It’s the same one Lucas Carr had on when he finished this year’s Boston Marathon about 2 minutes before the bombs went off at the finish line, the one Carr was still wearing when he headed back down Boylston Street to help those injured in the explosions.

“He was right there,” said forward Shawn Thornton, one of the Boston players who has struck up a friendship with the U.S. Army sergeant who was running the marathon for the team’s charity. “You can’t say enough about those guys. He’s got a ton of character.”

As the Bruins prepare for Sunday’s second game of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against New York, they have drawn their inspiration from another group of Rangers: The elite Army regiment that lives by the credo, “Rangers lead the way.” Carr texts encouraging messages, or simply joins them for a beer so they can talk about anything but hockey or war.

“It puts things in perspective for us, and I think gives us a little extra motivation, too,” goalie Tuukka Rask said after practice Saturday.

The bond between the team and the unit began in 2011, when Ference wore an Army Rangers T-shirt during Boston’s Stanley Cup run. The soldiers sent back a picture of them waving a Bruins banner in Afghanistan.

Ference visited the Rangers’ training school at Fort Benning, Ga., and he was given a Rangers jacket that has become a talisman for the team. After each win, the star of the game wears it for his postgame interviews and hangs it in his locker until it is time to pass it along to the next player.

“Seeing the guys wear the jacket, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been getting emails and Facebook messages left and right,” Carr said. “The guys that are seeing this are in awe, they’re very humbled: ‘Oh, my God, this professional hockey team is using our insignia, out there performing for us. We’re their heroes.’

“Hockey players can have heroes, too. That’s what Andrew’s conveyed for the team.”

Patrice Bergeron was awarded the jacket after scoring the tying and winning goals in the overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the first round Monday night. Zdeno Chara squeezed his 6-foot-9 frame into it after the 3-2 win over the Rangers in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Carr called his graduation from Ranger training school the proudest moment in his life, and said wearing the “Ranger” tab, or patch, for the first time “makes you feel like you’re invincible.”

“Some guys aren’t as strong as others, but every guy that graduates on Victory Pond that day, they are the proudest human being in the world. And they will run through a brick wall for you,” he said. “The sacrifice that that MVP (of the game) makes to wear that jacket is what it takes to be the best. It just means a lot to us, and the guys who have sacrificed so much, that they put that on at the end of the game. “

The hockey players cringe at the comparisons between their sport and the combat that the Rangers have seen. “Obviously, what they do is above and beyond it,” Thornton said.

But Carr insists that there are similarities in their missions.

“It’s about the man beside you,” he said, recalling the Bruins’ comeback from a three-goal, third-period deficit to beat Toronto in Game 7. “It is about the man beside you when you’re skating a wing. They showed that in that comeback the other night.

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish for a team.”

Ference, who is injured, declined to be interviewed for this article. Carr did not know that his tank top was still hanging in the locker room until a reporter told him this week.

“You’re (kidding) me,” he said. “I’m just glad there’s a good sense of karma in there for them, and I hope it will bring them luck.”

Still, it can be odd to be in the Boston locker room and hear players speak with such reverence of the Rangers – especially during a playoff series against their Original Six rivals from New York.

The irony was not lost on Carr.

“I think, in this case, may the best team win,” he said.

Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/18/3404441/bruins-connect-with-army-rangers.html

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (May 8, 2013) — Staff Sgt. Michael Lage may be loyal to his Army green, but he’s hoping to add some gold to his uniform next week when he vies for medals in cycling and shooting at the 2013 Warrior Games.

It’s a quest he never imagined taking on six years ago when he first arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center, known as BAMC — the sole survivor of a blast in Baghdad that killed four others. The explosion took Lage’s left hand, part of his nose and ears, and caused third-degree burns to nearly half his body.

Still, the avid athlete never lost his competitive edge or determination to excel. Last month, Lage not only breezed through a 300-mile ride with the Ride2Recovery cycling tour, he also qualified to compete in the elite Warrior Games for the first time.

This weekend, the Soldier will join more than 200 other wounded service members in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they’ll prove their prowess in sports such as archery, cycling, shooting, wheelchair basketball, swimming, track and field and sitting volleyball.

“I’m ready for the competition and looking forward to winning two gold medals.” he said.

