Operation Comfort

ADAPTIVE SPORTS REHABILITATION -- The annual Operation Comfort Adaptive Cycling skills clinic was held in May. This three-day skills clinic is held in collaboration with the local Veterans Administration Recreation department. This clinic was led by four Operation Comfort staff, two Veterans Administration staff, and one civilian cycling professional and two Disabled Veteran Cycling professionals. The goals set during the clinic are to teach proper hydration and nutrition before, during, and after riding. Each participant is fit to several bikes, recumbents, or handcycle to ensure the comfort and safety level is accurate. Those in attendance will learn safety skills, proper shifting, and basic bike Maintenance. Our main goal is to help empower veterans to improve their health in multiple interconnected biological, behavioral, social, and environmental areas. Experts widely consider exercise, good nutrition, relaxation and sleep crucial to healthy living. Good health helps keep your body running, and does wonders for one's emotional well-being. OC supported Matt Gonzales and Ivan Perez as part of our VA deliverable for Paralympic Pipeline support. These two athletes participated in the U.S. Paralympic Open in Huntsville, Alabama. Matt placed second twice and was awarded two Bronze Medals, and Ivan placed 5th/7th in his category. Both will move on to the U.S. Road Championships in July. We are very proud to have supported them on their journey and will offer some support in July. Matt & Ivan are featured in the fundraising letter that was sent out April 26, 2021. Operation Comfort hosted a variety of clinics including Running, Sled Hockey, Hiking, Paintball, and Pickleball one to two times per month along with weekly core programming. Kayaking at the Olympic Center in San Marcos was offered twice a month May through September led by an Olympian and world class, expert whitewater kayaker, and ACA whitewater instructor

Humanitarian financial assistance grantsfor wounded ill and injured service members . Over 2000 service members have received assistance since 2006.

Woodworking is a program designed to provide therapeutic and rehabilitative activities in a non-clinical environment. The program was developed at the request of wounded service members.. They expressed interest in working on projects and in learning woodworking and welding skills.

SLED HOCKEY Our San Antonio Rampage sled hockey team was formed in 2007 with the help of the American Hockey League team, San Antonio Rampage. We became the first all military sled hockey team in the United States. Our team is comprised of Disabled Veterans and Disabled members of the Armed Forces as well as community athletes with disabilities. We provide all equipment, ice time, coaching and travel expenses. Our sled hockey program serves a minimum of 40 Veterans with disabilities each year. We currently have two U.S. National Team players on our roster, with two more preparing to attend tryouts. We have had eight players come through our program and go on to win Gold medals with the U.S. National Team. A Purple Heart Combat Wounded Veteran who has played sled hockey for 12 years and is a USA Hockey Level 3 coach runs this program. The sled hockey season runs from August to April with once a week practices during the off-season months to help train participants for U.S. National team tryouts. Our season begins each year in August with our free three-day San Antonio Rampage Sled Hockey Camp. Along with our Rampage Head Coach, U.S. National Sled Hockey team players come to assist with the camp. Practices during the season are offered twice a week at the Ice and Golf Center at Northwoods in San Antonio. Our Rampage team is a founding member of the Midwest Sled Hockey League, one of the most competitive leagues in the country. The league consists of the Rampage, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Northeast Passage Wildcats, and the Nashville Predators. Our travel team participates in a minimum of four tournaments and every 2 years we host the San Antonio Rampage Sled Hockey tournament each year. Come and Try It Clinics are offered throughout the season to introduce the sport in a non-competitive environment. Sled hockey is beneficial for those with physical disabilities but also mental health issues. Several of our team members have stated sled hockey is better for their anger management and depression than any counseling they ever received. One of our current player states "The sled hockey program with Operation Comfort has been a life changing program for myself. It has restored my hope and drive following my injury in Iraq. Sled Hockey plays a pivotal role with my mental and physical health, along with providing a sense of brotherhood that I had greatly missed since leaving the Marine Corps."

YOGA We have offered yoga since 2016 and in 2018 started offering chair yoga with our VA Recreation Therapy partners to support the Whole Health Initiative. Our Yoga program is designed to strengthen our Veterans and family members physically, mentally, and spiritually. This program serves a minimum of 100 Veterans with disabilities each year and served 163 in 2019. We provide all equipment, instructors and facility fees. We lead a slow flow with modifications for all abilities, including chair yoga. This class is focused on functional fitness throughout their rehabilitation. A Recreation Therapist/Yoga Instructor and Retired Army Nurse/Yoga Instructor lead the program. Class is on Tuesdays from 1 :30-2:30pm at Total Harmony Yoga in San Antonio. We also host Lakshmi Voelker Chair Yoga once a month at Audie L. Murphy VA Recreation Room B101 with the Recreation Therapy team from various units. This class is the first Monday of each month from 1 :30- 2:30pm. We offer a variety of yoga events such as outdoor yoga, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga and Goat Yoga throughout the year. AQUATICS Our Recreation Therapist and Total Immersion Master swim coach lead 2 aquatics programs that include swimming and water workouts. Our swim coach is a 20-year retired Colonel of the Air Force that has been coaching swim for over 40 years and coaching athletes with disabilities for 10 years. One is each Thursday at Center For the Intrepid pool at San Antonio Military Medical Center for patients receiving treatment at the CFI. The second is open to all service members, Veterans and family members at the Bill Walker pool the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. We pay allcoaching fees and facility fees. We believe whatever your reasons for swimming- recreation, fitness, endurance, or speed-- your success will increase if you approach swimming as a game of skill. In the Total Immersion method, fitness happens while you learn and improve skills. Total Immersion tec~niques have been refined over 25 years with the same 3-step seq~ence of foundational skills: 1) Swim farther and faster using less energy, 2) Enjoy every stroke and improve continuously and 3) Swim free of injury or pain. This program serves a minimum of 50 participants each year.