Guardsman Takes First Jump With Prosthetic
(August 12, 2010) |
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Army Staff Sgt. Andre Murnane of the Maryland
National Guard is all smiles in Grenada, Miss., after being the first
National Guard Special Forces soldier to jump with a prosthetic, Aug. 1,
2010. |
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GRENADA, Miss., Aug. 10, 2010 – Faced with a long recovery and the reality that
he might never run, surf or return to his Special Forces team, Army Staff Sgt.
Andre Murnane made the decision last year to have his right leg amputated below
the knee after it was shattered by a roadside bomb that detonated in eastern
Afghanistan.
"My dreams and ambitions didn't end that day. It simply started a new chapter,"
the Maryland National Guard soldier said.
And a new breakthrough.
Murnane, 28, of Salisbury, Md., entered Green Beret lore this month when he
became the first Army National Guard Special Forces soldier with a prosthetic
leg to jump out of an aircraft. Army doctors cleared him to jump in June.
While several Special Forces soldiers with prosthetics have completed airborne
operations, Murnane is the first National Guardsman to do so.
Murnane admitted he felt nervous about the historic jump that took place here
Aug. 1. And he was a bit worried about the prosthetic leg shifting from the
opening shock of the parachute and how it would hold up when he landed.
"It held just fine with new prosthetic technology and some good old-fashioned
duct tape," he said. "Once I was under canopy, my thoughts |
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shifted to the two runways that were on the drop zone. I barely cleared one
of them by 15 or 20 meters. Just before landing, I wondered what it was
going to feel like, but I just kept telling myself, ‘Feet and knees
together, and relax.'" |
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In October, the communications sergeant from Bravo Company of 2nd Battalion,
20th Special Forces Group, was on a combat operation on a mountain when a
pressure-plate bomb detonated while his team was clearing an area after being
ambushed. He was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington,
D.C., where he underwent several surgeries to repair his right foot and ankle.
It was there where he realized the surgeries would never completely restore his
leg. He has taken it all in stride, though.
"Life is a journey, and the journey is the destination,” he said. “You have to
accept change in your life and continue to live it like you did before. It takes
some extra work, but if you train hard and stay motivated, you can do anything
you want to.” |
Article and photo by Army 1st Lt. David Leiva
Mississippi National Guard
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010 |
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