How do military wheelchairs impact the lives of wounded troops. What customizations are available for military wheelchairs. How do veterans benefit from participating in wheelchair sports events. What challenges do wounded veterans face in adapting to life with a wheelchair. How has technology improved military wheelchair design over the years.
The Evolution of Military Wheelchairs: From Basic Mobility to Advanced Customization
Military wheelchairs have come a long way from their humble beginnings as basic mobility devices. Today, these specialized chairs are designed to meet the unique needs of wounded veterans, offering a range of customizations and features that enhance both comfort and functionality. The evolution of military wheelchairs reflects the ongoing commitment to improving the quality of life for those who have sacrificed so much in service to their country.
In recent years, advancements in materials science and engineering have led to significant improvements in military wheelchair design. Lightweight yet durable materials such as carbon fiber and titanium have replaced heavier traditional materials, making chairs more maneuverable and easier to transport. Additionally, ergonomic designs and adjustable components allow for a more personalized fit, reducing the risk of secondary injuries and improving overall comfort.
Key Features of Modern Military Wheelchairs
- All-terrain capabilities for outdoor use
- Adjustable seating systems for proper posture and pressure relief
- Power-assist options for increased independence
- Integration with prosthetic devices
- Smart technology features for improved control and monitoring
Are military wheelchairs different from civilian models? While many features are similar, military wheelchairs often incorporate additional ruggedness and versatility to accommodate the active lifestyles of many veterans. These chairs are designed to withstand more intense use and varying environmental conditions, reflecting the resilience and determination of the servicemembers who use them.
Customization Options: Tailoring Wheelchairs to Individual Needs
One of the most significant advancements in military wheelchair technology is the ability to customize chairs to meet the specific needs of each individual. This personalization goes beyond mere comfort; it’s about empowering veterans to regain independence and pursue their goals without limitations.
Customization options can include specialized controls for those with limited hand function, integrated respiratory support systems, and even brain-computer interfaces for severely injured veterans. These tailored solutions not only improve mobility but also contribute to the overall well-being and mental health of wounded troops.
Popular Customization Options
- Adaptive controls (sip-and-puff, eye-gaze, etc.)
- Specialized seating and positioning systems
- Off-road wheel configurations
- Integrated communication devices
- Customized armrests and footrests
How does the customization process work for military wheelchairs? Typically, a team of healthcare professionals, including occupational therapists and rehabilitation specialists, work closely with the veteran to assess their needs and capabilities. This collaborative approach ensures that the final wheelchair configuration provides the best possible support for the individual’s lifestyle and goals.
The Impact of Wheelchair Sports on Veteran Rehabilitation
Events like the National Veterans Wheelchair Games play a crucial role in the rehabilitation and reintegration of wounded veterans. These competitions provide more than just an opportunity for physical activity; they offer a sense of camaraderie, achievement, and renewed purpose for many participants.
Wheelchair sports have been shown to have numerous benefits for veterans, including improved physical fitness, enhanced social connections, and increased self-esteem. The competitive nature of these events also helps veterans set and achieve personal goals, which can be instrumental in their overall recovery process.
Benefits of Wheelchair Sports for Veterans
- Improved cardiovascular health and strength
- Enhanced coordination and balance
- Increased social interaction and peer support
- Boosted self-confidence and mental well-being
- Opportunity to showcase abilities rather than disabilities
Do wheelchair sports contribute to long-term rehabilitation outcomes? Research suggests that regular participation in adaptive sports can lead to improved functional independence, reduced secondary health complications, and better overall quality of life for veterans with disabilities. These positive outcomes extend well beyond the physical benefits, contributing to improved mental health and social integration.
Overcoming Challenges: Adapting to Life with a Military Wheelchair
For many veterans, transitioning to life with a wheelchair presents a unique set of challenges. Beyond the physical adjustments, there are often emotional and psychological hurdles to overcome. However, with proper support and resources, many veterans not only adapt but thrive in their new circumstances.
One of the primary challenges is adapting living spaces to accommodate wheelchair use. This often involves home modifications such as widened doorways, ramps, and accessible bathrooms. Additionally, veterans must learn new ways to perform daily tasks and navigate public spaces that may not always be fully accessible.
Common Adaptation Challenges
- Home accessibility modifications
- Learning new techniques for daily activities
- Navigating public transportation and spaces
- Maintaining physical fitness and preventing secondary injuries
- Addressing mental health and self-image concerns
How can communities better support veterans using military wheelchairs? Improving accessibility in public spaces, providing employment opportunities that accommodate disabilities, and fostering inclusive social environments are all crucial steps. Additionally, educating the public about the capabilities and needs of wheelchair users can help reduce stigma and promote greater understanding.
Technological Advancements: The Future of Military Wheelchairs
The field of military wheelchair technology is constantly evolving, with new innovations promising to further enhance the lives of wounded veterans. From exoskeletons that enable standing and walking to smart wheelchairs with advanced AI capabilities, the future looks bright for mobility solutions.
One exciting area of development is the integration of virtual and augmented reality technologies. These systems can provide immersive therapy experiences, help veterans prepare for real-world scenarios, and even offer new ways to participate in sports and recreational activities.
Emerging Technologies in Military Wheelchair Design
- Exoskeleton integration for enhanced mobility
- Brain-computer interfaces for intuitive control
- Self-balancing mechanisms for improved stability
- Advanced materials for lighter, stronger chairs
- AI-powered navigation and obstacle avoidance systems
What impact will these technological advancements have on veteran independence? As military wheelchairs become more sophisticated and intuitive to use, veterans with even severe disabilities may find new levels of independence and participation in society. These advancements have the potential to significantly improve quality of life and expand the possibilities for what wounded veterans can achieve.
Support Systems: Ensuring Success Beyond the Wheelchair
While advanced wheelchair technology is crucial, equally important are the support systems in place to help veterans succeed in all aspects of life. These support networks include family members, healthcare professionals, veteran organizations, and peer mentors who provide guidance, encouragement, and practical assistance.
Comprehensive rehabilitation programs often incorporate not just physical therapy but also occupational therapy, mental health services, and vocational training. This holistic approach recognizes that true success extends beyond mobility to encompass overall well-being and life satisfaction.
Key Components of Veteran Support Systems
- Ongoing medical care and rehabilitation services
- Mental health support and counseling
- Peer mentorship programs
- Vocational training and job placement assistance
- Adaptive sports and recreation programs
How do support systems contribute to long-term success for veterans using military wheelchairs? By addressing all aspects of a veteran’s life – physical, emotional, social, and professional – these support systems create a foundation for lasting independence and fulfillment. They provide the tools and resources needed to overcome challenges and pursue personal goals with confidence.
