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During the Clinton reign, posters and bumper showed up stating 'America...the only place where a veteran sleeps in a box and a draft dodger is in the White House.' This was meant as a statement against the way that returning heroes are treated. We notice them in every large city and encounter them in every town. But, in this fast paced society, we don't see them. We cross the street.....

On October 1, 2009, the liturgy of the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, "the greatest saint of modern times," in the words of Pope Saint Pius X. The charm of her "Little Way," with all its sweetness and mercy, admirably harmonizes with the traits of a genuine warrior, "I would die in a battlefield, arms in hand," she once stated. Her soul had infinite aspirations: she wanted to be a warrior, priest, apostle, doctor of the Church and martyr; she felt the courage of a crusader, of a Papal...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2009 – Defense Department federal employees could receive up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a military family member injured in the line of duty if an Office of Personnel Management proposal is adopted. The proposal would allow eligible federal employees to take 26 "administrative work weeks" provided for under the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for a servicemember wounded in the line of duty, OPM officials explained during a telephone conference call. The provision would extend to families of National Guard members or reservists injured while on active duty, explained Jerry...

From Gov. Palin via Twitter: See letter from my attorney on baseless allegations of past 24hrs @ http://tinyurl.com/l4ct5n(excerpt)The Palin-hating left has been salivating this weekend over lies that began at an Alaska ankle biter website, percolated up to the national nutroots and got mentioned on several major liberal media outlets. At Conservatives 4 Palin, Mel traces the genesis of the rumors through the land of the loonies. Start at the bottom of the post and read up. In a telephone interview with Josh Meyer of the LA Times, an FBI spokesman in Alaska dismissed the leftist lies that an FBI...

, Marine Corps Capt. Kenneth Reusser and his wingman were flying a mission in the Pacific region during World War II when they came upon a Japanese surveillance plane. The cold air had frozen the fighters’ guns, so Reusser tipped his F4U-4 Corsair toward the aircraft, allowing his wingman to rake his propeller across the plane’s tail. The move downed the enemy plane and would have been a heroic highlight of any military career. But it was just a start for Reusser. Known as one of the most decorated Marine Corps aviators ever, he died June 20 of natural causes...

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2009 – A foundation formed by the family of a fallen Marine whose story was told in the HBO movie “Taking Chance” has donated $10,000 to a group that works to help wounded veterans and their families. Hope for the Warriors, a national nonprofit group, received the donation from the Chance Phelps Foundation during Fleet Week activities in New York on May 22. Gretchen Mack, mother of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chance R. Phelps and founder of the Chance Phelps foundation, said her family decided to make the donation based on what they experienced last year...

Even when half your skull is missing, life goes on. For ex-soldier Erik Castillo, gravely wounded by mortar fire in Iraq in 2004, life is going better than expected. Five years have passed since he woke up drooling and paralyzed in an Army hospital with a coconut-sized hole in his cranium — an injury from which doctors said he would never fully recover. The road back to some sort of normalcy has been rife with pain and indignity. He's been stared at by strangers, coped with countless surgeries and infections, and battled rage, self-pity and depression. Through it all, he...

Allen Hoe, 62, served as a combat medic in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. His son, K. Nainoa Hoe, served as a first lieutenant infantry officer with the Army's 3rd Battalion in Mosul, Iraq. He died there on Jan. 22, 2005, at the age of 27. On Memorial Day that year, Allen traveled to Washington, D.C., from his home in Honolulu for services being held at the Vietnam Memorial, often referred to as "the wall." Army nurses returning home from the war were being honored there that day. "I thought it would be great to welcome these young trauma nurses...

5/7/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Staff Sgt. Daniel Acosta woke May 7 thinking he was a senior airman. He was surprised to discover that he was promoted to staff sergeant without his knowledge. Lt. Col. Michael Glass, 59th Medical Support Squadron commander, advised Sergeant Acosta that Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, deputy chief of staff for Manpower and Personnel, approved the promotion with an effective date of Nov. 1, 2008. "I am really happy and excited about this promotion," said Sergeant Acosta. "It was such a surprise." Sergeant Acosta, an explosive ordnance technician from Hill Air Force...

