They're riding waves on the road to rehabilitation.

Twelve injured veterans of the war in Iraq are being treated to a week of therapeutic surfing as part of the “Operation Restoration” surf clinic.

The event was organized by Operation Comfort, a nonprofit group that rehabilitates wounded servicemen and servicewomen at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, by introducing them to and engaging them in adaptive sports.

“It gives you chills,” said Army Staff Sgt. Steven Rossler, who showed up with four other Army servicemen Wednesday at Pismo State Beach to show their support for the injured vets.

The group arrived Tuesday at the SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach from Brooke Army Medical Center, where they hope to recover from injuries suffered during battle.

Eight of the vets are amputees, with injuries like double above-the-knee leg amputations and single-arm amputations; four are nonamputees.

Only a day after getting off the airplane, the soldiers were up riding waves Wednesday at the south side of the Pismo Pier in the 1-foot to 3-foot glassy surf.

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Former Army Sgt. Chang Wong lost both of his legs in battle during a routine patrol in Iraq as a gunner in a tank that ran over an improvised explosive device.

When asked about the experience, Wong said, “It opens my heart to let it out.”

“It kind of gets the amputees back in society to see what they can and can't do,” Wong said of the clinic.

At Brooks, the veterans undergo physical therapy, but Wong said he's focused primarily on upper-body workouts, which made surfing the waves difficult due to the demands on his legs.

Veteran Marine and below-the-knee amputee Tim Brumley said he liked surfing so much he may even consider relocating.

“I'm not going to the gym anymore; I'm moving out to California,” Brumley said as he sat, short of breath, on the beach after surfing.

“I can't explain it. It's a rush - it's just you, the board and the wave,” Brumley said.

The many wipe-outs were proof the troops had no fears about going into the ocean, or at least that's how it seemed, Pismo Beach surfer Scott Dratwa said.

“They've paddled into every wave,” Dratwa said. “They'll purl at the top ... it doesn't matter. They're going as far as they can go. They're all just charging.”

The event was organized through the efforts of Petty Officer Derek McGinnis and Operation Comfort director and founder Janis Roznowski, who heard that local surfer/amputee Rodney Roller had organized a successful surf clinic for civilian amputees in 2004.

Operation Comfort has tried exposing injured troops to sports like skiing and activities like rebuilding car engines, but this week's clinic marks the first time surfing has been introduced to the troops, Roznowski said.

“When you've lost a limb, you hurt all of the time,” she said.

“They've seen their buddies blown up, and it hurts. They have a drive and an instinct to overcome their disability, and they're going to be successful, and they're going to make America a better America,” she said.

“I think this city needs to be called the amputee surf capital of the state.”

According to Roznowski, the injured troops are gearing up for a 150-mile bike ride from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, Texas, on Oct. 7 and 8.

Josh Petray can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5015, or jpetray@santamariatimes.com.

Aug. 17, 2006