Warrior athletes of Team Navy/Coast Guard who will compete in the 2012 Warrior Games have begun pre-competition training.

The week-long training began on April 24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, using training facilities at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, and other local venues.

The training will help the athletes get used to the 7,000-foot altitude and team build, which are important in the competition.

The training went off to a less than ideal start for some of the athletes, according to Navy Safe Harbor care manager Lt. Branden Marty, who shared: “They are tired having come off flights and just getting used to being here. The first day is tough – they are tired. The rust was falling off.”

Among those who are participating in the training is Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Redmond Ramos. This is the first time he is placed in a competitive setting, and he shared: “Today was the first time we got to work with our relay partners… Most of us have not really done a relay before let alone with each other, and on a full scale. We are training where we will be doing our competition. We finally know what it will be like.”

Team Navy/Coast Guard track and field coach Teri Jordan shared: “It’s tune-up and sharpening-up time. We had a good start today… The guys and gals came in fit and worked hard.”

The warrior athletes of Team Navy/Coast Guard will be competing with more than 200 service member athletes from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Special Operations Command, and the United Kingdom.