JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Navy veteran who lost an arm in Iraq in 2005 now has a new one that can do most of the things the original could.

Hospital Corpsman Sharod Edwards, who was a field medic in Iraq, is the first person in the world to have the new functional arm.  There were two others who had it on a trial basis, but for Edwards, it's a keeper.

It's been three weeks since Edwards got the new arm, which works by muscle impulses higher in the arm that control the action of the wrist and fingers.

Licensed certified prosthetist Geoffrey Hemmen, who has worked closely with Edwards at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in San Marco, said he's doing great, and that's why he got into the business.

Hemmen said he knew someone when he was a child who lost a leg in an accident and has pursued the field of prosthetics ever since.