Retired Army Ranger competes in Warrior Games

DOWNINGTON, Pa. -- While serving in the Iraq War, Justin Radbill sustained a critical leg injury when an IED went off next to the vehicle he was in.

"My armor plate saved my life from being cut in half," says Radbill. He was told he wouldn't be able to walk without assistance and would need to retire. "I really didn't want to accept that. I chose to stay in the military at the job they gave me which was the arms room," he explains.

Radbill worked his way back to the line and redeployed in 2005. "I'm really proud of that, I went out on my own terms," says Radbill.

Eventually, however, he says his injuries caught up to him. With the help of the Special Operation Command Warrior Coalition, he has since been working on getting his life back to a state of normalcy.

Part of that work includes adaptive sports and participating in the upcoming 2022 Warrior Games beginning on August 19th.

"It's a platform to bring awareness to what adaptive sports has given me and show everyone else out there that there's definitely a way to get back to doing the things you love whether you are dealing with injury from tragedy or by an accident," he explains.

Justin will be competing in archery, recumbent cycling, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby. While he says he's a little nervous to compete, he's trying to look at it as a new mission. "I'm just going to go inwards and settle within my ability and myself."

The DOD Warrior Games are being hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney is the parent company of ABC Localish.