Nov 2011

Holy smokes!

First of all let me apologize for not being more prompt about updating this blog.  This summer has just flown by.  I have to try to remember everything I have done and everywhere I have been.

So last I left off I was headed to Washington DC right?  That visit went well got to see the Change of Command at Eight & I and visit some of our newly wounded Marines at Bethesda (this was one of 3 trips I made to Bethesda this summer).  It is always humbling to see these young men; all they want to do is be back with their units.  But then the realization sets in that they will never be back in their units as a guy with boots on the ground; and they tend to crawl into their cocoons.  However visits like this bring guys that have been there and done that right there to their bedside and they see that there is in fact life after injury. That is definitely one of the highlights of these visits.

Next I spent 17 glorious days at Mt Hood in Oregon and let me tell you, I sure had some breakthroughs in my techniques.  It was a very productive camp for me and I also learned that even the best skiers in the world do the basic drills that we did every day.  Overall it was a great camp!

The trip to Germany had some last minute BS that ended up having it cancelled.  Instead we went to Washington DC.  The trip was so humbling and amazing at the same time.  These men instantly turned into 18 year old men when mixed with us and the story telling began.  Some of the harrowing stories were just unbelievable.  The sacrifice that these men made can never be put into words; but I was honored to spend a few days in DC with them.  We also went to visit men in at Walter Reed and Bethesda, which was very difficult for a few of the WWII Vets; many of the guys that survived their wounds now would have lived back in WWII so I don’t think they were fully prepared for what they were going to see. 

I had to miss the August Camp in NY because I went to Las Vegas for a Bachelor Party……what happens in Vegas!

The Rhode Island Paralympic Camp from the 15-19^th of August in Rhode Island was a pretty cool program, I got to try out many of the summer sports.  Met some very great guys and gals and enjoyed the East Coast.

I went to NYC at the end of Sept for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run, and let me tell you this was a pretty emotional weekend for me for a couple of reasons.  One it was 10 years since the attacks at WTC and also the attacks are the reason I re-enlisted.  It was a pretty amazing weekend.  I got to fight a live fire at the FDNY training facility;  and the highlight was that I decided to Run a 5k and although it was very slow I managed to finish! It was the first time I had run since the day before my surgery in 2005. 

October 1^st marked a huge change in my life I moved all of my household belongings in to storage and headed to Phoenix for the month.  I spent the month with my Parents and Daughter, preparing for my impending move to Basalt CO for my winter training at Aspen.  It was awesome to hang out with them for the month.  At the end of Oct I went to DC again for the Marine Corps Marathon.  It also marked the 3^rd trip to Bethesda this year. I had mechanical problems at the Marathon and was unable to finish….but there is always next year!

November 1^st had me moving up to Basalt.  We also spent two weeks in Copper Mountain Skiing.  Sandwiched in those two weeks was a trip to DC (4^th of the year) with my Parents and Emily for Veterans Day.  It was a superb trip to say the least and also very special to spend it with Emily, she sure is turning into a great young lady and makes me proud to be her Dad!

That pretty much wraps up my summer….whew.  I will try to stay more on top of this as my season begins! Hope all is well with all of you and God Bless!

Jon

Summer 2011

Hello all;

So my summer is just getting out of control busy, I am leaving headed to Washington DC this Thursday for 2 days for the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Change of Command at the Marine Barracks 8th and I Street.  As well as Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit some of the injured guys and gals with some of my Team Semper Fi teammates.

Then on the 12th I head to Oregon to ski until the 29th with the NSCD and also the US National Team and other Veterans. I am back for a few days then leave for Lake Placid New York from the 6th to the 9th with Team Semper Fi. Then from the 15th to the 19th I am in Rhode Island for a Paralympic Military Camp.

Then on The 23rd I head off to Germany with the Greatest Generation Foundation for the hospital visit at Landstuhl, we are also going to spend one day and night in Paris. This trip is going to be very special to me and I am looking forward to this and have been since March.

That about wraps up the Months of June and July, I will be very busy but I am excited to be able to take advantage of these opportunities now that I am retired! I will try to add pictures and update you all with some of the details.

Jon

4/20/2011

Hey all,

I had a great US Adaptive Nationals in Alaska. Finished 5th in my first ever downhill race, 5th in SG, DNF in SC, 5th in GS and 8th in SL also got a 5th in a NORAM SG. I was so very happy with my results and can only get better.

Went to SkiTAM as a guest of Time Warner Cable and had an incredible time! Time Warner Cable were incredible hosts. We had an amazing weekend.

I was supposed to go to Germany, however due to an inspection at the base in Germany the trip had to be postponed until a later date this year.

I am now in my dryland training for the summer and will work on strength and conditioning and Cardio for the rest of the summer. I am also going to Mount Hood Oregon for a summer camp to get some skiing in.

All is great with me now and I am excited about the future!



Jon

Alyeska Resort Alaska

Greetings all from Alaska, it's hard to believe that it’s been over a month since my last post.  There have been a few interesting developments in my life.  First and most importantly I left my job to pursue full time ski racing.  That in of itself is super exciting.

