The Pentagon gets a clue about disabled

Time was, any soldier even slightly disabled would be given a medical discharge and sent home with a pension.  More severe cases would be sent to a VA hospital and left there to rot.

The Posse is pleased to see the Pentagon is finally getting a clue and allowing disabled veterans to stay on active duty.

It's about damn time.

During the Civil War, this was standard practice for officers.  Union generals Phil Kearny and Oliver Otis Howard each lost an arm (Kearny before the war, Howard during it), and when Kearny tried to comfort Howard after his wound, the latter pointed out that since they had lost different limbs, they could at least go in on a pair of gloves together.

Modern prothetics and surgery of course can allow much fuller recoveries.  Even during World War II it was possible for Douglas Bader to recover from the loss of both legs and become a leading fighter ace.

Society's attitudes have changed and many wounded veterans are comfortable in the military.  Their sacrifice is honored there and whatever difficulty they may have in getting around will only add to the awe and respect accorded them.

Even if they are left in cadre positions doing staff work or training, they have valuable knowledge and their own experience and courage will help shape new members.

Thus is this not only good for the troops that may have been injured, it is good for the military as a whole.  (Link via the hated Instapundit)