Thursday, February 17, 2011

Marine Plans Rebound From Injuries


Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:01:00 -0600
By Marine Corps Pfc. Franklin E. Mercado of 1st Marine Logistics Group
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Feb. 17, 2011 - Marja, Afghanistan, was the site of many deaths and injuries while Marines and other coalition forces seized the city early last year to rid it of Taliban forces. Even now, a year after the initial assault, the urban center remains a dangerous region of Helmand province.
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Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brian K. Steele, left, speaks with Marine Corps Col. Kenneth Enzor, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Logistics Group, during a ceremony in which Steele received the Purple Heart Medal at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 14, 2011. Steele was a vehicle commander during a convoy near Forward Operating Base Hansen, Afghanistan, when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Franklin E. Mercado 
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brian K. Steele, a native of Paris, Ill., can testify to the still-dangerous environment around Forward Operating Base Hansen, one of the many coalition outposts that now dot the city.
On Jan. 22, Steele, who commander the sixth vehicle in a 17-vehicle convoy, was near Forward Operating Base Hansen when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb.
He was wearing all of his protective equipment, but the blast left him in serious condition. Steele, a combat engineer with the 1st Marine Logistics Group's 8th Engineer Support Battalion, suffered injuries to his cheekbone and hip joint area, among other fractures.
The experience is something he says he will never forget.
"Getting blown up will stay with me for the rest of my life," Steele said. "It's a life-changing experience, obviously, but I'm fine, and that's what's important."
After the explosion, Steele was taken to Camp Bastion. Soon thereafter, he was admitted to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and he subsequently was taken to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Now on convalescent leave, he said he's taking the rest of his life one step at a time as he continues to recover from his injuries.
Despite his injuries, Steele said, his morale has not been shaken. The self-proclaimed trail blazer, who received the Purple Heart Medal on Feb. 15, said he has a plan and is not going to let something like a combat wound keep him down for long, and that he hopes to make a full recovery and return to duty.
"I like following my own path," he said. "I make my own decisions. Even growing up, I liked to do my own thing."
Related Sites:
NATO International Security Assistance Force 

During a joint operational access exercise

U.S. Army paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division sit in an Air Force C-17A Globemaster III before an airdrop during a joint operational access exercise (JOAX) at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Feb. 9, 2011. JOAX is a joint Army and Air Force training exercise held to practice large-scale personnel and equipment airdrop missions. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Greg C. Biondo, U.S. Air Force/Released)

During reaction force training

U.S. Navy Information Systems Technician Seaman Erick Martinez provides security for his teammates during reaction force training aboard the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) in Yokosuka, Japan, Feb. 7, 2011. The scenario is part of the final exercise during ship's reaction force Bravo Training, a force protection exercise to prepare Blue Ridge Sailors to react to threats to the ship. 














(DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steven Khor, U.S. Navy/Released)