USAF MSgt (Ret) Rhoda “Ro Ro” Bargas – Veterans Battle Grounds (VBG) Board of Directors Member
With 24.5 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, I dedicated my career to both Active Duty and as an AGR member for the Air National Guard and Reserve. Medically retired due to mental health, I found a renewed sense of purpose through adaptive sports, becoming a Wounded Warrior athlete and competing for Team Air Force in the 2023 Warrior Games Challenge. I was honored to serve as an alternate for Team Air Force in the 2024 Warrior Games and will once again represent in the 2025 Warrior Games.
Beyond competition, I am an Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) Ambassador and a Catch A Lift Fund Ambassador, traveling across the country to share my testimony and help others who continue to suffer in silence. My mission is to be an example that it’s okay to not be okay—and that seeking help is a sign of strength.
I continue to compete in adaptive sports nationwide while pursuing my fifth coaching certification, with the goal of paying it forward by coaching wounded warriors and disabled children in adaptive sports. I also serve as the Secretary for the Board of Directors for the Pretty Strong Movement and as a powerlifting coach.
As a member of the Veterans Battle Grounds Board of Directors, I am committed to helping disabled veterans find connection and healing through adaptive sports—just as it has saved my own life.