From Reader Les N.

The current going hourly rate for a plumber here in the USA is about $80 an hour. Plus a service call charge of roughly $75. The normal work year for most people without overtime is 2000 hours. Say roughly, $640,000 a year in revenue. That doesn't count the overtime because the night and weekend rates parallel time and a half. Usually plumbing problems don't watch the clock and happen between 8 A.M. and 5 P.M.

So if a guy has a little operation doing let's say $700K a year and pays his guys say $40 an hour he nets about $460K. Got a few expenses but not much. Couple of old trucks. The guys provide their own tools. He has a lot of room between $460K and Barry's $250K for those expenses and he will still get screwed. Happens all of the time. There are tons of guys in the trades that operate that way. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, geez anybody self employed with a few employees!

Then if the guys wife works and makes even $30K or $40K a year they are really rich and Barry sucks em dry so he can "Reditribute the Wealth".
People don't understand this stuff because they don't understand what people can and will do to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Searching for Obama's 95 Percent By Philip Klein

HEMPSTEAD. N.Y. -- "We are going to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans," Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, said in the spin room here at Hofstra University following the final debate of the 2008 presidential election. Plouffe was repeating one of the boldest claims made by the Obama campaign. It's a claim that the Wall Street Journal editorial board dubbed "Obama's 95% Illusion," noting that more than a third of Americans don't pay any income taxes, and that what Obama's plan does do is offer a raft of subsidies and government payments to individuals and families that he redefines as "tax cuts." His proposal looks more like a redistribution scheme than an honest effort to reduce taxes -- as he revealed on Monday when he told a now famous Ohio plumber that his plan aimed to "spread the wealth around." So when Plouffe reiterated the 95 percent claim, I asked him a simple question aimed at clarifying whether Obama's tax plan was about cutting rates, or merely handing out government checks. "What rates would actually go down"? I asked. "Middle class people are going to see, systemically, their taxes reduced, and small businesses," Plouffe responded. "But what rate would go down for lower-income Americans?" I persisted, seeking more information. "We'll have to get you the exact details on that," Obama's campaign manager told me. I followed up, recapping the claim he had just made moments ago: "Well, you said that there's going to be a tax cut on 95 percent, so what rate would go down?" He replied, "I'll have to get you the exact rate differential." Given that he wasn't clear on the actual rate changes involved, I asked, "but which type of tax would go down?" He insisted that under Obama's plan, income taxes would be lower, as well as capital gains taxes on start up businesses and small entrepreneurs (though the capital gains tax would otherwise increase).

SHORTLY AFTER my exchange with Plouffe, I was listening to David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, and I decided to put the question to him slightly differently: "Let's say you're making $50,000 a year," I posited. "What taxes would you see go lower under the Obama plan?" Axelrod replied, "You would get a $500 cut in your taxes. If you're a couple, $1,000." I queried as to whether that money would come in the form of a check, or a lower rate. "You would see a reduction in your taxes, in the taxes that you pay," he insisted. After further questioning, he added, "The mechanism for it has to do with deferring part of the withholding taxes, but you should talk to our budget folks on that." Later in the evening, Brian Deese, an Obama economics adviser, emailed me the following information, at Plouffe's request:

OVERALL IMPACT OF OBAMA TAX PLAN:
- The Obama plan would reduce income tax rates for a typical family of four the lowest level in more than 50 years (4.32%). [Tax Policy Center]- Obama's plan will cut taxes as a share of the economy to 18.2% -- below the level that prevailed under Ronald Reagan. [Tax Policy Center 9/12/08]
I could not find a reference to the first statistic after viewing the study cited by Deese. In its analysis, the Tax Policy Center (a venture of the left-leaning Brookings Institution and Urban Institute), sides with the Obama campaign by categorizing as "tax cuts" government payments such as the $1,000 to couples, $4,000 for college tuition, and 10% payment to offset mortgage interest expenses. But the study does not repeat the Obama campaign's 95 percent claim. (In a late night email, I raised these points with Deese, and also asked him to explain the criteria under which the campaign arrived at the 95 percent number, but did not hear back as of this writing.) In fairness, politicians long ago began to use the tax code as a tool for crafting social policy rather than merely as a way to raise revenue. Republicans and Democrats alike have abused terms such as "tax credit" and "tax rebate" to make their policy goals more palatable. But Obama is getting away with defining tax cuts so broadly, that future candidates will simply claim any form of increased government spending as a tax cut. Under Obama's logic, higher food stamp allowances and expanded state funding of the arts could be dubbed "food tax credit" and "arts tax credit" respectively, and also qualify.If Barack Obama can effectively claim that his plan cuts taxes on 95 percent of Americans, then the term "tax cut" has no meaning.

