On this memorial day we remember those who have fallen in service to our country. For some who fight today however, severe injury in the field – a death sentence in previous wars – is not the end. More service members are surviving more serious injuries, and the Pentagon is working with the prosthetics industry to help make reintegration into civilian life as easy as possible for this new generation of war amputees.

In fact it may not be long before combat wounded veterans are able to remain in uniform long after receiving treatment and training with advanced prosthetics as I suggested in an earlier post from Saturday, May 22, 2004:

Is it so unusual to think that the ultimate results of this “generational war” will be the development of stronger, faster, deadlier soldiers through the use of bionics and exo-skeletal mechs? Quite frankly, it’s no more unusual – nor any more asinine – than any of the pitiful excuses offered by the Bush Administration for this war. So why the hell not?

The Pentagon denies this of course.

True, the U.S. government is paying Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab $30.4 million to develop a thought-controlled mechanical arm for soldiers who lose their own.

But the new device won’t give wearers super powers to carry back into combat. APL’s job is to replace missing limbs with natural-looking arms and hands that soldiers can “feel” and operate with their brains, just like the real thing.

That may be the official word from the top down, but our service members themselves will likely be the first ones to volunteer to continue serving. Many will demand the right to serve, no matter the cost.