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- May 18, 2009
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- st augustine,florida
Double Amputee to Lead Basic Company
March 21, 2011
Military.com|by Amy Bushatz
FORT BENNING, Ga. -- This summer, new Soldiers coming to Benning for basic training should be less apt to whine about physical training because of the presence of Capt. Brian Brennan, a new Army Basic School company commander who's proving that obstacles to getting in shape are mostly mental.
Brennan is an infantry officer -- and a double amputee. And he's out to inspire confidence as few can.
"There will be no excuses," said Brennan. "Especially not when it comes to running."
Related video:
Brennan was wounded in Afghanistan during a 2008 roadside bomb ambush. Both he and his gunner lost their legs in the blast that killed two other Soldiers and a civilian. Now almost three years later, Brennan will become the first amputee of any kind to graduate the Army's Maneuver Captains Career Course and the first double amputee to lead a basic training company at Benning.
Brennan's presence here represents an ongoing shift in Army policy toward the severely injured. If they can live up to the standards of the job, the Army wants them to stay.
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"The issue is you now have people who are physically challenged performing duties that were previously done by the able-bodied," said Bill Costello, a spokesman for Army Human Resources Command. "And they aren't just public affairs officers that sit behind the desk and talk on the phone. They are out teaching, leading and doing other things."
Individual drive on the part of injured Soldiers and advancements in prosthetics have led to the Army's shift in its policy, experts say.
"It's a combination of the Army really wanting to use the assets that are available to them -- the guy who has a heart as big as anything -- and now he has the technology available to do whatever he wants," agreed Erich Langer, a spokesman for Warrior Transition Command.
Brennan is among only a handful of Soldiers with his type of amputation -- one leg removed below the knee and the other just above -- who are still in the infantry. Most switch to a less physically demanding branch of the Army or leave the service entirely.
But after a lot of therapy, Brennan was given a service dog, fitted with prosthetics, and received a waiver to stay. And since his pre-injury plan of going to Special Forces is no longer possible, Brennan has adapted to training as an alternative career.
"When you're not able to function the way that you want and the way the job requires you to function, people tend to get out of the area they were originally in," Brennan explained. "But you can still contribute to the fight by training future Soldiers and future warriors."
A graduate of The Citadel in South Carolina, Brennan never had trouble learning before his injury. But since coming to the academics-heavy career course, he's discovered that he struggles with "executive skills," which affect his ability to think abstractly and grasp overall concepts.
Still, he's held to the same standard as the other students, said Capt. Brennan Speaks, one of the instructors. When he's lagging in class, teachers spend one-on-one time helping him work through the material -- just like they do with any other struggling student.
"He has that attitude that you wish everybody had -- can do, go get them," Speaks said. "There are [healthy] guys who fail because they didn't put the effort in. … There's no quit in that guy."
Landing in the MCCC course, which focuses on training officers for combat command, did not come by happenstance. While his official record does not reflect any special treatment or requests, Brennan said getting in took the influence of some higher-ranking officials he met during his recovery. Among those is one Gen. David Petreaus.
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After their first meeting, while Brennan was recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in 2008, Petreaus took Brennan under his wing, even personally promoting him to captain last spring.
But Brennan knows that friends in high places will only take him so far. Since moving from full-time recovery to the course where he is now, Brennan's refusal to let any challenge defeat him has been his greatest asset.
"My command philosophy has always been that we succeed and fail as a team, and I never realized that more than in this situation," Brennan said. "The Army is the greatest team you can ever be a part of. … I don't ever want to leave."
March 21, 2011
Military.com|by Amy Bushatz
FORT BENNING, Ga. -- This summer, new Soldiers coming to Benning for basic training should be less apt to whine about physical training because of the presence of Capt. Brian Brennan, a new Army Basic School company commander who's proving that obstacles to getting in shape are mostly mental.
Brennan is an infantry officer -- and a double amputee. And he's out to inspire confidence as few can.
"There will be no excuses," said Brennan. "Especially not when it comes to running."
Related video:
Brennan was wounded in Afghanistan during a 2008 roadside bomb ambush. Both he and his gunner lost their legs in the blast that killed two other Soldiers and a civilian. Now almost three years later, Brennan will become the first amputee of any kind to graduate the Army's Maneuver Captains Career Course and the first double amputee to lead a basic training company at Benning.
Brennan's presence here represents an ongoing shift in Army policy toward the severely injured. If they can live up to the standards of the job, the Army wants them to stay.
http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3ad4/3/0/%2a/k%3B237643241%3B0-0%3B0%3B9018264%3B3823-300/100%3B41008432/41026219/1%3B%3B~aopt%3D2/2/8b/0%3B~sscs%3D%3fhttp://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N3880.SD4611.3880/B5252961.11;dcove=o;sz=1x1
"The issue is you now have people who are physically challenged performing duties that were previously done by the able-bodied," said Bill Costello, a spokesman for Army Human Resources Command. "And they aren't just public affairs officers that sit behind the desk and talk on the phone. They are out teaching, leading and doing other things."
Individual drive on the part of injured Soldiers and advancements in prosthetics have led to the Army's shift in its policy, experts say.
"It's a combination of the Army really wanting to use the assets that are available to them -- the guy who has a heart as big as anything -- and now he has the technology available to do whatever he wants," agreed Erich Langer, a spokesman for Warrior Transition Command.
Brennan is among only a handful of Soldiers with his type of amputation -- one leg removed below the knee and the other just above -- who are still in the infantry. Most switch to a less physically demanding branch of the Army or leave the service entirely.
But after a lot of therapy, Brennan was given a service dog, fitted with prosthetics, and received a waiver to stay. And since his pre-injury plan of going to Special Forces is no longer possible, Brennan has adapted to training as an alternative career.
"When you're not able to function the way that you want and the way the job requires you to function, people tend to get out of the area they were originally in," Brennan explained. "But you can still contribute to the fight by training future Soldiers and future warriors."
A graduate of The Citadel in South Carolina, Brennan never had trouble learning before his injury. But since coming to the academics-heavy career course, he's discovered that he struggles with "executive skills," which affect his ability to think abstractly and grasp overall concepts.
Still, he's held to the same standard as the other students, said Capt. Brennan Speaks, one of the instructors. When he's lagging in class, teachers spend one-on-one time helping him work through the material -- just like they do with any other struggling student.
"He has that attitude that you wish everybody had -- can do, go get them," Speaks said. "There are [healthy] guys who fail because they didn't put the effort in. … There's no quit in that guy."
Landing in the MCCC course, which focuses on training officers for combat command, did not come by happenstance. While his official record does not reflect any special treatment or requests, Brennan said getting in took the influence of some higher-ranking officials he met during his recovery. Among those is one Gen. David Petreaus.
http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh%3Dv8/3ad4/3/0/%2a/i%3B234661417%3B0-0%3B0%3B9018264%3B3823-300/100%3B40128107/40145894/1%3B%3B~aopt%3D2/2/8b/0%3B~sscs%3D%3fhttp://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;226909033;50727839;o
After their first meeting, while Brennan was recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in 2008, Petreaus took Brennan under his wing, even personally promoting him to captain last spring.
But Brennan knows that friends in high places will only take him so far. Since moving from full-time recovery to the course where he is now, Brennan's refusal to let any challenge defeat him has been his greatest asset.
"My command philosophy has always been that we succeed and fail as a team, and I never realized that more than in this situation," Brennan said. "The Army is the greatest team you can ever be a part of. … I don't ever want to leave."