'Joe the plumbers' pipe up on debate

Middle Tennessee 'Joe the plumbers' pipe up on debate
They sympathize with his tax problem
By Chris Echegaray

• THE TENNESSEAN •

October 17, 2008
Some of Middle Tennessee's "Joe the plumbers" missed Wednesday night's debate, but they know their name and profession made a splash.
Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio was a central figure in the candidates' arguments about taxing small-business owners — they mentioned "Joe" or "Joe the plumber" more than 20 times. A widely circulated video of him questioning Barack Obama's tax plan made the plumber a representative of the nation's ambitious blue-collar workers.

"I didn't watch it, but I've been hearing a lot about this plumber," said a chuckling Joe Brown of Joe B. Sullivan & Sons in Nashville. Brown said he stopped paying attention to the politics because his mind is made up — although he wouldn't say who he'll vote for.
Joe Schwark, owner of JMS Plumbing in Spring Hill, said he has a general distrust of politicians, but appreciated the recognition of his craft.
"Personally, I don't think either of them is what the country needs," he said. "But it is what it is."
Schwark said he agrees with the original Joe the plumber's problem with raising taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 a year. Taxes are the plight of the small-business owner, he said.
"I work for every penny," he said. "Taxes are what kills me, and if either of them raise taxes, it hurts people like me. You know, we jump though hoops as business owners. There is liability and vehicle insurance, and there are gas prices. For every dollar that comes in, it's going out."
After reducing his staff by 10 in recent months, Donald "Joe" Ward of W.W. Plumbing in Murfreesboro said he was glad to see a blue-collar worker at the center of presidential candidates' conversations.
"Sounded good to me," Ward said. "I thought it was great. But I had 63 workers and now I have 53. The whole thing is out of whack. I don't think we should tax the working people if they don't make as much money."

Hero: Captain Ross Pixler

On patrol in al Bawi, Iraq, First Lieutenant Ross Pixler was in the lead inside his armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle on an October day when the fiery blast of an IED shattered the daily monotony. The deeply buried IED exploded as the Bradley passed over, ripping the vehicle apart and killing three fellow soldiers.
Still dazed by the carnage, Pixler exemplified the strength of an army soldier by ignoring his injuries, finding his rifle, and getting to work. Already the three other vehicles in the convoy were approaching the attack site, but Pixler wasted no time in checking on the unconscious driver and gunner, and taking up a defensive position. He later reflected, “Everything goes really fast and I wasn’t really stopping to think about what I was doing. I was doing what I was trained to do.”
Just as Pixler and the rest of his unit began recovering from the attack, scattered mortar and small arms fire bombarded the site. Pixler, rattled by his concussion, did not hesitate to raise his rifle and take a key role in the defense of the position while assistance came to recover the bodies of the Americans.
As the hours wore on, Pixler and the other surviving members of his team were loaded onto another Bradley and pulled out of the waning firefight. The safety of the rescue vehicle was broken when another IED crippled it, forcing the men to exit the vehicle and repulse another attack.
It would be many hours from the initial attack to the time Pixler and his men were within the walls of an American base, but during that time his focus on the mission and his men never wavered.
For his bravery under such austere conditions and his tenacity in the face of adversity, he earned the prestigious Silver Star medal. Pixler considers it not an award for himself but, “an award for every single one of the soldiers that were out there, and the ones that can’t come home.”

