[Blindvet-talk] 05/21/2010 AP National Desk Article, In blindness, soldiers find ne...

[Kirk]

Dwight, this man's journey seems to make our efforts seem non existent!
I find his strength beyond my comprehenshen compared to all that I have been 
through and have to Salute this inspirational   Soldier and all that he has 
endured and accomplished as well up to this point! What a tremendous 
inspirational for all!
 Kirk


Kirk Harmon
1031 Lenmore Court
Orlando, FL. 32812

Home Office: 407-380-3371
Cell: 407-473-2176

Founder-President
Florida Disabled Citizens for Progress
FDCP,Inc.

" FDCP turning HOPE into REALITY"
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <MisterAdvocate at aol.com>
To: <blindvet-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:30 PM
Subject: [Blindvet-talk] 05/21/2010 AP National Desk Article, In 
blindness,soldiers find ne...


>From our friend David D.
Dwight
_www.nabv.org_ (http://www.nabv.org)


Updated At 10 20 AM.. In blindness, soldiers find new niche in  military
  By MICHAEL HILL  Associated Press  Writer     The Associated Press
WEST POINT, N.Y.   . Since a car bomb blinded Capt. Scott Smiley in  Iraq, 
he
has skied Vail, climbed Mount Rainier, earned his MBA, raised two  young
boys with his wife, won an Espy award and pulled himself up from
faith-shaking depths.

Smiley, 30, has snagged attention for his big  accomplishments. But the
daily ones are telling, too, including the recent  tour he gave of his 
staff's
offices at the U.S. Military Academy at West  Point, where he plans to
attend President Barack Obama's address of the Class  of 2010 on Saturday.

Unable to see the path around the workers'  cubicles, Smiley stepped
forward with a joke to the camouflage-clad officers  he was showing around: 
"I
walk around, and when I hit things, I move," he  said.

An aide trailing him said softly, "Turn right, sir," at a  doorway. Smiley
turned.

Smiley, of Pasco, Wash., is one of only a  handful of soldiers who chose to
remain on active duty after being blinded by  fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan, a practice that's rare but one that military  officials say 
benefits
both parties.

Though unable to return to his  old infantry duties in Iraq, Smiley has
thrived in stateside postings such as  his latest at West Point, from which 
he
graduated in 2003. He now commands the  Warrior Transition Unit at West
Point for ailing or wounded soldiers.

Voice software allows Smiley to listen to e-mails, books and  pamphlets.
Aides help him navigate and tell him what order he's signing. It's  a little
like changing his son's diapers at home: He's fine as long as he  knows 
where
everything is.

His resiliency and energy helped him earn  the 2007 Soldier of the Year
commendation from the publication Army Times, as  well as an ESPN Espy award 
in
2008 for best outdoor athlete.

He earned  his master's of business administration at Duke University and
has spoken to  the Olympic and Duke teams coached by Mike Krzyzewski, a
fellow West Point  alum. He has a memoir coming out this year titled "Hope
Unseen.

Smiley  said he's not trying to prove anything with his exploits.

In terms of  getting an MBA, climbing Mount Rainier, it's what I always
wanted to do," he  said. Why should I stop that?

Smiley was injured April 6, 2005, six  months into a deployment to Iraq. He
led patrols through Mosul, a dangerous  city where a too-high pile of
garbage could be hiding explosives and the enemy  blended in with the 
populace.

Sgt. 1st Class Mike Branham, who served  as a squad leader under Smiley,
said his fellow serviceman was a topflight  officer, one who stood out for 
his
deep Christian faith and detailed knowledge  of his soldiers.

He knew their names, he knew their wives' names, he  knew their likes and
dislikes," Branham said.

Smiley was leading a  patrol in an armored Stryker vehicle when, from his
perch in the forward  hatch, he spotted a silver Opel that matched
intelligence descriptions of a  potential car bomb. The trunk appeared to be 
weighed
down and the driver acted  as though he didn't understand Smiley, who fired
warning shots at the ground  when it looked as if the driver was going to
pull forward.

The driver  raised his hands, and the car went up in a fireball.

Shrapnel tore  through Smiley's left eye and lodged in his frontal brain
lobe; another  fragment the size of a pencil lead pierced his right eye.

Slumped  unconscious in the Stryker hatch, Smiley was rushed to a medical
center, where  he briefly flatlined as friends prayed at his bedside.

Branham  recalls, "I didn't think he was going to make it past that day at
all.

He was left permanently blinded and temporarily paralyzed on his right
side.

Stabilized and shipped stateside, Smiley struggled with his  fate. He had
vowed at his wedding to take care of his wife, Tiffany, and there  she was,
taking care of him. The exertion of wiggling his big toe required a
three-hour nap.

He received his Purple Heart on his hospital bed. A  video posted on
YouTube of the ceremony shows his brother Neal struggling to  maintain 
composure
as he reads the citation. Smiley, looking beaten and  uncomfortable in his
bed, turns his head away.

When I got to the  hospital and I finally realized what happened, what my
life was going to be  like, I didn't believe in God. I questioned my faith. 
I
questioned everything  that was ever said to me before," Smiley said.
Because in my mind, why would  God allow something like this to happen to 
me?

Smiley credits his  wife, family and faith for helping him accept his
condition. Ultimately, he  decided he didn't want to be like the Lt. Dan
character played by Gary Sinise  in "Forrest Gump," the officer who wants to 
be left
to die when he loses his  legs in Vietnam. He would push on. And if his
path kept him in the Army, that  was fine.

I was totally prepared to get out," he said. But still in  the back of my
mind, it was: 'I still have so much to give. I love serving my  country.'

The Army says at least four other totally or partially blind  soldiers have
remained on active duty since Iraq and Afghanistan.

Capt. Ivan Castro lost his sight and suffered other serious injuries  in a
2006 mortar attack in Iraq and is now stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., with
the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion. Castro, a 42-year-old who runs
marathons and 50-mile races, appears to share some personality traits with
Smiley   and says he also felt he still had something to serve after  being
injured.

I've been doing this for over 18 years," Castro, who  was born in Hoboken,
N.J., and grew up in Puerto Rico, said in a phone  interview. This is all I
know. This is what I love. This is what I live for.

Castro's commander, Lt. Col. Fredrick Dummar, said the continued  service
by blind soldiers fits with the military philosophy that everyone has 
unique
abilities and that "there's always somebody on the team that can
accomplish a mission.

Smiley was at first posted at Accessions  Command, which oversees
recruiting, and later earned his MBA. He returned to  West Point last year 
to teach
and took command this year of the Warrior  Transition Unit here this year. 
He
lives on post with Tiffany and their two  young boys. After the West Point
graduation ceremony Saturday, he plans to pin  lieutenant bars on one of the
roughly 1,000 cadets who will become new Army  officers.

Smiley conceded that he might have a better understanding of  the ailing
soldiers under his command but is quick to add that his overriding  concern 
is
maintaining Army standards   for his soldiers and for  himself.

I still want to be the person I always wanted to be," he  said.



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