I am dead set against this war. We are killing our youth for an oil reserve located under a country filled with people that can hardly defend thenselves. We do have choices in how we meet our fuel needs as we change from a fossil fuel based energy supply to something else.

We have lost 1250 Americans and have 9500 injured Americans from this invasion. But no matter what posostion a person has on this war, we just have to give it up for the people in uniform. We're talking solid American values and plain balls here. This following story shows the spirit of our American soldiers.

Original link here

Wounded, But Ready For Duty
In Shift, U.S. Armed Forces Make Effort To Retain Injured Soldiers

December 2, 2004
By ANNE HULL, Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- After an anti-tank mine destroyed his foot and part of his leg in Iraq, Capt. David Rozelle, 31, considered his future. In another era, the commander of a cavalry troop would have been heralded for his bravery and probably issued a medical retirement.

But Rozelle experienced a different message while hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Nearly every officer who visited his room cheered on a comeback. The Texas native spent the next nine months swimming, lifting weights, mountain biking and getting used to running with an artificial leg. He passed the necessary physical fitness tests given by the Army medical board and was declared fit for duty. Next year, Rozelle is scheduled to deploy to Iraq as the commander of a 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment headquarters troop.

"I see so many young men that say, 'Hell, yeah, I want to continue to serve and fight,'" Rozelle said.

In a shift in military culture, the U.S. armed forces have recently announced new efforts to keep seriously wounded or disabled soldiers on active duty. Although there is no clear written policy, the sentiment is being echoed down from the White House.

"When we're talking about forced discharge, we're talking about another age and another" military, President Bush told wounded soldiers at Walter Reed last year. "This is a new age, and this is a new [military]. Today, if wounded service members want to remain in uniform and can do the job, the military tries to help them stay."

Military commanders cite advances in medical technology as the main reason for the shift. Better prosthetics - such as Rozelle's $7,000 leg - are allowing some of the wounded to regain their fitness and continue to serve. Others say that the military's new attitude toward the disabled is simply mirroring society's.

But one observer says the change is also practical. In an era of constant deployment, the Pentagon needs a more flexible and diversified workforce, said Laura Miller, a military sociologist with the Rand Corp.

"Part of this is a response to the stress on the all-volunteer forces due to the war on terror," Miller said. "And part of it is adapting to future warfare: smaller expeditionary forces that can respond to a variety of missions, including peacekeeping and humanitarian. Why throw away someone with years of training and expertise, only to retrain someone new?"

Although much of the nation's attention has focused on the more than 1,250 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq, more than 9,300 have been wounded, and the number climbs daily.

In April, the Army formed the Disabled Soldier Support System, or DS3, a resource network available to soldiers who are 30 percent or more disabled - paralysis or the loss of a limb or an eye. The DS3 helps soldiers weigh their options regarding retirement or trying to stay on active duty.

Amputations account for 2.4 percent of all wounded in action in the Iraq war - twice the rate in World War I and World War II, said Chuck Scoville, the amputee program manager of Walter Reed. Sophisticated body armor and medical techniques in the battlefield have preserved lives but not necessarily limbs. Available figures through Aug. 31 show that Army hospitals have treated 138 amputees from Iraq.

About 90 percent of severely injured soldiers decide after a year to take medical retirement, according to an Army estimate. Those who want to stay on active duty must prove that they can meet certain physical requirements; many may be deemed unfit to return to their original jobs.

Several officers who spoke recently at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army emphasized the more welcoming policy toward retaining disabled soldiers.

"Our view is that once a soldier, always a soldier, and the Army is looking for ways to keep a number of them on active duty rather than medically retiring them," said Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel. He has pledged to review the case of any military amputee who feels unfairly treated.