Rules unclear for wounded troops back on duty

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Rules unclear for wounded troops back on duty
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 19, 2007 12:29:38 EDT

Not since the Civil War have so many wounded service members returned to duty.

But that may be the last time anyone looked at policies related to keeping on the job men and women missing limbs, eyes or hearing.

“We fix them up, we send ’em back to mama, and then they go to the local VA,” said Army Maj. David Rozelle, director of the new Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

For Rozelle, who lost a foot in Iraq in August 2003, that wasn’t an option. When Vietnam veterans showed up at Walter Reed with information about medical retirement, Rozelle lost it.

“I didn’t want to be a veteran,” he said. “I sure as hell didn’t want to talk to some old veterans. I wanted them to fix me, and I wanted to get back at the job. At the time, we didn’t have anything in place to do that.”

Rozelle was not alone. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, 65 of 680 service members with amputations have returned to duty, and eight have gone back to a combat zone.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/09/military_amputees_070919w/