FORT BRAGG, N.C., Feb. 11, 2009 – The noncommissioned officer in charge of training operations for the Warrior Transition Battalion here appears to be a typical soldier. But if the right sleeve of his shirt should come up a bit, you might catch a glimpse of a story whose protagonist is more than typical. Army Sgt. Cameron E. Stroeh takes an early morning walk in Fort Bragg, N.C., Feb. 9, 2009. Injuries he suffered in 2007 during his deployment to Iraq have limited his physical training. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Victor J. Ayala  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

Perhaps you've seen him — or them. Victor Wanchena explains why he rides his salt-encrusted Ural on an arctic January day.

1/13/2009 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFNS) -- A new exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Air Force now gives visitors a chance to see not only the service's past, but also its present and future. Called "Warrior Airmen," the new exhibit highlights how today's Airmen are contributing to the war on terrorism, both in the air and on the ground. The exhibit includes more than 400 artifacts, three dioramas with fully dressed and equipped mannequins, an audiovisual presentation on a 15-foot wide screen, and compelling firsthand accounts "The Air Force has always been an adaptive service," said Dick...

A video inspired by a trip to Walter Reed, set to the beautiful music of Sara Groves "I Saw What I Saw" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5vKKAGttC4

SCHWEINFURT, Germany, Dec. 22, 2008 – Danger lurks on every stretch of road in Iraq with the prospect of roadside bombs, which have taken a terrible toll on those serving downrange. Army Spc. Jake Altman knows very well the destruction they can cause. Army Spc. Jake Altman, wounded during his first deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007, is preparing to re-join his unit in Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Emily Athens  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. After serving two years in the Army, Altman deployed in 2006 with 9th Engineer Battalion, 172nd Infantry Brigade, stationed just north...

Robert Peters felt guilty. Guilty that he is here while our armed forces risk their lives, worlds away. That's when the idea came to him: Warrior Vacations. Oases of condos line the shores of Amelia Island. Empty condos, including his. Why not loan them out to active military and their families? So, Peters is asking condo owners to donate their property for one or two weeks. The process will be fairly simple one: Fill out a form at warriorvacations.org and wait to be paired with a condo owner. Peters said soldiers must be active duty, in good standing, be married...

Iranian archeological teams working at the reservoir area of the Khoda-Afarin Dam have recently discovered a burial site of a Kurgan warrior during their rescue excavations. A bull, a number of ancient weapons, dishes, and bronze artifacts have also been found in the warrior's grave, MNA quoted the Director of the Archaeological Research Center of Iran (ARCI) Mohammad Hassan Fazeli Nashli as telling the Persian service of CHN on Sunday. "According to the archaeologists, the warrior enjoyed a special status among his people," he added. The Kurgans were an Indo-European culture living in northern Europe, from Russia across Germany during...

SAN ANTONIO — Mary Dague hears the catty whispers sometimes. "So ugly," the strangers say when they think she can’t hear. The 24-year-old has bright green eyes, a quick smile, and on the days she gets her husband’s help, perfectly applied mascara and blush. But all the gawkers really see are her arms, each amputated above the elbow. What they don’t suppose — with no fatigues or standard-issue Army T-shirt to clue them in — is that this chatty young woman, who likes to wear a little black dress to fancy parties as much as the next girl, is an...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2008 – President George W. Bush presented a prestigious award today to a severely wounded warrior at Fort Campbell, Ky., who mentors other wounded troops and their families and volunteers at the post’s Fisher House. Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Forbess, seriously injured in a fiery Black Hawk helicopter collision over Mosul, Iraq, in November 2003, said he was motivated during his recovery to do everything in his power to return to full duty. President George W. Bush presented Forbess the President’s Volunteer Service award Nov. 25, 2008, for his work with other wounded warriors. DoD photo...

On the tour, The Twins performed their single “Wild Out.” When the song becomes available on I-Tunes. all proceeds will go to the Brooke Army Medical Center – a care facility that provides level-one trauma and prosthetic limbs for soldiers

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2008 – The Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care Program is reaching out to wounded airmen from the point injury on the battlefield and throughout their rehabilitation and reintegration and beyond, the program’s manager said yesterday. The program’s success relies largely on family liaison officers and community readiness consultants, John Beckett said in a “Dot Mil Docs” radio interview on BlogTalkRadio.com. “The backbone of that entire program is what we call the family liaison officer,” he said. “The family liaison officer is assigned to a family to be their personalized assistant, if you will, to help...

