thedrifter
08-02-07, 06:49 AM
Thursday, August 2, 2007
A battalion of – and for – injured Marines
Pendleton part of effort to streamline care.
By VIK JOLLY
The Orange County Register
CAMP PENDLETON – Marine Cpl. Eric Holkeboer was on a rooftop patrol this year outside Fallujah in Iraq when a concussion from a mortar broke his left leg.
When he tried to pick up a fellow Marine also hit in the leg, Holkeboer shattered his own.
The 24-year-old infantry team leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines ended up in the hospital for two weeks. Since then he has been recuperating at the Wounded Warrior Center at the base here.
On Wednesday, Holkeboer once again became part of a battalion when the center was formally activated as the Wounded Warrior Battalion – West in a 30-minute ceremony on a football field near the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital.
The battalion will bring under one roof the injured service member's command and medical care by contacting and assigning a case manager to each wounded Marine or sailor, who will help get them the care they need.
Currently, an injured service member can enter the medical system through various channels, and records are maintained at different places – the Marine's own battalion, a military hospital or another facility that they may select on their own.
"It allows for many people to have hands on these Marines," said Cathy Harrington, Marine Corps liaison at the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. "The battalion is going to be a one-push button … the battalion will streamline that."
Holkeboer, who also suffered shrapnel wounds all over his body and now awaits a tooth implant, expects to get back to his unit and to Iraq if necessary.
"It's really nice to be actually part of a unit again instead of just being of to the side," Holkeboer said after the ceremony, attended by some 200 Marines, sailors, officials and family members. "It's nice to have a chain of command and know exactly where I fit in the Marine Corps."
Returning a sense of belonging to recuperating Marines was in part the impetus for the establishment of the battalion.
The battalion will serve as the West Coast's unit under the Wounded Warrior Regiment in Quantico, Va., formed in April, with a mission to provide assistance to wounded, ill and injured Marines and sailors and their family members throughout their phases of recovery.
The regiment will focus on the transition of military personnel from care under the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs and aggressively follow up with periodic contact after the end of military service, according to the base.
Lt. Col. Charles H. Johnson has assumed command of the new Wounded Warrior Battalion – West, whose counterpart was launched at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in June.
As of Saturday, 8,196 Marines had been wounded in action in Iraq with an additional 103 wounded in Afghanistan, according to Department of Defense statistics.
The Corps had established injury support units last year, Johnson said. That was well before news reports of about substandard conditions and bureaucratic problems affecting the care of injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, one of the military's highest-profile and busiest medical facilities, and its outpatient facilities.
The regiment is believed to be the first one of its kind. Johnson said he thinks the battalions are being activated now because of an increase in injured service members.
"I think the reason is, and this is my personal opinion, in this day and age of advanced medical technology we're seeing a lot more Marines coming back wounded that probably would have died on the battlefield in past wars," he said. "I think that's why we're seeing a larger influx and a larger need to take care or our wounded.
"There are an overwhelming amount of organizations wanting to help," he said. "What (Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway) wanted to establish was a central point of contact and a unity of command in order to handle these Marines, so nobody gets lost in the seams."
The military barracks for the Wounded Warrior Battalion – West has 18 residents. A staff of 21 is expected to eventually double. Construction of barracks that could house as many as 200 is expected to start next year.
Contact the writer: 949-465-5424 or vjolly@ocregister.com
Ellie
A battalion of – and for – injured Marines
Pendleton part of effort to streamline care.
By VIK JOLLY
The Orange County Register
CAMP PENDLETON – Marine Cpl. Eric Holkeboer was on a rooftop patrol this year outside Fallujah in Iraq when a concussion from a mortar broke his left leg.
When he tried to pick up a fellow Marine also hit in the leg, Holkeboer shattered his own.
The 24-year-old infantry team leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines ended up in the hospital for two weeks. Since then he has been recuperating at the Wounded Warrior Center at the base here.
On Wednesday, Holkeboer once again became part of a battalion when the center was formally activated as the Wounded Warrior Battalion – West in a 30-minute ceremony on a football field near the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital.
The battalion will bring under one roof the injured service member's command and medical care by contacting and assigning a case manager to each wounded Marine or sailor, who will help get them the care they need.
Currently, an injured service member can enter the medical system through various channels, and records are maintained at different places – the Marine's own battalion, a military hospital or another facility that they may select on their own.
"It allows for many people to have hands on these Marines," said Cathy Harrington, Marine Corps liaison at the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. "The battalion is going to be a one-push button … the battalion will streamline that."
Holkeboer, who also suffered shrapnel wounds all over his body and now awaits a tooth implant, expects to get back to his unit and to Iraq if necessary.
"It's really nice to be actually part of a unit again instead of just being of to the side," Holkeboer said after the ceremony, attended by some 200 Marines, sailors, officials and family members. "It's nice to have a chain of command and know exactly where I fit in the Marine Corps."
Returning a sense of belonging to recuperating Marines was in part the impetus for the establishment of the battalion.
The battalion will serve as the West Coast's unit under the Wounded Warrior Regiment in Quantico, Va., formed in April, with a mission to provide assistance to wounded, ill and injured Marines and sailors and their family members throughout their phases of recovery.
The regiment will focus on the transition of military personnel from care under the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs and aggressively follow up with periodic contact after the end of military service, according to the base.
Lt. Col. Charles H. Johnson has assumed command of the new Wounded Warrior Battalion – West, whose counterpart was launched at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in June.
As of Saturday, 8,196 Marines had been wounded in action in Iraq with an additional 103 wounded in Afghanistan, according to Department of Defense statistics.
The Corps had established injury support units last year, Johnson said. That was well before news reports of about substandard conditions and bureaucratic problems affecting the care of injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, one of the military's highest-profile and busiest medical facilities, and its outpatient facilities.
The regiment is believed to be the first one of its kind. Johnson said he thinks the battalions are being activated now because of an increase in injured service members.
"I think the reason is, and this is my personal opinion, in this day and age of advanced medical technology we're seeing a lot more Marines coming back wounded that probably would have died on the battlefield in past wars," he said. "I think that's why we're seeing a larger influx and a larger need to take care or our wounded.
"There are an overwhelming amount of organizations wanting to help," he said. "What (Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway) wanted to establish was a central point of contact and a unity of command in order to handle these Marines, so nobody gets lost in the seams."
The military barracks for the Wounded Warrior Battalion – West has 18 residents. A staff of 21 is expected to eventually double. Construction of barracks that could house as many as 200 is expected to start next year.
Contact the writer: 949-465-5424 or vjolly@ocregister.com
Ellie