The Redhunter: Captain Furat - Iraqi Hero

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May 13, 2006

Captain Furat - Iraqi Hero - Fighting a New Battle

In all the news from Iraq that gets ignored, maybe the most tragic is that of the Iraqis themselves. You'd almost never know it from most of what you see on TV or read in the newspapers, but tens of thousands of Iraqis are fighting hard against the terrorist insurgents that threaten their country.

After a few false starts, the new Iraqi Army is a force to be reconed with. While no doubt some units are still not up to speed or are not aggressive enough, many are doing their part and then some.

But armies consist of individuals, and as such there are many new heroes in this new Iraqi army, risking life and limb every day, whether they are on the job or at home visiting loved ones.

One of these new heroes is Captain Furat.

You'll remember from my previous reports here, here and here.

We would never have known about him had it not been for the brave reporting of Maya Alleruzzo of the Washington Times.

Last year, she went out with him on several very dangerous missions, one to act as a decoy in order to divert the terrorists attention from convoy that was transporting election materials. The decoy succeeded; Captain Furat's unit was attacked. He and his unit fought back bravely, fighting off the terrorists.

However, when visiting his family, he wasn't so lucky. The terrorists ambushed him, and although he fought back, one of their bullets severed his spine and paralyzed him below the waist. He was brought to the United States, and is now being treated pro bono at Atlanta's Shepherd Center.

Fighting A New Battle

The rehabilitation is tough going for Furat. Maya Alleruzzo spent some time with him and reported last week on his progress

Iraqi Army Capt. Furat surveys the therapy gym as he stands erect for the first time in nearly four months, every inch as tall as he was before insurgents' bullets left his legs lifeless on Christmas Day.
All around him, paralyzed patients are toiling, striving for their own personal victories.

"Where are you traveling to right now in your mind?" asks Basle Roberts, a therapy technician at the Shepherd Center.

"I wish that I could stand without this equipment," Capt. Furat says, resting on a frame used in physical therapy. The rigid metal device is a relief from sitting or lying down, restful positions that aren't always relaxing anymore.

Every 30 minutes, he must shift positions to prevent potentially fatal pressure sores from developing on his paralyzed lower body, one of the many daily battles the former platoon leader is learning to deal with solo.

"It is just me on this mission," says Capt. Furat, 28, whose family is 7,000 miles away and still at risk from insurgents for his decision to fight in the nascent Iraqi army

Read the whole thing.

Maya Alleruzzo took some stunning pictures of her time as an inbed with Captain Furat's unit in Iraq last year. After one of the trucks in their convoy was hit by an IED, Captain Furat led a battle against a group of terrorist insurgents who attempted to ambush them.

Here are some of Maya's photographs from that battle, via Michael Yon

(captions also via Yon's post)

First Things First: Captain Furat tends to the wounded civilians, providing comfort and security as he commands his men.