CORALVILLE - University hospitals started a new program aimed toward getting injured soldiers back into action. The National Guard soldiers who took part are feeling better physically and emotionally. And one of them hopes to rejoin his band of brothers.

In the Army National Guard, filling bags with sand to build a personal fighting position is the duty of a soldier. This is also the final test for Major Wendell Lowry of the Illinois National Guard and Sergeant Randy Wiertelia with the Michigan National Guard. Certified Rehab Counselor at the University of Iowa Spine Center Ann Vogel said, “These are tests the National Guard have asked us to do so a medical board, a military medical board, can determine deployability."

Military injuries brought Lowery and Wiertelia to Iowa City. Lowery injured his neck at Fort Briggs while waiting to serve in Iraq. He said, “I feel like I let my fellow soldiers down, as well as myself."

Wiertelia does not talk much about how he got hurt in the Middle East. He just says he now has an S1L4 fusion. Wiertelia said, “(It) means the bottom three vertebrae of my back are fused together with metal, caging and screws and all kinds of good stuff."

The soldiers are two of the first four to complete a new rehab program at university hospitals. The National Guard picked the University of Iowa's spine center. The men regained much of their physical strength and emotional stability. Lowery said, “Definitely the best experience I’ve had in the last 18 months."

Wiertelia said, “I'm in a really good spot in my life right now. I'm happy with what's going on."

The tests are to build a personal fighting position and walk two-miles carrying 58 pounds of equipment. The men passed. Lowery wants to get back to his unit in Illinois. Wiertelia would like to help friends in Iraq, but he cannot. He said, “If I do deploy I would be more of a hindrance to the troop than do good anymore."

Thanks to the spine center, he is looking forward to a new life in the woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Email Steve Nicoles at Steve.Nicoles@kcrg.com