SEMPER FI!
Posted on 12/18/2003 12:22:11 PM PST by Ed_NYC
FORT BENNING ARMY BASE, Ga.(Dec. 18, 2003) -- High above the eastern Alabama countryside, the deafening roar of a C-130's engines drowns out the instructor's urgent commands. The shadowy figures sitting behind him respond instinctively. In the dim light, the instructor can see only a few of their taut, weathered faces.
Focused on the task at hand, with fearless and eager expressions on their faces, the shadowy figures emerge from the darkness. They've blocked out all distractions and the only thing they respond to is the angry man in front of them whose insistence on perfection they've grudgingly come to admire.
Upon rising to their feet, more than 20 of them sardine back-to-back against the bright red bench that runs the length of the aircraft. They feel ready. After all, this is why they've trained for the past three weeks.
The plane makes a steep left turn and lights flash on above the open doors on each side of the fuselage. One minute to go. A wave of glove-covered hands reaches upward for the yellow static lines. The front man in the line turns and shouts commands over his shoulder through the rushing air, "Chalk 5, all clear!"
"Chalk 5, all clear!" the instructor echoes.
The lights above the doors flash green. The instructor, who has remained fairly passive up to this point, explodes.
"Get out! Go, go, go!" he bellows as he pushes each body out of the plane.
As each jumper touched the sky, his pack springs to life releasing a life-saving parachute.
Behind the plane, a trail of giant green blossoms can be seen floating gracefully to the ground.
In addition to being yet another successful day on the job for the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course students, this jump turned out to be history in the making. This was the first class to graduate a Marine who had been retained on active duty with a prosthetic limb.
Sgt. Christopher Chandler, an Aurora, Colo., native, lost his left leg from below the knee Dec. 16, 2001, when he stepped on a land mine while providing security for an explosives ordnance disposal unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was one of the first service members injured in the Global War on Terrorism, but unlike some of his wounded counterparts, he refused to let the accident diminish his resolve.
"I didn't have time to feel sorry for myself," Chandler, a maintenance technician for Headquarters Company, Marine Forces Atlantic, explained. "While I was in the hospital, other injured veterans visited me. I saw that compared to them I had nothing to complain about."
It's been said that the truest test of one's character is not what he does with success but what he makes of defeat. For generations, the Marine Corps has bred recruits with this type of bravado and instilled the courage in its warriors to move forward when those around them have faltered. In keeping with this ethos, Chandler stepped up to the challenge of jump school in the face of seemingly impossible odds. He jumped into the history books Dec. 10, becoming the only service member retained on active duty to graduate the course with a prosthetic leg.
"I think any obstacle in life can be overcome if you believe in yourself," Chandler exclaimed. "I hope this will make it easier for other people with prosthetics who want to go through (jump school) next time. As long as they won't be extra baggage, and they can pull their own weight and accomplish the mission. Hopefully, they won't have to put up with as much as I had to."
Chandler not only rose to the challenge but also exceeded even his own expectations when he was selected as the class' noncommissioned officer honor graduate.
"He captures the heart and soul of what it means to be a U.S. Marine," said Lt. Col. Kirk Rice, commander, Marine Corps Detachment, Fort Benning. "I mean he exemplifies all of our core values--honor, courage, and commitment. This is a courageous young man. He fought to be retained on active duty and asked for a chance to come to airborne school as a reenlistment bonus."
Chandler faced many challenges and trials during the course of his airborne training revolution, but none so rigorous as the medical boards he faced to stay on active duty.
"After his injury and the loss of his leg, Chandler had to go before a Naval review. They had to make a decision as to whether he should be retained on active duty," Rice explained. "He was able to demonstrate to the Physical Evaluation Review Board that he was fit for return to full duty with no limitations. I think his success will open the door for the retention of service members who have lost a limb. It clearly demonstrates that given certain conditions, they can and should be left on active duty."
Chandler had to undergo another battery of physicals, paperwork and interviews before the airborne school would accept him. Yet, he was able to keep his sense of humor throughout the ordeal.
"Obviously, the school was going to ask questions because they were concerned about my safety and the safety of the other students," Chandler explained. "They wanted to know if I was even capable of completing the tasks they had for me. I figured I had an advantage. After all, I have one less ankle to break. Running everywhere was the hardest part for me. I don't really like to run. The other guys in my class really motivated me to keep going."
One classmate said Chandler's motivation came from within and spread to the people around him.
"I was in Kandahar with him when he had his accident, and this is the first time I've seen him since then," said Sgt. Ryan Scheucher, platoon sergeant, 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force. "If you'd known him before the accident, what he's doing right now would come as no surprise. Both in uniform and out, he's always just been one of those guys who just shuts up and gets the job done. If anything, since his accident I see a little more fire in his eyes. He gets up and he goes. He doesn't do anything to skyline himself or to showboat. If it's in the scope of his duty he just does it."
Chandler's enthusiasm and tireless commitment inspired many of his classmates and set the standard for them to follow.
"The first time I even realized he had a prosthetic leg was during one of our PT (physical training) sessions, and he was just smoking these little 18 year olds out there," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Mayer, Special Operations Command Fort Bragg, N.C. "He's an inspiration because you have all these perfectly healthy people who wash out and quit while he stays in and makes it. That's a real testament to his character."
Other jump school students credited Chandler with helping them make it through the course when they were struggling.
He motivated me because at first I felt kind of down and I didn't like the course because it was so hard, but then I saw that he was doing it with only one leg and that inspired me and let me know that I could do this," said Army Sgt. Fatima Hickman, Company B, 203rd Infantry, 4th Support Bn., here. "He could have done anything else but he chose to continue in the military and to go forth with what he wants to do. He's not letting his prosthetic leg stop him from being the Marine he wants to be."
And what did Chandler have to say to his detractors; to the people who said an amputee would never make it through the school.
"I don't have to say anything to people who said I couldn't make it," he retorted. "I just graduated."
SEMPER FI!
Now get back to work!
SEMPER FI BUMP!!!
"'THE CHANGE IS FOREVER"
Semper Fi!!!!!!
Wonder if I can get his resume?
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