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 17, 2008 – Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts was not exactly what the doctor ordered when the leaders of Safe Harbor called and interviewed him for a job to be an advocate for wounded warriors. Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts made the unlikely move from cook to wounded sailor advocate. Now his colleagues call him a "super star" in his field. U.S. Navy courtesy photo.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Pitts had none of the experience to make him a likely candidate. He had no medical background. No psychiatric background. Not even a...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Nov. 13, 2008 – The Warrior and Family Support Center located steps away from Brooke Army Medical Center here is one packed place. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Glynn Mallory talks about the new $4 million, 12,000-square-foot Warrior and Family Assistance Center that opens Dec. 1, 2008, on the Brooke Army Medical Center complex at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It is stuffed from floor to ceiling with homey decorations, leather furniture, stacks of snacks, baskets of books, computer work stations, a video library...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2008 – The detonation of a large roadside bomb near Baghdad on May 3, 2005, caused enough damage to Army Sgt. Robert Bartlett’s body to cost him his life -- and it did, at least temporarily. Then-Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey, left, and his wife, Mary, meet with Army Sgt. Robert Bartlett, center, and Army Cpl. Todd Bishop. The soldiers were recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington. Both were injured by a roadside bomb near Baghdad on May 3, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Carmen L. Burgess  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2008 – A bomb disguised as a cigarette stand on the side of an Iraqi highway ended up claiming Army Sgt. Robert M. Price III’s right leg below the knee Jan. 14, 2007, but it didn’t take away his will to succeed. Price was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion out of Fort Hood, Texas, when he deployed to Iraq for the second time in October 2006 as part of Task Force Iron Claw, a team of engineers with the sole mission of keeping Iraq’s streets clear of roadside bombs. “It’s...

11/5/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) -- Looking in the mirror, Marine Capt. Ryan Voltin couldn't get past his ears. Not that they were strange looking, but that they were there at all. He just wasn't used to seeing them. The AH-1 Cobra pilot lost his when the helicopter he was flying erupted in flames during a training accident last year. The fire severely burned the captain's face -- to the point that his ears simply dissolved. "I was conscious the entire time," he said. "And I remember thinking that I shouldn't be alive." But, he was, because of the quick...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said  a new handbook is another step in improving the care and support wouynded, ill or injured troops and their families deserve.  The handbook compiles the myriad information they need in one succinct, easy-to-read publication. In his foreword to the Compensation and Benefits Handbook, Gates said its biggest benefit is that it “compiles into one source the relevant information that you and your family previously had to search through numerous sources to find.” The handbook was created to help servicemembers and the family members helping to care for them...

Is Barack Obama the "promised warrior" coming to help the Hidden Imam of Shiite Muslims conquer the world?

FORT DETRICK, Md., Oct. 30, 2008 – In most ways, Army Capt. Alex Houston is like any other Army commander. Army Capt. Alex Houston, 21st Signal Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, talks with soldiers at Fort Detrick, Md. Houston lost his left hand in Iraq, but continues to serve. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. He comes to work here every day ready to lead and set the standard for the soldiers who work for him. He diligently performs all of his administrative duties as the 21st Signal Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, and...

OMAHA, Neb., Aug. 7, 2008 – With the world’s attention focused on the Olympic Games that open tomorrow in Beijing, a former 3rd Infantry Division soldier severely wounded in Iraq is gearing up to compete in the Paralympic Games that open there Sept. 6. Former Army Spc. Scott Winkler, a 3rd Infantry Division soldier severely wounded in Iraq, has his sights set on winning gold medals in discus, shot put and javelin during the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Former Army Spc. Scott Winkler has his sights...

7/24/2008 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- The Joint Base Balad Town Hall filled with brothers and sisters mourning the loss of a military family member July 20. Tech. Sgt. Jackie Larsen, a paralegal working with the Law and Order Task Force of the 732nd Expeditionary Support Squadron, died from non-combat related causes July 17. Sergeant Larsen, deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., operated out of Forward Operating Base Shield and was the NCO in charge of all personnel movements for the LAOTF. The LAOTF trains Iraqi lawyers, paralegals and investigators in proper investigations and documentation of evidence...

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 – Wounded veterans have a new source to turn to when looking for housing to meet their individual challenges after the expansion of a successful pilot program in Texas. “Helping a Hero” has been working for the past year to provide adaptive homes to wounded veterans of the war on terrorism, said Meredith Iler, chairman of the organization’s Wounded Hero Home Program. “Our principal activity is to provide specially adapted homes for qualifying servicemembers as well as engaging the community to provide services and resources for our wounded heroes and their families,” she said. “We...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, May 23, 2008 – When Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo was wounded in Iraq, he had to return stateside for medical treatment, reluctantly leaving his comrades and mission behind. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Cornejo, who was injured in Iraq in 2007, speaks at his change of responsibility ceremony May 13, 2008, at the 187th Medical Battalion headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Photo by Elaine Wilson, Fort Sam Houston Public Information Office  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But one thing that never left him was his desire to serve. After three months...

