U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro pulled the burnt cap from his pocket and showed it to the audience of Air Force Academy Prep School cadet candidates Jan. 8.
“You can see where it’s singed,” he said. “I had it in my pocket when I was blown up.”
It’s been more than a decade since a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan left Del Toro, 40, with third degree burns on 80 percent of his body, evaporated the cartilage in his nose and took most of his fingers. The former Tactical Air Control Party specialist, who once directed airstrikes against enemy targets, told the students the attack was the defining moment in his life.
“I evolved from a kid in Chicago with no parents to a father, a TAC-P airman and a Wounded Warrior,” he said. “I wanted something life-changing so I went TAC-P. I never thought this would happen but I evolved when I got hurt.”
Del Toro visited the Prep School to discuss leadership and overcoming obstacles in the face of adversity. His presentation began with a short film highlighting his recovery from the attack and his involvement in the Wounded Warrior program.
“This is the reality of war. This is what could happen to you,” he told the quiet audience.
On Dec. 4, 2005, Del Toro and his team were in a remote part of Afghanistan, going after what he called a high-visibility target, when their Humvee drove over the bomb.
“I was on fire from head to toe,” Del Toro said.
Del Toro flung himself out of the vehicle and his team leader, an Army lieutenant, shoved him into a nearby creek. Lying in the cold water and in agony, Del Toro told the lieutenant how to direct an airstrike on the area of the attack.
“Then I blacked out,” he said. “I woke up three months later in Brooks Army Medical Center [San Antonio, Texas].”
Evolving
Del Toro had been in a coma for three months, he said in the film. His wife, Carmen Del Toro, visited him on a daily basis, often spending eight hours a day at his bedside. The attack occurred on her birthday.
He endured more than 120 surgeries and his doctors said he’d never walk again or breathe without a respirator. Del Toro also had to grapple with excruciating pain therapy and spent countless hours punching sand and beans to desensitize the remnants of his hands.
“When someone is burned as badly as I was, even laying something as light as a feather across their hand will make them feel like they’re being cut with a knife,” he said.
All this was bad, but the worst, Del Toro said, was when he saw his face for the first time after the attack.
“In the burn wards, they keep mirrors covered up -- they try to show you parts of yourself slowly,” he said, but Del Toro slipped in the hospital and accidently pulled away a towel covering a mirror.
"When I saw myself, I broke down,” he said. “I was inconsolable for at least half an hour.”
Focusing on his love for his family and his TAC-P team, Del Toro pushed through.
“I wanted to prove to my son that yeah, I went through a lot but I pushed through,” he said. “Learning to walk again was one of the most painful things I had to do, but throughout my recovery other patients in the burn ward would see that and it motivated them.”
Memories of his parents also motivated Del Toro to recover, he said. His father died when he was 12 and his mother was killed by a drunk driver a year later.
“I was the last person to talk to my dad before he died,” he said. “He said, ‘Take care of your family.’ My dad was all about family, faith and honor.”
Some Air Force officials told Del Toro his career was over, but the sergeant refused to allow his injuries to dictate his path.
“I want to retire when I want to retire,” he said. “I don’t want to retire just because some idiot put a bomb in the road and blew me up. I told myself, ‘I will fight -- I will show the Air Force that I still have worth.”’
On Feb. 10, 2010, Del Toro became the first Airman to reenlist after being 100 percent medically discharged. He returned to duty as a joint terminal attack controller instructor, training service members to call in airstrikes, but is now assigned to the Air Force Services Activity at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, as a world class athlete. He lives in Colorado Springs and trains at Olympic Training Center.
“From when I got hurt to when I reenlisted, all I wanted to do was to serve my country,” he said. “Money was never the point. I loved TAC-P, I loved calling in air strikes, I love training -- that’s why I stayed in.”
Del Toro is the first Wounded Warrior athlete to return to active duty, competing in cycling, track and field and power lifting. He’s been selected to serve as the U.S. ambassador in the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida, and is scheduled to speak later this month at the academy’s National Character and Leadership Symposium.
“He really changed my opinion of some of the small problems I face here,” said Ryun Swan-Ford, a Prep School cadet candidate. “Like Sergeant Del Toro, I’m the first in my family to want to join the military. I want to lead people like him who would do anything for their team and for their country.”
Del Toro ended his visit by telling the Prep School cadet candidates to dedicate themselves to becoming physically and mentally prepared to lead.
“Don’t do the bare minimum. Be prepared,” he said. “As new lieutenants you’re not always going to be the best you can be, but you can always learn from your team. Learn from your NCOs and watch how you and your team improve.”
Del Toro’s singed cap could be seen in his pocket as he left the theatre.