CityView Magazine

46 | May/June 2016 giving BY JAMES JOHNSON Photo by Carrie Kirkpatrick Blind Ambition Ivan Castro Overcomes All Odds Ivan Castro has been without sight since September of 2006, when he was serving as First Lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne Division, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and he and his unit were struck by mortar shells. e attack, which killed two other men in his unit, nearly cost Castro more than his sight. anks to the fast ac- tions of Army doctors and multiple re- constructive surgeries later, one would never be able to guess how close that veteran was to dying that day. Before sustaining his injuries, Cas- tro had already earned the respect of his peers with a lengthy and impressive military career that started with his en- listment in 1988. During his service, he had deployed for Desert Storm, as part of the 187th infantry, went to Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, earned his Green Be- ret, served as a Drill Sergeant in Geor- gia and served in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Even af- ter sustaining his injuries, Castro chose to stay on active duty with the military, doing administrative work as well as of- fering counseling for other injured ser- vice members. is year, Castro says, he intends to retire. "is is all I had known for so many years, and all that I wanted to do was to serve," Castro said. "It was at a point where our leaders were open minded. ey saw the potential of keeping some- one around with my experience and my attitude. is was in a time at the height of the surge in the military, and I was able to demonstrate that I wasn't going to allow this to get me down. I continued to push forward. My leaders saw poten- tial in having me around as a sort of in- spiration to others. Basically saying, 'If this blind guy can do it, you can too.'" In 2014, Castro founded the Special Operators Challenge, which hosts a series of events ranging from a mile- long kids' obstacle course named the Little Muddy to the Esprit de Corps Challenge, which is made up of various distances, a 2-, 5- or 10-mile trek with events in shotgun shooting, archery, tomahawk throwing, fire starting, ca- noeing, rappelling, climbing, observa- tional games, team trekking while car- rying logs, blind-folded trekking with a partner, and "other surprises along the way to keep it fun." While the Special Operators Chal- lenge is an event of physical endurance, it's also a nod to the spirit of working together, the humility of those who

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