Big congrats to my friend Major David Rozelle on his very recent pairing with Canine Companions for Independence Service Dog Domi.

Dave is currently the Army ROTC commander at the University of Colorado main campus in Boulder - saying he’s a very well known guy in the wounded warrior / competitive athlete world is an understatement. (Not to mention just being an all-around stand-up guy.)

“New CU Army ROTC commander served three tours in Iraq“

Among other things, Dave was the first amputee to return to Iraq as a commander, an experience that was the subject of his 2005 book, Back In Action:

He’s also a bigtime Challenged Athletes Foundation – Operation Rebound competitor to include being a Kona Ironman.

Lots more I could write here, but I think the first line in his CAF bio pretty much sums it up: “Major David Rozelle, a below-knee amputee, is an icon, resource, and inspirational figure for American soldiers injured in recent conflicts abroad.”

And yet another person I’m proud to call a friend – couldn’t have a better addition to the family.

Congrats again, Dave and Domi!  (And, as an aside for you NHL fans, she was named after Tie Domi, but that’s a story for another time.)

It’s really very nice to be able to post about a great placement like this, and I wish I could say it represented the majority of what I see in the service dog world, especially where veterans are concerned, but I can’t.

Unfortunately, my opinion of things overall hasn’t changed since my last post almost three months ago in July. In fact, that train’s still rolling down the track and things are only getting worse, just as I suggested there and for the very reasons I mentioned.

And so you still likely won’t be seeing me post much here at all because of that. 

Four videos in honor of the holiday and those who’ve paid the price so we can all enjoy it. Three I’ve posted before, the last is a new one from Thursday.

All four are Canine Companions for Independence veteran graduates, I’m proud to say I know all of these men personally, and, in each case, their injuries were sustained in the line of duty.

In addition, today is Sam Cila’s Alive Day – he was injured in an IED attack on July 4, 2005.

“Calvin Smith and Chesney”

“Sam Cila and Gillian”

“Jason Morgan and Napal”

“Jay Huston and Timo”

“Wounded Warriors Get Back in the Saddle”

“Former President Bush Rides with Wounded Warriors”

More videos, this time from a Memorial Day special yesterday about the recent Warrior 100K ride with President George W. Bush and Lance Armstrong out in Big Bend State Park, TX.

My friend Sam Cila was along for this one, too – I talked about it elsewhere, but didn’t post anything about it here. A great story, and real tribute to all of these warriors.

“Wounded warrior comic mines hilarity from horror”

I really needed to see this story today.

Unlike many, I can’t really say I’ve lost close friends in combat, and, truthfully, I hope it stays that way. But, even so, seems like the older I get, the more the emotion of days like Memorial Day really gets to me. Maybe it’s just the sheer volume of things that get posted online now, or just getting older, or both, I don’t know.

All I know is seeing these two videos with Bobby Henline… couldn’t have come at a better time.  Oh, they’re emotional – if you don’t cry your way through a lot of them, you’re a lot stronger than me. But they’re also very uplifting – that’s the one word that comes to mind – and I felt much, much better after watching them.

I’d heard about Bobby before because of his association with Tempered Steel, but have never met him or heard his comedy routines before.  Someday I hope to meet him and say thanks.

“Amputee veteran finds winning support in civilian world”

Great new video from The Today Show this morning about Team Red, White, and Blue and what they do.

As a reminder, my friend Sam Cila is riding with Team RWB during the upcoming Race Across America, the team portion of which starts June 18th in Oceanside, CA.

Teams are all here in Colorado Springs now prepping for the Games next week, and I got to catch up with my good friend Jason Morgan and his Canine Companions for Independence service dog Napal at the Air Force Academy Community Center pool yesterday during practice.

I’ve written lots about Jason before – a search will show more, but here’s some pertinent links:

“Canine Companions for Independence Veteran Graduate In Airman Magazine“

“Out Of Everything I’ve Done To Try And Improve My Life, Nothing’s Even Come Close To Getting My Service Dog, Napal”

“Warrior Games – More Thoughts“

“Air Superiority At The Warrior Games: Air Force’s Jason Morgan And Napal“

My friend Sam Cila and his service dog Gillian accepted a National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation $10,000 grant check for the Canine Companions for Independence veterans initiative at NADA’s McLean,VA headquarters Tuesday. NADCF is a long-time CCI supporter who’s expanding their support for CCI’s veterans’ effort: “Auto Dealers Raise Awareness of Assistance Dog Program for Wounded War Veterans”

“Dogs help wounded vets recover”

I understand there’s a PSA to follow – I’m looking forward to seeing it.

I’ve known the story for a long time, so was also very happy to finally get to meet Calvin, his wife Kristina, and Chesney, who were all in attendance at that event.

Really not much else for me to say other than if you want to know about the wonderful work CCI is doing with veterans, and the very direct impact that’s having on those veterans’ and their families’ lives, give me about 4 1/2 minutes:

I’ve written about Sam here before, and, as I’ve said, he’s a guy I (and a whole lotta other people) really look up to and I’m proud to call a friend. The most cursory Google search will give you lots to look at about Sam, but lemme give you the short version…

Deployed to Iraq with the New York Army National Guard in Oct 2004, was severly injured by an IED on July 4, 2005.  Went through 40 surgeries over three years in an attempt to save his left hand and forearm, finally said “Enough – take it.”, and moved forward in a big way with the help of A Step Ahead Prosthetics.  Became a bigtime competitive triathlete for Challenged Athletes Foundation – Operation Rebound in many events, capped off by finishing the first Kona Ironman he entered last October. Graduated from Canine Companions for Independence’s Northeast Regional Center with Service Dog Gillian in Feb 2010.

On top of all that, Sam is also one of the most straight-up guys you’d ever wanna meet, something I value more and more in life every day, and funny as can be, too.

And you know what else is funny (well, not really)? I just re-watched the video that was linked in that post above, and I forget – like I always do – how tough it was for Sam, Anna, and their family, and what they’ve come through, because I’ve never met a more focused, hard charging, always moving forward, positive couple in my life who are so much fun to be around.  Just in case you missed it there, I’m gonna embed it here as well.

You can read much more about Sam at his site, Multisport Soldier.

I’m looking forward to seeing Sam hammer the RAAM in June, just like he attacks and hammers everything else in life. Truly “the man”.

Ed is a retired US Army Major and combat veteran who lost his left leg above the knee as the result of an IED attack near Taji, Iraq on Aug 17, 2004, and who knows firsthand what it’s like to deal with both serious physical injuries as well as the mental trauma that goes with them. He’s been very candid about those issues, including that at one point he seriously considered suicide, and is on the road about 160 days a year discussing them at events like the recent Warrior Resilience Conference in DC.

Ed is currently the Senior Vice President of Development for the Folds of Honor Foundation, a wonderful organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of service members disabled or killed as a result of their military service.

Lots more I could say, but Ed does a much better job speaking for himself than I ever could.  Watch this very touching 6-minute video from the Real Warriors Campaign website and you’ll get an idea of what a tremendous guy and inspiration he is:

“Profile: Maj. Ed Pulido”

You can read another very moving profile here as well: “Major Ed Pulido (Ret.) Challenge, Triumph, and Change”

Ed epitomizes those I will continue to focus my efforts on, and who I believe we still have not done an effective job reaching out to about service dogs, as I’ve said many times before – veterans with serious physical injuries, almost all of whom (if not all) also deal with significant post-traumatic stress as well because of the very nature of those injuries.