(AP) — Sgt. 1st Class Greg Robinson has become the first amputee to complete Army air assault school, a course so grueling his prosthetic leg broke down twice over the 10 days spent rappelling down ropes, marching long distances and navigating obstacle courses.

Each year thousands of soldiers are physically and mentally tested at the Fort Campbell , Kentucky school. Instructors said Robinson accomplished all that others did and trainers cut him no slack even though he lost part of his right leg in Afghanistan in 2006.

The 34-year-old noncommissioned officer from Elizabethtown, Ill., graduated Monday.

War wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan and the Boston Marathon bombing have highlighted the challenges to recovery amputees face.

Robinson, a platoon sergeant, says he was determined to complete the same program soldiers under his command must confront.