“My enlistment was supposed to be three years. A year and a half in, I got hurt and was medically retired. I was the radio telephone operator (RTO) on a patrol during our deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011. We were working to set up a combat outpost in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan. We had just met with the elders and had our tea and talked. As we were wrapping up, suddenly the elders left, which was a red flag. As our vehicles started rolling, we saw a suspected IED on the road. Our commander made the decision to cut through a gap in an adobe wall. As I went through the hole, the IED detonated. I woke up four days later in Germany on a ventilator. I lost both my legs and getting my right arm working was the biggest challenge… besides losing my legs. Including the skin grafts, I’m guessing I had to endure fifty to seventy surgeries.

I got married in December 2012 and officially retired in January of 2013. I now volunteer with the Independence Fund and the Greatest Generation Foundation. At the Greatest Generation Foundation, we take veterans back to the battlefield to heal. It’s very therapeutic for these veterans and helps bury the past.”