Staff Sergeant Thomas E. Rollason

569^th Engineer Company

4^th Engineer Battalion out of Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, CO

Tom’s battalion was sent to Bagdad, Iraq, in February 2009.  In April of 2009, his battalion was redeployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, for the remainder his tour.  Tom’s battalion was the first to change theaters during the Iraqi Freedom to Enduring Freedom Wars.

Tom’s squad was assigned to perform route clearance.  His squad of twelve men was responsible for locating and clearing IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devises) to protect coalition forces and the local population.

On September 20^th, 2009, Tom’s unit was on a mission in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.  His truck was hit with a command wire IED that exploded beneath the truck.  The driver was killed and three soldiers, including Tom were seriously wounded.  During the months of September and October, 2009, nine soldiers were killed and fourteen were wounded – all from the 4^th Engineer Battalion.

Tom was air-vac’d to Kandahar where he was stabilized, then flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.  He was resuscitated on three different occasions.  His injuries were such that he wasn’t expected to live.  The hope of the medical staff was to get him stable enough to transfer him to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. for multiple surgeries.

After three weeks, Tom was finally transferred stateside.  At Walter Reed, he underwent spinal surgery, then heart surgery.  When he was sufficiently recovered, he was transferred to James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida, to their Spinal Cord Injury Center.  While there, he had more surgeries and participated in a vigorous regimen of physical, occupational, and recreational therapies.  On March 17^th, he was finally transferred back to Fort Carson as an outpatient.  He is presently at Fort Carson where he will serve until medically discharged or his service contract runs out.  He still awaits knee surgery and other possible procedures.

Tom and Sandee’s greatest desire has been to come home and immerse themselves in the comfort of their support system – both family and location.  While Tom is able to walk short distances, he still depends on a walker and a wheelchair to accomplish normal daily tasks.  His heart functions at 60% and he tires very easily.  However, his spirit is strong and his desire to normalize his life as much as possible keeps him working harder than his doctors thought was possible.  Tom is a miracle by any standard.

This was Tom’s third tour of duty in the Middle East.  In 1992 during Desert Storm, he served off the coast of Bahrain as a Navy boiler Technician.  In 2006 & 2007, He served in Iraq as a Navy Sea Bee.  Finally, in 2009, he served in Afghanistan with his Army unit.

CURRENT NEEDS for Tom and Sandee include housing, subsistence and transportation.  They have applied several times for a grant for a wheelchair van, a grant for housing modification and various small grants for subsistence while traveling.  They currently have NO grant dollars and must provide for their own housing and personal needs.  As donations come in and we are able to help, we direct funds toward the need at hand.

Click here and find the Tom Rollason Donation product cart!

TO SEE PHOTO GALLERY OF TOM AND HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN HOME ON APRIL 1, 2010--CLICK HERE

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