Whether it's on the battlefield or in the Olympic stadium, these military competitors prove that limits simply don't exist.

16 members of the military have competed or will compete in the London Olympics in events ranging from wrestling to shooting, according to the Department of Defense. And some have earned some serious bragging rights.

On July 31, U.S. Army Sgt. Vincent Hancock become the first shotgun shooter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s skeet during this year's games.

And Army Olympian Staff Sgt. John Nunn has helped bring fame to the sport of race walking -- an event more difficult that it appears, in which a runner must keep contact with one foot on the ground at all times. Nunn will compete Aug. 11 in London.

Nunn, along with other athletes interviewed, told the Department of Defense that the Army helped him become more disciplined and to achieve goals.

“The Army has really taught me how to bring it all in together and realize what is important,” Nunn said.

Read these stories and more in the slideshow below:

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  • Army Sgt. Vincent Hancock, Skeet Shooting

    Sgt. Vincent Hancock is the first-ever skeet shooter to win consecutive Olympic titles, <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2012/08/01/hancock_wins_consecutive_shooting_titles/" target="_hplink">according to the Associated Press</a>. After an unexpected victory in Beijing in 2008, the 23-year-old went on to <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2012/08/01/hancock_wins_consecutive_shooting_titles/" target="_hplink">claim his second gold in London</a>, and set an Olympic record for his score of 123 in the qualifying round.

  • Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Richmond, Trap Shooting

    <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/trap-shooter-josh-richmond-considers-himself-a-soldier-first-and-an-olympian-second/2012/05/27/gJQAmiAOvU_story.html" target="_hplink">Training Afghan soldiers in the art of weaponry</a> especially prepared Sgt. Josh Richmond to compete on the Olympic stage. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/trap-shooter-josh-richmond-considers-himself-a-soldier-first-and-an-olympian-second/2012/05/27/gJQAmiAOvU_story.html" target="_hplink">"I'm a soldier who's also an Olympian,"</a> Richmond told <em>The Washington Post</em>. "So everything's kind of around the root of being a soldier, just by the way I've trained, the lessons I've learned, what it's taught me."

  • Marine Sgt. Jamel Herring, Boxing

    Though U.S. Marine Sgt. Jamel Hamel's landslide loss to Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan dashed his Olympic aspirations, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120731/oly-box-us-marine/" target="_hplink">it couldn't touch his patriotic spirit</a>, the AP reports. The Marine, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, gave a slow salute to his teammates as he left the ring. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120731/oly-box-us-marine/" target="_hplink">"You've got to keep them uplifted,"</a> Herring told the news outlet. "I don't want anyone to feel down."

  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Keith Sanderson, Rapid Fire Pistol

    <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=keith-sanderson/index.html" target="_hplink">Spending eight years serving in the Marine Corps and eight years in the U.S. Army</a> helped prepare Sgt.1st Class Keith Sanderson for the rapid fire pistol event in London, <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/2012/u-s-army-sending-11-soldiers-to-london-olympics.html" target="_hplink">according to the AP</a>, and it's also given him a backup plan. "If we get hurt," Sanderson told the news outlet, "we're still soldiers."

  • Army Sgt. Spenser Mango, Greco-Roman Wrestling

    He took eighth in Beijing and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/wrestling/story/2012-06-20/Spenser-Mango-olympic-wrestler-london/55763632/1" target="_hplink">Army Sgt. Spenser Mango is now ranked No. 1 in the U.S.</a> for his weight class in London, <em>USA Today</em> reports. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/wrestling/story/2012-06-20/Spenser-Mango-olympic-wrestler-london/55763632/1" target="_hplink">"A lot of people work their whole lives and never quite reach that goal,"</a> he told the news outlet. "I remember the first night at the village (in 2008) going around and looking at everything and just being in awe. 'I'm actually here.'"

  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers, Greco-Roman Wrestling

    A 10-time national champion wrestler, quartermaster and Sgt. 1st Class of the U.S. Army, <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/2012/u-s-army-sending-11-soldiers-to-london-olympics.html%3Cbr %3E%3C/a%3Ehttp://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/2012/u-s-army-sending-11-soldiers-to-london-olympics.html%3Cbr /%3E" target="_hplink">Dremiel Byers Byers follows the same mantra for his athletic and military callings</a>, NBC reports. "Never quit. Keep driving, keep pressing. Focus on the mission. Find another gear."

  • Staff Sgt. John Nunn, Race Walking

    <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0714-oly-track-john-nunn-20120710,0,5837232.story?page=1&track=lat-email-topofthetimes" target="_hplink">The sole athlete representing the U.S. in race walking</a>, Staff Sgt. John Nunn returns to the Olympic Games for the second time, The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> reports. Though Nunn <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/Mini/OLY12/News/NewsDetail.aspx?id=63400 " target="_hplink">set a record of 4:4:38 during the 50km trials in January</a>, he admits that he wasn't too keen on the quirky sport at first. "I thought it was ridiculous," Nunn told the<em> LA Times.</em> "I couldn't do the form. I didn't know what it was. And it was painful."

