TACOMA — More than 160 wounded service members and veterans participated in a sports camp at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Tuesday.

The four-day event, Wounded Warrior Care, introduces adaptive sports to those in the military living with severe injuries.

The overall mission is to take care of those with injuries with the goal of keeping them on active duty or helping them transition into civilian life, according to a JBLM press release.

The event is sponsored by the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, Western Regional Medical Command, and the Army Warrior Transition Program. Along with sporting events, the program offers education to Wounded Warriors along with their families about career readiness, care giver support, and mentorship programs.

All athletes will participate in nine sporting events:

“We’re going to introduce them to different sports,” said Marsha Gonzales of the Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care division. “You never know what you’re going to like and we hope that, in the sport, they start focusing on something that’s positive, something that they can do.”

Matthew Clough, a veteran Air Force member, came from Virginia.

“In Afghanistan, I tore a peck muscle and somehow injured my back. I don’t know what exactly caused it, but I ended up in a lot of pain. I ended up having to have three surgeries on my back surgery on my peck and then left hip surgery. One more to go,” said Clough.

As a result of his injuries, he can’t run; however, like more than 160 other athletes, he’s pushing through the pain to try several different adaptive sports at the Wound Warrior Camp. Clough has modified some of his exercises to still participate in track and field.

“This helps my path of healing and connecting again with just being an athlete again, seeing myself as an athlete, not just seeing myself as a victim or someone who now has to live with pain or live with disability,” said Clough.

Meanwhile, track coach Eric Dixon helps members and veterans with both physical and mental wellness. He encourages them to laugh while they’re exercising.

“You can laugh at yourself you can laugh at your limitations you can laugh at your progress even and that helps to healing,” said Clough.

The camp also helped wounded warriors with resources to help keep them on active duty or assist them to civilian life.