Lage is one of the many service members who has transformed from wounded warrior into elite athlete — a journey that, for many, begins at BAMC. From the moment they arrive until the day they depart, the focus is on fostering abilities and discovering new potential, said Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Donald Gajewski, an orthopedic surgeon and director of the Center for the Intrepid, BAMC’s state-of-the-art rehabilitation center.

The Army takes a four-phase approach to physical rehabilitation, Gajewski explained. Early on, providers focus on “protective healing,” which involves caring for wounds as they build mobility and strength.

Patients then move on to pre-prosthetic training at the Center for the Intrepid, where they concentrate on strengthening, balance and cardiovascular training. They also begin community reintegration together, which may involve a dinner or attending a sporting event downtown, he added.

Soldiers greatly benefit from working together as a group, Gajewski noted.

“The ability to rehabilitate all of these heroes in one place is invaluable, not only from a motivational standpoint, but also from a sharing of best practices standpoint,” he said.

Soldiers then receive and adjust to their new prostheses, while learning how to take on everyday tasks. They practice picking up objects from the floor, and stepping off and on stairs, curbs, ramps and uneven terrain. They also work on mastering a new gait.

The final phase involves the “fun stuff,” Gajewski said, such as recreational sports and activities, drivers training, vocational evaluation and training, and if needed, military specific drills.

“There has been much research that shows adaptive sports play a huge role in the recovery of our patients,” he said.

Patients who participate in sports, he added, have been shown to have less narcotic medication dependence, less depression, higher quality of life scores, smoother community reintegration, and improved cardiovascular fitness and psychological well-being.

For the Center for the Intrepid staff, the sky is the limit in this phase. They tailor their programs to Soldiers’ goals, which may include everything from skydiving and scuba diving to sled hockey and cycling.

For some Soldiers, the goal is to simply regain the ability to first walk, then run. Center for the Intrepid prosthetists go to every length to make this happen, Gajewski said, citing the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis, or IDEO, as just one example.

Center for the Intrepid prosthetist Ryan Blanck designed this device for Soldiers who had suffered lower leg injuries and were unable to comfortably walk, let alone run. The carbon-fiber device — which comprises a cuff, carbon-fiber rod and footplate — delivered nearly instantaneous results. Now, most Soldiers who wheel or limp into his office, walk out a short time later, with a normal gait and pain-free.

Another prosthetist, Bob Kuenzi, created a one-of-a-kind prosthesis for a patient who, despite a devastating injury, was desperate to run again.

Spc. Eduard Lychik was clearing bombs in Afghanistan when the vehicle he riding in was hit with a recoilless rifle, taking out his entire left leg. While many above-the-knee amputees are able to return to sports and activities, Lychik’s challenges were compounded by a hip disarticulation, which involves an amputation at the hip joint.

Unwilling to give up, Kuenzi created a new prosthesis — basically just a hip fitting, pylon and running blade — that was an immediate success. Within days, Lychik was moving around a track, and soon was running an eight-minute mile. He recently took on, and succeeded at, a seemingly impossible goal: the 12-mile, 28-obstacle Austin Mudder. Since then, he’s run two half marathons and the Austin marathon, which he finished in 4:28.

“Having a patient with a hip disarticulation like Ed, doing the things that he’s doing, is so rare,” Gajewski said.

BAMC has a comprehensive physical therapy program and the most cutting-edge equipment on hand, but Gajewski attributes success stories like Lychik’s to one key factor: people.

“Most important are a motivated staff, peer support from fellow service members and a motivated patient,” he said. “The last is of the ultimate importance because without a motivated patient, none of the other things matter.

“And we are blessed to have a highly motivated patient population,” he added.

Gajewski will follow the Warrior Games next week and root for the six BAMC warriors participating, including Lage, as they vie for gold.

But no matter the outcome, in his mind, he said, they’ve already won.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/102924/Army_program_transforms_wounded_Soldiers_into_elite_athletes/

NATICK, Mass. (May 8, 2013) — As U.S. Army Garrison Natick police and security personnel entered the Prendergast Building, they saw one man shoot another. They ended the threat by firing, taking down the subject with a single shot.

When they continued to the building’s second floor, they discovered another subject with a knife holding a hostage. They backed off and called a SWAT team and trained hostage negotiators.

Fortunately, the May 8 incident was part of a two-day antiterrorism/emergency management exercise at Natick that also involved local police and other first responders.