The Role of Policy and Advocacy in Advancing Military Wheelchair Technology
Advancements in military wheelchair technology and support systems are often driven by policy changes and advocacy efforts. Veterans’ organizations, disability rights groups, and individual advocates play a crucial role in pushing for improved resources, research funding, and accessibility standards.
Policy initiatives can range from increasing funding for prosthetics and sensory aids programs to mandating accessibility standards in public spaces. These efforts not only benefit veterans but also contribute to a more inclusive society for all individuals with disabilities.
Key Policy Areas Affecting Military Wheelchair Users
- Healthcare and rehabilitation funding
- Accessibility standards in buildings and public spaces
- Employment protections and accommodations
- Research and development funding for assistive technologies
- Education and training programs for healthcare professionals
How can individuals support policies that benefit military wheelchair users? Engaging with local representatives, participating in advocacy groups, and raising awareness about the needs of disabled veterans are all effective ways to contribute. Additionally, supporting businesses and organizations that prioritize accessibility and inclusion can help drive broader societal changes.
As we continue to advance in technology and understanding, the future for military wheelchair users looks increasingly bright. With ongoing support, innovation, and advocacy, wounded veterans can look forward to ever-expanding opportunities for independence, achievement, and full participation in all aspects of life.
Military veterans compete in wheelchair games in Louisville
National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Louisville features rugby
Around 600 military veterans are in Louisville this week for the annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
Marty Pearl/Special to Courier Journal
When Jeremiah Butler crushed the vertebrae in his neck during an accident while serving in the Army in 2004, he never imagined he’d find himself underneath a larger-than-life American flag and purposefully smashing his wheelchair into the chairs of his comrades.
These veterans crashing into one another — deliberately — sent loud booms echoing through Ballroom B of the Kentucky International Convention Center on Thursday.
Butler is one of about 600 military veterans who have gathered in Louisville for the annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games that’s jointly hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
Their Thursday rugby game kicked off a six-day tournament in which veterans from all branches of the military will convene and enjoy friendly, therapeutic competition.
Read this: Kentucky World War II veteran remembers frenzy of D-Day
Butler was serving in Jacksonville, South Carolina, when he was injured. He and a fellow soldier got into an altercation, he said, and the other soldier fell on his neck.
The man’s weight crushed part of his spinal cord.
He went to therapy for about a year but didn’t think playing a wheelchair sport was for him.
“One spinal cord injury is good enough for me,” he said was his response when people encouraged him to start playing.
He finally went for it, though, and ended up falling in love with both the game and the community at each year’s wheelchair games. It’s become something he looks forward to all year.
In the stands at the convention center were Destinee Schuler and Brittany Wilson, who came together to support their families and watch the games.
Wilson’s husband, Caleb, served in the Coast Guard, and she said the games allow him to have the teamwork and community he enjoyed while serving.
From Mitch McConnell: Wheelchair Games bring nation’s heroes to Louisville
“It is an opportunity to see so much of that competitive and team unity that he had while he was serving come out in a different form,” she said, adding that the games give veterans “an opportunity to develop family and continue that support.”
This is Schuler’s second year coming out to support her father. She said the games show people “guys in chairs can actually do stuff.” They don’t have to just sit, she said. “It shows that they can be active and can do other stuff.”
Butler said the competition that the games give him keeps him going.
“And being able to see people from all the country, people you haven’t seen in a while, my brothers and sisters in arms,” he said. “And then, some of the newer injuries and being able to share my experiences with them as well.”
Check out: The patriotic story of 25,000 US flags that went out in a blaze
Reach reporter Sarah Ladd at 502-582-4078 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @ladd_sarah. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.
Military Minisite Wheel Chair and Stroller Rental Information at Universal Orlando
The following is a listing of rental options available to all guests who visit the Universal Orlando™ theme parks.
Stroller & Wheelchair Rentals
Guests can rent strollers, wheelchairs and Electric Convenience Vehicles (ECV) upon entrance to Universal Studios Florida™ and Universal’s Islands of Adventure™, to the left side of each park’s entrance. Manual wheelchairs are also available at the Rotunda area of the parking structure. Due to limited numbers, please note that ECV Rentals are on a first-come, first-served basis and must be operated by a single person 18 years of age or older.
NOTE: We suggest you place a request in advance for ECV rentals (at least 1 week prior to your arrival). This can be done by contacting Guest Services by calling 407-224-4233.
Strollers and Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECVs) will not be available for rent at Universal’s Volcano Bay™. Wheelchairs are readily available at the Concierge Booths located throughout the park for guests that may need them.
Locker Rental
All day lockers are available inside the Main Entrance of each of Universal Studios Florida™ and Universal’s Islands of Adventure™ for a rental fee of $10.00 per day, with family size lockers available at Universal Studios Florida for $15.00 per day. Guests have unlimited access to these lockers during the course of the day.
In addition, loose articles are not permitted on select attractions. The following attractions have free lockers available during a visit to the attraction to store all loose articles:
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster®
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit™
- Revenge of the Mummy™
- MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™
Additional lockers are available at select attractions inside Universal Studios Florida™ and Universal’s Islands of Adventure™ for up to $5.00 for the first 90 minutes; $2 per 30 minutes; with a $20.00 per day maximum. These lockers are available at the entrance of the following attractions:
- Jurassic Park River Adventure™
- Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls®
- Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges®
Lockers can be found in all three sections of Universal’s Volcano Bay™. There are three different locker sizes available: mini, regular, and family ($8, $12 and $15 respectively). Lockers are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can accommodate large groups with multiple locker rentals. Please see a park attendant or concierge for assistance.
Track Chairs | Hotes Foundation
Track Chairs | Hotes FoundationTrack Chairs | Hotes Foundation
Although the primary focus of Richard Hotes and the Hotes Foundation has been serving the poorest of the poor, that charitable outreach is sometimes extended to other worthy causes. After seeing FOX News commentator Bill O’Reilly’s efforts to help severely wounded United States military veterans regain their mobility with all-terrain track wheelchairs, Richard was so moved by the gesture that he decided to help. Hotes Foundation volunteers created an obstacle course and, with the help of injured veterans, tested more than 10 types of track chairs. When none of the vehicles met the veterans’ expectations, volunteers chose the best available option and worked on a complete redesign with the chairs’ manufacturer. After a year of development and testing, a top-of-the-line track chair was created.
Hotes Foundation volunteers have traveled thousands of miles to personally deliver close to 100 tracked chairs to wounded veterans across the United States.