  • Army Spc. Justin Lester, Greco-Roman Wrestling

    <a href="http://www.army.mil/olympics/2012/lester_justin.html" target="_hplink">Three-time U.S. National Champion</a> Spc. Justin Lester, who partakes in his branch's World Class Athlete Program, has his eye on one stellar prize in London. <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120726/SPORTS/307260057/2012-Olympics-Wrestler-finds-specialty-after-ISU?Sports" target="_hplink">"For me, it's gold or nothing,"</a> Lester told the <em>Des Moines Register</em>. "Silver or bronze is OK..."I gotta get that gold medal."

  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Parker, International Rifle Shooting

    Jason Parker started shooting in 1988 and enlisted in the army nine years later as a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, <a href="http://www.army.mil/olympics/2012/parker_jason.html" target="_hplink">according to Army.mil</a>. He has since become an international rifle shooter, and <a href="http://www.army.mil/olympics/2012/parker_jason.html" target="_hplink">won first place</a> in this summer's Men's Three-Position Rifle Olympic Trials.

  • Army Sgt. Walton Glenn Eller, Double Trap Shooting

    Competing on the Olympic stage for the fourth time, U.S. Army Sgt. Glenn Eller has some high expectations to meet. He was the first American shooter to win the British Open Sporting Clay title in 1996 and he set a couple of records in Beijing by scoring 145 points in the preliminary rounds and <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/summer-olympics-profile-u-shooter-glenn-eller-162100505--oly.html" target="_hplink">connecting on 190 out of 200 targets to secure the gold medal</a>, according to Yahoo.

  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft, Rifle Prone Shooting

    Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft is back in the Olympic swing after a 16-year hiatus, <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=eric-uptagrafft/index.html" target="_hplink"> NBC reports</a>. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit instructor and<a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=eric-uptagrafft/index.html" target="_hplink"> three-time World Champion</a> finished 30th in the 1996 Atlanta Games and is facing some stiff competition in London: his wife, Olympic shooter Sandra Uptagrafft.

  • Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Sandra Uptagrafft, Pistol, Air Pistol Shooting

    A Reservist Information Systems Technician for the Navy and Olympic shooter, <a href="http://militarytimes.com/blogs/scoopdeck/tag/sandra-uptagrafft/" target="_hplink">Sandra Uptagrafft was most excited about competing with her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft,</a> according to the Navy Times. "I still get goosebumps thinking about it now," she told the news outlet. "To walk the opening ceremonies with my husband, hand-in-hand, just made it that much more meaningful and <a href="http://militarytimes.com/blogs/scoopdeck/tag/sandra-uptagrafft/" target="_hplink">something I will carry the rest of my life."</a>

  • Army Staff Sgt. Michael McPhail, Rifle Prone Shooting

    <a href="http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/06/05/2073927/staff-sgt-michael-mcphail-of-us.html" target="_hplink">This Staff Sgt. and member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit </a>from Darlington, Wis. will compete in his first-ever Olympic Games against fellow marksman Eric Uptagrafft, but Michael McPhail isn't shaken by his familiar competition, he told the Ledger-Enquirer. <a href="http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/06/05/2073927/staff-sgt-michael-mcphail-of-us.html" target="_hplink">"He pushes me; I push him."</a>

  • Army Spc. Dennis Bowsher, Modern Pentathlon

    <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/2012/plenty-of-u-s-medal-prospects-in-small-sports.html" target="_hplink">Ranked 44th in the world</a>, Army Spc. Dennis Bowsher is making his first trip to the Olympics to <a href="http://militarytimes.com/blogs/afteraction/2012/07/10/army-olympians-in-brief-meet-john-nunn-and-dennis-bowsher/" target="_hplink">represent the U.S. in the modern pentathlon</a>, a competition that entails fencing, swimming, horseback riding and a combined shooting and running event, according to the Military Times.

  • Air Force Capt. Seth Kelsey, Individual Epee Fencing

    Making his third trip to the Olympics, Seth Kelsey is one of the U.S.'s most accomplished epee fencers of all time, <a href="http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/KE/Seth-Kelsey.aspx" target="_hplink">according to teamusa.org</a>. The 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force was a member of the first U.S. Men's Epee Team to <a href="http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/KE/Seth-Kelsey.aspx" target="_hplink">take home a World Championship medal in 2010</a>.

  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski, Pistol, Air Pistol Shooting

    Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski is no stranger to the Olympic Games. The five-time World Championship team member has competed in the free pistol and air pistol shooting events in Beijing, Athens and Sydney, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-us-armys-10-olympic-athletes-2012-7?op=1" target="_hplink"> Business Insider reports</a> and he earned the title of USA Shooting Pistol Shooter of the Year three times.