PTSD:Iraq vet recalled to go to Afghanistan

Iraq vet recalled to go to Afghanistan

BY ROY WENZL
The Wichita Eagle

Here's what Jon Bland has done for our country so far:
After the New York towers burned on 9/11, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, qualified for officer training, and -- to the dismay of his wife and parents -- volunteered for combat duty. "I wanted to do something for my country," he said at the time.

He spent 15 months on an extended combat tour in Baghdad, leading a U.S. Army scout platoon on daily patrols, hunting for insurgents during the surge. His 20-man platoon captured more than 60 insurgents.

He lost 40 pounds walking around carrying 80 pounds of armor, rifle and bullets under the desert sun. He picked up body parts of American soldiers blown up in roadside bombings. He called in helicopter strikes on snipers.

He saw Sgt. Alex Funcheon of Wichita blown up right in front of him.

He won the Bronze Star for service in combat. He acquired what his clinical psychologist later wrote might be post traumatic stress disorder. His marriage broke up in September. "My fault," he said. "I had Iraq issues." He dreamed night after night about Funcheon and the other guys in that Humvee blowing up in a ball of flame.

A week ago Saturday, Bland -- honorably discharged from the Army eight months ago -- opened a letter outside his mailbox in Raleigh, N.C., and read that he's being called back into the Army, to fight in Afghanistan.

His hands began to shake.
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