“In any sort of incident, it’s going to be hand in hand with local partners,” said Lt. Col. Frank Sobchak, USAG-Natick garrison commander. “So having the Natick police here is hugely beneficial to the scenario. We really couldn’t do it without them.”

Lt. Steven Pagliarulo of the Natick Police Department said that the exercise also served an important purpose for his officers.

“It’s imperative that we train together and become familiar with each other’s protocols,” Pagliarulo said. “Also, we want our officers to be familiar with the base itself. Some of our newer officers have never been here, so it’s important to have face-to-face contact.”

Pagliarulo added that the recent Boston Marathon bombings had emphasized the importance of cooperation between different agencies.

“Also, we exercise communications,” Pagliarulo said. “That’s probably one of the key factors in something like this, is establishing communications.”

Officer Scott Woodward of the USAG-Natick police, part of the “contact” team that originally entered the building, agreed that working with local police has been a benefit.

“We’ve been integrating training with them,” Woodward said. “It inspires confidence in all of the players, because they know that we’re all on the same page. We use the same doctrine, the same language, the same responses.”

The use of simulated munitions — like paintballs — that travel 450 feet per second added an element of realism to the scenario. Participants wore head and throat protection as safety precautions.

“Basically, it’s a 9-millimeter round, but it’s got a plastic tip,” said Lt. David McCrillis of the USAG-Natick police. “Inside of that tip is basically detergent.

“If you got hit, it would be equivalent to … getting a bee sting … or getting shot with a BB gun. The suspects only have red in their weapons, and the officers have blue.”

The change from active shooter to a hostage situation was meant to test the response of garrison and town police.

“The reason we do that is we want to see if they switch gears,” said McCrillis of the officers, who did just that.

“We changed doctrine at that point,” Woodward said. “There’s no reason to rush in. So then we just changed gears, and then we tried to contain it.”

The scenario just reinforced what these first responders already knew.

“You can’t just go rushing in madly,” said Woodward, “but you do have to do it with urgency and just hope that your training kicks in.”

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/102903/Natick_exercise_highlights_cooperation_with_local_authorities/

ADELPHI, Md. (May 9, 2013) — Troops in a tactical environment have unique challenges with efficient energy use that are uncommon to the rest of the fighting forces.

One is that a Soldier positioned to stand guard at an outpost, or forward operating base, should not have to think about energy — a distraction from the strategy and Soldier protection.

In a recent panel discussion in Washington, D.C., April 10, Katherine Hammack, the Army’s assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment, said that “energy is mission critical. It is vulnerability. It is a risk.”

The effective use of energy increases mission capabilities, she said.

This challenge of efficient operational energy in remote, combat areas in part belongs to scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, or ARL, who are a part of the team that manages the Smart Battlefield Energy on-Demand program, known as SmartBED.

“The real goal is more efficient use of energy at small operating posts,” said Bruce Geil, power conditioning branch chief who oversees the SmartBED project. “We want to streamline the way we go about managing the energy, which is all over the map right now.”

Geil’s team started with the question of, “How do we give a plug-and-play simplicity to that Soldier who’s tasked to put the microgrid together in the heat of battle?”

That single question birthed the SmartBED program, which along with other programs is giving engineers an idea of how the energy is used, and how it can be distributed simply and efficiently.

Part of the SmartBED effort is a highly configurable test bed that can handle multiple loads and sources; emulating battlefield conditions. The technology should get researchers as close as they can get to a real-world scenario while staying in a laboratory, said Bob Wood, an electrical engineer on the project.

“Theater is not the place to test microgrid equipment,” said Wood, who has deployed to Afghanistan and to Iraq. “The last thing you want is for a Soldier on the front lines to have an experimental piece of hardware that may or may not work.”

The test bed allows you to prove whether equipment is ready for field testing. What is unique about SmartBED is the ability to configure it in ways to fit Soldiers’ needs at outposts.

One goal of this research is to take steps toward developing a power distribution system that could make automated decisions about when to shut off less critical loads to keep as much of the critical capability as possible, Geil said. A further goal of the program is to provide the Army chain of command critical information such as “how long will the generator function before maintenance problems occur”.

“It gives the commander the capability to plan ahead,” he said. “We have intelligent systems out there now, but the challenge is that those systems rely heavily on human decision-making. If things change, and a person is not there to program the energy grid, there will be problems.”

