The future is helping Staff Sgt. Jason Rzepa get through the wounds of war.

Rzepa (pronounced Zeppa) had both of his legs amputated below the knee due to injuries sustained during a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad last month.

"I can't get down about it," the Coeur d'Alene 30-year-old said on Thursday from Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in the San Antonio area.

"I've got a family and two kids and a future planned out. I can't let this get in the way. I'm lucky I'm alive."

Rzepa, of the Idaho Army National Guard's 145th Brigade Support Battalion based in Post Falls and part of the 116th Cavalry Heavy Brigade Combat Team, was in the same vehicle in which fellow soldiers Spc. Nathan R. Beyers, 24, and Spc. Nicholas W. Newby, 20, both of Coeur d'Alene, died.

"The worst part about this was losing them," Rzepa said. "They were great friends and great people, and I feel bad for their families."

Rzepa said he expects to receive his prosthetics in about a month, but it likely will be about a year before he gets to come home.

"Everything is going well," he said. "Hopefully next week I'll get the stitches out."

Rzepa said that he's staying positive during the life-changing experience.

"I have a lot to be thankful for," he said. "Two others died, and I see guys here with both legs completely gone or badly burned. I'll walk again, so I'm not as bad off. I can't complain."

Rzepa said having his wife, Cassandra, and 3-month-old son Collin by his side at the hospital has helped.

"If I was down here by myself and I had to come back to an empty room after an appointment, I'd probably think about it and dwell on it," Rzepa said.

Rzepa's other son, Kohl, 7, will join him today for a visit.

Idaho military leaders met with Rzepa on Thursday. He said he appreciates the community's support.

"I've gotten 50 to 60 cards from people I don't even know," he said.

Rzepa, who graduated from Project CDA in 1999, was the gunner in the last vehicle of the convoy during the attack. The blast knocked him down and caused him to briefly black out. When he came to, he saw the back door had been blown off and threw out his helmet to signal for help. There was no gunfire during the incident.

"My legs were still attached, but they were pretty much hanging by the skin," he said. "Two friends came back, pulled me out and put tourniquets on me."

Ryan Rogers and Greg Wilson led the medical assistance.

"They could see that I was going into shock, but they reassured me and kept me alive," Rzepa said. "If it wasn't for them, I'd be dead. They acted well and the training paid off."

During the ordeal, Rzepa said he thought about home.

"I kept thinking about my family and wanting to make sure that I got back home," he said.

Rzepa said the pain wasn't too bad until being bounced in the vehicle while being transported to a medical facility and when his boots were being taken off.

"If I stayed still, the pain wasn't that bad for the most part," he said. "The closer I got to base, it started to hurt more and I wanted to go to sleep, but they kept me awake."

Rzepa received a Purple Heart medal while in a military hospital in Iraq. He was then transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and ultimately to BAMC.

Rzepa said he hopes the Purple Heart will be re-pinned by his company commander Michael Etzler in a ceremony with Rogers, Wilson and other soldiers some day.

Rzepa said the recovery process is expected to take about two years. After that, he may work at a friend's computer store, be a stay-at-home dad or return to school to pursue a degree in teaching or information technology.

"Before this happened, I was going to go into IT because there's a lot of job security," he said. "I have options."

Rzepa said he looks forward to the day he'll be able to fish and hunt again. He said he'll also consider wakeboarding and snowboarding, activities other double amputees have taken on.

Rzepa said he thinks of his fellow soldiers in Iraq all the time. The unit is expected to return from a year-long mission in support of Operation New Dawn in September.

"They're all great people and are out there doing what they believe in," he said. "I believe we're making a difference. If I had to go back and do it all over, I would."