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He’ll be on stage as part of the Ar- my’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). “Knowing there are literally millions of people behind you, watch- ing and cheering … is defi nitely a huge motivating factor, and that’s for me the biggest thing I enjoy about being a part of the program.” When Nunn left the University


of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers, Wis., and collegiate sports in 1999, he thought his athletic career was over — until fellow athletes told him about the Army’s WCAP. Eligibility require- ments for the program include being military occupational specialty (MOS)- qualifi ed (or, for offi cers, offi cer basic course completed), so he joined in 2000, went through basic training and infantry school, and applied for the WCAP. This summer will be his third Olympic Games, where he will rep-


58 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2016


THIS SUMMER, WHEN STAFF SGT. JOHN NUNN takes the biggest sporting stage in the world at the 2016 Olympic Games, he’ll have thousands of people watch- ing in the stands, and millions of others rooting at home.


resent his country and the Army as a WCAP athlete in race walking. The WCAP program that enticed


Nunn is one of several across all military services that provide service- members the opportunity to excel in athletic pursuits. In the 1950s, the Armed Forces Sports program was es- tablished to promote a positive image of the armed services and encourage physical fi tness through competitive sports. Since then, dozens of indi- vidual programs have been developed, some giving servicemembers a chance to be full-time athletes for a period of time. Participation in a few, like the WCAP, can mean extended tours of active duty service, where the most qualifi ed athletes focus full time on their sports. Several, like all-service sports programs in soccer, bring groups together for a few months at


a time for major tournaments, where participants stay on orders only as long as the team needs them. Each of the programs has four purposes: read- iness, resiliency, retention, and — per- haps most important — recruitment.


The recruiting mission Marine Capt. Bryce Saddoris has been with the Marine Corps wrestling team since 2012; in 2015, he was named Marine Corps Male Athlete of the Year. Since the beginning of 2016, he’s commanded the wrestling team’s 40 Marines and support staff . He says de- mand for the team’s help with recruit- ment is growing. “A lot of the recruiting opportuni-


ties we’ve gotten have come from word of mouth because of the suc- cesses we’ve been having at recruiting stations around the country,” Saddoris


PHOTOS: ABOVE, STEVEN DINOTE; LEFT, COURTESY U.S. ARMY; PREVIOUS SPREAD, WILLIAM P. BRADNER/U.S. ARMY


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