Applications for track chairs are now closed. We would like to thank our brave service men and women for their sacrifice.
LATEST TRACK CHAIR DELIVERIES
Hotes Foundation Honors Military Veterans With Trac Chairs
To all who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces: We share our humble attempt to show our appreciation. Thank you for your sacrifice.
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All-Terrain Wheel Chair Brings Purpose to Vietnam Veteran
In September of 2016, the Hotes Foundation gifted United States Air Force veteran Larry Cooper with his very own Tracfab All-terrain wheelchair (See video here), one of over 80 such chairs the Hotes Foundation has delivered to wounded veterans. This week, we stopped by Larry’s house to follow up with…
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Thanks, Prayers, and All-Terrain Track Chairs for Veteran’s Day!
Thanks, prayers, and all-terrain Track Chairs are items Richard Hotes brought to the home of retired U.S. Air Force Sgt. Larry ‘Coop’ Cooper. Coop was 19 years old when a Huey Gunship exploded above him in the Vietnam War, crushing his lower back, knees and legs. Although he was initially…
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An Inspiring Veteran’s Day Story – Going For Gold!
Watch the inspiring story of Dallas, a Marine veteran who’s fighting for gold in the next Paralympic Games, and the Track Chair that will guide him on his journey. After surviving two car bomb explosions in Iraq, 4-years later Andrew ‘Dallas’ Rosacker suffered a massive stroke from war-related injuries, leaving…
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Honoring Our Veterans With The Gift Of Mobility!
Retired Army Corp. Bucky Johnson has not been able to explore her own back yard since an accident in 2011 left her paralyzed. This fall, the Hotes Foundation delivered her a gift that promises to change that. “First time I’ve been able to get out in nature again,” she told…
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The Paralyzed World War II Veterans Who Invented Wheelchair Basketball |
History
On an unremarkable Wednesday evening in the spring of 1948, 15,561 spectators flocked to New York’s Madison Square Garden to watch two teams of World War II veterans play an exhibition basketball game.
The servicemen who took to the hardwood that night were as extraordinarily ordinary as any group of veterans. They could have been the “mud-rain-frost-and-wind boys” from Ernie Pyle’s Pulitzer Prize–winning columns, or “Willie and Joe” from Bill Mauldin’s Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoons. They were your brother, your neighbor, your best friend from high school.
Except, they were different. The home team consisted of paralyzed veterans from Halloran hospital on Staten Island. The visitors were paralyzed veterans from Cushing hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts. All of the players rolled onto the court in shiny wheelchairs.
Behind the sharp-shooting wizardry of Jack Gerhardt, a wiry paratrooper who was wounded at Normandy, Halloran took a 12-9 edge at halftime before cruising to a 20-11 victory. But the final score didn’t seem to matter much to the boisterous crowd; they cheered both teams with equal fervor because they knew they were watching something special.
To that point in time, wheelchair sports did not exist. The Paralympics had not yet been invented. These veterans were sports trailblazers.
They were medical miracles as well.
Before World War II, paraplegia was considered to be a virtual death sentence. The life expectancy of soldiers who suffered traumatic spinal-cord injuries during World War I was estimated at 18 months. Most died from sepsis or infection. The “dead-enders” and “no-hopers” who survived were shunted off to institutions or hidden from view by their families. They were stigmatized for their disability and considered unlikely prospects for employment or marriage: How could they start or support a family, the logic went, when they couldn’t control their own bladders?
This stigma extended all the way to the office of the president of the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt used a wheelchair after he was stricken with polio in the early 1920s. He did not hide his affliction after he was first elected president in 1932, but he rarely appeared in public in a wheelchair and took extreme measures to avoid being photographed that way.
World War II would prove to be a game-changer for the public’s perception of paraplegia. The war unleashed, along with new weapons, innovative medical practices and drugs that saved soldiers’ lives. The discovery of penicillin in 1928, and the ability to produce large quantities of the “wonder drug” in the early 1940s, dramatically reduced fatal infections, especially among those with spinal cord injuries. So did the use of sulfa powder and tablets. The collection and distribution of plasma allowed for life-saving blood transfusions, while advances in anesthesia enabled surgeons to save lives on the operating table. Field hospitals and portable surgical units situated close to the battlefield enabled doctors to treat the wounded expeditiously.
Thanks to faster evacuation and transportation methods, including transport planes and hospital ships, injured service-members could return home sooner and in better health.
Once stateside, an estimated 2,500 U.S. paralyzed veterans regained their health and equilibrium in one of the seven newly opened spinal-cord injury centers within the Veterans Administration hospital system.
Ernest Bors in California and Howard Rusk in New York were among the doctors who helped popularize treatments in which paralyzed veterans used recreation to repair their damaged bodies and to adjust to their “new normal” condition. Veterans and their doctors experimented with several sports, including seated volleyball and wheelchair baseball, but none caught on until a physical education instructor at Birmingham VA hospital in Van Nuys, California, created a new sport: wheelchair basketball.
That P.E. teacher, Bob Rynearson, was a coach’s son who grew up playing sports in the San Fernando Valley. At the Birmingham VA, he noticed that the paralyzed veterans liked to play a crude form of pickup basketball after the non-disabled players abandoned the court. He began organizing practices for the wheelchair crew and then wrote the first set of rules for the sport.
Rynearson’s goal was twofold: maintaining the speed of the game without jeopardizing the players’ safety. Players were allowed two pushes on their wheels while in possession of the ball, after which they were required to pass, dribble, or shoot. Incidental contact between wheelchairs was allowed, although ramming into an opponent on purpose resulted in a personal foul.
While watching the men wheel up and down the court and jockey for position, Rynearson arrived at his most perceptive insight: that the wheelchair should be considered an extension of the athlete’s body. In this he was aided by the new-fangled wheelchair models being produced in Southern California, which the rising aviation industry had turned into an engineering capital.
Wheelchair “technology” had long been mired in Civil War-era design. Old-school chairs were all-wooden, rigid-frame models that were essentially pieces of bulky furniture, with all of the maneuverability of an aircraft carrier. That changed in the late 1930s, when engineers Herbert Everest and Harry Jennings started to fashion something more maneuverable.
Everest, an engineer who broke his back in a mining accident, had become discouraged with the cumbersome models, and proposed creating a device that would become the first truly modern wheelchair. Everest & Jennings’ easy-to-propel, transportable wheelchairs were made of lightweight steel aircraft tubing and weighed around 45 pounds. They were designed for the paraplegics’ comfort and ease-of-use. And, as it turned out, the E&J chairs worked well for basketball action.
The Flying Wheels lobby for disability rights during their cross-country barnstorming tour in 1948.
