Editor's note: The following is another installment in our occasional series that focuses on the young men and women in the military and the lives they lead.

Alicia Wagner Calzada Marine helicopter pilot Ryan Voltin, who was badly burned and had a leg amputated after a crash, was another Segway recipient.

MORE COVERAGE  VIDEO: Watch video of Segways in action

Scott Adams enjoyed a recent trip to Disneyland with his wife and three teenage sons, though not as much as he'd hoped.

“It was a little bit rough on them,” Adams said. “They're kids, and it was hard for them to stop every 20 minutes so I could rest.”

However, rest was necessary.

Adams, 38 and a 20-year veteran of the Army, sustained burns over 47 percent of his body on Jan. 26 when he stumbled upon two live landmines while on patrol in Iraq. The explosion also paralyzed Adams' left vocal cord, injured his right arm, damaged a vertebrae in his neck, formed a large blood clot in his left leg and led to severe migraine headaches.

Despite those many injuries, Adams is taking his family to Disney World for a weeklong Christmas vacation. Only this time, he won't have to constantly stop and rest.

Adams, a staff sergeant, was one of 42 injured Iraq and Afghanistan war vets to receive a free Segway transportation device on Nov. 7 as part of the Segs4Vets program.

“The Segway will help me be more independent about getting out there and walking with (my family),” said Adams, who's from Florida but is stationed at Fort Sam Houston and in physical therapy at Brooke Army Medical Center. “(My children) can run, and I can chase them.”

Jerry Kerr and Leonard Timm, both of whom are disabled and use Segways, created the Segs4Vets program in 2005. Those two, in conjunction with retired Air Force Gen. Ralph “Ed” Eberhart, have helped provide Segways to 78 disabled service members, with plans to award 200 more in 2008.

Those who receive free Segways completed an online application; Segs4Vets organizers then determined which applicants most needed Segways.

“It started as a way to acknowledge all of the disabled vets from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and what they had done for people,” said Kerr, who shattered some vertebrae during a diving accident nine years ago. “We're living in the most accessible country in the world because of the work they did, and this has been developed to assist men and women returning from war.”

Among the beneficiaries is Army Sgt. Erick Castro, 27, who lost a leg in Iraq four years ago during an ambush.

Castro, now married with a 3-year-old son, is studying aerospace engineering at Arizona State but often has trouble getting to classes on time because of his limited mobility. That will no longer be a problem.

Before the Segway, “I could either hike it, get there late and be exhausted or jump in the car, and good luck trying to find parking,” said Castro, a California native. “With (the Segway), I'll step on it and go to this class or that class with no problem.”

While it's not the most ideal situation for Adams, the Segway will improve his quality of life.

“It's not quite what I want because my right arm is still frozen,” he said. “I want to be able to throw a ball with my kids again ..... But (the Segway) will help out a lot and make my kids feel better.”

CLINT HALE | 210SA