Captain (Ret’d) Ryan Carey

Carey’s passion for sport relates back to his time growing up and playing football. “In my younger days I was very lucky to play football for a long time, so I was always part of a team.” He played as part of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league, now known as U SPORTS, starting as a defensive back at Acadia University. After a successful few years with Acadia, Carey moved on to the Canadian Football League, more commonly known as the CFL. Carey’s CFL career lasted from 1994 to 1998 and included stints with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

After his years on the gridiron, Carey decided to join a different team and dawn a new uniform – he joined the CAF. He served in Afghanistan from August 2006 to March 2007. Carey landed in Afghanistan in September 2006, just as Operation Medusa had kicked in. Operation Medusa was an offensive in Kandahar province that involved more than 1,000 CAF members, making it our country’s largest combat operation in more than 50 years. The heavy fighting in Operation Medusa tragically saw the loss of 12 Canadians, but the Taliban were pushed from the Panjwai district.

As a Captain, Carey was in charge of 40 soldiers. Carey’s unit was attacked in the early days of the offensive, and four soldiers died. Following his time in Afghanistan, Carey (with help from a fellow CAF member) recognized that he was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “You have to have that faith in yourself to take that first step and I think once you get there you realize first of all you’re not alone in your suffering, but also to see that there are other people struggling or worse off than you.”

“There’s a lot of things out there that can help you on your road to recovery.”

Carey found solace in two different avenues after serving overseas – music and sport. He’s always had a passion for music, and he’s connected his service with this passion through Guitars for Vets. “It’s about teaching people how to maybe use music as something therapeutic to help them, but it never has anything to do with the guitar. It’s about getting together with like-minded people and maybe people who are experiencing similar challenges you have if you’ve been medically released.” The initiative helps distribute guitars to Veterans or those currently serving. “There’s a lot of things out there that can help you on your road to recovery.”

Along with Guitars for Vets, Carey has also been involved with Soldier On and the Invictus Games. In 2017, Carey was the flag bearer when Canada hosted the Invictus Games in Toronto. In 2021, he’ll be a competitor, participating in archery, sitting volleyball, and swimming.

“I love the competition jitters… I’ve always loved to compete.”

Although the 2020 Games in the Hague have been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carey is looking forward to re-igniting his competitive edge. “I love the competition jitters… I’ve always loved to compete.” He’s also excited to create relationships with his fellow competitors, both on Team Canada and other participating countries. “You’re running into other soldiers from other countries that could have very well served in the same area as you did or the same time or shortly after. I spoke to a few Marines that were wounded in Helmand, which is the province right next to Kandahar. So there is a commonality amongst soldiers there. You don’t always speak the same language, but competition is the same language.”

“I look at life the way I look at training and the relationship between the volume and intensity. You can’t have high volume and high intensity for too long. If you’re training you’re just going to crash and burn, well life is the same way.”

The postponement of the Invictus Games to 2021 has also resulted in an adjusted training regime. Carey points to having a routine as a key factor in ensuring he’s ready to go come 2021. “I like to bookend my days with a routine… you can try and plan your day as best as you can, but if you start to cram things in the day it can become overwhelming.” He finds similarities in training for the Games in the preparation he’s done throughout his life, both in the CAF and on the football field.

“I look at life the way I look at training and the relationship between the volume and intensity. You can’t have high volume and high intensity for too long. If you’re training you’re just going to crash and burn, well life is the same way.” For Carey, it’s all about balance.

“I would rather have more volume and lower intensity and be able to do more things than approach each day like it’s my last and need to burn the candles on both ends. I think I’ve taken that from training, training for football, for the military and try to adapt that to life.”

As we highlight Canadian Veterans and Armed Forces members who will represent Canada at the Invictus Games in 2021, Captain (Ret’d) Ryan Carey is this week’s Face of Freedom.

Listen to Ryan Carey on our Faces of Freedom Podcast.

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