JUNE 22, 2026 – Staff Sgt. Brittany Ramsey came to the 2026 Warrior Games as a first-time competitor with Team Army, but her path to San Antonio began long before she stepped onto the field of play. For Ramsey, being selected as Team Army’s Ultimate Champion competitor represents more than athletic ability. It reflects recovery, renewed purpose and the reminder that her value didn’t end with injury.
“Transitioning from struggling to find my footing in recovery to competing in eight grueling disciplines proves that my purpose did not end with my injuries,” Ramsey said. “Playing sports and being part of a team has always been a huge part of my identity.”
For Team Army, the 2026 Warrior Games, held June 13-20 in San Antonio, highlight how adaptive sports support recovery, resilience, readiness and renewed connection.
As an Ultimate Champion competitor, Ramsey is competing across multiple events, testing her physical endurance, mental toughness and ability to reset from one challenge to the next, showing focus, discipline and resolve.
Ramsey said preparing for that challenge has helped her redefine what achievement looks like.
“Being selected as the U.S. Army Ultimate Champion competitor is an honor that symbolizes, I don’t have to count myself out,” Ramsey said. “I’m already winning by being present.”
That lesson didn’t come easily.
Before her injuries, Ramsey said sports were a major part of her identity. She grew up playing soccer, running track and playing softball, often moving from one team or season to the next. After she was no longer able to run for more than three years or fully use parts of her core, she had to adjust not only physically, but mentally.
Through the Soldier Recovery Unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Ramsey was introduced to adaptive sports and a recovery community that helped her find a way back to movement.
“The support community found in the Army Recovery Care Program and at my local SRU built a bridge back to movement and sports again for me,” Ramsey said.
Through ARCP and SRU’s, adaptive sports and reconditioning activities help Soldiers build strength, confidence and connection throughout recovery. At the Warrior Games, that mission is visible through competitors like Ramsey, who aren’t only competing for medals, but also rebuilding parts of themselves through sport, teamwork and purpose.
Ramsey said adaptive sports helped her reconnect with being an athlete, a mother and a Soldier.
“When I couldn’t run around with my kids, play competitive soccer or do basic tasks without pain for several years, I felt like the sports lover, mom and Soldier in me wasn’t whole,” Ramsey said.
Now, competing with Team Army has helped her write what she described as a new script for success.
“I will carry these skills with me into everything I do moving forward and continue to utilize the power of movement over perfection,” Ramsey said.
While Ramsey is representing Team Army, she isn’t the only Soldier competing as a first-time Ultimate Champion. Army Maj. Jonathan Turnbull, representing U.S. Special Operations Command, is also competing in the event for the first time.
Their teams are different, but their connection as Soldiers gives deeper meaning to the competition.
“We both have a common denominator in our service, and that’s the U.S. Army,” Turnbull said. “Our values and creed as Soldiers are at the foundation of who we are as service members, and I’m proud of that connection for sure.”
For Turnbull, representing SOCOM at the Warrior Games also carries personal meaning.
“I’m extremely proud to be part of the Warrior Games,” Turnbull said. “Since my initial tryouts and through SOCOM selection, I knew I had the drive to be competitive and participate in as many events as possible during the Games.” Turnbull also went on to share that the opportunity to represent his family, the brothers and sisters lost in combat, SOCOM and the broader Army community means the world to him.
Together, Ramsey and Turnbull reflect the Warrior Games theme of unity. Though they’re competing under different team banners, both are testing themselves through adaptive sports while carrying the shared foundation of Army service, resilience and commitment.
Ramsey said that shared resolve reflects what makes the Warrior Games community meaningful.
“We’re all here fighting through many things, no matter how big or small,” Ramsey said. “Even as rivals, we’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders and embodying a deep and unifying camaraderie. We’re here discovering together what’s achievable, no matter our ability.”
Turnbull said adaptive sports has also helped him continue moving forward in his recovery.
“Adaptive sports has given me a renewed purpose to be part of a team again and a continued drive to stay athletic,” Turnbull said. “You aren’t what happens to you in life, and the Warrior Games is a major example in my life right now, helping me excel through my recovery journey.”
The theme for the 2026 Warrior Games is Unity, and for Ramsey, unity is more than a theme. It’s been part of the experience from the moment she arrived at the Games.
“Unity means sharing a calling together as we stand shoulder to shoulder,” Ramsey said. “The bonds we establish by competing in this environment elevate unity into something much deeper than just winning the Games.”
For Ramsey and Turnbull, the Ultimate Champion competition is a test of endurance, but it’s also a visible reminder that recovery can continue through challenge, support and service.
Different journeys brought them to San Antonio. The same resolve keeps them competing.
Story by Vernishia Vaughn
Army Recovery Care Program