete for Olympic gold. That's just under a quarter of the whole U.S. team. They competed in alpine skiing, curling, and sled hockey, bringing home more than a couple of gold medals — 36 medals in all. --- They represented all branches of the U.S. military and have deployed to all areas of the Earth in support of the United States. [According to the New York Times](), the games are, in a way, getting back to their military roots. The Paralympic Games started off as the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948 which, at the time, were specifically for wounded World War II veterans. ![]() *Kirk Black is a Team USA Wheelchair Curling Teammate and U.S. Army veteran.* Today, funding for Paralympic athletes is more readily and widely available to aspirants who are also military veterans. Even as the number of returning, wounded veterans gets lower overall, the number of vets on the Team USA roster swells. It's just more difficult for a non-veteran to get a start, considering the support that comes from the Department of Veterans Affairs and nonprofits like the [Semper Fi Fund](). But once on the team, they're Team USA — all the way. There is no rift between the veterans and non-veterans. This year's USA Sled Hockey Team [featured five Marines and two Army veterans]() among the 17 members of the team. They took home the gold. I'm honored and proud to be able to wear our colors and the big 'USA' on the front of our jerseys," says Rico Roman, one of the two Army veterans. "It's great to be out there with other veterans and to be able to represent our country on the highest level of Paralympic athletics in our sport of sled hockey. Justin Marshall, who is a non-veteran member of the USA's Wheelchair Curling Team, says he would never be resentful of the extra funding available to veterans. They're his teammates. "Almost every guy in my family served in the military, and I probably would have followed except I had my spinal cord stroke when I was 12," Marshall [told the New York Times](). "It helps them so I can't be mad at them for it. I wish I had that extra funding, but I don't, so I just try to find another way to take care of that." ![]() *The 2018 Sled Hockey Team. (Photo by Joe Kusumoto)* The USA took its third straight Sled Hockey gold medal in 2018. In fact, 2018 was Team USA's [most successful Paralympics year]() since 2002. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()