Military News, News From Iraq & Afghanistan - Military Times

SEAL blinded in war gets new home, life

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As a Navy SEAL fighting in Iraq, Ryan Job could see the dusty streets and war-torn buildings of the Anbar province until he was shot in the face by a sniper.

Job lost his right eye.

There was some hope for his left eye, but damage to the optic nerve was too great. Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Job, 26, was left blind, dashing his dream of becoming a pilot.

After recovering at Veterans Affairs facilities in three different states and after his discharge from the Navy, he returned to his home near San Diego only to find limited opportunities for work.

Through the support of the national nonprofit Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation, Job is now settling into a donated Scottsdale condo and getting help adjusting to civilian life.

He hopes to finish his bachelor’s degree and eventually choose a career.

“I’m not thinking about war anymore,” Job said. “I’m thinking about getting adjusted in Scottsdale and getting a job.”

Job moved to Scottsdale with his wife, Kelly, after being set up with a local Sentinels of Freedom sponsor.

Sentinels of Freedom started in 2003 in California. The group’s founder, Mike Conklin, a father of three Army Rangers, learned about soldiers’ life-changing injuries after one of his sons was wounded in Iraq.

The organization helps service members, many of them amputees, with four-year scholarships, mortgages, physical rehabilitation and other planning beyond what the federal government provides.

Job is one of nine wounded service members that the group has provided with rent-free homes and other benefits through donations from civic leaders.

After learning about Sentinels of Freedom, Job got in touch with the group’s leaders and was eventually accepted for the scholarship program.

Howard Lein, owner of Re/Max Excalibur Realty in Scottsdale and a volunteer leader with Sentinels, donated his own investment condo for the Jobs to live in rent-free until they are prepared to get their own place.

“I have my doctors, my attorney, my CPA and my network of business contacts to help him with mentoring, getting a job, that kind of thing,” Lein said.