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Wounded Guardsman Lives to See Retirement
A standing-room-only crowd watched, teary-eyed but smiling, as a Florida Army National Guardsman was ceremoniously retired from military service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here Feb. 21. Soldiers, civilians and children filled the conference room for the occasion. Staff Sgt. Dustin Tuller sat at attention in a wheelchair, his Class A uniform trousers neatly folded beneath his left hip and right thigh, as his battalion commander read the official orders retiring him from the Army. The 28-year-old college student, father of four and infantryman, had both legs amputated after being wounded in an attack in Iraq in December. Army officials expedited his medical retirement when doctors feared he wouldnât survive his injuries. "I was in a coma when I got my retirement papers," Tuller said. "I wanted to have a retirement ceremony, because Iâve been in the Army for 10 years. I always wanted to be a soldier. If they hadnât retired me, Iâd still wear the uniform, even with no legs." The Company B, 3rd Battalion, 124 Infantry Regiment, soldier was almost killed and two others were injured during a raid in an area of Baghdad that the Army had designated simply "Section 17." Tuller had just positioned his squad outside a building to provide security during the raid when the soldiers came under fire. It was two days before Christmas. Weeks later, and 2,000 miles away from the streets of Baghdad, Tuller awoke from a coma in a German hospital. He had been shot four times in his legs and pelvis... Tullerâs prognosis had been so grim, Army officials decided to retire him from military service in a procedure called "imminent death processing." This can be applied when a soldier is expected to die within 72 hours from a medical condition incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. Imminent death processing allows the Army to retire the soldier, even with fewer than 20 years of service, thus providing additional benefits for the soldierâs family. Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-02-24 |
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