Should people with disabilities be allowed to serve in the United States Armed Forces? Emmanuel Arzate thinks so. But, because he has muscular dystrophy, he wasn't given a chance to join the Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps (JROTC) at Thomas Jefferson High School in El Paso, Texas. Determined to get in, Arzate fought the school district, challenging the belief that youths with disabilities can't participate in everyday activities.

"Maybe they won't let me in, but I will keep fighting until they allow other students with disabilities to join," Arzate said. "It's not fair that they won't let me in just because of my disability. I think it's because people without disabilities don't really understand what is inside of me and other people like me."

Arzate, who has been fighting his battle since last September, can finally claim victory, however. Officials in the El Paso Independent School District relented and gave Arzate the chance to join the squad. There's a catch, however. He can wear the uniform, he can be promoted and win awards, but he can never become a full cadet.

While Arzate knows that he can't do all the stuff that other cadets do, he also knows that he can do most of it. "I've practiced the different moves recruits are asked to do while sitting in my wheelchair. I can do left face, right face, and about face. I can also do sit-ups. I sold two boxes of candy for a fund raiser and I recruited one young man so far."

For his recruitment of the young man, Arzate hopes to earn a military ribbon. He also knows of another student with disabilities at Henderson Middle School who wants to join the U.S. Air Force. Arzate hopes that with his victory in the battle to join JROTC, the other boy won't have as much of a problem becoming a cadet.

Regulations Allow Leeway

National JROTC regulations state that individual school districts have discretion to make decisions about a student's physical ability. However, if accepted into the program, the school must provide adaptive equipment and/or instruction at no cost to the government. School officials must also ensure that the students do not disrupt the JROTC curriculum.

Although Arzate won this battle, he still has four years of school to finish. Will he try to join the military after graduation? Arzate said he hasn't thought that far ahead, but he knows other disabled students who want to join the military. For Arzate, and other potential recruits, it might not be as difficult as it seems.

"Times They Are a Changing"

Under new regulations, the U.S. military has announced improved efforts to keep seriously wounded or disabled soldiers on active duty. There is no clear policy, but serious sentiment about allowing disabled soldiers to serve is beginning to filter in at the highest sources of power.

A December 1, 2004 Washington Post article by Anne Hull quotes President George W. Bush. "When we're talking about forced discharge, we're talking about another age and another military," Bush told wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital. "This is a new age, and this is a new military. Today, if wounded service members want to remain in uniform and can do the job, the military tries to help them."

Hull wrote that military commanders "cite advances in medical technology" as the main reason for the new thinking. Better prosthetics are allowing some of the wounded to regain their fitness and continue to serve. Others say that it's really society's changing views that are influencing the military to shift its attitude.

Even active duty soldiers are finding that it's easier to remain on active duty if they choose. Captain David Rozelle, 31, lost a foot and part of his leg in Iraq when an anti-tank mine exploded. In past years, Rozelle would have been congratulated for his bravery and issued a medical retirement. But, not anymore.

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