Hero: Alex Presman

THE WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT

Alex Presman

Alex Presman
Alex’s time in the military was up on December 30, 2002. He didn’t have to go to Kuwait to participate in the invasion of Iraq, but this was something he wanted to do for the United States, his adopted country and a land he had come to love. So, he extended his time in the Marine Corps, arriving in Kuwait on February 14, 2003.
He spent his first three months transporting medical supplies and munitions to units in the field; and in May 2003, when his unit asked for volunteers to move forward into Iraq, Alex went. From that point on, it was constant combat and scorching sand until July 15, 2003, when Alex was wounded.
That day, he was manning an M-240 machine gun in a Humvee as part of a convoy from Diwanya to Baghdad to pick up medical supplies. They made a rest stop along the way, and Alex stepped on a land mine – what would later come to be known as an improvised explosive device (IED) – that Baathist forces had planted in the sand.
The blast caused severe injuries. Most of his left foot was blown off; later the whole foot had to be amputated. A large chunk of flesh was torn from the calf of his right leg. He suffered shrapnel wounds in both arms and both legs.
Alex was evacuated to a field hospital, eventually making his way to the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and on to Bethesda Naval Medical Center in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. There, the final amputation of his left foot was done. Alex had four surgeries in all.
Recuperation: He went on to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for prosthetic care and rehabilitation, and said he was happy with the rehabilitation program there. However, he explained that it was a lot of work: “I can’t say I loved it, but that’s what had to be done. Right now, I’m walking. So I’m grateful.”
Involvement with Wounded Warrior Project: Like most injured troops, Alex’s first contact with the Wounded Warrior Project came when someone showed up in his hospital room to give him a WWP backpack filled with clothing, toiletries, and comfort items. Over time, the organization helped Alex with his benefits from the armed forces and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“They helped me out,” he said. “They really took care of me. The Wounded Warrior Project is like a big family. I’m glad the organization exists. They really do help.”
At the time of this interview, Alex was studying business at Pace University in New York City, planning to see where life took him after he attained his degree.

Hero: Frederick Rowell

Frederick Rowell
Sergeant First Class Frederick Rowell of the United States Army was deployed to Iraq for two tours, both of which took place during some of the most pivotal moments of that ongoing campaign, and both times he distinguished himself with valor and heroism.
In the “blitzkrieg” invasion of Iraq, then-Sergeant Rowell was involved in the critical fight for the Baghdad International Airport. April 4, 2003 was the first great test of this young non-commissioned officer’s dedication to his fellow soldiers. After dismounting its Bradley fighting vehicle, Rowell’s unit came under heavy automatic and rocket-propelled grenade fire. After assessing the severity of the fire, Rowell covered his comrades as they fell back to their Bradley when he noticed another squad was pinned down far from cover and taking heavy fire. Once his own squad was in the relative safety of its armored vehicle, Rowell did not hesitate to act.
Charging across open terrain under the aim of Iraqi forces, Rowell arrived at the scene of the isolated squad to find it without leadership and one soldier severely injured. Rowell sprang into action, laying down cover fire and applying first aid to the injured private. As the enemy attack became more focused and more intense, Rowell threw himself on top of the soldier, using his own body as a shield while a rescue vehicle closed in on their beleaguered position. Rowell took a direct hit from an AK-47 round in his back, luckily stopped by his body armor – a round that would have almost certainly killed the private under Rowell. With the evacuation vehicle blocked from coming any closer, Rowell hoisted the wounded private onto his back and ran some 100 meters to save the injured soldier.
With the “Surge” operations intensifying in Iraq in September of 2007, Rowell, now a Staff Sergeant, was in charge of a squad on a scouting mission to observe insurgent activity in a volatile part of Baghdad. His squad – split into two observation posts in two buildings – came under fire from multiple directions.
As enemy fire poured in on them, Rowell planned to move his team to the other observation post, but as the first soldier was severely injured by an IED as he stepped out of the door. Rowell was knocked unconscious by the blast, but regained his focus – despite being later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury – and rose to his feet, running to the aid of his comrade. Under heavy fire, Rowell pulled the man back into the building and defended him from the numerous attackers. With a group of Stryker combat vehicles arriving on the scene, Rowell helped evacuate the wounded soldier, directed the reinforcements to the enemy positions. On the way out of the kill-zone, Rowell manned the roof gun on the Stryker as they evacuated the injured to a combat hospital.
In these two events, Rowell’s heroism was undeniable. By ignoring his own safety and using his body as a shield to protect a wounded soldier in 2003, he earned the Silver Star. For coming to the aid of another wounded soldier and displaying steadfast courage under harrowing fire in 2007, he earned the Bronze Star Medal with Valor.

