Family Helps Camp Pendleton Marine Stay Focused During Paralympics

Family Helps Camp Pendleton Marine Stay Focused During Paralympics
From American Forces Press Service

The support of family helps to keep a service member grounded, whether serving in the military or competing in sports, the only active duty U.S. Marine in the 2012 Paralympic Games said here today.

Marine Corps Cpl. Rene Renteria, a radar repairman by trade and assigned to the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is one of three active-duty service members competing in the Paralympic Games. He credits his family with keeping him focused, especially during tough times.

“I have wife and a daughter,” he said. “[They're] who I'm here for. They help me keep my head up, with whatever goes on. [Sometimes] it’s a struggle – I guess it's just all mental.”

Renteria said his wife was able to travel to Great Britain, along with his sister, to watch the Paralympic Games, but his daughter is in the United States with his parents.

The U.S. Paralympic soccer team forward, a native of Sun Valley, Calif., said his four years of military service have helped him reach the Paralympics. He has served a deployment [to Afghanistan, and he played on the 2010 All-Marines soccer team.
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