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July 11, 2019
Belvoir Warrior Transition Brigade Soldier flourishes at DoD Warrior Games By Mary Therese Griffin Army Warrior Care and Transition
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U.S Army photo by PFC Dominique Dixon
Sgt. 1st Class Jay Martin participates in the cycling event June 23 in Tampa, during the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games, an adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill and injured Service members and veterans. Approximately 300 athletes representing teams from U.S. and Allied military forces compete in a variety of athletic competitions.
gt. 1st Class Jay Martin, a trumpet player in the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, openly admits he was never really athletic. “I was not athletic until my mid-forties and I started racing BMX bicycles, believe it or not,” said Martin. Biking was his new hobby until an accident Jan. 6, 2018, at an indoor bike park. Martin knew immediately on impact that his legs were not going to be the same. After immediate surgery he learned he would never walk again. As he transitioned through the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Belvoir, he decided not to give up on biking and used it in his adaptive reconditioning. “Hand cycling is different, be-
cause your arms are not your legs –it’s all arms and upper body. I’m pretty much limited from the chest up. It’s hard, but once I got fitted in the bike, I realized I have to get in there and keep going, because practice makes perfect,” said Martin. He won a bronze medal for his classification in hand cycling for Team Army at this year’s Department of Defense Warrior Games in Tampa. Martin knew about the games before his accident but now realized he could participate. He explains why he believes the Warrior Games are important. “Just like sports are important for kids with developing personality and growth, sports at this point for injured or handicapped individuals is the same kind of thing . . . it shapes development and helps you
See Warrior Games, page A5
Academic program could boost Soldier retention Credentialing, along with changes to promotion boards, helps ensure the best are promoted and retained By Joe Lacdan Army News Service
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he Army could add to its record retention numbers by providing more incentive for Soldiers to stay on duty, the service’s top enlisted leader said. The Army has been testing a pilot program for academic credentialing at Fort Hood, Texas, and plans to extend the program to several major installations by the end of 2019, said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey. The Army plans to spread the program to all installations in fiscal year 2020. Recently, the Army provided 110 A5
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bachelor’s degrees to senior NCOs who attended the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas. Dailey said the Army will provide Soldiers with some college credit or professional credentialing for each level of NCO training. “The expectation is we give something back for that service,” Dailey said at an Association of the U.S. Army breakfast in Washington, D.C. “Not just be able to say that you served and sacrificed, but (getting) tangible results. That’s what we owe to the American people–is a better product, to be more productive in their hometowns.” Dailey said the Army has been working out the finer points of the program to ensure higher quality training for Service members and deciding how agencies will get payment. The program will also be available to National Guard and Army Reserve members. Dailey said the Army has been A6
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working with each of the military centers of excellence to provide technical skill training equitable to academic skills. “We thought we need to build on that more, because 60 percent of the Army is combat arms, so what tangible technical skills do they leave with?” he said.
Skilled labor required Dailey cited that 80 percent of American jobs require skilled labor, and that Soldiers can become productive members of the work force after leaving the Army. “There is a great opportunity for many of our Soldiers to fulfill the ranks of those skilled labor requirements in our hometowns of America, and they have the tangible skills,” Dailey said. “We just need to make it official. “We saw the opportunity to be able to capitalize on the great skills our Soldiers have now, and transA7
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Photo by Luc Dunn, AUSA
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey speaks about retention and academic credentialing at the AUSA Institute of Land Warfare breakfast in Arlington, June 26.
late those to civilian-sector skills, which we had not done.” Last year, with the help of Congress and the Army Continuing Education System, the Army created the credentialing assistance
See Credentialing, page A8 B1
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