Hero: James D. Hamill

James D. Hamill
Then-Petty Officer James Hamill, United States Navy, was trained as a command photographer, but in a flash, his mettle was tested, with 100 lives in the balance.
Working as a mass communications specialist, Hamill was serving with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Khost, Afghanistan. On February 20, 2007, Hamill was assigned to document a momentous occasion, the opening of the Khost Provincial Hospital Emergency Room – a sign of progress in this dangerous province. Rumors and spotty intelligence came before the ceremony that warned of a possible suicide attack, but those involved with the project refused to back down and cancel the event. In the dense urban sprawl of Khost anything could happen, and Hamill’s PRT considered goodwill events like this the key to an effective counterinsurgency.
Unbeknownst to the attendees at the event, including provincial officials, cabinet members, and national government figures, a suicide bomber had slipped through the Afghan police’s outer security perimeter – dressed as a doctor – and was approaching the gathering. One vigilant American soldier became suspicious of the supposed doctor who was approaching the ceremony and stopped him. The soldier’s instincts were right as he keenly spotted the explosive vest, and tackled the marauding bomber.
As the two wrestled on the ground, the alarm was sounded, and Hamill immediately dropped his camera, raised his rifle, and moved to act as the last defense for the assembly of citizens and VIPs. The bomber freed himself and charged forward, hoping to unleash his horrible weapon, but Hamill stood his ground. With his weapon raised, he opened fire less than ten feet away from the imposter. The bomber was repeatedly hit, fell to the ground, and triggered his lethal package.
The ferocious blast – stopped only by the keen eye of one sergeant and Hamill’s unwavering determination – injured him and six other Americans, while sparing the hundred at the gathering of any casualties. Ignoring the shrapnel wounds to his abdomen, Hamill aided in performing life-saving first aid on the injured American soldiers who were worse off than him and ensured the area was secure in case of a follow-up attack.
The Major General of the 82nd Airborne at the time exclaimed that Hamill "prevented the bomber from inflicting catastrophic casualties," and praised his "extraordinary heroism" and "total dedication to duty." For his acts that day, he was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds and the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for standing his ground against the suicide bomber.

Hero: Javier Alvarez

Javier Alvarez

Javier Alvarez
Javier did three combat tours in Iraq during his military service. He saw extensive fighting.
On January 3, 2003, Javier was deployed to Iraq, among the first Americans sent there as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After making contact with the enemy at the port town of Umm Kasar, Javier’s unit proceeded to Al Basra and then to the city of An Nasiriayah. For the rest of this tour, the unit did security patrols, and assisted the civilian populations in whatever ways were possible.
Javier returned to the States after just a few months, but was back in Iraq on February 28, 2004, in time to participate in the First Battle for Fallujah. “We were there to relieve an airborne unit. We saw plenty of firefights and took a lot of IED hits.” (An IED is an improvised explosive device, a crude bomb or landmine, usually homemade, that is used by the insurgents and terrorists fighting American forces in Iraq. They have caused a large number of deaths and very severe disabilities among our troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.)
“We did anti-mortar patrols and we ran a sweep of the city [of Fallujah]. We took casualties whenever we went into the city – rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. But we kept pushing into the city over a period of several weeks in a controlled advance on the enemy.”
After the First Battle for Fallujah, Javier’s unit pulled out of the city and did highway patrols outside the city. During this deployment, 20 Marines from Javier’s unit were killed in action. “I don’t know how many were wounded in action,” said Javier; “but it was many. Many.” Javier returned to the States on Oct. 14, 2004.
Javier was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Valor Device for his service during this deployment. His unit was doing a street patrol when they were ambushed. When Javier saw what was happening, he ran back to help, with enemy rounds impacting against a wall just inches from his head.
Javier’s third tour in Iraq ran from July 17, 2005 until he was wounded on Nov. 16, 2005. His unit was first tasked with providing highway security along a main supply route around the area of Al Asad Airfield.
After that, they participated in Operation Steel Current, clearing enemy fighters out of three cities in the northern part of Iraq, near the Syrian border. They encountered few problems and took no casualties in the first two cities, but they made contact with the enemy in the third city and one member of Javier’s platoon was killed in action. Another platoon suffered far more killed and wounded that day, Javier reported.
Next, Javier’s unit was assigned to tank security, and they continued their clearing activities into farm areas. On Nov. 16, 2005, the unit saw enemy forces. A tank took off after them, and there was AK-47 fire in return. Javier’s platoon took cover as the tank shot out some houses. As the platoon approached a house, they saw there were enemy out back.
Javier shot. As he reloaded, He was shot by a guy who was already down. He got behind a wall, and shot into a window. The enemy threw a grenade out the window. Javier picked it up and tried to throw it away from himself and the men he was with, but it blew his hand off.
“Five of our guys were killed that day. Eleven were wounded. Heroic things happened, I can tell you. Altogether, 18 insurgents were killed. And we uncovered a huge weapons cache.”
But everything went black for Javier. And when his consciousness returned, his hand was gone and he had four bullet wounds in his legs. His buddies put a tourniquet on his arm, and he waited for a helicopter to take him to medical care.
After he was stabilized in Iraq, he was whisked off to the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for three days. From there he went to Bethesda Naval Medical Center for three months, Walter Reed Army Medical Center for five months, and Brooke Army Medical Center for ten months. It’s a long process of hospitalization and rehabilitation, but it takes a long time to recover from the extensive wounds Javier suffered … and then to learn the use of a myoelectric hand. But Javier likes this high-tech prosthetic device and uses it 95% of the time.
Involvement with Wounded Warrior Project: Quote from Javier: “I feel very positive about the Wounded Warrior Project. They present you with opportunities you don’t even think about when you’re in the hospital. You try new things, new activities. It helps very much because, when you’re injured, you don’t know what you’re going to be able to do. And through WWP, you get a sense of pride, a sense of belonging, a sense that you can still do things in the world.”
Quote from Javier’s wife, Rebekah: We met Rebekah at a WWP event attended not only by wounded veterans, but their spouses. This opportunity to network with other spouses meant a great deal to Rebekah, and she remarked on how this helped spouses come to terms with their new roles as the partners of war-disabled veterans: “Because we can meet each other as wives, it’s not something we’re going to have to figure out on our own. We’re doing this together. We have something in common. We can communicate freely with one another.”
Employment Narrative: Javier wants to be an architectural engineer, and he was in a hurry to get started. Even when he was still in rehab at Brooke Army Medical Center, he started taking college classes at a local community college, so he could get his education underway. This is a tremendous young man with a level head on his shoulders and an excellent sense of direction in his life. Feelings about Military Service: “I loved being in the Marines. It’s something I take much pride in.”

