The Army tends to assign the lowest disability rating possible, according to military studies. The Department of Defense this year announced the formation of a new board to reassess the accuracy and fairness of ratings assigned to discharged troops.

Bridges has no way to determine whether errors were made during his back operations. And at this point, he isn't likely to get so much as an apology.

"We understand mistakes happen. Humans are bound to make mistakes. I'm a strong believer in honesty. You just admit you made a mistake," said his wife, Roxanne Bridges. She wrote a letter to the surgeon not casting blame but seeking an explanation. It went unanswered.

Dr. Alpesh A. Patel, a top surgeon at the University Orthopaedic Center in Salt Lake City, reviewed Bridges' medical records, MRIs and X-rays at the request of the Deseret News. Patel said it's hard to know if the back surgery failed or if the outcome wasn't what everyone wanted.

"It's difficult to say if the screw was put in wrong or moved after the surgery," he said. "Either way, the screw was out of position."

Patel said a small percentage, maybe 3 percent to 4 percent, of the time screws don't go in the right spot, even with a skilled surgeon. "If screws are not put in the perfect location, they can cause nerve problems such as numbness, tingling, pain or weakness." And when they're discovered, the best course is to reposition them as quickly as possible. "They did all the right things once the misplaced screw was found," he said of the Army doctors. "I can't see anything that was mishandled."

The Army orthopedic surgeon who performed the operations "is not available for an interview," said Jeri Chappelle, spokeswoman for Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Hospital in Fort Hood, Texas, where the doctor is now based.

Russell and Roxanne Bridges and their three children live in a small rambler in Panguitch, about 250 miles south of Salt Lake City. Other than the hardwood Iiving room floor, it is not wheelchair-friendly. The hallways are too narrow for him to maneuver. Roxanne often puts her husband on her back to put him into bed or on the toilet.

When Bridges shot a deer last fall from the back of his pickup truck, his wife packed Bridges up a hill as if he were a fallen soldier. Working from his knees, he cleaned and field dressed the four-point buck while his 8-year-old daughter, Arianna, held the hind legs. Roxanne then carried him down the hill and returned for the carcass.

"I'm glad he didn't get his elk," she said.

Bridges has resigned himself to a life of constant pain. "That's what it's feeling like," he said.