(Courtesy of the Bob Rynearson family)
At about the same time the games were getting underway in California, paralyzed veterans rehabbing at Cushing VA hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts, started to play their own version of the sport inside the hospital’s gymnasium. Soon, wheelchair basketball squads with names like the Rolling Devils, the Flying Wheels, and the Gizz Kids were barnstorming the nation and filling arenas with cheering fans. They routinely trounced non-disabled professional and college teams who borrowed wheelchairs for the occasion, including the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, and the Harlem Globetrotters.
For a short while, they became media darlings. A photo of Halloran star Jack Gerhardt, sitting in his wheelchair while holding a basketball, was featured on the cover of Newsweek. Seemingly every publication covered their exploits, from Women’s Home Companion to Popular Mechanics to the Daily Worker. Hollywood came calling to make a feature film about them, The Men, which marked the Hollywood debut of Marlon Brando.
America’s wounded warriors-turned-playmakers were joined by their British counterparts at Stoke Mandeville Hospital outside London. There, the vets started with archery and then netball (a cousin of basketball that is played without a backboard and with a lowered rim). The brainchild of these games was Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a German-born Jewish neurologist who fled the Nazis for England just before the war. There, Guttmann took charge of the spinal-cord injury ward at Stoke Mandeville and, like Bors and Rusk, incorporated recreation into the veterans’ rehabilitation regimen.
Guttmann launched the Stoke Mandeville Games and was not modest about his goals: he wanted to turn the event into “the disabled men and women’s equivalent of the Olympic Games.” His ambition came to fruition in Rome in 1960, when he orchestrated what is today considered to be the first official Paralympic Games. Their birth inspired countless other previously unimaginable events and activities for people with disabilities.
The pioneering wheelchair athletes didn’t just revolutionize the possibility of sport, but their public presence also helped reduce the stigma of disability outside the gymnasium. If people with paraplegia could play an exciting and exacting brand of basketball—basketball!—they couldn’t possibly be considered “wheelchair-bound” or “confined to a wheelchair.” Given the chance, they were obviously capable of doing everything non-disabled veterans could do.
“The years to come are not going to be wasted in self-pity or vain regrets,” the New York Times editorialized in 1948, after another early wheelchair basketball contest. “They are going to be participants.”
They proved to be more than “participants.” In 1946, as they were rehabbing in the VA hospitals, they banded together to form the Paralyzed Veterans of America organization. The PVA was an early and vocal leader in the protracted fight for human rights for those with disabilities. Its members raised money for scientists to research paraplegia; lobbied Congress for legislation that addressed accessibility, employment, housing, and transportation; advocated for the principles of independence and self-determination; and refused to be treated as objects of pity.
In demonstrating that ability matters more than disability, these veterans fired the first shots in what would become the protracted fight for disability rights in this country.
David Davis is a Los Angeles-based journalist and the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans from World War II Invented Wheelchair Basketball, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation. Find him on Twitter @ddavisla.
The Able Traveler: Charleston, Military History and Wheelchair-Access
2011 marked the start of sesquicentennial remembrances of the four-year-long U.S. Civil War, and historic venues across America are holding special events up through 2014 to commemorate what’s become known as America’s deadliest conflict. And as the site of the first battle, Charleston is the ideal place to learn more about the Civil War — and other military conflicts — during the next four years of the sesquicentennial. Wheelchair-users and slow walkers aren’t left out either, as modern access features have been added to many historic sites, making them accessible to all.
Where it All Began
Located on an island in Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter (tel. 843/883-3123; www.nps.gov/fosu) is a good place to begin your military history tour. Ferry service to the island is provided by Fort Sumter Tours (tel. 843/722-2628; www.fortsumtertours.com), with boats departing several times daily from downtown Charleston and Patriots Point. And although both locations feature ramped access to the boats, Patriots Point also features the USS Charleston, which is a must-see on any military history tour.
Over on the island, the self-guided walking tour is very doable for wheelchair-users, even though there are a few bumpy spots here and there. There is also level access to the new museum, which features exhibits about the fort and its restoration. And if you’d like to get a birds eye view of it all, there’s also elevator access to the top floor of the museum.
USS Yorktown
Back at Patriots Point, save some time to tour the USS Yorktown (tel. 843/884-2727; www.patriotspoint.org). Steeped in military history, she was commissioned in 1943 and played a major role in the Pacific offensive in world War II. Her last mission was in 1968, when she recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts.
There is lift access to the hangar deck, with elevator access up to the flight deck. All other areas are only accessible by stairs, but there’s still plenty to see on those two decks. Accessible restrooms are also located on the main deck, near the snack bar.
On the hangar deck there is level access to the Medal of Honor Museum, the Charleston Naval Yard Museum and the theater. An although there are a number of military aircraft on display on this deck — including a F6F-5 Hellcat – the bulk of the collection is located on the flight deck. Up there you’ll find an UH-1M Huey, a F-14A Tomcat, and even a F-18A Hornet. It’s a great collection and a must see for aircraft junkies. As an added bonus, the flight deck is very spacious, with plenty of room to roll around.
Fort Moultrie
Round out your military history tour of Charleston with a stop at Fort Moultrie (tel. 843/883-3123; www.nps.gov/fosu). Located 15 minutes south of Fort Sumter on Sullivan’s Island, it’s a very scenic drive and easily reachable by a bridge. The fort, which was constructed in 1776 to protect Charleston Harbor, features a wide range of weapons and fortifications which reflect the changes that evolved in the 200-year history of coastal forts.
There’s plenty of accessible parking, with level access to the Visitors Center. There are level pathways to the fort, which is located across the street; with cement pathways around the parade grounds. The self-guided tour is wheelchair-accessible; however the ranger-led tour has a few steps, as it goes inside some of the structures. When touring on your own, make sure to take the path to the right from the parade grounds, as the one on the left is steeper. Admittedly, some manual wheelchair-users made need a little help up this part of the trail, but Fort Moultrie is doable for most people.
Candy Harrington is the editor of Emerging Horizons and the author of 101 Accessible Vacations: Travel Ideas for Wheelers and Slow Walkers. She blogs regularly about accessible travel issues at www.barrierfreetravels.com.
Accessories I Can Get on My Motorized Wheelchair
Accessories are not just extra perks that you can get with your motorized wheelchair. The truth is, they can not only be helpful and convenient, but also enhance your ride experience as you go through day-to-day life. While any and all these accessories would make great gifts for you or your loved ones, everyone is different in both personality and lifestyle. For this reason, we offer a wide range of accessories to meet the needs of a variety of people. You can customize your power wheelchair by choosing which accessories best fit you and your daily routine.
