By Thomas Litchfield, Finnish Defense Forces By Thomas Litchfield, Finnish Defense Forces

USA in Finland at CISM World Championship

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By SSgt Sarah Mattison By SSgt Sarah Mattison

CISM World Military Winter Games

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Skiing and Winter Sports News and Highlights

Pushing to the limit: Special Tactics Airmen compete together for Team USA Bobsled
U.S. Air Force Maj. Chris Walsh, a Special Tactics Officer assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing and the Air Force's World Class Athlete Program and Staff Sgt. Matt Beach, a combat controller assigned to the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron, pose for a portrait on Nov. 28, 2021 at Park City, Utah. For the first time ever, two Special Tactics Airmen competed together at the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation North American Cup for a chance to represent Team USA at the Olympics. Special Tactics Airmen serve as a special operations air-ground integration force leading global access, precision strike, personnel recovery and battlefield surgery operations. (Courtesy Photo)
Dec. 1, 2021 - For the first time ever, two Special Tactics Airmen assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing competed together in a major competition for Team USA Bobsledding Nov. 28-29, 2021 at Park City, Utah. U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Officer Maj. Chris Walsh and Staff Sgt. Matt Beach, a combat controller, competed together at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation North American Cup for a chance to represent Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Strong showing for Americans in biathlon
Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and was wounded in the explosion. The accident caused Cnossen to lose both his legs just above the knee. He went through rehabilitation first at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and later at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he learned to walk with his new prosthetics. Cnossen was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat. He is the only double-amputee Navy SEAL in history. 

The United States Naval Academy graduate and Topeka, Kan., native found ways to be active again as soon as possible. Exactly one year from the date of his accident, Cnossen ran a mile with his prosthetics for the first time. Since then, he has gotten his 5-kilometer time down to under 18 minutes, completed the 2011 New York Marathon in 2:38 (handcycling 16 miles and running 10.2), and earned four Warrior Games medals. He also began cross-country skiing, something that he had never tried prior to his injury. Cnossen, who was an avid runner and triathlete during his college years, enjoyed the physical challenge of cross-country skiing and was a natural talent in the sport.    

In August 2011, Cnossen was transferred to Fort Carson in Colorado. There, he worked with the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and began training exclusively in cross-country skiing and biathlon the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Team.
March 19, 2014 - KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – The U.S. Paralympic Nordic skiing team closed out the biathlon competition of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, today with another strong showing. Sit skiers Andy Soule (San Antonio, Texas) and Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kan.) once again displayed the huge strides the Americans have made in biathlon in recent years by both recording top-10 finishes in the men’s 15km sitting race.

USA beats Russia for gold in sled hockey
U.S. Army World Class Para-Athlete Program sled hockey goalie Staff Sgt. Jen Lee will play for Team USA in the 2014 Paralympic Games, scheduled for March in Sochi, Russia. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps, IMCOM G9 MWR Public Affairs
March 18, 2014 - A goal by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Josh Sweeney won gold for USA's Sled Hockey Team in a 1-0 victory over Russia March 15.

A Few of Navy's Finest Compete for Gold During Paralympics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 17, 2011) Team Navy/Coast Guard member Lt. Daniel B. Cnossen runs the 800-meter during the second annual Warrior Games. The Warrior Games is a Paralympic-style sport event among 200 seriously wounded, ill, and injured service members from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre N. McIntyre/Released)
March 8, 2014 - FORT MEADE, Md. (NNS) -- The Navy has three wounded warriors participating in the upcoming Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Tyler Burdick, Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) 1st Class Kevin Burton, and Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen will all compete for gold in their respective events.

Paralympic powerhouses: Sochi-bound veterans boost biggest contingent yet
Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and was wounded in the explosion. The accident caused Cnossen to lose both his legs just above the knee. He went through rehabilitation first at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and later at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he learned to walk with his new prosthetics. Cnossen was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat. He is the only double-amputee Navy SEAL in history. 

The United States Naval Academy graduate and Topeka, Kan., native found ways to be active again as soon as possible. Exactly one year from the date of his accident, Cnossen ran a mile with his prosthetics for the first time. Since then, he has gotten his 5-kilometer time down to under 18 minutes, completed the 2011 New York Marathon in 2:38 (handcycling 16 miles and running 10.2), and earned four Warrior Games medals. He also began cross-country skiing, something that he had never tried prior to his injury. Cnossen, who was an avid runner and triathlete during his college years, enjoyed the physical challenge of cross-country skiing and was a natural talent in the sport.    

In August 2011, Cnossen was transferred to Fort Carson in Colorado. There, he worked with the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and began training exclusively in cross-country skiing and biathlon the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Team.
March 7, 2014 - With athletes ranging from an active-duty Navy SEAL injured in Afghanistan to a former Coast Guardsman paralyzed in a plane crash, the U.S. is dispatching its largest contingent ever to the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, which will begin Friday and run for a week.