Fit for warfare but not mail duty

Injured in Iraq, Army Sgt. Jason R. Lyon, a National Guardsman from Hamburg, New York, has been declared eligible to return to combat.

Lyon suffered a sprained ankle when he jumped off a Humvee. He also nearly had his head blown off by a roadside bomb that killed three of his friends.

Lyon is a recipient of a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in a subsequent attack.

After extensive medical treatment and physical therapy, military doctors have certified Lyon physically fit to return to combat duty in Iraq.

But the U.S. Postal Service says that he is unfit to deliver mail, claiming that his ankle injury is a "physical impairment" that would make it difficult for him to walk or stand for long periods of time.

"To me, it really seems unfair," said Sgt. Lyon.