First we are in Alyeska Resort, which is outside of Anchorage in the Turnagain Bay for US Adaptive National Championships.  We arrive yesterday and this place is absolutely breath taking.  Words just can’t describe the beauty nor the calm around here.  Everyone in Alaska seems to march to the beat of a chilled out drum.  It’s great, the lifts don’t even open until 10:30 am.  The weather yesterday and today were clear and sunny. But since we are beginning racing we expect snow.  HAHA

Second after Nationals, Joel Hunt and I are headed the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic for a couple of days to talk to some of our fellow Vets about ski racing and also to be the face of the up and coming Veteran ski racers.

Third from March 31^st to April 3^rd I have been invited to attend SkiTAM, which is a huge fundraiser for the US Adaptive Ski Team (USAST) as a guest of Time Warner Cable.  This is quite an honor as it is usually reserved for team members of the USAST.

Finally, today I was contacted and invited to go to Landstuhl Germany in from April 16^th-April 23rd to visit some of our recovering wounded Marines.  This will be with some other retired Marines and up to four WWII veterans.  Below is the operational order for this trip.

 Connecting Generations: Operation Common Ground

A program of The Greatest Generations Foundation

Introduction: As more and more veterans of World War II pass away it is important to not only honor them for their sacrifices, but to preserve the legacies they established and the freedom they fought to defend. Nobody understands these concepts as well as the men and women of today’s military forces who continue to fight day after day to defend the same liberties defended by the World War II generation. However, as these men and women are engaged overseas, the list of casualties increases. As our Wounded Warriors recover from battlefield injuries in Military Hospitals abroad it is important to be encouraged, not only by letters from home and fellow service members, but by the heroes and role models of World War II who long ago fought, sacrificed, returned, and thrived.

Mission: To foster intergenerational relationships between our Heroes of yesterday and our present day Heroes returning from the battlefields of the Middle East. Such relationships will provide World War II veterans an opportunity to pass on their legacies and through example will mentor our young veterans with the skills needed to succeed in the civilian world. Through 65 years of experience the Greatest Generation Veterans are still in the fight setting the standard and helping our young heroes of today.

Objectives:

1) To provide World War II veterans with the opportunity to interact with and mentor Wounded Warriors recently engaged in combat in the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict.

2) To educate World War II vets and today’s Wounded Warriors veterans about the common ground they share through the traumatic effects of war.

3) To foster intergenerational relationships between veterans of different wars and to encourage today’s Wounded Warriors in their transition into civilian life.

4) To prevent modern‐day veterans from cultivating an entitlement mentality and encourage them to continue to contribute to society.

Measurement of Success: Success will be measured both by the amount of closure the World War II veterans gain through their interaction with Wounded Warriors, and by the effect the program has on Wounded Warriors and their increased determination to overcome their disabilities and lead successful lives.

Program Overview: A group of 8 veterans (4 World War II, 4 Wounded Warriors), 3 TGGF staff and 1 Marine DISC will depart from Denver and fly to Germany. The group will travel Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to visit wounded Marines and soldiers coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. The group will spend three days at the Military Treatment Facilities, one day meeting with local High school students and ROTC programs in the area. The last day will be reserved for a commemoration ceremony held at Belleau Wood, before returning to the United States.

I have been asked to be the athlete representative, as Marines are very big on physical fitness as most of you all know and what Adaptive Sports has given me is immeasurable in my emotional recovery. I am humbled, and honored to be able to attend this event.  Hopefully I can educate these young men on life after injury and help to facilitate faster recovery.

I hope to update along the way with all of these events, but as you can see the next few weeks is going to be very busy for me.  Right now I have to focus on having a successful week of ski racing here at Nationals.

Jon

Feb 17th 2011

So here we go, I finally succumbed and decided this was the best way to keep everyone informed on my progress and what has been going on with my skiing.

I have had a good year so far in my races, having personal bests in Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super GS and Super Combined.  I still have quite a way to go in order to be competing with the best in the World, but I am very happy with my results and my progress. 

In December 2010 I attended Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge CO, which was a great opportunity to ski with some of the Veterans that are learning how to race.  It was a great week and had the opportunity to reconnect with some of the people that I had not seen in some time.

Following that we had 4 races in Copper Mountain CO.  Two GS races and two Slalom races, I posted personal bests in both disciplines and was about 30 seconds off the leaders.  Which for me was a huge improvement from last year when I was over 60 seconds off the leaders. 

In January we had the Winter Park Open, which was two Super GS Races and one Super Combined.  Again posting personal bests in Super G I was 17 seconds off the leaders, and Super Combined 33 seconds off the leaders.  Again last year I was over a 60 seconds off the leaders in both disciplines.

Upcoming I have the Wells Fargo Cup From March 4^th-6^th in Winter Park CO and US Adaptive Nationals in Alyeska Resort in Alaska from March 21^st-27^th.

I have also been invited to SkiTAM as part of the Time Warner Cable team in Vail CO from March 31^st to April 3^rd.  This is a heck of an honor to be invited to this as part of Time Warner’s Team as they pick up and coming athletes that are not on the US Adaptive Team yet to be their guests. I am very excited to be asked to attend this event to do some networking and also maybe gain some sponsorship money.

http://www.skitam.com/cms/site/acee2bd4fec6aadc/index.html

I just returned Tuesday from a Camp in Mammoth California that was a great experience and was able to ski with a couple of Veterans that I met in Breckenridge in December.  The ski terrain at that place is unbelievable and I want to try and coerce the powers that be to hold US Adaptive Nationals there some day soon.

That’s all for now, but I will update after Wells Fargo Cup and Nationals to let you all know how I did there.

Jon