Accessories for Veterans
We are proud to serve our veterans and believe that they should be recognized for their service. Pride offers six different military patches that you can proudly display on your power wheelchair. You have the choice between patches for each one of our military branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy, as well as a Purple Heart military patch. Ride your Pride scooter while proudly displaying one of our military patches.
Accessories for Shoppers
If you are frequently on the go and enjoy shopping, we recommend our various accessories for storage. We provide you with a few options. If you are looking for just a bit of extra storage, we suggest checking out our Pride arm mount saddlebags. You can store your personal items in the two zippered pouches on both sides of the bag. The sleeve design allows you to slide the bag onto the armrest of your motorized wheelchair and can be easily adjusted with Velcro straps. If you prefer having more space to store your groceries, or other larger purchases, consider a rear basket, allowing you to shop and navigate independently with your hands free.
After a long day out, you go to your favorite restaurant with some of your friends or family. With our cup holder that attaches to your power wheelchair, you can carry your beverage of choice all day with you.
Accessories for Ambulatory Wheelchair Users
For wheelchair users who can walk in some circumstances, we offer accessories that will permit you to carry your other mobility aids with you as you drive, including a walker holder and a dual crutch and cane holder. We also offer an oxygen holder for consumers who carry oxygen with them.
After walking around for a while, your legs may get tired. Enjoy added comfort while using your motorized wheelchair with heel loops, swing-away footrests and elevating leg rests.
Additional Accessories
Your safety is important to us. That is why we have a few accessory options that you can add to your power wheelchair to be more visible. With our Pride orange safety flag, that will fly high above your head, you will able to be seen by others.
Our line of accessories also features an XLR USB charger to keep you connected with your love ones. Charge your phone at your convenience while you’re on the go.
In order to ensure your product lasts a long time and works at its best capacity, we offer a weather cover, so that you can store and protect your unit when it isn’t in use.
It is important to know that not all accessories are compatible with all models of power wheelchairs. To learn more about what accessory options you can get on your power chair, visit our Power Wheelchair Accessories page. If you are interested in purchasing an accessory or two for your motorized wheelchair, you can find a local dealer near you! Just click on the Buy Online/Find Dealer button at the top of the website and type your zip code into the search box.
Veteran Created a Tank-Like Wheelchair
Screenshot/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pP54UYc5no
Combat veteran Brad Soden, inspired by his wife’s paralysis, has created a fleet of wheelchairs that are built more like tanks than traditional wheelchairs.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Tankchairs are equipped with heavy duty treads that allow for movement across all terrains.
Soden, who never went to college or studied engineering, builds tankchairs with the singular focus of helping everyone live their lives as fully as they did before they lost the ability to walk.
To match this dedication, tankchairs can be outfitted with special features depending upon individual needs such as increased braking ability or seats that can recline back.
Tankchairs start at $19,500. Below are some GIFs of the chairs in action from Bloomberg’s report.
Tankchairs have built in suspension that allow the chairs to roll over curbs and obstacles with relative ease.
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-06-04/the-extreme-wheelchair-thats-built-like-a-tank
This suspension, along with 12 and a half inch wide treads, allow the chair to pass through most terrain with ease.
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-06-04/the-extreme-wheelchair-thats-built-like-a-tank
Two motors give the chair enough power to move up snow covered hills.
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-06-04/the-extreme-wheelchair-thats-built-like-a-tank
Soden’s aim is to provide users the ability to live their lives however they may like.
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-06-04/the-extreme-wheelchair-thats-built-like-a-tank
His customers include children, officers and firefighters, and returning soldiers who had been injured in the line of duty.
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-06-04/the-extreme-wheelchair-thats-built-like-a-tank
Below is a full Businessweek interview with Soden:
90,000 Disability clearance: new in 2021
Until October 1, a simplified procedure for confirming disability is in effect, and it is possible to issue a certificate of it in 2021 both in electronic and paper form. Starting next year, electronic certificates will be issued for the purchase of wheelchairs, crutches and prostheses, and they can be obtained at the place of actual residence. What else awaits this category of Russians, Parlamentskaya Gazeta discussed.
What will the electronic certificate give
On December 29, President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the purchase of technical rehabilitation equipment using an electronic certificate.As deputy head of the Ministry of Labor Alexei Vovchenko said at a plenary meeting of the State Duma on November 18, the amount of compensation for a specific tool provided for in the individual rehabilitation program for a disabled person will be tied to the Mir card, and you can only buy it with them. These can be prostheses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, crutches, and other necessary items.
You can use the certificate in any store, including when shopping online. At the same time, people will be given the right to choose which method suits them: a certificate, compensation or receipt of goods in kind.At the same time, you can pick up a rehabilitation tool not only at the place of residence, as it was before, but also at the place of stay.
Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council Galina Karelova previously reported that there are about 12 million disabled people in Russia, including 670 thousand children. 1.6 million people apply for technical means of rehabilitation every year.
Payments will be indexed
Since January 1, all insurance pensions, including those for disability, for non-working pensioners have grown by 6.3 percent.Social pensions will be indexed from April 1, 2021 by 2.6 percent. Military disability pensions will increase, along with the indexation of salaries for military personnel, from October 1, 2021, by approximately 4 percent.
From February 2021, it is planned to increase monthly payments to people with disabilities by 3.8 percent. The cost of a set of social services will increase by the same amount – we are talking about subsidized medicines, vouchers to a sanatorium, and payment for travel on suburban trains.
Expertise can be completed after pandemic
Until October 1, 2021, a simplified procedure for registering a disability is in effect, introduced at the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The disabled status is automatically extended for six months, and for the first time it is assigned without a personal visit to the bureau of medical and social examination.
But at the end of the pandemic, you still have to undergo an examination to establish or confirm disability.A referral to it will be given at the clinic, and the results of medical examinations will be indicated there. Previously, if the data were incomplete, patients had to go to the clinic again and supplement the information. The Government Decree, which entered into force on December 9, establishes that from March 1, 2021, polyclinics must themselves finalize the documents at the request of the examination.
About everything – by phone
From July 1, 2021, Russians will be able to receive information about all social support measures they are entitled to by calling a single contact center for public services.There they will tell you what benefits, allowances, payments are due to a person.
Moreover, from July 1, 2020, people with disabilities do not need to provide information about disability to receive public services: departments will independently find out this information in the Pension Fund or in the federal register of disabled people.
It is possible that soon the disability pension will be calculated automatically – such a bill was submitted to the State Duma on December 15.It was developed by a group of deputies and senators and supported by the Government. It is assumed that the Pension Fund itself will assign payments, without citizens’ applications.
