Blind soldier: Keep me in military

The New Jersey native says he can’t think of blindness as a disability.

SCRIPPS HOWARD

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Ivan Castro doesn’t want a new job.

An active-duty infantry officer in the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, N.C., Castro was blinded in Iraq on Sept. 2, 2006, after a mortar round severely injured him and killed two fellow soldiers.

Almost a year later the gregarious, outgoing soldier is still going through a regime of surgeries to try to repair the damage of several fractured bones, one lost eye and another damaged from shrapnel. When that’s finished, the New Jersey native isn’t sure if he’ll still have a job in the military, but he hopes so.

But, he finds a statistic he recently learned about disheartening: Seven out of 10 blind Americans are out of work, according to the National Industries for the Blind.

“That’s disappointing,” Castro said. “The stigma that the nation has toward the disabled — a disabled person can do the job just as well.”

National convention

Castro was in Albuquerque recently for the Blind Veterans Association’s 62nd National Convention. Blind veterans from across the country meet with each other, share stories, provide support and learn what resources and opportunities are available to them.

“It’s been great meeting with other blind veterans and being paired with ’seasoned’ vets for peer support,” Castro said. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to help the next group of guys that come after me in the same way.”

If he has his way, Castro, who has served for 18 years, will stay in the Army for another 12. He loves his job, and while he recognizes he can no longer be a sniper or lead troops on the ground, there’s still a lot he can contribute, he said.

“I know blindness is a disability, but I can’t think of it that way,” Castro said. “I want to go back and be productive. I can do office work; I can teach; I can train soldiers. If you put a target in front of me right now I can ’pow-pow,’ knock the center right out still. It’s muscle memory.”

Aiming to beat statistics

Castro and his wife of six years, Evelyn Galvis, said they are convinced that no matter what happens, Castro will beat the statistics and be among the 30 percent of blind Americans who can find a job.

The lack of jobs has groups that work with disabled veterans concerned, said Jim Gibbons, CEO of the National Industries for the Blind.

“These heroes are coming out of combat and swimming upstream with that challenge that there’s already this shameful statistic,” Gibbons said. “They’re really stepping into a brave new world dealing with the fact that they’ve lost vision and probably the biggest barrier that exists for them is just plain old-fashioned discrimination and ignorance.”

The answer, Gibbons said, is to educate the public and American companies that the blind can do almost any job that sighted people do.

“The blind probably can’t be airplane pilots or forklift drivers, but by and large most jobs with minimal accommodations can support the blind as highly productive team members,” Gibbons said. “They can be executive leaders, management, machine operators, line operators, work in assembly, packing, call centers or document management. There’s a great talent there waiting to be utilized.”

His plans

Castro plans to get his master’s degree and Ph.D. — perhaps in physical therapy, business or law — and then find work as a teacher, therapist or lawyer, he said.

“I’ve got several things on my mind,” Castro said with a laugh. “I’ve got a strong drive, and I’m really motivated.”

Castro rides 60 miles a week on a tandem bicycle and works out just about every day. He is planning to run the Marine Corps marathon on Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C., he said.

“It’s hard to look this good,” the muscular Castro said with a grin. “Don’t I look like Antonio Banderas?”