Man with missing finger becomes left-handed soldier

Pittsburgh - A Pennsylvania man has won his two-year fight to become a soldier. <br><br>He had to be reclassified as left-handed, after losing a finger on his right hand. <br><br>Twenty-five-year-old Brian

Tuesday, March 20th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Pittsburgh - A Pennsylvania man has won his two-year fight to become a soldier.

He had to be reclassified as left-handed, after losing a finger on his right hand.

Twenty-five-year-old Brian Teets of Beaver Falls used his left hand to sign his enlistment papers for the U-S Army yesterday in Pittsburgh.

Teets previously had been turned away by the Army and the Marines because he was missing his right index finger.

He lost it two years ago in a target-shooting accident.

To get into the Army, Teets made a video of himself shooting left-handed, rock-climbing and other things to prove a soldier with nine fingers is just as good as one with ten.

He's now starting basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.