Inquiries become electronic
From January 1, 2022, an extract from the certificate of examination of a citizen recognized as a disabled person will be issued exclusively in electronic form. Such an order of the Ministry of Labor was published on the portal of legal information on December 22. Until that time, the certificate can be obtained both in electronic form and in paper, the document says.
The Order establishes that the certificate must be sent within three working days after the person is recognized as disabled to the pension authorities, in paper or electronic form.
90,000 Japanese engineers created a wheelchair with robotic arms
Scientists and engineers at Keio University (Japan) have expanded the capabilities of a wheelchair by equipping it with robotic arms.A video of this device is posted on the Yamen Saraiji YouTube channel.
07/13/2020
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The wheelchair is equipped with two robotic arms – manipulators with electromechanical analogs of the human hand. Their task is to replace the hands of a person who has lost the ability to move them.These robotic arms can perform movements that help a person with a disability perform their usual everyday functions – take and put the items they need, use cutlery, pour a glass of water, etc.
The SlideFusion system installed on a wheelchair allows a remote operator – a guardian of a person with a disability to control the robotic arms. To do this, he uses a VR helmet or a computer monitor, where the image from the video cameras is transmitted, synchronized with the gaze of the wheelchair user – the cameras move in the direction of his gaze.Infrared sensors detect the position of the eyes and calculate the direction of the gaze. Communication between the operator and the wheelchair user can also be done using voice communication.
According to the developers, SlideFusion technology is focused on remote collaboration between a person with a disability and his caregiver, so that he can remotely access the avatar built into the wheelchair. To reduce the physical and cognitive overload of the user, Keio University proposed the use of a gaze exchange method with a remote operator.
– The modality of the gaze allows for implicit interactions that do not require the user to point or speak to something, that is, an intuitive communication is used for both the operator and the user without the use of speech. By using this, wheelchair users and their caregivers can benefit from comprehensive distance care, not only for people with mobility impairments, but also for hearing and speech impairments,
note the developers.
Read in source
90,000 two wheelchair users were not allowed on the plane
Another high-profile incident, when two passengers with limited mobility were refused to board the flight, occurred in Kaliningrad. Representatives of the Pobeda airline decided that too powerful batteries were installed on wheelchairs for disabled people. It soon became clear that the employees simply mixed up the data on technical characteristics, but went to the principle.
Tired and exhausted, they arrived in Kaliningrad late at night. The planned program fell through: a walk by the sea was out of the question. At the Moscow airport, Andrei Uvikov and Svetlana Kokunova were not allowed into the plane in wheelchairs.
– Instead, they were nervous, worried. Disability is not just given! And it’s not easy to be in a wheelchair from morning till night.
Andrei and Svetlana bought tickets for the Pobeda flight in advance, studied the rules for transporting electric wheelchairs on the low-cost airline’s website.
Problems started unexpectedly at the front desk. An airline spokesman said she could not let them board the plane with their wheelchairs.
“They offered us to fly, and our batteries to remain in their storage room. You see, we have a cervical injury. This suggests that we cannot move in other wheelchairs, only electric ones,” explains Svetlana Kokunova. Our hands are not working well. ”
Andrey and Svetlana both survived injuries while playing extreme sports.And for 10 years they have been unable to walk on their own. This does not prevent them from leading an active lifestyle and engaging in social activities, they defend the rights of people with limited mobility.
From Tver to Kaliningrad they flew to a meeting with representatives of the local society of disabled people “Kovcheg”. Until now, wheelchairs have not been an obstacle to the flight. But this time Andrei and Svetlana were told that the batteries in them were too powerful, and they were offered to fly without wheelchairs. The representatives of “Pobeda” calculated the power at their own discretion using the Google search engine.
“The representative of the airline said that they have googled. And that the capacity of the batteries exceeds the standard. We were shocked,” says social entrepreneur Marina Leonovich.
After the travelers provided the specifications of the wheelchairs, they were given a new reason why they should not be loaded on board. Pobeda was not satisfied with the type of battery installed on the electric chairs. Today, the airline explained their refusal precisely with this.
“Unfortunately, there are a number of restrictions on the carriage of batteries. In this case, a liquid lead-acid battery belongs to dangerous goods. It cannot be transported in an airplane. It cannot be carried in an airplane,” the press secretary of Pobeda Airlines insists. Elena Spivakova.
“36 ampere-hours – a small capacity for wheelchairs is considered, small. Our guys fly with a capacity of 70 ampere-hours, 12-volt batteries. They are not spillable, sealed.They can be positioned as you like, they do not pose any danger, “says Andrei Uvikov.
Wheelchair users flew to Kaliningrad by another airline. They have already applied to law enforcement agencies. The prosecutor’s office began checking.
“The prosecutor’s office has initiated a check to clarify all the circumstances of the incident. Based on the results of the check, the issue of taking appropriate measures of the prosecutor’s response will be considered,” said Alina Lukshina, senior assistant to the prosecutor of the Moscow prosecutor’s office for overseeing the implementation of laws on air and water transport.
In case of violations of the rules of air transportation, the airline may face significant penalties. Travelers do not yet know how they will return back to Moscow. They have in their hands the airline tickets bought in advance, which refused them a flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad.
90,000 Visiting rules – RVIO Museum of Military History
Dear visitors, from June 16, RVIO Museums are open for visits in compliance with the necessary security measures for receiving visitors:
- Museum staff use personal respiratory and hand protection.
- The museum is equipped with a dispenser for treating hands with an alcohol-containing antiseptic agent.
- We disinfect all multimedia devices after each use.
- A protective screen is installed at the ticket office to ensure safety when purchasing tickets.
- We measure the body temperature of all visitors. Visitors with fever and signs of acute respiratory viral infections are not served and are not allowed on the territory of the Museum.
We kindly ask you to observe the preventive measures:
- The use of masks and gloves throughout the Museum is compulsory
Obligations for the use of personal protective equipment for the respiratory organs and hands were introduced by the Decree of the Mayor of Moscow dated 07.05.2020 No. 55-UM
- Pay attention to floor markings and fences.
- Maintain a social distance of 1.5 meters.
Visiting Rules of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization “Museum of Military History of the Russian Military Historical Society”:
1. These rules determine the order of visiting and fix the rules of behavior for visitors on the territory and objects of the Museum.
2. These rules are aimed at ensuring order and safety when visiting the museum, improving the service of visitors and are obligatory for unconditional execution by all persons on the territory and premises of the museum, including museum employees, employees of tourist organizations, visitors as part of organizational groups, individual visitors and other persons visiting the Museum (hereinafter referred to as Visitors).
