Captain Jonathan Silk: Overcoming Injury and Iraq

By Kim Brohm

The life of a soldier is one that involves extreme discipline, lots of early morning runs and workouts, and being in top physical condition. So the fact that 37-year-old Capt. Jonathan Silk teamed up this past October to compete in the last KHF duathlon of the year is probably not much of a surprise. But to know Silk's story, the accomplishment may not be so much in that he competed in the duathlon, but that he was alive and able to do so.

Growing up in Newton, Mass., Silk knew at a young age that he wanted to join the military. A self-proclaimed history buff, Silk was always fascinated by stories of his grandfather and great uncles fighting in World War II. After high school, Silk decided to join the United States Army and in 19 years hasn't once looked back.

“I love it,” said Silk. “It's lots of fun and, of course, dangerous. I just think it's great for young people and finding direction and discipline. You learn to respect the person next to you and depend on each other.”

While training in the Army, Silk also found another passion – triathlons. It was in 1997 while stationed in Hawaii that he competed in his first triathlon and other endurance races, one being a relay around the island of Oahu.

“The lifestyle of a combat arms soldier means you have to be in good shape and are always looking for a challenge,” said Silk. “The triathlons naturally became addictive.”

Silk then moved to Louisiana where he was an advisor to the National Guard. That duty allowed him more time to train. He took advantage of the time by investing in a good bike and joining a local triathlon club. He eventually competed in an Olympic distance triathlon that consisted of a 1-mile swim, 26-mile bike, and 10-K run. Following that assignment, Silk went to Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Ga., to become a commissioned officer, was stationed in Fort Knox for a short time, and then went back to Louisiana where he began training for duty in Iraq.

In September 2003, Silk began his tour in Iraq. He was stationed in Baghdad as a Scout Platoon Leader assigned to Killer Troop 3/2ACR. The platoon's primary duties included mainly security patrols to prevent attacks. But things would change in April 2004. Expected to come home, Silk and his platoon were instead issued an extended stay in order to combat a rebellion in Southern Iraq in the city of Al Kut. The town had been taken over by the Al Sadr Mahdi Militia and the platoon's mission would be to capture the two enemy held bridges in support of “Operation Iron Saber.”

“It was a three hour fight for the second bridge,” said Silk. “We attacked from the near side with six HMMWV trucks. The first two trucks got hit with grenades. I was in the third gun truck and my driver swerved to avoid fire and hit a concrete barrier.”

That impact resulted in a hard blow to Silk's chest by the truck's dashboard. Silk, a lieutenant and platoon leader immediately let instinct kick in, shook off the impact, and got out of the truck to get in the fight. As he went to take position a rocket propelled grenade hit the ground. But because the enemy didn't pull the pin, the grenade didn't explode. It instead skipped the ground causing multiple pieces to hit Silk in the chest. Silk was knocked to the ground only to get up and find bullets flying directly at him in every direction. He quickly resumed fighting and the platoon eventually took the bridge and won the mission.

“It felt like I took a baseball bat to the chest,” explained Silk of the blow. “If (the grenade) would have exploded I wouldn't be here.”

Silk probably also wouldn't be alive if he had not been wearing his armor, a plated vest similar to a bullet proof jacket. He claims the armor saved his life many times.

Before being deployed back to the United States in July 2004, Silk's platoon fought other battles in cities such as Najaf, Kufah, and Diwaniyah. However, it wasn't until Silk's return to the States that he would fully discover the extent of his injury to the chest.

“Back at the base we started doing physical fitness in the morning,” said Silk. “I knew I was in good combat shape but not physical shape. I then started to notice that my level of fitness wasn't improving. I just attributed it to the 11 months in Iraq and thought I needed to push myself harder.”

But the training never got any easier for Silk. The cause he would find out later was a rip in the mitrovalve of his heart. The mitrovalve allows blood to flow out of the heart. When Silk took the impact to his chest while in Iraq, the tendons in his heart ruptured and caused his heart to leak blood. That impact resulted in only 40 percent of his heart allowing blood to flow through the organ. The rupture meant his heart was overcompensating and pumping harder to release the blood flow. Over time the heart can enlarge and possibly lead to death.

Not aware of the injury, Silk ran his first triathlon since Iraq in September 2004. He finished but it was 15 minutes off his regular time. Then in December he began to realize something was wrong. He felt he was killing himself just to gain back to his normal fitness level.

How his injury was finally discovered was purely accident. Silk went to the doctor for the hearing loss he suffered while in Iraq from the gunfire. He went to have an MRI for his ringing ears. The doctor's found a blood clot on Silk's brain.

Not knowing the cause, Silk eventually ended up at a cardiologist, who to Silk's surprise asked him whether he had taken any trauma to the chest. He immediately remembered the multiple blows taken to the chest while in Iraq during the bridge mission.

“I remember the next day (after the fighting) feeling a little sore and bruised but didn't really feel bad,” said Silk. “I thought I was fine.”

“Looking back I can now recognize the symptoms, tired and short of breath. But then naturally everyone was tired and we were always on the move. I came back with all my arms and legs, hearing loss, and nightmares, but overall I thought I was alright.”

Silk was diagnosed with the mitral valve tear in April 2005, almost one year after suffering the injury to the chest. He would have surgery in June to replace the injured valve with a mechanical valve.

Shortly after heart surgery, he was back on a bike trainer as soon as August and competed in a sprint distance triathlon just 10 months after surgery and an Olympic distance triathlon one year after surgery.

“I was almost a year deconditioned but I just pushed myself to get back in shape and challenge myself,” said Silk. “At the end of the day I just refused to quit.”

Currently Silk is stationed in Fort Knox, where he is enrolled in the Armor Captains Career Course, a class that focused on leadership. His home is in Louisiana where he lives with his wife, Staci, and three children.

After the Army he plans to capitalize on his degree in business administration to start his own leadership management training facility. He would like to offer team building and problem solving packages for corporate executives.

“I just have a passion for leadership. I think a great thing about the military is how guys really have to come together. I think good leaders in any organization can overcome any problem.”

Silk's next mission will be a tour in Korea this March. Before leaving he plans to run a couple 5Ks in January and a triathlon in March. His ultimate goal is to compete in an Iron Man.

And don't put it past him. He may have a mechanical valve, had a blood clot in his brain, and suffered from a hearing loss, but there's nothing Capt. Silk views he can't overcome. Gunfire may have killed a part of his heart physically, but his heart to compete and lead others is more than alive.

“It was a rewarding experience,” said Silk on his tour in Iraq. “We did a lot of good and I'm proud of our soldiers. It's very violent and being shot at is terrifying — but I would do it again.”

Kim Brohm is a graduate of Spalding University with a B.A. in English where she was a three-sport athlete. Kim has an MBA from the University of Louisville. E-mail address is kimbrohm@hotmail.com.