4/24/2008 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Staff Sgt. Matthew Slaydon lay motionless on a dusty road in Iraq, his body riddled with shrapnel after an improvised explosive device exploded about 2 feet from his face. His left arm hung by a couple of tendons and his face was unrecognizable. His friends worked frantically to save him from an early grave. Sergeant Slaydon, an explosive ordnance disposal technician from the 56th Civil Engineer Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., was critically injured Oct. 24, 2007, while serving to protect convoy routes in Iraq. The explosion left him...

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2008 – Retired Army reservist Joseph L. Bowser was 9 years old when he first experienced the thrill of skating and using his hockey stick to whack a rubber puck across the ice on a frozen pond in his birthplace of Toledo, Ohio. Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph L. Bowser plays competitive ice hockey despite the loss of his lower right leg due to an injury suffered from an exploding enemy rocket April 12, 2004, in Balad, Iraq. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Today, the 48-year-old Iraq veteran still plays ice hockey,...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Another Canadian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. Pte. Terry John Street, 24, from Hull, Que., was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Street was with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man. The incident took place early Friday evening in the volatile Panjwaii district west of Kandahar city, long a hotbed of Taliban activity. Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, the commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan, says Canada’s presence in Afghanistan brings hope to its people. Laroche says he hopes this comes as some comfort to the family...

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2008 – The majority of severely wounded warriors say the military health system is on the right track, and is doing all it can and should to provide their care, a new Zogby International survey shows. The poll of 435 servicemembers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan shows 77 percent are satisfied the military health system is doing all it can to meet their health care needs, and nearly 60 percent said their trust and confidence in the system has increased since they began receiving medical treatment for their wounds. The poll was conducted Feb. 27 and...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 10, 2008) -- He faded in and out of consciousness. He knew his legs were injured, but he did not know to what extent. Capt. Ray Baronie, the executive officer for the Wounded Warrior Battalion-East, Wounded Warrior Regiment, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, has few clear memories of his hospital stays overseas. One of the things he remembers is watching the doctors cut off his boots, as they talked about amputation. Baronie, at the time, a liason officer between the Iraqi Security Forces and the Marines of II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was on...

In the aftermath, he had been wounded at least five different times by fragmentation and concussion grenades in the chest, arms, right calf, knee, right and left thighs.  Eighty-three fragments were later removed.  He never complained and refused medical evacuation until his men were settled into their night defensive positions.  Born on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Indian reservation in 1917, Woodrow Wilson Keeble joined the North Dakota National Guard in 1942 while the Chicago White Sox were trying to recruit the big athlete.  He served with Company I, 164th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, the first US Army unit on Guadalcanal. They...

/29/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Training medical personnel as a member of the 59th Logistics and Readiness Squadron's Medical Readiness Training team was not the path that George Torres had planned to pursue when he trained as an Air Force Pararescueman. A broken back and compound fracture to his ankle, caused by a combat-related incident, ended his Air Force career. However, thanks to the Helping Airman Recover Together, or Palace HART, program he is now working for the 59th Medical Wing. "I knew shortly after the accident my career in the Air Force was over. After five combat deployments...

FORT HUACHUCA — There’s a special group of Army patients at this Southern Arizona Army post — warriors in transit. They are active duty soldiers, National Guard members and Reservists who have suffered physical or emotional problems while serving in combat, have been injured while on duty or have other serious illnesses as the Army’s medical community takes a holistic approach to either return them to a unit or prepare them to return to civilian life. Much of what is part of a Warrior Transition Unit is fallout from health care problems that came to light last year at the...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Feb. 20, 2008 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stopped in here yesterday to see how the Marines Corps treats its wounded warriors. U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with Marine Cpl. Giovanni Morales, a resident at the Wounded Warrior Battalion West at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 19, 2008. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen visited the Wounded Warrior Battalion West facilities and spoke to wounded Marines in the program. The battalion...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2008 – Outpatient care for the Army’s wounded warriors is an “entirely new system” that is better now at taking care of soldiers than it was a year ago, the service secretary said here Feb. 15. Army Secretary Pete Geren spoke to a packed auditorium during a ceremony honoring the addition of the Wounded Warrior Clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “Today we can say with growing confidence that, in outpatient care, Army medicine is taking care of those who’ve borne the battle,” Geren said. Geren and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard A. Cody...

