Amputee vets choose Segways over wheelchairs

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- U.S. Army Sgt. Jacque Keeslar lost both legs in Iraq nearly two years ago. To get around, he relies on a wheelchair and a pair of artificial legs, which help him walk in short bursts.

"If I have to do a half mile or mile of walking, it just exhausts me," Keeslar said.

Now, thanks to a specially designed Segway, the battery-powered transporter, Keeslar says he can ditch his wheelchair and get around without people looking down on him.

Keeslar was among 30 vets who received their own modified Segways this week, courtesy of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology.

The nonprofit group presented its latest batch of Segways to the veterans in a ceremony Wednesday at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. That brings the number of Segways they have donated to vets to about 150.

Leonard Timm, who founded DRAFT in 2005, calls the mission "Segs-4-Vets."

"[The Segways] provide them with another mobility option that will increase their distance, and will give them a way to communicate with the world standing up," Timm said.

Segway-equipped amputees in physical therapy at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center train on their new rides as part of an informal club at the facility. On Fridays, they wheel their machines as a group around the site in Washington.