Master Warrant Officer Garrett Powers stands with his wife Tina inside the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Centre at 4 Wing Cold Lake – Photo by Mike Marshall
A Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member with ties to 4 Wing will represent Canada on an international stage. Master Warrant Officer Garrett Powers has been selected as a member of Team Canada at the 2022 Invictus Games being held in The Hague, Netherlands.
“To tell you the truth, I wasn’t thinking much,” says Powers when asked what his first thoughts were when he got the call saying he made the team. “My mind had gone totally blank.”
Powers served 19 years in the CAF as a firefighter with postings at CFB Greenwood, CFB Winnipeg and CFB Cold Lake, where he eventually became Deputy Fire Chief with the 4 Wing Fire Service.
His arm was amputated in 2021* as he fought Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
“I’m fairly certain I’ll be competing in track and field events with my limitations,” explains Powers.
“It’s funny, as I was talking on the phone with the Team Canada organizers, I remember saying ‘Are you sure you want me? You want to win right?'” he adds with a laugh.
The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex in 2014 as an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women who may be actively serving or veterans. 18 countries and around 500 athletes participated in the most recent edition of the competition, held in 2018 in Sydney, Australia.
The 2022 version of the games were originally slated to take place in 2020, but were postponed to 2021 and later 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Powers says some uncertainty with the games in The Hague is still in play as 2022 begins.
“I was due to be in CFB Esquimalt for a training camp this spring, but that’s been cancelled. It’s just ‘wait-and-see’ at this point.”
“The good news is I’d expect to be part of the team for 2023, so it would give me an extra year to train and get ready.”
Düsseldorf, Germany is expected to play host in 2023.
*The original draft stated 2020, which is incorrect.