Warrior Games Profile - Jason Ellis

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(Editor's note: More than 40 athletes will represent the Air Force during the 2014 Warrior Games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they will participate in.)

WARRIOR GAMES: PLAYER PROFILE

Name: Staff Sgt. Jason Ellis (Ret.)

Team: Warrior Games
Sports: Wheelchair Basketball, Track and Field, Shooting DOB: 24 April
Birthplace: Chicago, IL
Hometown: Midwest City, OK/Chicago, IL
Current Residence: Riverview (Tampa), FL
Injury: Lower body impairment

Personal Profile:

On May 23, 2013, Retired SSgt Jason Ellis became the first “wounded warrior” to graduate from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) with associates of science degrees in Information Systems Technology and Emergency Management.
He graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology (cum laude, National Honor Society and member of Alpha Phi Sigma - National Criminal Justice Honor Society).

With all that Ellis has accomplished, achieved and been through, he lives his life in the order of faith in God, family, and serving others. Jason is a U.S. war veteran and retired from the Air Force due to severe injuries from a roadside blast/IED that he sustained while deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jason, who is no stranger to competitive sports at the next level, once played (ambulatory) basketball at Oklahoma State University along with playing for the Oklahoma City Calvary in the Continental Basketball Association. He is highly active in the wounded warrior/wounded military adaptive sports community. He currently plays wheelchair basketball in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA).

Personal/Professional Achievements:

2012 Bronze Medal (cycling) & Silver Medal (Paralympic Powerlifting) at 2012 Valor Games
2014 Endeavor Games—Silver Medal (Sitting Discus)
2014 USAF Trials—Gold Medal (Sitting Shot Put), Bronze (Sitting Discus), Silver medal (Wheelchair Basketball)