Paralympian was able to change his life through shooting

Sergeant Kevin Nguyen woke up one evening in the summer of 2013 and told himself that he had to change.

Months earlier, on February 2, 2013, the Westminster, California native stepped on an IED while on patrol in the Horn of Panjwai in Afghanistan.

After initially telling doctors that his right foot was intact, they gave Nguyen two options: either he would keep his foot but would have to use crutches and a wheelchair for the rest of his life and rely on painkillers, or he would have his foot amputated and would be able to move freely again.

That was too much for the then 20-year-old, whose weight dropped from 61 kg before the operation to 48 kg before the operation.

He lacked a reason to continue – until he realized that if he continued down this path, he would lose his place among his brothers in arms in the army.

“It was really hard at the time to understand the situation and the cards I was dealt,” Nguyen said. “I got into a very depressed state because I didn't know what to do with my life.”

“My first step was to find a goal and a drive to get back on my feet and get healthy again. After that, opportunities kept coming up, which I seized and mastered.”

The opportunities have taken him into the whole world of para-shooting. The last stop: Chateauroux, France.

Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Nguyen adjusts his sight during the third part of the U.S. Paralympic Shooting Trials April 21-28, 2024, in Anniston, Alabama. (Brittany Nelson/USA Shooting)

Nguyen is one of 160 athletes from 51 countries competing in 13 events at the Chateauroux Shooting Center at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, which begin with the opening ceremony on Wednesday and run until September 8.

The member of the World Class Athlete Program and Army Marksmanship Unit will compete in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and the Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1. SH1 refers to the classification where the athletes can hold their weapon without difficulty and shoot from a standing or sitting position.

Fifteen athletes with military backgrounds have qualified for the Paralympics. Two more – Army Sgt. 1st Class John Wayne Joss and Marine Corps veteran Marco De La Rosa – will also be in Chateauroux.

These are Nguyen's second Games. The 31-year-old made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo.

That's a far cry from 2014, when a recovering Nguyen received a phone call that changed the course of his life.

“When I went back into the Army, HR called me, my store manager called me and asked me, 'Hey, do you like shooting guns?' And I said, 'Yeah, kind of. It was fun,'” Nguyen said.

“Nine years later, I am now a two-time Paralympic participant.”

Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Nguyen looks through his sights during the 50-meter rifle shooting SH1 prone event at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Nov. 21, 2023. (Brittany Nelson/USA Shooting)

The road has not been smooth for Nguyen. He thanked the then-instructor of the Army Marksmanship Unit, Armando Ayala, for convincing him to join the unit.

Nguyen describes himself as stubborn and unwilling to learn from his mistakes. He admitted that he has experienced more setbacks than successes during his competitive shooting career. Only recently has he started consistently scoring in the 620 range.

“The last couple of months, training has been pretty consistent,” Nguyen said. “Every time I come back to training, I have a good feeling of, 'I did that yesterday, I did that the day before yesterday, I did that the day before yesterday — heck, I even did it last week. So let's take that energy into the next day and try to improve something.'”

He hopes that this improvement will put him in the finals and possibly win medals. At the Tokyo Games, Nguyen finished 20th and 36th in the mixed 50-meter rifle prone and 10-meter air rifle prone, respectively.

Nguyen mentioned that despite advice from Olympians in his unit, he was nervous when he took the helm in Tokyo. This time, he said, he feels more comfortable heading to the Paralympic site.

“I've done everything I can to shoot as well as I can,” Nguyen said. “The training and hard work I've put in is finally coming to an end. It's finally getting serious. I've trained enough and hard enough to get what I deserve.”