Nation

Wounded from Iraq pose new problems

MIAMI - Staff Sgt. John Quincy Adams limped across the floor to a chair in his living room, tried to steady a cellular phone in his left hand and struggled with every word he spoke to his war buddy on the other end. The last group of soldiers from 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry of the Florida National Guard had returned from Iraq, and Adams was determined to be a part of the group's final act of loyalty - going to have dog tags tattooed on their arms. Adams, 37, who came home six months ago with shrapnel lodged in his brain, is one of nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq, in addition to the 585 who have died. The number of National Guard and reserve troops wounded has created special problems in the U.S. system of military hospitals. And the types of injuries suffered also present new difficulties. Soldiers who would have died in other wars are surviving, in part because of advanced trauma care on the battlefield and improved body armor. But many suffer severe injuries to their limbs, and their lives are irreparably altered. Victim of roadside bomb No longer is Adams the suburban Miami lawn-care worker and weekend warrior who reported to Army duty once a month, or simply the devoted family man who loved to roughhouse with his 3- and 5-year-old sons. That changed Aug. 29 in Ramadi, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded as he and two others drove by in a Humvee. His arms are covered with red scars from the metal fragments that damaged his nerves. And part of his right palm is missing. His walk is slow and unsteady. His arms are too weak to lift his children. He struggles to speak coherently. He is forgetful. And he sleeps with his head propped up on pillows to keep the metal in his brain from shifting and causing further damage or death. It is not the life Adams and his wife, Verlorene, bargained for when he left for the Persian Gulf last year. But they harbor no anger - except at the Iraqis. "When I joined the National Guard 15 years ago, I felt like I was destined to wear the Army uniform," said Adams, whose Puerto Rican parents named him after the sixth U.S. president. "I was nervous, but I did what I had to do. I still feel good being a soldier, but this has changed the way I look at life. I appreciate life a lot more now." Sgt. Jason Recio, who served with Adams in Iraq, joined the 124th Infantry of the Florida National Guard four years ago, fresh out of high school, because he wanted to go to college and also be a soldier. Two weeks before he was deployed, he got married. On July 6, Recio and four others were ambushed during a patrol in Ramadi. Injured by a rocket-propelled grenade and an ensuing gunbattle, he was severely wounded in both legs and lost his right calf. Now a scrapbook in Jason and Patricia Recio's Kendall, Fla., home gives a pictorial account of his recovery, after 16 surgeries. Doctors said he would not walk again, but Recio, 22, manages to get around, often without a cane. "I always had a dream of fighting in a war. And when it happened, I wanted to go. But I would not want to go again," Recio said. The military has become increasingly dependent on the National Guardsmen and reservists, who represent about 40 percent of the more than 110,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Most military hospitals on U.S. bases, built to take care of enlisted soldiers and their families, have been flooded with guardsmen and reservists as well as their own troops. War wounds have been devastating for active-duty soldiers as well as members of the Guard and reserves. But critics say it has been tougher for the guardsmen and reservists. In October, it was revealed that hundreds of sick and injured soldiers in the Guard and reserves were being housed in barracks at Fort Stewart that had no air conditioning or toilets and were waiting for weeks - behind active-duty soldiers - to receive medical care. Since the revelation, Winn Army Community Hospital at Fort Stewart has added more than 100 doctors, counselors and other staff members, and has improved living conditions for injured guardsmen and reservists. Most live in hotels now while awaiting new housing on base.