Today Operation Warrior Wishes is teaming up with Vaco Nashville to honor warriors from the Fort Campbell Warrior Transition Battalion at the Nashville Predators game On Nov. 15, 2011, Fort Campbell opened the doors to a new facility aimed at helping soldiers with severe injuries regain their lives. The Warrior Transition Complex houses 450 soldiers who are working to rehabilitate their injuries so they can begin the transition to their post-injury lives. It is a commitment from the Army to those soldiers who are seriously wounded. “The Warrior Transition Complex incorporates the barracks — which is 103 rooms — with a battalion headquarters and a company headquarters,” said WTC director Maj. Jay Schwartz. “It has greatly increased our footprint, because (the injured) were spread out at different places throughout the Fort Campbell area. Now, we are slowly but surely consolidating, which makes life a lot easier for us, with soldiers being right across from the hospital.” Each company has its own floor in the four-story building, which helps enhance unit integrity and identity. “You take some ownership in it,” Schwartz said. “Within each floor is a multi-training area where, before, they had scheduled classes and training at various sites throughout the post. Now, they have an area they can go to conduct training. “It’s like moving into a new house. The facilities are more consolidated, which is the biggest thing.” The rooms in the $31.6-million facility help soldiers focus on the healing process by taking care of their living situation. “Where you live is a big part of the mental aspect of healing,” Schwartz said. “The mental aspect of healing is a large part of it, as the physical aspect is as well. It all lends itself to the total commitment made by the Army telling the soldier that ‘You were injured, but you are not forgotten. We are not going to leave you on the battlefield.’” The average stay for an injured soldier at the Warrior Transition Complex is about a year, which makes a more modern facility easier to stay in. Soldiers using the facility may have a wide range of injuries, from amputations and other physical injuries to psychological diagnoses. The staff at the complex comes from a wide variety of experiences. “We have active duty, National Guard and we also have reserve,” Schwartz said. “We also have public health service. So, we are — as they call the term — as ‘purple’ as purple can be. We have nurse case managers, we have squad leaders, and they are from all branches, all ranks from the Army. We have infantry officers — I’m a medical service corps officer. We have logistical officers. They come from all branches. “Basically, you get nominated to come here, and we go through a screening criteria because there is a certain personality that really helps out. There are some unique challenges that we go through on a day-to-day basis, and there are certain criteria you need to have to help a patient face those challenges.” Schwartz said the facility is a sign to the seriously wounded soldier that the Army is looking out for him and a big step towards helping those soldiers cope with their injuries and prepare for life after injury. Thank you to Vaco for giving us the opportunity to show these soldiers our appreciation! #TogetherWeMakeWarriorWishesComeTrue
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 21:47:06 +0000
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