By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
Then, an opportunity opened for him to travel to the Pentagon and talk with then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. His homework had paid off.
"I could very effectively point to where some of these issues were," Skelton said. "If we didn't act on it then, it was just going to grow worse, because our population was not dwindling any time soon."
After the meeting, Skelton was offered a job in Rumsfeld's office as the first person at his level to look hard at the gaps in care. Skelton sat on multiple committees and served as a military advisor to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.
Skelton had a front-row seat to history-making changes in wounded warrior care that swept across the Defense Department and, to an extent, the Veterans Administration. He regularly spoke with top DoD and congressional leaders, and even the president.
Improving Himself - and the Army
Skelton said officials appreciated his blunt, educated, straightforward recommendations. But he still had no promise of a career. For all of his efforts, Skelton said, he was still on borrowed time. Army officials had not said he could stay on active duty.
"There was no plan," Skelton said of his career. "I would do whatever it took to buy more time." Though he thought that eventually he would be forced out of the Army, he said, "I wasn't ready to quit."
And, he added, he was giving back to an organization he loved.
"I couldn't give back as a platoon leader in the infantry … so this is one way, indirectly, that I could fulfill the obligation that I had and those promises that I made when I was first commissioned," he said.
A life-long rock climber, Army Capt. D.J. Skelton had to re-learn how to climb after combat injuries in Iraq shattered his left arm. He went on to host a rock-climbing clinic for other amputees.
DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III Hi-Res
While helping DoD improve its care for wounded warriors, Skelton continued to adapt on a personal level. He learned how to resume his life-long passion for rock-climbing using only one arm.
"I realized … that I'm not going to be able to do the things that I used to in the way that I did them. Things change," Skelton said. "It doesn't mean I'm going to have to put those dreams aside. I'm just going to have to go about them a little differently."
He went on to host a rock-climbing clinic for other amputees. Leap-frogging from that idea, Skelton formed a nonprofit group that helps wounded warriors participate in extreme sports.
But despite his successes, Skelton said, he woke up in October 2007, looked at his life, and felt kind of down. He regularly spoke to groups about reaching goals and chasing passions, Skelton said, but he still was not meeting any of his own goals.
"I really wanted to [stay] in the Army and continue with my career," he said.
With his physical limitations, Skelton said, he knew he couldn't return to the infantry. He was a former enlisted interrogator and had a passion for American-Chinese relations, so he decided he wanted to return to the Army in the foreign area officer program. He could continue his education and learn advanced Chinese.
When Skelton approached Army leadership about staying on active duty this time, he received a different response. The request was granted almost overnight.
"It wasn't a charity decision. It wasn't 'Give the wounded guy a break and put him over there to make him feel good,'" Skelton said. "It made sense."
Seeing Clearly - Through One Eye
The Army's new attitude of care is more reflective of its values, Skelton said.
"The Army ethos is to never leave a fallen comrade behind. What better way to live that ethos than to show the force out there in the fight that, God forbid, if something happens to you … we will not leave you?" he said.
Skelton now commands Company E, 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, at the Defense Language Institute's Foreign Language Center here. When Skelton finishes his command, he said, he likely will move on to study advanced Chinese, or learn another language, and then go on to in-country training. From there, he said, it will probably be graduate school and then he will qualify as a foreign area officer.
Skelton said he still feels the pain of his injuries every day. He has to have a neighbor or a friend button his sleeve, because his left hand will never improve. He doesn't wear an eye patch, he said, because he wants people to see the scars of war.
Still, life is good, Skelton said.
"I'm having fun. I'm being challenged intellectually. I'm being challenged physically and mentally," he said. "I look forward every morning to putting on the uniform and coming to work."
Also, Skelton said, he has found that fellow soldiers are inspired by his continued service and are more inclined to come to him with their problems, knowing he has had to work through his own.
"We all go through struggles in life," he said. "And none are more severe or bigger than others. They're just different."
Despite his positive outlook, Skelton said he is not sure he would want to go through the experience again. But, then again, he wouldn't rule it out. It has given him a perspective that promises hope and contentment in life, he said.
"Someone once said to me, 'You see things more clearly with one eye than I do with two,'" Skelton said. "I believe that each and every one of us should do what we love to do. And if you wake up one day and you don't love what you're doing, think about changing."