ARL has a research thrust toward cognitive networks and the use of this technology in power conversion and distribution for the future is one of many places that “smart systems” have value for the Army, he said.

This technology would be a key part of a power “router” that directs power from multiple sources to critical and non-critical loads. The system will prioritize power loads based on what is plugged in. At the lab, “our job is to push beyond the current capability and step up that ability by looking at controls and cognitive applications,” Geil said.

“Researchers are working toward capabilities that take into account all that transpires in the fog of war, and they want to create smart systems that can sense what is plugged in, historical-use data and local restrictions,” he said.

Geil envisions a system with cognitive algorithms to make decisions with minimal human guidance. Systems that can maintain operations of the most critical requirements such as critical communications and medical operations in the absence of guidance — but that can be easily overridden by system operators — people.

Engineers like Wood recognize that it’s one thing to make something work in the sterile lab environment, but “it’s a much different environment in places like Afghanistan.”

Researchers have to close the gap so that they don’t develop a seemingly perfect piece of equipment that no Soldier at an Army outpost would use, Wood said.

Wood added that other Army organizations like the Communication-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center take fundamental concepts closer to transition and have near-term programs such as the hybrid intelligent power (HI Power) program that increases efficiency by sharing loads on generators.

“We develop and refine a concept, and then ARL works with other Army Research, Development and Engineering Centers to refine and materialize intelligent energy solutions,” Wood said.

“There are many trials before technology like this gets to the Soldier,” he said. “SmartBED is designed to one day speed that process along.”

SmartBED is the second in a series of four stories about ARL’s far-reaching concepts for Army operational energy. The next article in the series is Long-lived Power. Scientists and engineers at ARL forecast energy solutions into the future with a portfolio of basic and applied science.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/102875/Army_Lab_engineers_want__smart_energy__for_warfighters/

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 9, 2013) — Though the six veterans whose service era spanned the Civil War to Vietnam had no known relatives to see them rendered full honors and final respects at Arlington National Cemetery today, they were not forgotten.

Hundreds of service members and senior military leaders came out for the mid-morning service under rain-threatening skies to pay tribute to the two Union Army brothers, a Marine, a Sailor, an Airman and a Coast Guardswoman.

Their unclaimed cremated remains were recovered by the Missing in America Project. The veterans are the first to be inurned in the cemetery’s ninth and last columbarium

Several weeks before the May 9 dedication of Columbarium 9, Kathryn Condon, executive director of Army National Military Cemeteries, said, “The military traditions associated with burials at Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s premier military cemetery, are honoring these heroes who were identified by the Missing In America Project.

“I can’t think of a better way to dedicate this hallowed ground than by honoring these forgotten heroes who until now, did not have a resting place befitting their service and sacrifice,” she said.

Part of the cemetery’s three-part expansion program, Columbarium Court 9 allows for 20,296 niches for cremation urns. The $12.9 million project covers 2.35 acres — the length of two football fields — and is more than twice the size of the next-largest columbarium at Arlington.

Following dedication remarks by two military chaplains, a lone horse-drawn caisson carried a single flag-draped casket to symbolize each of the six urns. Peeling off from the caisson, casket details from each service branch bore a rectangular urn engraved with the veteran’s name and service emblem which the detail placed on a pedestal, over which a flag was presented and folded.

After the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) firing party let off three rifle volleys, Taps was played. The urns were each placed in niches side-by-side and a marble cover — engraved with each veteran’s name, rank, service branch, date of birth and death, and the words “you are not forgotten” — was placed over the top.

The committal service honored the following six veterans:

– Army 1st Lt. Zuinglius K. McCormack (1843-1912), served with the Indiana 132nd Infantry Regiment in 1864. He saw action with Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee in such campaigns as Buzzard Roost, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain and the Battle of Jonesboro.

– Army Pvt. Lycurgus McCormack (1845-1908), served with the Indiana 103rd Inf. Regt. He saw action in July 1863 helping to repel a Confederate force of 6,000 under Brig. Gen. John Morgan in what would become the Battle of Corydon, the only Civil War battle fought in Indiana.

– Marine Corps Pfc. Albert Klatt (1921-1999), served with the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific island-hopping campaign during World War II. He fought at the Battles of Guinea, Peleliu and Okinawa.

