Amputee soldier earns Airborne wings; Ranger school next: For the 23-year-old kid from Sitka, Alaska, that sentiment translates into the specific notion that he should be jumping out of Army planes and attending Ranger school — despite having already lost a leg in Afghanistan.
The marksmanship unit soldier became the first Army lower-leg amputee to earn his Airborne wings on Nov. 14 and in January he will start down a rugged path to possibly become the first lower-leg amputee to graduate from Ranger school.
(At least one Marine amputee, Sgt. Christopher Chandler, completed the Army's Basic Airborne Course, in 2003. Chandler lost his left foot and lower calf in 2001 in Afghanistan.)