Oil dips below $75 as OPEC cuts demand forecast

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices dipped below $75 a barrel Wednesday, a new 13-month low, as OPEC reduced its 2009 petroleum demand forecast amid signs that the global economy is headed for a severe downturn.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $2.95 to $75.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier sliding to $74.57, the lowest trading level since Sept. 5, 2007.
Oil prices have now plummeted 48 percent since peaking at $147.27 on July 11.

Peace And Joy

Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
Romans 5

Peace and Joy 1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Remember?

Hero: Eric Browy

Eric Browy
Eric’s first tour of duty in Iraq lasted from March 2003 to March 2004. Eric’s unit was part of an operation that took the town of Taj and held it during this period. The unit did many missions and patrols, provided security for rocket systems, and set up and manned operations posts (OPs). Engaging in any number of firefights with insurgents and foreign fighters, Eric’s unit sustained nine killed in action, as well as four wounded. Three Bradleys assigned to his unit hit improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
During his second tour of duty in Iraq, which began in December 2005, Eric served as a scout in the southern part of Baghdad, doing patrols, OPs, and other scouting tasks. In March 2006, Eric was setting up observation posts. He was walking atop a wall 25 feet above the ground, carrying 80 pounds of gear while, at the same time, keeping track of a suspicious guy on the ground through his night vision goggles. He missed a step, falling from the wall and severely damaging both feet.
A helicopter took him to an Army hospital in Baghdad. From there he was flown to the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he stabilized for a week. He then went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where his right leg was amputated below the knee. Because his left foot was so severely damaged, amputation of great toe and ball of that foot was also required.
Eric had ten surgeries in all.
Eric received medical retirement from the Army on December 28, 2006.

Hero: Sergeant Ezequiel Mora

One of the Baghdad neighborhoods covered by Sergeant Ezequiel Mora’s patrol in May of 2007 was Hurriyah, a hotbed of militia activity. While passing through Hurriyah, Mora’s four Humvee convoy was attacked. An explosively formed penetrator, the most lethal type of roadside bomb, went off just as insurgents fired on the convoy with small arms.
The EFP had caused catastrophic damage to the vehicle in the rear of the column, which had the platoon medic and convoy commander in it. He directed his vehicle to be turned around to the disabled and burning Humvee. Ignoring the heavy volume of hostile fire, he leapt out to assist the trapped soldiers. He bravely attempted to rescue the gunner of the Humvee, though temporarily overcome by smoke inhalation he recovered and joined another soldier in continuing the rescue. While doing so, he noticed the platoon’s medic on the ground, badly wounded and Mora immediately began administering first aid. Once another soldier relieved him, Mora moved to the other side of the Humvee to cover his fellow soldiers.
It was then that he noticed that the gunner from the Humvee was finally free, but was bleeding heavily from his left leg. Mora swiftly applied a tourniquet to the leg to stop the bleeding. Realizing that they were in an exposed position, Mora and another sergeant took turns carrying the wounded gunner to safety, all while under fire from the insurgents. When reinforcements arrived, Mora helped to successfully evacuate the gunner to the Green Zone for medical care.
Because of his courageous actions and steadfast determination, Sergeant Ezequiel Mora helped save the lives of several of his fellow soldiers and as a result, was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor.