– Air Force Staff Sgt. Dennis Banks (1943-2004), joined the Air Force in 1967 and served a combat tour in Vietnam. He left the service in 1971.

– Seaman 2nd Class Peter Schwartz (1898-1986), served with the Navy during World War II from 1917-1919.

– U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Seaman 2nd Class Virginia Wood (1923-2010), enlisted in 1944 as a SPAR, the nickname for the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/102991/Arlington_dedicates_new_columbarium_with_joint_committal_service_of_veterans/

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Army News Service, May 11, 2013) — The official start of the 2013 Warrior Games began when Navy Lt. Bradley Snyder, with the help of Prince Harry and Olympian Missy Franklin, lit the official cauldron today at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

From May 11-16, more than 200 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans from the U.S. Marines, Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as a team representing U.S. Special Operations Command and an international team representing the United Kingdom, will compete for the gold in track and field, shooting, swimming, cycling, archery, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and U.S. Air Force Academy. The military service with the most medals will win the Chairman’s Cup.

Snyder said he was honored to light the cauldron.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to still be a part of something very near and dear to my heart,” said Snyder. “The Warrior Games have already had an impact on so many lives, and I am truly honored to represent the U.S. Navy in broadening the event.”

While serving in Afghanistan in 2011, Snyder lost his vision when an improvised explosive device detonated. He competed in the 2012 Warrior Games and later that year, he went on to qualify in swimming for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where he won two gold and one silver medal. Snyder won the men’s 400-meter freestyle on the exact one-year anniversary of his injury.

Third-time Warrior Games attendee Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr. spoke at the event.

“Our nation’s wounded, ill and injured are very special people to me and my wife, Mary, and they will continue to be special to us. This is the highlight of our year, every year,” he said.

The admiral told the athletes they are the best of the best.

“You warriors are here because of your willingness to overcome great challenges, the challenges of illness and injury, both seen and unseen, coupled with the challenges that any superior athlete must overcome in achieving greatness,” he said to them. “Your heroism and determination are an inspiration. Whenever I’m having a bad day or I’m facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge, I just think of you, and my day becomes a very nice day.”

Winnefeld also recognized the family members of the athletes, who serve as caregivers.

“Mary and I extend our heartfelt thanks to the family members and friends of our athletes here today, especially those who unselfishly dropped everything else in their lives to become dedicated caregivers,” he said. “It’s very hard work, and it’s often overlooked. They are very special people.”

The admiral also extended congratulations to athletes like Snyder who now compete on the Paralympic team and win gold medals for the U.S. team.

The Warrior Games were created in 2010 as an introduction to adaptive sports and reconditioning activities for service members and veterans.

Adaptive sports and reconditioning are linked to a variety of benefits for wounded, ill, and injured service members across all branches of the military. They include less stress, reduced dependency on pain and depression medication, fewer secondary medical conditions, higher achievement in education and employment, increased independence, increased self-confidence, and increased mobility.

The fourth annual Warrior Games is hosted by the U.S. Olympic Committee and supported by the Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, USO, Fisher House Foundation, the Semper Fi Fund, the Bob Woodruff Foundation and other corporate sponsors.

“We are proud to host the Warrior Games at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and the Air Force Academy,” wrote Charlie Huebner, the chief of Paralympics for the US Olympics Committee in a press release. “Paralympic sport has a tremendously positive impact on individuals with physical disabilities, and the Warrior Games allow us to salute these fine young men and women who have served their countries honorably.”

The Warrior Games competitions are free and open to the public.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/103136/Warriors_light_torch_to_kick_off_2013_Warrior_Games/

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Army News Service, May 11, 2013) — An Army Vietnam veteran is coaching wheelchair basketball at the Warrior Games this week, but his duties extend way beyond the sport.

Billy Demby said he’s also coaching today’s wounded warriors on how to get through the difficult process of healing from their wounds, illnesses and injuries suffered on and off the battlefield.

“I know what they’re feeling. I know what they’re going through,” he said. “It could be something as small as dealing with family members or something as large as having flashbacks.”

And Demby knows all too well. He’s been through it himself.

In 1971, near Quang Tri, South Vietnam, a Vietcong rocket destroyed the truck he was driving.

The 20-year-old private was lucky to survive, doctors told him after amputating both of his legs.

