Rep. John Murtha is leading another battle on behalf of veterans - reuniting a wounded soldier with her dog.
Continuing...
Weeks passed before Dana absorbed the news that the medic was mistaken and that Rex was alive. The German shepherd was burned slightly on his nose but was not seriously injured. Dana teetered at life's edge, with doctors unable to assure her husband and parents that she would survive.
Not long after she started to rally from her injuries, Dana asked Air Force leaders if she could adopt Rex. The answer was no; it was against the rules, and Rex was still valuable to the military.
Now, the Air Force has changed its view -- but federal law stands in the way.
Under Title 10 U.S. Code 2583, the Air Force says, it cannot allow the wounded airman to take her combat dog home until the animal is too old to be useful. Rex, 80 pounds and brown and black with gold markings, is just 5 years old, not nearly the retirement age of 10 to 14...
...It will take an act of Congress to pave the way for Rex to stay with Dana. For the time being, he is with her on leave and will return with her this week to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, where the 26-year-old sergeant is stationed. Walking with a cane because of nerve damage in her legs and feet, Dana expects to take a desk job while military medical boards consider whether she should retire.
In Congress, several lawmakers have taken up her cause, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who is working to attach a provision that would allow Rex's adoption to a defense appropriations bill. The measure is expected to emerge from a conference committee by the middle of next month and must face votes in both the House and Senate.
"This young lady came as close to death as you can come and still be alive," said Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., who lobbied on her behalf. "She was extremely seriously wounded ... and I think a person who came that close to death deserves to have the dog who went through it with them. ... I think that's the least we can do for her."
Air Force officials say support for granting Dana's request has grown in recent weeks. "You add things up, and this is the right thing to do," said Brig. Gen. Robert Holmes, Air Force director of security forces and force protection.
Dana said the Air Force has turned down her request twice. Adopting Rex, officials said in an Oct. 21 letter to Peterson, would not be "a legal or advisable use of Air Force assets, in spite of the sentimental value and potential healing effects it might produce."
Rex was a MWD -- military working dog -- the letter said, with "5 to 9 years of good use" left. "MWDs are worth about $18K ($18,000) out of training. Consequently, Rex is very valuable to both the unit and the Air Force."
About three weeks ago, Dana saw a change of heart, she said, as she prepared to be discharged from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was called to the Pentagon, and Gen. T. Michael Moseley hinted that she and Rex might be together again after all. Later that day, she received a phone call with the news that Rex could join her on a leave to see her family in Pennsylvania.
"I was shocked," she said, but she tried not to get her hopes up.
Air Force officials said that as family friends and members of Congress weighed in on Dana's behalf, Moseley, who was to become the Air Force's new chief of staff, took a strong interest. His view, Holmes said, was that "she's a wounded warrior. They went through this together; they need to heal together."
Dana said it was hard to imagine life without Rex.
A friend brought the dog to see her in the hospital as soon as Dana was out of intensive care. When she heard them coming in the hallway, she whistled -- and Rex made a rush for her, leaping into her bed and tangling himself in her intravenous tubes.
"I just wanted to touch him and pet him and feel him and know he was OK," she said...
...A farm girl from Pennsylvania who joined the military right out of high school, Dana became part of Air Force police forces eight years ago and later specialized as bomb dog handler. Her husband, Michael, is also in the Air Force.
Now, with her life entirely changed, she plans to become a veterinarian -- and she wants Rex to be with her. "I'm waiting to see what happens," she said, adding that she's not counting on the legislative efforts "until I have it in writing that he's mine."
If you read the entire story, the soldier says that she had no regrets about the three weeks she served in Iraq before being wounded...except that she wished she had been there longer. I will reserve comment on that, but as a dog-lover, I certainly appreciate her sentiments about the dog and think that the dog should be retired and given to her. If you agree, write your representative and Senators in Congress and ask them to support Rep. Murtha in reuiniting the dog and soldier.