[Vision2020] Military Olympians

Mon Aug 11 16:14:05 PDT 2008

Listed below are military service members competing in the 2008 Summer 
Olympics in Beijing, China.

>From the US Department of Defense at:

http://tinyurl.com/MilitaryOlympians

----------------------------------------------------------------

Army Maj. Michael E. Anti
http://tinyurl.com/MichaelAnti

Event(s): 
Smallbore Prone Rifle

Anti is the former Headquarters Detachment commander and operations and 
training officer of the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga. A 
native of Winterville, N.C., he enlisted in the Army in January 1988 and 
was assigned to the AMU in 1991 and again in 1998. He started shooting in 
1978. His accomplishments include being a 2008 Olympic qualifier for prone 
rifle and 2007 gold medal winner for three-position rifle at the World Cup 
in Sydney, Australia.

-------------------

Air Force Capt. Eli Bremer
http://tinyurl.com/EliBremer

Event(s): 
Modern Pentathlon

Air Force Capt. Eli Bremer, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colo., will compete 
in the modern pentathlon event. Bremer, a 2000 graduate of the U.S. Air 
Force Academy, has been selected as a regional finalist for the White 
House Fellows Program for 2008-2009.

-------------------

Army Staff Sgt. Dremiel Byers
http://preview.tinyurl.com/DremielByers

Event(s): 
Greco-Roman Wrestling

An accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler with the Army's World Class Athlete 
Program, Byers did not plan to join the Army.

After he joined the World Class Athlete Program in 1996, Byers' wrestling 
career took off. In 2002, he became the world champion in his weight 
class, 120 kilograms, was the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up, 
losing to Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner. He's a seven-time U.S. nationals 
and armed forces champion and was a 2007 world championships bronze 
medalist.

His athletic awards include being named 2004 U.S. nationals outstanding 
wrestler, 2002 Olympic committee male wrestler of the year and 2002 U.S. 
Army male athlete of the year. He was named outstanding wrestler at the 
2007 Dave Shultz Memorial Tournament.

-------------------

Army Staff Sgt. Elizabeth "Libby" Callahan
http://tinyurl.com/LibbyCallahan

Event(s): 
Women's Pistol

At age 56, U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Libby Callahan is believed to be 
the oldest woman to compete in the Olympic Games.

Callahan began competitive shooting in 1980 while working with the 
Washington, D.C., police department. She joined the Army Reserve in 1985, 
which, she said, helped take her sport to the next level. She credits 
support from the Army and her commanders with giving her the time and 
training to become an Olympic competitor."I may never have had the 
opportunity to compete in international matches without the Army Reserve," 
Callahan said.

Callahan will make her fourth trip to the Olympic Games in August. She 
also competed in 1992, 1996 and 2004, and won a bronze medal for air 
pistol during 2005 World Cup USA.

Callahan retired from the police force in 2003 as a captain in the special 
operations division. The native of Columbia, S.C., is assigned to an Army 
Reserve unit based in Atlanta.

-------------------

Air Force Capt. Kevin Eastler
http://tinyurl.com/KevinEastler

Event(s): 
20-Kilometer Race Walk

Air Force Capt. Kevin Eastler, 30, of Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., will 
be Team USA's only competitor in the men's 20-kilometer race walk in 
Beijing. Eastler graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999 with a 
degree in mechanical engineering.

-------------------

Army Pfc. Walton "Glenn" Eller III
http://tinyurl.com/GlennEller

Event(s): 
Double Trap

A shotgun shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, Eller is a native of 
Katy, Texas. He enlisted in the Army in September 2006 and was assigned to 
the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit shotgun team in January 2007. He started 
shooting in 1990. He is a 2008 Olympic qualifier in double trap and a gold 
medalist at the 2007 World Cup. 

-------------------

Air Force Maj. Dominic Grazioli
http://tinyurl.com/DominicGrazioli

Event(s):  
Trap

At 44, Air Force Maj. Dominic Grazioli, of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 
is the oldest military male competing for the United States in the 2008 
Olympic Games. He will compete in the men's trap shooting event.

