Approximately 1,600 members of the military who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are now amputees. The ones we’ve met have an inspiring view of life and consider themselves lucky to be alive. It’s humbling to be around, and keeps everything in perspective. They ask for little to nothing in return for their sacrifice, but we as a nation owe them our best efforts to develop functional bionic limbs.
Lieutenant Harp is the coolest guy we know, and though the circumstances are less than ideal, we’ve been fortunate to get to know him since GORUCK got involved with the Bionic project at West Point. Harp’s vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on May 15, 2010 and he sustained major injuries to both legs. It was his last patrol on his last day in country.
Ten years into two wars, there is more reason than ever to focus on a functional bionic limb. A team of engineers at West Point was tasked with designing and building a powered prosthetic (aka bionic) limb to allow below-the-knee amputees to run and walk more easily than they would with a conventional prosthetic. Working …
