Tom Morrissey, 53, is close-mouthed about the ambush in Afghanistan that left him riddled with eight bullets from an AK-47, shattering bones in both arms and piercing both legs. But even as he sits at a therapy table at the Uptown Division of the Augusta VA, struggling to pinch his thumbs and fingers together, he is crystal clear on his goal.

"Being able to pull a trigger again," he said resolutely, "so I can be redeployed."

"That's hardcore, sergeant," Spec. Brandon Logue said from across the table.

"No, that's just the way it is," said Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey of the Illinois National Guard. "I've already done three tours there (in Afghanistan). I don't care if it is Afghanistan or Iraq. Wherever they need the help."

The program at the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers is going to help him do it. The active duty rehabilitation unit, the only one of its kind in the country, is one of the reasons the Augusta VA is the reigning Robert W. Carey Award trophy winner, a prestigious award that the VA bestows each year for quality care, officials said.

"Which, for our patients, tells them that they are getting the best quality care," said Janice Kennedy, the community relations coordinator at the Augusta VA. "They are also receiving care from a highly qualified staff."

It was the Augusta VA's recognized expertise in rehabilitation and the close association with Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in programs such as neurosurgery and heart programs that convinced staff it could be done.

The program was not something the national VA bestowed on Augusta - it came from the ground up, said Ellen Harbeson, the quality management coordinator.

"It came out of the creativity and the perseverance of the people here at this facility," she said.

"Perseverance" is a good word to use in the rehab unit, where Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey used chopsticks to methodically pick up tiny, jagged pieces of plastic that look like broken glass and drop them with a thunk into a plastic cup.

Across from him, Spec. Logue struggled to spread the fingers of his left hand over and over. Up until six weeks ago, Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey couldn't use his right hand at all; three fingers on the hand hardly bend when he pinches the thumb and forefinger together. He'll need another surgery to unlock the right elbow, but considering where he found himself when the gunfire stopped, he'll take it.

"I thought initially I might have lost the arms," he said. "So I was surprised when they said they could save the arms. That's why they sent me here, because they have the top specialists for orthopedics and hand surgeries and nerve repair, at Eisenhower."

Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey is an example of the kind of wounded the VA is getting now that the soldiers are wearing armored vests, said Dr. Dennis Hollins, the medical director of the rehab unit.

"The Kevlar armor prevents a lot of injuries that would have probably been fatal injuries," he said. But it also means the limbs are still unprotected.

"Those are the vulnerable areas now," Dr. Hollins said.

The ward is filled with patients limping or struggling to pick up objects off the table while therapists sit quietly beside them, urging them on. It's what you don't see at first that is important.

"Attitude is at least 50 percent if not 90 percent," Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey said, while occupational therapist Lisa Dowling nods.

"It's a great amount of it," she said. "How well they do and how well their rehab goes is their attitude and how determined they are."

And they can watch each other.

"One of the best things about the therapy here is the camaraderie you can have in sharing with the other soldiers who were injured," Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey said.

"People may talk to me and say, 'Oh my God, I couldn't imagine being injured as bad as you.' But I can look at somebody else and say, 'There's a young lady who lost her leg.' There's always something worse out there, but we can kind of share together and that's what helps a lot, I think, in the collective attitude."

"One person can motivate another," said Spec. Logue, who shattered bones all over his body when his motorcycle collided with an SUV outside Fort Campbell, Ky. "Everybody's trying to get better."

And they share pain.

"People always ask, 'What's the pain like?' I don't really think what I deal with is pain," Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey said. "It's discomfort. But it's just something that you adjust yourself to."

"If it didn't hurt, you'd be wondering if you're still alive," Spec. Logue said.

"Exactly," Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey said. "Once you've thought you're dead, and then you realize you can live, everything else is just Easy Street."

They face many more months together, and Sgt. 1st Class Morrissey needs four or five more surgeries.

"At first was a little disheartening," he said. "But when you realize it's a period of time that may ensure quality of life for 20-30-40 more years, then it's a short price to pay. And given the quality of the medical care that I've received, I know that I'm getting the best care that you could probably get anywhere."

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.