-------------------

Army Pfc. Vincent C. Hancock
http://tinyurl.com/VincentHancock

Event(s):
Skeet

A shotgun shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, Hancock is a native of 
Port Charlotte, Fla. He enlisted in the Army in June 2006, and is assigned 
to the AMU shotgun team. Hancock began shooting as a child, and started 
competing when he was 11 years old. He has distinguished himself with 
numerous awards in the sport, including qualifying for the 2008 Olympics 
in skeet, winning a gold medal in the 2007 World Cup, and being named the 
USA Shooting shotgun shooter of the year in 2007.

-------------------

Army Spc. Jeffrey G. Holguin
http://tinyurl.com/JeffreyHolguin

Event(s):
Double Trap

A shotgun shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, Holguin is a native of 
Yorba Linda, Calif. He enlisted in the Army in September 2006, and was 
assigned to the AMU shotgun team in January 2007. Holguin began shooting 
in 1991 and has earned numerous marksmanship accomplishments including 
qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in double trap, winning silver in 2007 
and gold in 2003 at the Pan American Games and earning a bronze medal at 
the 2004 World Cup.

-------------------

Air Force 2nd Lt. Weston "Seth" Kelsey
http://tinyurl.com/SethKelsey

Event(s): 
Epee Fencing

Air Force 2nd Lt. Weston "Seth" Kelsey, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colo., 
will compete in the men's epee fencing event in the 2008 Olympic Games in 
Beijing. A member of the Air Force's World Class Athelete Program, Kelsey 
graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2003 with a degree in 
behavioral science. Kelsey recently transitioned from the Air Force 
Reserve to Air Force Active Reserve. 

-------------------

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason A. Parker
http://tinyurl.com/JasonParker

Event(s):
Air Rifle and Smallbore
Three-position Rifle

An international rifle shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, Parker is 
a native of Omaha, Neb. He enlisted in the Army in January 1997 and was 
assigned to the AMU in April 1997. He started shooting in 1988 and has 
achieved several accomplishments over the years, including being a 2008 
Olympic qualifier in air rifle and three-position rifle and winning a gold 
medal for air rifle in the 2007 Pan American Games. In 2003 and 2005, he 
was the World Cup gold medalist, and his performances set the world record 
for those years.

-------------------

U.S. Military Academy Cadet Stephen Scherer
http://tinyurl.com/StephenScherer

Event(s):
Air Rifle

U.S. Military Academy Cadet Stephen Scherer finished his freshman year an 
Olympic air rifle contender for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The 19-year-
old from Billerica, Mass., qualified for the Olympic team at the April 
trials.

"I wasn't expecting anything going into it, so it was a big surprise. I 
was pretty pumped," he said.

Scherer said shooting collegiately has helped him perform better in 
matches. But he started at the age of 11 competing in local, and then 
national, competitions. Because of his love of shooting and the outdoors, 
Scherer said, he knew at the age of 13 that he wanted to join the Army. He 
planned to enlist even before he was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy 
in West Point, N.Y. Before starting his sophomore year, Scherer will 
compete in the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 11.

-------------------

Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl L. Szarenski
http://tinyurl.com/DarylSzarenski

Event(s)
Free Pistol

A native of Saginaw, Mich., Szarenski is an international pistol shooter 
with the Army Marksmanship Unit. He enlisted in the Army in October 1991 
and was assigned to the AMU after completing basic and infantry training. 
The accomplished shooter started in 1979 and has numerous marksmanship 
awards, including qualifying for the 2008 Olympic team in men's 50-meter 
free pistol, winning a silver medal in the 2007 Pan American Games, being 
named air pistol national champion in 2005 and winning a gold medal in the 
2003 Pan American Games in free pistol.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the 
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

---------------------------------------------
This message was sent by First Step Internet.
           http://www.fsr.com/