Commitment and service

As Babbling likes to put it, a big BZ to my kind of fellow:

Amputee soldier returns to duty in Afghanistan

Capt. Simon Mailloux, who lost a leg to an IED blast, is seen at Kandahar Airfield on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. Mailloux is the first Canadian amputee to return to active duty in Afghanistan. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The first Canadian soldier to return to active duty in Afghanistan as an amputee says coming back has closed a loop for him and shown the insurgents' weapon of choice can be overcome.

Designed to do more than maim, kill and damage, the improvised explosive device is supposed to instill terror, said Capt. Simon Mailloux.

"By coming back here, I think I've defeated the IED that blew me up -- I've overcome that fear," Mailloux said.

"I came back on two feet -- one in plastic, one in skin and bone-but still came back. It feels like we overcame at least this IED."

Two months back in the war zone, Mailloux, 26, exudes a confidence and happiness that might have seemed unimaginable little more than two years ago.

The commander in charge of a platoon of soldiers was in an armoured vehicle that day in November 2007...

Read on. Earlier posts on Capt. Mailloux here and here.