Wounded warriors headed to NYC to meet Giants players

FORT DRUM — A group of soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry, Warrior in Transition Unit will travel to New York City this weekend to meet New York Giants football players.

The trip's focus is to have approximately 20 wounded warriors meet and greet up to five Giants players Monday afternoon at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. Karen M. Clark, director of Fort Drum's United Service Organization, received a $19,900 grant from the national USO to fund the trip as part of Operation Enduring Care.

"Once we got it approved, we jumped for joy," she said.

Monday afternoon's portion of the trip is made possible with the help of Greg Zinone, co-founder of Pro vs. G.I. Joe, an organization to help boost soldiers' morale through real-time video game competitions with professional athletes and other celebrities or high-ranking military officials.

Mr. Zinone said while some Fort Drum soldiers may have played video games from their base in Iraq or Afghanistan before with the "professionals," this will be the first time some will have an opportunity to play Xbox 360 with them in person.

They'll also be playing a tournament with 20 to 30 soldiers via satellite from the USO in Basra, Iraq. The night's game of choice will be Guitar Hero 5, with a complete band set up.

"Going to the facility is almost like they're hanging out with the guys in their own basement," Mr. Zinone said.

Capt. Roy Chiquitucto, one of the soldiers going on the trip, said he is thankful to the Fort Drum USO for organizing the outings for soldiers whose conditions range from upper- and lower-body extremity injuries to post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said the soldiers, along with a few of their spouses, are excited to meet the athletes in person.

"They always want to meet stars, so they're excited for this opportunity, and it's a nice little reward to give to these soldiers who are doing good stuff and doing the right things," Capt. Chiquitucto said.

While the focus of the New York City trip is the Pro vs. G.I. Joe event, soldiers also will meet Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih at the ESPN Zone.

The wounded warriors will be treated to a boat tour Monday morning, and they are scheduled to appear Tuesday morning on "The Early Show" on CBS to meet the show's weatherman, Dave Price.