April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

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[Apparition]

View: https://x.com/brink_thinker/status/2096627145195819183?s=46&t=hYPw4S-sEJKiSEcnCOWIIQ

 

[Wildman]

View: %5BURL%5Dhttps://x.com/brink_thinker/status/2096627145195819183?s=46&t=hYPw4S-sEJKiSEcnCOWIIQ[/URL]

Thanks but NO Thanks.... My days of running are over. But I have HUGE respect for any amputee who still runs.

 

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

Want to know what resilience, determination, and refusing to quit look like?

Look at SSG Joshua Budd or maybe SFC now. Budd, an infantryman with 1-38 Infantry, lost part of his leg after being wounded in Afghanistan.

And there he is, ruck on his back, weapon in hand, prosthetic leg underneath him, finishing the 12-mile ruck in under 3 hours to earn his Expert Infantryman Badge.

No excuses.
No sympathy.
No special treatment.

Just a Soldier refusing to let what happened to him determine what he was still capable of doing.

That picture isn't about a disability; it's about a standard.

THAT is what motivation looks like.

THAT is what resilience looks like.

That is what an infantryman looks like.

Sorry, but this picture is badass. Yeah, I know it is an old picture, but man, it is a motivator to me every time I see it.

 

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

 

[Wildman]

Sergeant First Class Nicholas C. Lavery, ODA 3126, Green Beret and the first Special Forces operator ever to return to combat as an above-the-knee amputee. On his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, Lavery and his detachment fell victim to an insider attack that cost him his right leg above the knee, weeks before he was due to go home.

He made the decision to fight his way back almost immediately, even while still in intensive care at Walter Reed fighting for his life. Refusing a medical retirement, he set a single, non-negotiable goal, returning to the exact same lifestyle he'd been forced to leave. It took more than 30 surgeries and over two years of relentless rehabilitation, but in 2015 he was back on his ODA and deployed to Afghanistan, the locals who worked alongside him giving him a nickname that stuck, Machine Fighter.

He didn't stop at simply returning. Lavery went on to become the first amputee in military history to complete the Special Forces Warrant Officer Technical and Tactical Certification course, the Special Operations Combatives Program Instructor course, and the grueling Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification course, physically demanding certifications that would challenge any able-bodied operator, let alone one relearning to move through the world on a prosthetic. Over his career he earned three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and two Bronze Stars, one with Valor for heroism in combat.

Since transitioning to a Warrant Officer role, he's authored Objective Secure and now speaks widely on leadership and resilience, telling audiences plainly that he's been as close to death as it gets, and that life is a gift not to be treated as a dress rehearsal. A man who lost a leg and simply refused to let it decide what came next. Respect.