3. Visit to the museum:
3.1. Individual visit. Includes paid access to the objects of the museum display without a guide.
3.2. Excursion service accompanied by an employee of the Museum. Includes paid access to the objects of the museum display, accompanied by a guide – an employee of the Museum.
3.3. Excursion service by an accredited guide, guide-translator, tour guide. Includes paid access to the objects of the museum display, accompanied by a guide – an accredited guide, a guide-translator, a guide who is not an employee of the Museum.
3.3.1. The right to conduct an excursion by an accredited guide, guide-translator, guide is provided after payment of entrance tickets for excursionists and an accompanying person and vouchers for excursion services, in accordance with the ticket prices valid at the ANO Museum of Military History of the Russian Military Historical Society.
3.3.2. Excursion service by an accredited guide, guide-translator, tour guide is provided when visiting the Museum on the basis of a preliminary application that fixes the date, time and number of visitors.
3.3.3. The right to conduct an excursion by an accredited guide, guide-translator, guide is formalized at the excursion bureau of the Museum by the certificate / accreditation of a guide, guide-translator, guide in advance, no later than 5 calendar days before the date of the excursion.
3.3.4. In the absence of a certificate / accreditation of a guide, a guide-translator, a tour guide, the administration of the Museum grants the right to conduct excursions after passing the expert commission of the Scientific and Methodological Council of the Museum.The Scientific and Methodological Council assesses the professional qualities, examines and confirms the availability of the necessary preparation for the independent conduct of the excursion of the guide, guide-translator, guide. After passing the commission, a written permission is issued from the Director of the Museum, or his authorized person.
4. Visitors to the Museum must:
4.1. Comply with the legal requirements of the museum staff.
4.2. Take good care of the equipment and exhibits of the museum complex, observe cleanliness and public order.
4.3. In the event of smoke or fire, or situations that may affect the safety of visitors or the museum complex, immediately notify these museum staff.
4.4. In case of finding neglected things and objects, immediately inform the Museum staff about it and not take independent actions to remove them.
4.5. Observe generally accepted sanitary standards.
4.6. In case of emergencies, visitors must leave the premises of the Museum, in accordance with the evacuation plan, instructions from the caretakers of the halls and employees of the museum security service.
4.7. Accompanying persons must familiarize children with the rules of visiting the museum in advance and be responsible for their observance.
5. Forbidden:
5.1. To carry gas firearms, traumatic, cold and other weapons, stabbing, cutting and easily breakable objects.
5.2. Bring in pyrotechnic, flammable, poisonous, toxic, poisonous substances, objects and liquids, household gas cylinders.
5.3. Carry backpacks, suitcases, bulky items, parcels and bags larger than 55x35x25 cm, or long items, the sum of measurements of which in length, width and height exceeds 110 cm, as well as objects that contaminate exhibition rooms and visitors’ clothes.
5.4. Use any fire hazardous devices with an open combustion flame, use any open fire, pyrotechnic devices (fireworks, firecrackers, etc.).
5.5. In winter, wear outerwear and carry it with you if there is a wardrobe at the Museum exhibition and exposition.
5.6. Be with any animals, regardless of their size.
5.7. Be in a state of alcoholic, drug or other toxic intoxication.
5.8. Smoking, drinking alcohol and alcoholic beverages.
5.9. Touch museum exhibits (with the exception of permitted interactive areas), showcases, and write inscriptions on them.
5.10. Cause damage to any object, museum items and Museum equipment.
5.11. Move on roller skates, scooters, all similar sports equipment and in roller sneakers.
5.12. Use the premises and territory of the Museum without the written permission of its administration for commercial, advertising and other activities.
5.13. Unauthorized entry into the premises of the Museum.
5.14. Post and distribute printed materials.
5.15. To organize on the territory of the Museum unauthorized rallies, processions, picketing, agitation, advertising actions.
6. Visitors have the right:
6.1. Get acquainted with the permanent and temporary expositions of the Museum.
6.2. Inspect the Museum exposition independently or as part of an excursion.
6.3. Use an audio guide at the exhibition.
6.4. Receive information on the procedure and conditions for access to museum collections.
6.5. Make photo and video filming on the territory of the Museum.
6.6. If necessary, move around the territory of the Museum in a wheelchair, if the territory and premises of the museum allow it.
6.7. Leave a review about the Museum’s work in the Book of Reviews and Suggestions.
7. The administration of the Museum has the right:
7.1. Change the duration of the exposure in the direction of increasing or decreasing.
7.2. Deny service to visitors who violate the visiting procedure and the rules of conduct for visitors on the territory and at the Museum’s facilities established by these Rules.
7.3. Establish the presence in the halls of a limited number of groups.
7.4. Close the exposition as a whole or individual halls, including for technical breaks or for technical reasons.
8. Control over compliance with these Rules is carried out by employees of the Museum, as well as employees of law enforcement agencies and employees of the involved security organization.
9. Visiting the Museum, the visitor takes part in possible photo and video filming, television or radio broadcasting of the event, and gives his consent to the use of these materials for the internal needs of the Museum, private viewing, video, television and radio broadcasts, publications in the press, posting on the Internet.
FOR THE SAFETY OF VISITORS, THE MUSEUM IS VIDEO SURVEILLED.
90,000 Wheelchairs awarded to the Moscow House of Cheshire
“Resurrection”
in support of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Head of the group of military experts of the Fund, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Associations of Reserve Officers of the Armed Forces (MEGAPIR) Colonel-General V.N. Zaritsky with a delegation of reserve officers met with the leadership of the Regional Public Organization “Society of War invalids in Afghanistan” Moscow House of Cheshire.
As part of the delegation, the military commissar of the city of Moscow, Major General V.A. Shchepilov, Chairman of the Central Council of the regional public organization of veterans of commissariats and law enforcement agencies “Patriots of the Fatherland”, Lieutenant General M.M. Sorokin, military expert of the Fund, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Association “Megapir” Colonel S.A. Verbin, military commissar of the Solntsevsky district of Moscow, major A.A. Palilov.
Major General V.A. Shchepilov donated four wheelchairs, medical controls, a TV set, gift and food sets to patients and employees of the Moscow House of Cheshire.
On behalf of the General Director of the Resurrection Charitable Foundation, Chairman of the Council of the Megapir National Association A.N. Kanshina, Colonel General V.N. Zaritsky presented the Moscow House of Cheshire with colorful albums about the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ – the Main Church of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the military commissar of the city of Moscow, Major General V.A. Schepilov was given a church fold, and the military commissar of the Solntsevsky district of Moscow, Major A.A. Palilov public award – the medal of the National Association “Megapir” “For the contribution to the veteran movement.”
