thedrifter
04-06-07, 08:11 AM
Posted on Fri, Apr. 06, 2007
Regiment will unite wounded Marines
By Jay Price
McClatchy Newspapers
Inspired by a program at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps will create a new regiment designed not to fight wars overseas but to help the wounded overcome battles back home.
The Wounded Warrior Regiment will unite injured Marines across the country under one set of leaders who can advocate for them, the unit's new commander, Col. Gregory Boyle, said in a Pentagon news conference Wednesday.
The idea is to ensure the wounded Marines get what they need to heal and return to duty, or that their shift to civilian life and Veterans Affairs health care goes well, Boyle said. The unit will incorporate lessons learned from the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where wounded troops faced a frustrating bureaucracy and, in some cases, unsanitary housing.
The Marine Corps has suffered more than its share of wounded in Iraq: more than 7,700 out of a total of more than 24,000. That's in part because since the early days of the war large numbers of Marines have been assigned to Anbar Province, the deadliest place in Iraq for U.S. troops.
There are about 370 wounded Marines being treated at Lejeune, Camp Pendleton in California and various military hospitals, Boyle said. They would form the core of the new unit.
"I want these Marines to feel that they are the center of the universe and that we think about them and care about them," Boyle said.
The 84 Marines in the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Lejeune - who will become part of the new regiment - already do.
"They make things happen here," said Cpl. Bobby Joseph, 25. His left leg was shattered and lower body shredded by more than 100 pieces of shrapnel when a bomb exploded while he was on foot patrol near Iraq's border with Syria.
"If I were injured and left with my unit, I'd basically be stuck in the shadow," he said. "It wouldn't be my unit's fault, but they've got a lot to do. Here, they really take care of you."
The Wounded Warrior Barracks was started by Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell and Gunnery Sgt. Ken Barnes in 2005. Maxwell, who himself was recovering from a horrible head wound, noticed a 20-year-old wounded Marine sitting alone in his barracks. The young man was sad and lonely and Maxwell vowed to ensure the wounded wouldn't have to live like that.
The concept has spread to the Marines' main West Coast base, Camp Pendleton. Then came the idea of the regiment. And just last week the U.S. House passed a bill that would establish a Wounded Warrior unit in the Army, too.
"We're going to streamline this whole wounded process," Barnes said. "Instead of calling six different organizations at Headquarters Marine Corps we can just call one number, and that will be our own regimental headquarters."
Ellie
Regiment will unite wounded Marines
By Jay Price
McClatchy Newspapers
Inspired by a program at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps will create a new regiment designed not to fight wars overseas but to help the wounded overcome battles back home.
The Wounded Warrior Regiment will unite injured Marines across the country under one set of leaders who can advocate for them, the unit's new commander, Col. Gregory Boyle, said in a Pentagon news conference Wednesday.
The idea is to ensure the wounded Marines get what they need to heal and return to duty, or that their shift to civilian life and Veterans Affairs health care goes well, Boyle said. The unit will incorporate lessons learned from the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where wounded troops faced a frustrating bureaucracy and, in some cases, unsanitary housing.
The Marine Corps has suffered more than its share of wounded in Iraq: more than 7,700 out of a total of more than 24,000. That's in part because since the early days of the war large numbers of Marines have been assigned to Anbar Province, the deadliest place in Iraq for U.S. troops.
There are about 370 wounded Marines being treated at Lejeune, Camp Pendleton in California and various military hospitals, Boyle said. They would form the core of the new unit.
"I want these Marines to feel that they are the center of the universe and that we think about them and care about them," Boyle said.
The 84 Marines in the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Lejeune - who will become part of the new regiment - already do.
"They make things happen here," said Cpl. Bobby Joseph, 25. His left leg was shattered and lower body shredded by more than 100 pieces of shrapnel when a bomb exploded while he was on foot patrol near Iraq's border with Syria.
"If I were injured and left with my unit, I'd basically be stuck in the shadow," he said. "It wouldn't be my unit's fault, but they've got a lot to do. Here, they really take care of you."
The Wounded Warrior Barracks was started by Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell and Gunnery Sgt. Ken Barnes in 2005. Maxwell, who himself was recovering from a horrible head wound, noticed a 20-year-old wounded Marine sitting alone in his barracks. The young man was sad and lonely and Maxwell vowed to ensure the wounded wouldn't have to live like that.
The concept has spread to the Marines' main West Coast base, Camp Pendleton. Then came the idea of the regiment. And just last week the U.S. House passed a bill that would establish a Wounded Warrior unit in the Army, too.
"We're going to streamline this whole wounded process," Barnes said. "Instead of calling six different organizations at Headquarters Marine Corps we can just call one number, and that will be our own regimental headquarters."
Ellie