Soldier healing after Iraq explosion

Soldier healing after Iraq explosion
By KIM SCHMIDT Hub Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jeff Burton was a career soldier.

He enlisted with the U.S. Army in 2000 shortly after graduating from Norton, Kan., Community High School. He served in Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq twice. In 2002, he had a six-month stint providing security at the Pentagon.

He joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2007, and joined Kearney’s 1195th Transportation Company. When he wasn’t training, Burton, 27, worked as a security officer at the Norton Correctional Facility.

When his National Guard commitment ends in October, Burton planned to re-enlist as a full-time soldier.

But Feb. 18 changed all that.

At 2 a.m. that day in Baghdad, the military vehicle Burton and three other 1195th soldiers were heading out on a convoy in was hit by an explosively formed penetrator in northeast Baghdad. EFPs are made of copper heated up to 2,000 degrees and move at about 2,000 feet per second.
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Soldier healing after Iraq explosion