In response, the head of the Moscow House of Cheshire M.E. Yashin spoke about the work of the team and the progress of two grants in 2020 – the “Return” project, supported by the “Moscow is a good city” grant from the Moscow City Government, and the “Motherland needs you!” Project, supported by the Presidential Grants Fund.
It was noted that this support allows the development of new and necessary areas of activity aimed at optimizing the rehabilitation process, that for the last year the Regional Public Organization “Society of War invalids in Afghanistan” Moscow House of Cheshire “has received constant material and moral support from the National Association” Megapir ” …
The meeting ended with an informal conversation about life in the Moscow House of Cheshire. Warrant Officer of the Marine Corps I. Dyachenko, a veteran of military operations who passed through Angola, both Chechen companies, wounded and concussed, awarded with state awards, amputee of both legs at the hip level, said simply: “I have been sitting at home since 2014 and waiting for prosthetics … In 2017 I was told that it was too late to have prosthetics … In the spring of 2019 I arrived in Cheshire in a wheelchair and on August 28, 2019 left on “new legs” home to fulfill my dream – to take my granddaughter to first grade … Two days ago I arrived for subsequent prosthetics … I arrived at the House of Cheshire, as to my home … “.
War veteran, senior warrant officer V.A. Voronkov, who has completed Afghanistan and was awarded state awards, amputee of both legs at the hip level, noted that he feels great here: friends, an accessible environment, attention and nutrition, fishing and ducks are the best set of recovery factors. Colonel General V.N. Zaritsky treats with particular attention to V.A. Voronkov. They served together in the Kolomna VAKU. He wished Vladimir A.N. Kanshin, announcing the completion of prosthetics for another graduate of the Moscow House of Cheshire.
At the end of the meeting, the guests wished the leadership of the Organization success and promised their further support to new initiatives. In a military manner, a short, businesslike and, at the same time, sincere meeting ended with photographing for memory and left the residents of the Moscow House of Cheshire with pleasant memories that they are not forgotten, they are remembered, they know and appreciate their contribution to the defense of the Fatherland.
Director of the Regional Public Organization “Society of War invalids in Afghanistan” Moscow House of Cheshire “M.E. Yashin and the patients of the rehabilitation center sincerely thanked the guests for their support.
Government of the Bryansk region. Official site
On April 4, an action was held to transfer wheelchairs to medical institutions in Bryansk and combat veterans.
The event was attended by Acting Chairman of the Bryansk Regional Duma Anatoly Bugaev, Head of the Committee for Internationalist Warriors under the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS Alexander Kovalev, Deputy Governors of the Bryansk Region Vladimir Oborotov and Nikolai Scheglov, Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian public organization “Veterans of Russia’s Combat Operations »Vladimir Dankin, heads of the city of Bryansk, representatives of public organizations.
On behalf of the Governor Alexander Bogomaz, Deputy Governor Nikolay Shcheglov addressed the participants of the event:
– This is a jubilee year – the sad page of the Afghan conflict ended 30 years ago. You know about this because you yourself have experienced and passed the hardships of the war. Previously, we all realized what a World War II veteran was, but now veterans of military conflicts have appeared. Dear officers, veterans, we bow to you. Your feat is remembered by the inhabitants of the whole country.On your experience young people are being brought up, patriotism is being brought up. I would also like to say about our guests Alexander Kovalev and Vladimir Dankin. Alexander Mikhailovich, on his last visit, said that he would not be calm until every needy Afghan soldier was provided with a wheelchair. And today’s action is a vivid example of the fulfillment of his promises.
In response, Alexander Kovalev noted:
– When we visited you last time, we gave four children wheelchairs, and then we decided to help further and purchase wheelchairs for the veterans’ hospital and the regional hospital.Today we have brought 17 strollers. We are celebrating two dates this year. This is the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and December 25 will mark the 40th anniversary of the start of the Afghan conflict. We are engaged in this business, because we ourselves went through this war, we ourselves have injuries, but thanks to the support of friends, thanks to you – doctors, we have not lost our health and continue to live. And these strollers allow you to continue to live, not to withdraw into yourself. We will try to provide everyone who needs them with comfortable strollers. We will try to help the guys. When you see even one who was helped by it, it’s great, and when you see hundreds of guys who have returned hope for an interesting life, it’s doubly pleasant.The whole life is yet to come!
Words of gratitude for the feat of the soldiers-internationalists sounded from Anatoly Bugaev:
– Dear friends, 30 years have passed since then. And, thank God, there are people who are true to their word, like our soldiers, whom I am proud of! I would like to wish all of us a peaceful sky over our heads and I would like to convey the words of gratitude from the Chairman of the Bryansk Regional Duma, Vladimir Ivanovich Popkov.
On behalf of medical workers, patients, combatants, the guests were thanked by the head of the regional hospital for war veterans Sergey Oleinik.The participants of the event expressed the hope that such actions will definitely continue, and the work to support veterans of military operations and medical institutions of the region will become a good tradition.
Press service of the Governor and the Government of the region
What do the wives of the military cry about
While the retired CIA chief Petraeus informs through his friends that he is “devastated” from the consequences of his “mistake”, the wives of the military who serve in Afghanistan really feel “devastated” .
It’s not just that Petraeus’s dismissal raised the question of the unfaithfulness of their husbands, which was once again painful for many companions in the lives of soldiers and officers, especially while serving outside the United States. (If we touch on this problem, then some physical infidelity seems quite natural, given the distance of husbands from home, the hardships of service, constant stress, and for others it has no excuses, especially since it is considered a crime under American military law).
Officer’s wife Alison Backholtz on Slate expresses her outrage at the very attitude of the press towards the Petraeus scandal:
“Many military spouses feel that the avalanche of media interest in Petraeus’ affair is at best hypocritical.At worst, lustful with an element of malevolence. Not only do we not want someone else to discuss the details of our marriage, we also hear the deep truth in the recent headline Onion : “The nation is shocked by what is happening in Afghanistan, reading about the sex scandal over Petraeus.” Ten years of war, and this is what attracts the attention of public opinion? ”
“ Real crises and tragedies in military families do not require an FBI investigation and notifying the White House about them ” – concludes Alison Buckholz, inviting reporters to visit the Walter Reed military medical center in Betheda, near which you can often meet young people without arms and legs; a man driving a wheelchair with one hand and pushing a wheelchair with an infant with the other; a guy with a prosthesis that keeps slipping out of a five dollar bill as he pays for donuts in a cafe.
