MONTEVIDEO -- A Montevideo soldier wounded by a roadside bomb near Balad, Iraq, is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, his father told the Tribune on Tuesday.
Army Sgt. Jared Winters, 27, was on patrol Saturday evening with two other soldiers in an armored Humvee near Balad when he was injured, said his father, Curtis Winters of Montevideo. Winters said he was able to speak briefly with his son by telephone Tuesday.
"He's doing pretty well,'' Curtis Winters said. He said doctors are optimistic that his son will make a full recovery.
Sgt. Winters suffered a broken left ankle from the explosion, as well as shrapnel wounds on parts of his body. There was some internal damage as a result of the shrapnel, and doctors are now working to prevent infections from it, his father said.
Curtis Winters said his son is currently being treated at a hospital in Germany. He is going to be transferred to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Curtis and his wife, Sue, are planning to join their son there. Winters said one of the other soldiers with his son suffered minor injuries, while the third soldier in the Humvee escaped injury. Winters said the fact that his son was in a well-armored Humvee protected him from greater injury.
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His son was also fortunate in that he was able to get prompt medical care. Sgt. Winters was airlifted to a hospital at an air base in Iraq and was being tended by physicians within 20 minutes of the explosion. He underwent two operations for the injuries, according to his father.
Sgt. Winters is serving with the 29th Field Artillery based at Fort Carson, Colo. The unit is scheduled to return from Iraq in about one month.
This is Sgt. Winter's third tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A 1997 graduate of Montevideo High School, Winters enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard when he was 17, said his father. After attending a vocational college, Jared Winters joined the regular Army. He served with an Army airborne unit in Afghanistan before serving in Iraq. He re-enlisted for six years and returned to Iraq with his current unit. "He's proud to be doing what he's doing,'' said Curtis Winters.
His son turned down a relatively safe assignment with a radar unit for patrol duty, his father added.
Curtis said they are eager to see their son at Walter Reed and hope that he can be eventually transferred to a medical facility closer to home.