But the physical injuries he sustained were just half of his battle. He also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, though he didn’t know it at the time.

“No one told me I might have PTSD. We were still calling it shell shock,” a term carried over from World Wars I and II, he explained. “Others called those of us with PTSD the ‘walking wounded.’

“A lot of us had it,” he continued. “You witnessed the trauma of war, seeing bodies blown apart. It has an effect on you. It plays in your head.”

The military was still struggling then with how to correctly amputate limbs without killing the patients and providing functional prosthetics, he said. “They didn’t know how to deal with PTSD or even what it was. It just wasn’t a priority.”

Society didn’t know how to deal with the veterans either, he said.

“The war was long, and it was unpopular,” he said. “People were getting tired of their kids, their husbands, their uncles, their cousins being killed and maimed.”

And, they took it out on the veterans, he added.

“When we came back, they spit on us as we were walking through the airport. Now, whenever I go through an airport, I hear people saying ‘thank you for your service,’” he said, describing the attitude shift.

Today’s veterans are also getting better help from the military, Veterans Affairs and numerous charities and nonprofits, he said.

The Warrior Games is one of those organizations, providing a venue at the Olympic Training Center and Air Force Academy for wounded, ill and injured veterans and service members. The events are shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball, archery, cycling and track and field.

“Sports are helping them take the next step, which is transitioning back to society,” he said. “When we put veterans in these types of programs, they see they can accomplish something. It sets them up for the next thing. It’s like, if I can do this, I can do something else.”

Demby has been coaching wheelchair basketball at the Warrior Games since its inception in 2010.

He’s already achieved celebrity status, having competed in wheelchair basketball in the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

When he’s not coaching Warrior Games athletes, he’s coaching wheelchair basketball at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Walking around the court has gotten easier as the years have gone by due to advances in technology, with new models of prosthetics coming out almost every year, he said.

“What they have today is way beyond what I initially received,” he said, describing his first legs as “hard rubber,” lacking control and flexibility.

Over the years, he got new legs, ones made out of Delrin, which he described as much more flexible, even allowing amputees to run and play basketball. The old ones, he said, were barely good enough to walk with.

Now, he has a pair made out of carbon fiber. He said he lost track of how many legs he’s had over the years.

As far as future plans go, he said he’d like to remain with the Warrior Games as a coach. “I’ll work with these guys until they get tired of me.”

He added, “For me, it’s about giving something back.”

He expressed admiration for the young athletes, whom he describes as the next greatest generation.

“It’s what these guys do that allow you to live in a free country. There’s a cost to that freedom and these guys are making that payment,” he said.

Article source: http://www.army.mil/article/103135/Vietnam__Army_vet_coaching_today_s_wounded_warriors/

Blackhawk helicopters ferried the soldiers from Camp Merrill in Dahlonega, where they get the mountain phase of their training.

They jumped out over the Chestatee side of Lake Lanier as authorities from Forsyth, Dawson, and Hall counties kept boaters away from the landing zone.

The elite troops landed with full packs in 63 degree water.

Ranger School is a grueling two-month combat leadership course, most of which happens at Fort Benning in Georgia.

Article source: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22200112/army-rangers-jump-into-lake-lanier

The event, which has been held at the 6th Ranger Training Battalion for more than 60 years, usually draws thousands of visitors. It had been scheduled for Saturday.

“We were told not do any type of open house due to funding issues,” said Sgt. 1st Class Cansas Sadler with the 6th Ranger Training Battalion.

He said battalion received word in April.

The Department of Defense is required to cut a large part of its budget by the end of September in a process dubbed sequestration. Many activities not specifically related to the military’s mission have been canceled, including a triathlon at Eglin Air Force Base and the Blue Angels air show in Pensacola.

During the open house, the Army Rangers usually recreate some of the type of training they do at the camp. Soldiers are lowered from helicopters. Snipers emerge from the woods wearing foliage as camouflage and secure a downed aircraft. Soldiers engage in hand-to-hand combat demonstrations.

People of all ages are allowed to fire machine guns armed with blanks. They also can touch snakes and hurl hatchets.

Sadler said the battalion was sad to not be able to hold the event this year, but hopes to resume it in 2014.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.

Article source: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/army-ranger-open-house-victim-of-budget-cuts-1.139029