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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Warrior Games Profile : Nicholas Dadgostar (U.S. Air Force graphic/Corey Parrish)Warrior Games Profile - Nicholas Dadgostar
                        
                        
                        Warrior Games Profile : Nicholas Dadgostar (U.S. Air Force graphic/Corey Parrish)
                
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Warrior Games Profile - Nicholas DadgostarPublished Sept. 26, 2014
                    
                    
                    Defense Media Activity
            *(Editor's Note: From September 28 to October 4, more than 40 athletes representing the Air Force will be in Colorado Springs competing in the 2014 Warrior Games. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they represent.)***WARRIOR GAMES : PLAYER PROFILE**
Name: **Staff Sgt. Nicholas Dadgostar (Ret.)**
Team: Invictus and Warrior Games
Sports: Track and Field, Swimming, Sitting Volleyball DOB: 01 Jun 1974
Birthplace: El Paso, TX
Hometown: El Paso, TX
Current Residence: Felton, DE
Injury: Below knee amputation
Personal Profile:
Retired SSgt Nicholas Dadgostar grew up in suburban Washington DC in Germantown, Maryland. Aftergraduating high school in 2000, he enlisted in the Air Force and has been assigned to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and Dover AFB, Delaware. In 2009, Dadgostar was injured by a commercial fishing boat while diving at theVirgin Islands. He sustained multiple injuries to his left arm, hand, torso and both legs. After spending 6 weeks in the hospital, he was told by doctors that he would never walk again without a prominent limp andwas released. Over the next two years, Dadgostar underwent 15 surgeries in an attempt to save his right leg,but ultimately, his leg was amputated below the knee. Months of hard work and physical therapy led to his ability to walk with a normal gait.
In February 2014, the Air Force Wounded Warrior program reached out to Dadgostar and invited him to an adaptive sports camp, where he developed a passion for both sitting volleyball and track. He participated in the 2014 Air Force Trials and, based on his athletic performance, earned a spot on both the team for the Warrior Games and the Invictus Games.
Personal/Professional Achievements:
Selected to be on the US Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Developmental Team Completed AFW2 Recovering Mentor Training
2014 Invictus Games Silver Medalist – Track and Sitting Volleyball Featured News
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