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Jeffrey Mittman knows how to turn life’s toughest battles into opportunities for others.
The Indianapolis-based veteran has worn many hats — Army service member, survivor, leader, and now, a freshly appointed member of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.
The Virginia-based commission is an independent federal agency that oversees the AbilityOne Program, which creates meaningful employment opportunities for people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
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Mittman served in the Army for over 20 years before a tragic incident left him blind and changed the trajectory of his life.
As an infantry soldier starting in 1989, Mittman traveled throughout the U.S., U.K., Germany and Korea, and completed four combat tours.
The father of two daughters recently told Fox News Digital that during his last tour, he served as an advisor to an Iraqi unit.
“I was moving out on the morning of July 7, 2005, and we were ambushed and hit by an improvised explosive device,” he said.
“That immediately knocked me unconscious, and I woke up a month later at the old Walter Reed [hospital] in Washington, D.C., unable to see, speak or walk.”
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Mittman said his wife was by his side when he awoke. “I couldn’t figure out what she was doing in Baghdad, because that was my last memory, being in Baghdad, and then I woke up in a hospital in Washington, D.C.”
He spent five years recovering in and out of the hospital, undergoing about 40 different operations before he began working again.
“When I was injured, it never relieved me of my responsibilities as a husband and father,” he said. “I realized I had to adjust. My career was over in the military, obviously, and I had to figure out what I was going to do.”
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Mittman said he began looking for other vets who had lost their vision through veterans’ organizations and blind rehabilitation programs with the VA.
In 2019, Mittman became CEO of Bosma Enterprises in Indianapolis, an AbilityOne-affiliated agency that creates employment opportunities for blind or visually impaired individuals. There are about 2,500 disabled veterans in the AbilityOne program.
“I was able to do it because I had the Army behind me, I had the VA behind me,” he said. “I had my family, my friends and my community, and organizations like the AbilityOne program were out there.”
In August 2025, President Donald Trump tapped Mittman to serve on the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.
Among veterans who sustained blast-related traumatic brain injuries, over 65% experienced vision problems, according to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA).
Hearing issues, including tinnitus, are the most prevalent service-connected disabilities among veterans.
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Mittman encourages companies to strive to offer accommodations, such as teleworking options and mental health assistance, to the visually impaired.
Bosma Enterprises has a free 24/7 assistance program that allows employees to call and speak to people other than their direct bosses or employers.
“I think it is really important that they have that outlet that they do not believe will affect their career,” Mittman noted.
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Mittman knows firsthand what it is like to transition into the civilian market — and said he wants to help the program grow.
“As the program becomes more efficient, more opportunities will come along — [as well as] more training and more resources for people who are blind or significantly disabled,” he added.
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