Page 7 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt – July 2025

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July 11, 2025 7 Facebook.com/LukeThunderbolt
LEFT: Para-athlete Jesus Ontiveros tosses a medicine ball during Paralympics Training Camp, May 27, 2025, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. This Department
of Defense-supported program at Luke AFB offers specialized instruction led by Team USA coaches and base personnel. Through top-tier facilities and expert guidance, Luke AFB ensured these athletes are fully prepared for competition and their ongoing Paralympic journeys.
“Sanctioned through the United States Olympic and Para- lympic Committee, Paralympic Military Camps are held every year throughout the country to support ill, injured service members, and veterans,” said Joseph Austin, Homeland Defense Division, deputy director for nuclear and homeland operations and the Joint Staff director of special events.
Athletes received three days of instruction from national team coaches. They covered stretching, mobility, throwing drills, chair setup, strapping, technique refinement, and rules education. This intensive training prepared them for the Desert Challenge Games in Tempe, Ariz., a competition hosted by Arizona Disabled Sports.
“I thought sports was over for me,” explained Anthony Pone, a medically retired Army specialist. “When I started playing in the veteran wheelchair game and warrior games, I felt that sense of home being around service members who went through the same thing. It was an amazing feeling having that opportunity to represent the country again, wearing a different uniform this time.”
Para-athlete Christopher Francis tosses a medicine ball during Paralympics Training Camp, May 27, 2025, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. Military training camps like this offer wounded service members resources to continue representing the country, albeit in a different uniform this time. Now in its ninth consecutive year of hosting, Luke AFB’s location near the Desert Games
in Tempe made it an ideal spot for training these para- athletes.
There is a common thread between Jesus Ontiveros, Antho- ny Pone, Dennis Bardelli, Christopher Francis, Brian Conwell, Calixtro Garcia, and Cedric Geter. These men, these veterans, participating in the Luke AFB training camp, continue to show immense strength by getting back on the field, active and in good spirits. They prove they are more than capable of representing this country even through a new uniform.
U.S. Air Force photos by Airman 1st Class Belinda Guachun-Chichay
Veteran para-athletes and Team USA Coaches pose with an F-35A Lightning II aircraft during a tour of the flightline, May 28, 2025, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 56th Fighter Wing hosted a Paralympic Training Camp for its ninth consecutive year, with 10 veterans selected to participate. Luke AFB’s proximity to the Desert Games in Tempe, a competition that determines Paralympic qualification, provided a strategic location for the para-athletes’ training.