The Romantics - What I Like About You

Armed and Curious: Finding Inspiration in Tears of Joy

Armed and Curious: Finding Inspiration in Tears of Joy

Wounded Hero: Chris Ayers

Chris Ayers

A native of Houston, Texas, Chris Ayers joined the Marines in 1995 to find positive direction in his life in a structured environment. Chris loved the work and flourished in the service, becoming a machine gunner. He briefly left the service after the birth of his first child, but re-enlisted in 1999.
In March of 2003, Chris' unit, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, deployed to the Al Anbar Province in Iraq. Two weeks after Chris arrived in Iraq, four Blackwater military contractors were killed in Fallujah, launching Operation Resolve, also known as the First Battle of Fallujah.
During the battle, Chris led a group of Marines to clear an area where supply vehicles had been attacked. Before they could reach the area, they were ambushed. Chris and his fellow Marines ran a gauntlet of fire from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small-arms fire. One of the RPGs killed the group's gunner. Another ripped through Chris, blowing off all of the soft tissue on the back of his leg. After the blast, Chris passed in and out of consciousness. He prayed to make it home to see his wife and daughter one more time.
Chris' companions pulled him to a nearby house, where a corpsman applied a tourniquet and radioed for help. The house was surrounded by enemies, and it took nearly an hour and a half for a rescue party to fight their way in. Chris was air lifted out, and he woke up in Landstuhl, Germany before being transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in Texas, where he stayed for two and a half months.
Luckily, the blast didn't break Chris' femur or sever the femoral artery, and he was able to keep his leg. The injury did damage Chris' sciatic nerve, leaving him with numbness in his leg and a perpetual feeling that his leg is asleep. It was nearly two months before Chris was able to get out of bed, and he had to learn to walk without his hamstring muscle. It took more than six months before Chris was able to walk on his own.
Chris considers himself lucky not only to have his leg, but also to return to his family. He is deeply thankful for the skill of his fellow Marines, whom he credits for saving his life. "For them to do the things they did during that difficult situation was totally phenomenal," Chris explains.
Chris recently joined team WWP to head up the Project's post-traumatic stress initiatives. He first heard about WWP when he received a signature WWP backpack at BAMC. Since his injury, he's been amazed by the increase in programs available to the wounded, and has stepped forward to do what he can to help. "I've met some incredible individuals who want to help veterans and some amazing veterans themselves." Chris' wife Renee has been involved too, talking with spouses of wounded warriors and connecting them with resources and support.
Chris sums it up with, "I'm passionate about what I'm doing, and I just think it's the right thing to do. I really like the Wounded Warrior Project because they're active with veterans and keep them involved. They think outside the box. It's just a phenomenal organization."

Hero: Major Dexter Brookins

When most people think of the Bronze Star, they think of an award given to someone because of their deeds under fire. But in the case of then-Captain Dexter Brookins, United States Army, that isn’t entirely true. Brookins was given this award for protecting his fellow soldiers, by operating a defensive umbrella to prevent things from going wrong.
From March to May of 2003, during the invasion of Iraq, Brookins was in command of a Patriot anti-missile battery in Camp Doha, Kuwait. This 85-man unit was responsible for protecting the base and the invasion point from Kuwait into Iraq from Iraqi missiles that were feared to contain chemical and biological warheads. Camp Doha housed both Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait and Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait, effectively making it a major nerve center for US operations in Iraq and throughout the entire Middle East. Prior to his deployment to Camp Doha, the base had previously come under attack from ballistic missiles, and after he left, it would again be attacked. But during Brookins’ unceasing watch over the camp, he kept an attentive eye out for danger. The key to his success were the soldiers under his command.