Who Says We Cannot Fight? Amputee Soldier To Return To Combat

This is an article from the British Times Online Newspaper:

A British soldier who had part of his leg blown off by a land mine is preparing to return to Afghanistan to settle “unfinished business” with the Taliban.

Private Matt Woollard, 20, is expected to be the first British infantryman to return to the front line after being fitted with a prosthetic limb.

Woollard, a member of 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment, lost his lower right leg after setting off an insurgent bomb while on patrol near Kajaki in May 2007. His heart stopped three times while he was receiving treatment.

“I want to get back and do what I was sent to Afghanistan to do in 2007 — take the fight to the Taliban,”

The army expects him to pass fitness tests and he could return as early as next year.

Who ever said that someone who is disabled cannot go into combat? I just wonder if they are going to fit his prosthetic leg with additional enhancements such as extra weaponry like in Grindhouse or Robocop. That would be awesome. I question the fact that he would be the first soldier with a prosthetic limb to return to combat: there had to be someone who was motivated enough to convince the Army to send him back. He could be considered the first soldier with a prosthetic to return in the modern era of warfare. These days, that is quite an achievement considering that most armed forces require that any soldier be in perfect health. Perhaps this could be the catalyst for other soldiers with amputees, or even other disabilities, to enter combat (assuming that they would want to, of course). We have the same fighting spirit and, if we have to ability to perform the job that is required, we should be given the chance to prove it.

At least Woollard has the best motivation of any soldier there; there is nothing like revenge to keep you going and getting the job done. Godspeed Private Woollard and good luck!