Scott Vycital, from Iraq to FHWA to guest at State of the Union, "It's an unbelievable story"

Amid the excitement of President Obama's first State of the Union address last night, Scott Vycital of our Federal Highway Administration sat in the balcony as a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Now, I'm proud enough that we had a DOT ambassador in the First Lady's group, and even prouder that it was Scott. But, most of all, I'm just happy for Scott and his wife Jarah, to have received the honor.

Because those two have been through a lot together. And--with some help from others--they have come through it all to a new future.

 

You see, Scott was battle-wounded in Iraq in 2003. A bullet entered his right temple, shattered several bones and damaged nerves, exited his neck in what he calmly describes as "a softball-sized wound," re-entered his shoulder, and re-exited his back. As you can imagine, that bullet left behind considerable damage.

But--and this is what I love about meeting Scott yesterday--when he tells the story, the conclusion he draws is:

"The amazing thing about our Army is that I was on a Medevac flight within 10 minutes. That's how good we are."

He could remark about the pain, about the deafness and facial paralysis, but he chooses not to. Instead he talks about the heroic support fire from his Sergeant , who had also been injured, and about Army preparedness!

And instead of talking about his lengthy recovery, Scott chooses to talk about all of the support he received along the way. "I've had nothing but phenomenal care," he says.

Scott credits support resources from the Army to the Veterans Administration to family and friends.

Through the Army Wounded Warrior Program, Vycital met Rick Suarez, a supervisor with the Federal Highway Administration who was interested in hiring someone from the program, a pilot project of the National Organization on Disability. And Scott joined the Central Federal Lands Highway Division of FHWA.

The rest is not, as they say, "history," but future. A new degree. A new home. A new career.

 
Now, having met Scott and Jarah, and Rick Stark from the National Organization on Disability, and having heard about the program, which has worked intimately with over 200 veterans in three locations, I want to make sure DOT continues to lead on the hiring of wounded warriors.

And I urge everyone to contact the National Organization on Disability to see what you can do to help this program expand to meet the needs of the Army's 6,000+ wounded warriors. These men and women have paid quite a price for their service to our nation; let's help give something back to them.

And let's let Scott Vycital send us out on his typical positive note:

"It's an unbelievable story. It's fantastic."

Comments

[Michael E. Bailey]

Its a great program that the National Council on Disabilities has set up in cooperation with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and one the will hopefully be expanded soon across the country. The need for this program is real and its doing a great job. Service-connected disabled veterans are a large and important part of the overall disability community. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[dinariraqiedu]

Its a great curriculum that the National committee on Disabilities has set up in collaboration with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and one the will confidently be extended soon crossways the country. The need for this agenda is real and its doing a great job. Service-connected disabled veterans are a large and imperative part of the overall disability society. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

Iraqi Dinar

[seo services]

By the mid-1990s the FHWA series of typefaces was used as a source of inspiration for a multi-weight print typeface designed by Tobias Frere-Jones of Font Bureau. Frere-Jones made accommodations for smaller print reproduction and Font Bureau released the face under the name Interstate. It has been adopted by many companies for branding; for example, NBC used it for NBC Sports graphics packages from 1997 to 2006, and TV Guide uses the typeface on its cover. Also, the Weather Channel utilized this typeface extensively, both on its weather maps and for its local forecasts.

[Label Maker Software]

Its a great curriculum that the National committee on Disabilities has set up in collaboration with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and one the will confidently be extended soon crossways the country. The need for this agenda is real and its doing a great job. Service-connected disabled veterans are a large and imperative part of the overall disability society.

[Pflegetagegeld]

Nice story.

[Aron]

It is a fantastic story! I was an exchange student in the US and stayed at a family where the eldest son was a soldier and was injured in Iraq as well. I'm going to sent this article to him!

[Kinect]

Thank you for your service Scott.We often forget to thank our men and women who goes in harms way to protect our interests.

[komputer]

yes i agree great article and nice share

[pflegeversicherung]

The story is amazing.We have to say thank you to all our brothers in arms!

[village realty]

It is a fantastic story! I was an exchange student in the US and stayed at a family where the eldest son was a soldier and was injured in Iraq as well. I'm going to sent this article to him!