[jessefan]

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/0...ent_ID=38153531

Group lends support to injured 101st soldiers

By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL — Apache helicopter pilots Emanuel Pierre and Stuart Contant trained together, deployed together and then crashed together in Afghanistan.

The rehabilitation from their injuries was painful, but overcoming the mental hurdles was worse. When wounded 101st Airborne Division soldiers started returning from Iraq — some on gurneys, others without limbs — Pierre and Contant found a way to cope. They started a support group for wounded soldiers.

Twice a month, soldiers gather at Blanchfield Army Hospital to share their fears about possibly having to find a new career and adapting to life with their injuries.

''One of the reasons I was so adamant about getting this thing off the ground is that a lot of the units are not used to dealing with this stuff,'' said Pierre, a chief warrant officer from New York City who has back and leg injuries.

He's able to walk now but goes to therapy twice a week.

Contant, a chief warrant officer from Boca Raton, Fla., has a spinal cord injury and nerve damage from the waist down. He can't maintain his balance at times and goes to physical therapy six days a week. He found himself getting grouchy and discouraged and was surprised how much better he felt after talking to someone with the same injuries.

Support groups for wounded soldiers have been tried in the past, but this group is a bit different because it also brings in resource people with knowledge of legal and veterans issues, said Terry James, who served 22 years in the Army and works at Fort Campbell as a counselor.