Warrior Transition Units Archives

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Army established Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) at major military treatment facilities around the world to provide personalized support to wounded, ill and injured Soldiers. Usually severely wounded, these soldiers require at least six months of rehabilitative care and complex medical management. Also treated in the units are mobilized Reserve Component Soldiers requiring definitive care. But now, a key congressional committee is looking into allegations of harassment and mistreatment within the units.

The House Subcommittee on Military Personnel also called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to gauge the long-term viability of the WTUs, given the decline in the numbers of wounded troops in recent years as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have wound down. The call for the GAO investigation came as the Army planned to close 10 of its 25 WTUs.

The WTUs scheduled for inactivation by August 2016 are at Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Knox, Ky.; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Polk, La.; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Fort Meade, Md.; and Naval Medical Center, San Diego.

The Army has pushed back against the suggestion that allegations of harassment and disrespect by WTU staff indicated a pattern of abuse or systemic mistreatment, arguing that complaints along those lines were isolated incidents.

The subcommittee directed the GAO to evaluate how well the Army responds to complaints by soldiers in the WTUs and the selection and training of their leaders.

In a recent statement, Col. Chris Toner, head of the Army’s Warrior Transition Command, said “I treat all these allegations seriously.” He said he had a “zero tolerance” policy for disrespect and mistreatment by staff.

The Army Medical Command welcomes any reviews “in our ongoing quest to improve the care provided to our soldiers in transition,” a spokesman said Thursday.

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Military Connection: Major Investigation Into Army Warrior Care: By Debbie Gregory

By Debbie Gregory.

It is a bittersweet time for soldiers and leaders within the U.S. Army, as the branch is looking to close ten of its remaining twenty-five Warrior Transition Units (WTU) by the summer of 2016.

WTUs were implemented to provide personalized support to the wounded, injured and ill soldiers who require at least six months of complex medical management or rehabilitation. These units were positioned at major military treatment facilities around the globe. Since their inception in 2007, WTUs have provided care to nearly 66,000 soldiers. The Army states that 29,000 of them managed to return to duty.

The ten WTUs that will be closing over the next year are: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright, both in Alaska; Naval Medical Center in California; Fort Gordon, Georgia; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Meade, Maryland; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.

The Army made the announcement on April 24, 2015, about one month after it stopped assigning new soldiers to WTUs. The target date to complete the closures is August 15, 2016. This leaves a gap longer than an average WTU stay, which is 360 days for active duty and 417 days for reservists. All soldiers currently receiving care should be able to complete their assignment at their current WTU. Civilian, active duty and reservist members who work at WTUs will have to be reassigned or laid off.

The closing of these ten units is bittersweet, because WTUs provide a necessary and critical function for injured, sick and wounded soldiers. But the upside is that the Army does not have the need for as many WTUs as it did when they were first created in 2007. Most units serve fifty or fewer soldiers, and four provide care for less than twenty.

The WTUs that will remain are: Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Benning and Fort Stewart, both in Georgia; Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii; Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland; Fort Drum, New York; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Bliss, and Fort Hood in Texas; Fort Belvior, Virginia; Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State; and European Medical Command in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard,Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.