The army veteran who has lost control of combat now leads a disability program

Jeffrey Mittman knows how to transform the most difficult battles of life into opportunities for others.

The veteran based in Indianapolis has worn many hats – a member of the army service, surviving, leader and now, a freshly named member of the American capacity committee.

The Virginie -based commission is an independent federal agency which oversees the capacity program, which creates significant employment possibilities for blind people or who have significant handicaps.

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Mittman served in the army for more than 20 years before a tragic incident leaves him blind and changed the trajectory of his life.

As an infantry soldier from 1989, Mittman traveled to the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Korea, and carried out four tours.

Jeffrey Mittman, who lost his vision in a combat incident in Iraq in 2005, was recently appointed to the American capacity committee by President Donald Trump. (Jeffrey Mittman)

The father of two daughters recently told Fox News Digital that during his last tour, he was an advisor to an Iraqi unit.

“I was moving on the morning of July 7, 2005, and we were caught in ambush and struck by an improvised explosive device,” he said.

“It immediately struck me unconscious, and I woke up a month later to the former Walter Reed (hospital) in Washington, DC, unable to see, speak or walk.”

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Mittman said that his wife was by his side when he wakes up. “I couldn’t understand what she was doing in Baghdad, because it was my last memory, being in Baghdad, then I woke up in the hospital in Washington, DC”

He spent five years recovering and getting out of the hospital, undergoing 40 different operations before starting to work again.

“I was moving on the morning of July 7, 2005, and we were caught in ambush and struck by an improvised explosive device,” Mittman told Fox News Digital. (Jeffrey Mittman)

“When I was injured, it never relieved me of my responsibilities as a husband and father,” he said. “I realized that I had to adapt. My career was over in the army, of course, and I had to understand what I was going to do.”

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Mittman said that he had started to seek other veterinarians who had lost their vision through veterans and blind rehabilitation programs with the VA.

In 2019, Mittman became CEO of Bosma Enterprises in Indianapolis, an agency affiliated with the capacity which creates employment possibilities for blind or visually impaired. There are around 2,500 disabled veterans in the Abilityone program.

“When I was injured, it never relieved me of my responsibilities as a husband and father,” said Mittman. “I realized that I had to adapt. My career was over in the army, of course, and I had to understand what I was going to do.” (Jeffrey Mittman)

“I was able to do it because I had the army behind me, I was going behind me,” he said. “I had my family, my friends and my community and organizations such as the capacity program.”

In August 2025, President Donald Trump called on Mittman to sit at the US Factivation Commission.

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Among the veterans who have undergone traumatic brain lesions linked to Blast, more than 65% experienced vision problems, according to the Ministry of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Hearing problems, including tinnitus, are the most widespread disabilities of services among veterans.

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Mittman encourages companies to strive to offer housing, such as teleworking options and assistance with mental health, to the visually impaired.

Bosma Enterprises has a 24/7 free assistance program which allows employees to call and speak to people other than their direct or employers’ bosses.

“While the program becomes more effective, other opportunities will occur – and more training, more resources for blind or considerably disabled people,” said Mittman. (Jeffrey Mittman)

“I think it is really important that they have this outlet that does not believe to affect their career,” noted Mittman.

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Mittman knows with first -hand what it is to go to the civilian market – and said that he wanted to help the program develop.

“While the program becomes more effective, other opportunities will occur-(as well as) more training and more resources for blind or considerably disabled people,” he added.