[Dan]

SF officer, blinded in Iraq, graduates MCCC

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 24, 2009 13:15:38 EST

Capt. Ivan Castro lost his eyesight in Iraq to a spray of hot shrapnel from an 82mm mortar round that landed five feet from his position on a rooftop.

It’s been a long three years since that Sept. 2, 2006 attack, which killed two of his soldiers, and Castro never thought he’d survive his wounds.

But on Dec. 15, Castro, a 21-year veteran of the Army, graduated from the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Ga., and will soon report to his new assignment as operations officer in Special Forces Recruiting Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., according to an Army news release.

When Castro was an enlisted soldier, he was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group.

At the time of the mortar attack southwest of Baghdad, Castro, a first lieutenant at the time, was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and was a sniper reconnaissance platoon leader.

The mortar caused Castro a bilateral aneurysm, collapsed lung, pulmonary embolism, bone fractures and a nicked artery, in addition to the blindness.

Following his rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., which helped him to adjust to life without sight, and eventually run in the Marine Corps Marathon, he returned to 7th Group.

Throughout his life-changing transition, Castro insisted he not be treated differently, Lt. Col. Fredrick Dummar said in the release.

Dummar worked with Castro at the 7th Special Forces Group and attended his MCCC graduation.

“It was critical for him to attend MCCC,” said Dummar, commander of Special Operations Recruiting Battalion. “You can’t stay on active duty as a captain without it. It would’ve been not only a fight to keep him on active duty with his injuries, but also to keep him on active duty without attending a mandatory school.”

Dummar said in the release that because Castro was a Special Forces soldier and wanted to remain on active duty, his case was reviewed.

“We saw what his potential still was instead of what he can’t do,” Dummar said. “He may not be able to do every job in the Army, but by doing the job he can do, he’s freeing up someone who can see to be doing something else.”

To keep up in classes, Castro said in the release, he used a voice recorder and computer screen-reading software.

Castro enlisted his roommate, Capt. Gerard Torres, as a running buddy to ensure he kept on the track during physical training.

Torres, who attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course with Castro in 2005, said Castro has been an inspiration to him. “We’ve laughed so hard and hated each other like brothers,” Torres said. “The things he’s taught me since the time I’ve known him are invaluable. Sometimes you sit there and start feeling bad for yourself, and then you look over, and there’s Ivan, running 20 miles.”