Rare Egyptian "Warrior" Tomb Found Steven Stanek in Cairo, Egypt for National Geographic NewsFebruary 15, 2008 An unusual, well-preserved burial chamber that may contain the mummy of an ancient warrior has been discovered in a necropolis in Luxor. Scientists opened the tomb—found in Dra Abul Naga, an ancient cemetery on Luxor's west bank—on Wednesday. Inside the burial shaft—a recess crudely carved from bedrock—experts found a closed wooden coffin inscribed with the name "Iker," which translates to "excellent one" in ancient Egyptian. Near the coffin they also found five arrows made of reeds, three of them still feathered. A team of...

She crucified her enemies and burnt London to the ground. Meet Britain's first feminist, Boadicea By PAUL JOHNSON Last updated at 21:32pm on 6th February 2008 Britain's history is rich in fiery queens, and the first such heroine, tall with red hair down to her waist, commanding and brave, was Boadicea, warrior leader of the ancient Britons. She lived at the same time as the emperors Claudius and Nero, and led a surprisingly successful British revolt against Roman rule in AD60-61 (which, for reference, was when St Paul was writing epistles and St Mark composing his Gospel). She was a...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2008 – For decades, mothers and wives who lost a loved one in combat had a community of others who faced similar feelings to turn to for support. Today, brothers and sisters of those killed in action have a similar support network. Karen A. Hickman, of Indiana, founded Gold Star Siblings Inc., so that siblings of deceased servicemembers had someone to lean on who understands what they’re going through. “There has never been an organization just for siblings,” she said. “Our goal is to become one voice, to reach out and help the ones trying to...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2008 – When Army Sgt. Nicholas Paupore puts a mirror between his legs and looks down, he’s whole again. The right leg that was destroyed when an explosively formed penetrator ripped through his Humvee just south of Kirkuk, Iraq, suddenly reappears before his eyes, reflecting the left leg that remains. Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Jack Tsao, associate professor of neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md., encouraged Army Sgt. Nicholas Paupore, an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C., to try mirror therapy to treat phantom pain in...

CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Dec. 19, 2007 – A disabled Iraq war veteran thought he came here Dec. 14 to pick out colors and tiles for a bathroom remodel, but instead was surprised with the keys to a new home. Disabled Iraq war veteran Brandon Burke, left, is surprised with a new home during a live radio broadcast in Castle Rock, Colo., Dec. 14, 2007. American Military Family, Inc. teamed with 30 contractors to provide a fully remodeled, handicap-accessible mobile home to the former U.S. Army combat medic, who was permanently disabled during a 2005 mortar attack in Baghdad. Photo...

12/17/2007 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- Wounded American servicemembers aeromedically evacuated out of Ramstein Air Base every Tuesday leave Germany with home-baked goods made by base spouse group volunteers. The program, called Wounded Warrior, is sponsored by spouse groups in the 86th Operations Group and occurs every Tuesday throughout the year as injured Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen prepare to fly to the states. "I felt so honored to offer this service to those who have served us," said Paige Norris-Miller, a 37th Airlift Squadron spouse who delivered cupcakes and decorated sugar cookies with the Wounded...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2007 – There’s no set limit on how long the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior program will provide one-on-one service to severely wounded soldiers and their families, a U.S. Army official said yesterday. “We assist and advocate for severely wounded soldiers and their families for as long as they need us, wherever they are located,” Army Col. James Rice, the Wounded Warrior program’s director, said in a conference call with online journalists and “bloggers.” The Wounded Warrior program is for soldiers who are considered 30 percent or more disabled, as found by the Army disability system, to ensure...

Wife Inspired By Soldier Husband's Sacrifice SAN ANTONIO -- More than a year after infantryman Alejandro Albarran lost part of his right leg to a blast in Iraq, he still hasn't decided whether he'll stay in the Army. "Right now, I'm leaning against it," Albarran said, looking ahead with distaste to a possible desk job. But whatever he decides, Spc. Albarran, 20, won't be leaving Army life behind now that his wife enlisted to take his place among the ranks. "After everything he's gone through -- and he loves the Army -- he kind of inspired me," said Janay Albarran....