Amputee veteran helps train troops for war

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Former Navy corpsman Joel Booth says he has found a way to keep saving lives on the battleground since he had his leg amputated due to a blast in Afghanistan.

Booth joined a group of amputee actors who role-play in realistic war re-enactments for the military to train its troops before they are deployed.

Booth suffers from post-traumatic stress but says the experience of writhing on the ground as Hollywood-style gunfire erupts at the San Diego film studio has given him a kind of peace because he is helping troops prepare so they know how to react when facing war's horrors.

The 24-year-old sailor is the first combat veteran hired by Strategic Operations. The company has been creating the scenarios for the military for more than a decade.