Iraq Veteran dreams of the day a company develops a combat-capable leg

Injured vet campaigns for prosthetics research
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 16, 2011 17:00:10 EDT
Army Lt. Col. Tim Karcher, commander of 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, climbed into an MRAP June 28, 2009 to conduct a survey near Sadr City, Iraq.

A dust storm raged, prompting a lieutenant to question going out, but job needed to be done, Karcher said.

“ ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen?’ ” he remembers asking. “I ate those words about an hour later.”

Two kilometers from base camp, the MRAP hit a sophisticated roadside bomb. A penetrating round pierced the vehicle’s armor at Karcher’s feet, taking out his legs and killing the vehicle’s driver.

Today, Karcher gets around on the latest high-tech prosthetics, Otto Bock X2s with microprocessors and gyroscopes for knees, providing a more natural gait.

And he dreams of the day a company develops a combat-capable leg.
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