Andy Clark / Reuters
Robotically controlled sailboats begin their race on English Bay in Vancouver on Monday. The boats took part in the 6th International Robotic Sailboat Championships. Several teams from Canada, the U.S. and Europe designed and built two-metre boats that were required to sail robotically, making its own on-board decisions about sail trim and course direction without human assistance.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created over 1300 amputees in the US military, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Each one is a story of life-changing pain and rehabilitation.
Here, PhotoBlog highlights an unusually intimate report of one such story by Tampa Bay Times photographer Kathleen Flynn. Flynn followed Justin Gaertner, a U.S. Marine lance corporal who lost both legs to an explosion in Afghanistan, through several months of recovery. Those months included surgery, 40-hour weeks of physical therapy and an emotional reunion with fellow Marines.
Kathleen Flynn / St. Petersburg Times
Above: Jill Dalla Betta walks near her son Justin Gaertner as he wheels his prosthetic legs through the MATC at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC in June 2011. Justin trains there Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week. The workouts consist of motions using weights and treadmills. Julie Castles, Justin's physical therapist, said he is one of her most motivated guys, almost to a fault. He'll keep working when he's hurting.
Kathleen Flynn / St. Petersburg Times
Above: Cpl. Austin Carter hugs Justin Gaertner as their unit returns from Afghanistan in May 2011. From the time he was injured by an IED in late November, Justin's goal was to be up on his prosthetic legs by the time his unit returned in early May. It usually takes above-the-knee amputees eight months to a year to be up and walking on their legs. Justin did it in four months. "Being able to see my boys come off the plane was my motivation to go in twice a day, every day," he said. "And even going on the days that I'm supposed to have off I still go in every day and PT. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, work on my arm, work on my legs." Before the plane's arrival, Gaertner said, "I'm scared they're gonna tip me over they're gonna be so happy to see me."
Kathleen Flynn / St. Petersburg Times
Above: Gaertner holds his head for a moment after a morning workout at the MATC at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC in June 2011. "I'm never really gonna get used to the pain," he said. "I can overcome it because I'm a Marine. But it's always gonna be there."
The full story describes Gaertner's treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His mother stayed on campus too to help with his recovery:
She wants him to see a counselor, but Justin says there’s nothing wrong. Doctors have asked him to arrange blocks and shapes, asked if he thought someone was trying to steal his soul, asked if he wanted to kill himself. They say he has short-term memory loss, problems focusing and a quick temper. “I don’t get mad very easily,” he says, “but when I do it just kind of — it goes from nothing to a lot real quick.”
Justin does not take pain pills, says they’re for the weak. Doesn’t like sleeping pills either. Asleep, he is haunted by searing nightmares: the death of his fire team leader, the explosion beneath his best friend in the seconds before Justin lost his legs.
Kathleen Flynn / St. Petersburg Times
Above: Gaertner gets a hug from his relative Cheri McPherson as he arrives at Tampa International Airport in May2011. "I'm really excited," she said. "I have not seen him. He's come a long way." This is Justin's first visit home since he lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan in November 2010. After two weeks he will return to Walter Reed to continue his therapy. Along with family and friends, Justin left the airport in a limo which took them to a VFW in Trinity where he was greeted with a party.
Full coverage at the Tampa Bay Times includes many more pictures and a video.
To see another Marine's life in the wake of war, look at this PhotoBlog post about Brian Scott Ostrom, who returned to the U.S. from Iraq with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
And for more visual coverage ofAfghanistan, see our slideshow:
Qais Usyan / AFP - Getty Images
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
After serving four years as a Marine including two deployments to Iraq, Brian Scott Ostrom, now 27, returned home to the U.S. in 2007 with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. “The most important part of my life already happened. The most devastating. The chance to come home in a box. Nothing is ever going to compare to what I’ve done, so I’m struggling to be at peace with that,” Scott said.
Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
Brian Scott Ostrom cups his hand over his mouth as he tries to calm a panic attack at his apartment in Boulder, Colo., May 2011.
Ostrom attributes his PTSD to his second deployment to Iraq, where he served seven months in Fallujah with the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion. “It was the most brutal time of my life,” he said. “I didn’t realize it because I was living it. It was a part of me.”
Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
Ostrom counts the stitches in his wrist while having a drink at a bar in Boulder, April 2011. He attempted suicide earlier in the week after he and his girlfriend had an argument. He said many times he should have died overseas, and during the fight with his girlfriend, she agreed.
Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
Ostrom reacts to his apartment application being turned down in Westminster, Colo., May 2011. The leasing manager said he was sorry but couldn't allow him to move in because of an assault charge on his background check.
Since his discharge, Ostrom has struggled with daily life, from finding and keeping employment to getting an apartment to maintaining healthy relationships. But most of all, he’s struggled to overcome his brutal and haunting memories of Iraq.
Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
A picture showing Ostrom holding his little brother after graduating boot camp at Paris Island, S.C., in June 2003 hangs on the refrigerator at Scott's new apartment in Broomfield, Colo., May 2011.
Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post
Ostram shakes hands and talks with fellow veteran Mike Butler at a restaurant in Broomfield on Veterans Day. Veterans drank for free, and Scott was happy to find someone to talk with.
Nearly five years later, Ostrom remains conflicted by the war. Though he is proud of his service and cares greatly for his fellow Marines, he still carries guilt for things he did — and didn’t do — fighting a war he no longer believes in.
Editor's note: Msnbc.com took note of this exceptional photo story done by Denver Post Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Craig F. Walker because of its intimate, in-depth look at living with PTSD. You can see many more of Walker's images, view video and read more about Scott Ostrom's story at the Denver Post website.
Related Content:
NBC's Jim Miklaszewski says: A U.S. Marine reservist and a Navy corpsman were killed in a drone airstrike in Afghanistan last week in an apparent case of friendly fire, U.S. military officials tell NBC News.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune via AP
Sailors salute as seaman Benjamin Rast's flagged-draped coffin is removed from the airplane at South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Ind. The military says Rast a 23-year-old Navy medic of Niles, Mich., died April 6 while on patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith and Navy Corpsman Benjamin Rast were reportedly killed Wednesday by a Hellfire missile fired from a U.S. Air Force Predator in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity, NBC reported. Smith and Rast were part of a Marine unit moving in to reinforce fellow Marines under heavy fire from enemy forces outside Sangin in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune via AP
Robert Rast salutes as his son's flagged-draped coffin is removed from the airplane at South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Ind.
The Marines under fire were watching streaming video of the battlefield being fed to them by an armed Predator overhead. They saw a number of "hot spots," or infrared images, moving in their direction. Apparently believing that those "hot spots" were the enemy, they called in a Hellfire missile strike from the Predator.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune via AP
Members of the Patriot Guard escort the funeral procession for sailor Benjamin Rast from the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Ind.
It's believed that this is the first time that U.S. service members have been killed by a Predator in a friendly fire incident.
Smith, 26, of Arlington, Texas, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division out of Houston. Rast, 23, was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division out of San Diego.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune via AP
Students from nearby St. Bavo Elementary School line the street outside Hahn Funeral home to show their respect Rast.
The U.S. military is investigating the incident. Military officials say the families of both service members have been informed of the possibility this was a friendly fire incident.
Robert Franklin / South Bend Tribune via AP
St. Bavo first grader and boy scout Nathan Watt salutes as the coffin carrying the body of sailor Benjamin Rast is transported inside Hahn Funeral home in Mishawaka.
Alex Brandon / AP
The last of three volleys are fired during funeral services for U.S. Marine Sgt. Lucas T. Pyeatt at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. on Monday, Feb. 28. Pyeatt, 24, of West Chester, Ohio, was killed Feb. 5th while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Alex Brandon / AP
Marine Corps Funeral Director Gunnery Sgt. William J. Dixon, right, delivers condolences to the Pyeatt family, from left, Cynthia Pyeatt, her husband Lon Pyeatt, and their daughter Emily Smalley, during funeral services for their son U.S. Marine Sgt.
Alex Brandon / AP
The horse drawn caisson goes to the grave site of U.S. Marine Sgt. Lucas T. Pyeatt during burial services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. on Monday.
Alex Brandon / AP
Cynthia Pyeatt, bends down to kiss the casket of her son, U.S. Marine Sgt. Lucas T. Pyeatt, during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. on Monday.
Full story here.
Max Oden / AP
Pfc. Jason Barfield, a U.S. Marine, embraces his mother, Kelli Barfield, Dec. 15, 2010, outside her home in Ashford, Ala. Barfield surprised his mother, who thought he wouldn't be home for Christmas, with the visit.
Sometimes a picture makes you smile and cry at the same time.
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