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thedrifter
04-15-07, 09:36 AM
Vet lost sight but not vision
He was shot in head but kept after goals

Dennis Rogers, Staff Writer
It happened so quickly. One moment First Sgt. Colin Rich, 82nd Airborne Division, was on routine patrol along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Then -- BANG! -- he was on the ground with a hole in his head.

"It was like flicking off a light switch," he said recently. "I was blind."

Hang around soldiers very long and if you're lucky, you'll get to meet people like Colin Rich.

They're not like you and me. Their toughness is not false bravado. They don't brag on their daring exploits or seek the spotlight. If anything, their warrior ethos is to make light of the dangerous places they've been and the hard times they've faced.

"On the day I got shot, I guess I was having one of those days when I should have stayed in bed," he joked.

If you're expecting a sob story about a pitiful blind veteran, you've come to the wrong place. Rich, 43, is not that guy.

Army medics patched him up, and the specialists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center did all they could. There are flickers of peripheral vision but for the most part, Rich's world is dark.

But he was a soldier, one of the best. He made me promise not to reveal details of his military service, but trust me, if you found yourself trapped in some Third World hell hole, you'd want people like Rich and his teammates coming to bring you home.

"I wanted to finish my job," he said. "I wanted to help in the war on terrorism. And I wanted to exact some revenge."

Mission accomplished.

Army officials knew what an asset they had in Rich, so they let him stay on active duty even though his vision was severely impaired. He resumed his job as a first sergeant in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan again. He was also promoted to the Army's highest enlisted rank, sergeant major. He retired with full military honors on Feb. 1.

Rich, who lives in Fayetteville, now has a new mission.

"After I was wounded, people tried to get me to go to a guide dog school," he said. "I kept saying, 'I'm not blind; I just can't see very well.' Finally, I agreed to go. Once I got there, I was sold."

Say hello to Indi. Rich and his guide dog Indi trained for 26 days at the Southeastern Guide Dogs facility in Palmetto, Fla. And when their training was over, they were teammates and friends.

"I can't imagine life without him." Rich said. "He does a lot for my morale."

Guide dogs are a priceless benefit to people who need them.

They are also frightfully expensive to raise and train. Southeastern spokesperson Rita Princivalli said it takes from two to two-and-a-half years to prepare dogs for the difficult job of protecting their humans.

"After our dogs are trained for six months by professional trainers, we bring in students from all over the country for 26 days," she said. "We house them, provide them three meals a day and all the equipment they'll need. And then we give them their dog for free. It costs $40,000 to provide a student with a guide dog, but they don't pay anything."

Rich and Indi came together because of a program called "Paws for Patriots," Princivalli said.

"What we want to do is not only make guide dogs available for blinded military and veterans, we want to provide service dogs for those in wheelchairs or companion dogs for those who just need a buddy."

Southeastern relies on donations from civic groups and individuals. The school never solicits money from former students, nor does it receive funding from the military for its work with blinded soldiers and veterans.

"My personal mission now is to raise at least $40,000 to pay them back for Indi," Rich said. "I want to help someone else who may be in my situation."

If you've been looking for a way to express your gratitude to people like Sgt. Maj. Colin Rich, a check in his honor to Southeastern Guide Dogs would be a nice pat on the back, don't you think?

The address to send your check is 4210 77th Street East, Palmetto, Fla. 34221.

You can learn more by calling (941) 729-5665 or you can check the program out for yourself at www.guidedogs.org. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Oh, and if you're curious what happened to the bad guy who shot Rich, don't worry. Even in war, there is a rough justice.

"I'm doing a lot better than he is," Rich said of his assailant. "He won't do that again."

Another mission accomplished.

Dennis Rogers can be reached at 829-4750 or drogers@newsobserver.com

Ellie