One year ago Walter Reed Army Medical Center was rocked by an onslaught of unfavorable publicity in the Washington Post concerning living conditions for some recuperating Soldiers.
Yesterday Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, Army surgeon general and the commanding general of the Army Medical Command, spoke to the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare breakfast at the Crystal City Gateway Marriot.
The talk was entitled ‘‘A Year After Walter Reed: The Army Medical Plan In Action.” The general said the articles were painful, but the stories strengthened the Army’s resolve to do better.
The new warrior transition units (WTUs) are the building blocks of the medical action plan designed to fix the situation. Some 2,400 Soldier-leaders — up from 400 at this time last year — now are assigned to 35 of these units, Schoomaker said.
There are currently 11,652 warriors attached to WTUs according to a slide displayed during the talk. The units range from a 22 Soldier contingent in Heidleberg, Germany, to 683 Soldiers at Walter Reed.
There are WTUs as far afield as Puerto Rico and Alaska. Schoomaker pointed out only one third of these patients are evacuees from combat zones.
Wounded Soldiers now have a mission statement, ‘‘I am a Warrior in transition. My job is to heal as I transition back to duty...”
The warrior transition units are to ensure no Soldier falls between the bureaucratic cracks during treatment, recovery, rehabilitation and return to service or their transition to civilian life.
The comprehensive transition plan involves ‘‘healing the total person.” The Army surgeon general said the service always did the medical side well, but now the joint medical community is making an effort to help wounded warriors become a successful Soldier or a successful veteran.
The Army Medical Command also has a new ombudsman program. The ombudsmen at 26 installations work outside the normal chain of command but will have direct access to hospitals, garrison and installation commanders to fix problems, Schoomaker said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is becoming ‘‘very supportive.” Schoomaker said this generation of wounded warriors expects to be very active and even to participate in triathalons.
The Army’s top doctor said there are still problems, particularly in rural areas, but they were working diligently to identify and solve them.
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