THIS IS A DISTURBING STORY

A week after the first attack, Renstrom was in a Humvee when another explosive went off. As he guarded the area, a rocket-propelled grenade whizzed over his head.

"I had no business being out there today," Renstrom concluded later. "Whether it was the meds or whatever, it didn't feel right."

A day or so later, he blacked out. Renstrom decided he needed to get off the pain pills and see what was wrong.

He returned to the battalion doctor, who directed he be flown to Germany for tests that couldn't be done in Iraq.

In his report, the doctor said he discussed Renstrom's case with his chain of command and told them it wasn't safe for him to be in a war zone.

Just before Renstrom was to leave, his superiors said he wasn't going. One told Renstrom he could recover from a concussion in Iraq as well as he could somewhere else.