thedrifter
06-21-08, 07:36 AM
MILITARY: Treating the troops
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.
After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline.
"My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here."
The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.
The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.
Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.
The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.
"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."
A wounded Marine
Webster's injuries came when an anti-tank mine exploded under his vehicle while he was on patrol in the Anbar province city of Al-Qaim near the Syrian border on Sept. 29, 2005.
"I was in the third vehicle when it exploded and blew right through," he recalled.
The blast tore away his right thigh and severely injured his right arm, leaving the arm slightly disfigured.
Today, the tall, soft-spoken Marine works as the battalion's police sergeant and barracks manager when he's not undergoing the treatments he needs to repair his wounds.
"I'm a wounded Marine and I know what these guys are going through," he says of the injured around him while praising the services the battalion offers.
Webster has two Purple Hearts. The first was bestowed after he was wounded in a June 2005 bombing during a raid near the Syrian border. The second Purple Heart resulted from the more severe injuries he suffered three months later.
In his early months of recovery, Webster wasn't part of a group dedicated solely to healing the wounded and injured.
"It was easy to fall through the cracks," he said. "You would wind up having to do everything yourself. This place centers it all."
Since it opened, the battalion has seen 53 troops get well enough to move on.
"Most of these guys have the option of staying in the Marine Corps on limited-service duty," Lawhorne said. "A lot of others are close to retirement and want to make sure they are able to stay in long enough to earn their benefits."
Brain injuries, traumatic stress
To further centralize its services, the battalion will open a large mobile home within the next couple of weeks. It will be a one-stop shop for outpatients and their spouses.
In about three years, the battalion plans to move to a three-story complex that will include a 200-bed barracks.
It's likely many of those beds will be filled by troops suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, most of which are caused by roadside bombs.
"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."
For those with traumatic brain injury, the battalion works with local hospitals and Veterans Affairs facilities in the region.
A study by the nonprofit Rand Corp. conducted for the Defense Department and released in April found nearly 20 percent of all troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan ---- approximately 300,000 men and women ---- report suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression.
"We're getting constant referrals as commanders and the troops become more and more familiar with post-traumatic stress," Lawhorne said, while seated in her office with a bundle of canes ready to be handed out stacked nearby.
Among the services the battalion provides is a regular group therapy session where sailors and Marines can talk with their peers.
"That kind of mentorship is significant in helping them get better," Lawhorne said.
Healing others, and himself
One battalion member suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder while at the same time helping heal others is Navy medical Corpsman Aaron Siebert of Lake Elsinore.
Siebert was part of a Marine unit working with the Iraqi army in the Anbar city of Habbaniyah when an insurgent's mortar exploded within feet of where he was standing, showering him with more than 100 pieces of shrapnel.
"I mean I got peppered," the 17-year veteran said.
The April 2006 incident, which led to multiple surgeries, occurred on Siebert's third deployment.
Today, he walks with a slight limp. He said he continues to deal with his injuries and the stress from repeated deployments and being the first to treat troops on the battlefield.
He has about three years left to reach retirement eligibility. He said he hopes to complete his service years with the Wounded Warrior Battalion.
"My life in the Navy has been all about serving with the Marines," he said. "I'm rated as non-deployable active duty and having this battalion gives guys a lot of support. It's going to save a lot of guys from ending up on the street."
Siebert is working as the battalion's medical liaison while addressing his own medical and psychological issues.
"I deal with anger, flashback and hyper-vigilence," he said. "I'm getting help, but my best medicine is coming to work here each day and trying to live as a true, happy American after being on the edge of death."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.
After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline.
"My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here."
The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.
The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.
Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.
The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.
"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."
A wounded Marine
Webster's injuries came when an anti-tank mine exploded under his vehicle while he was on patrol in the Anbar province city of Al-Qaim near the Syrian border on Sept. 29, 2005.
"I was in the third vehicle when it exploded and blew right through," he recalled.
The blast tore away his right thigh and severely injured his right arm, leaving the arm slightly disfigured.
Today, the tall, soft-spoken Marine works as the battalion's police sergeant and barracks manager when he's not undergoing the treatments he needs to repair his wounds.
"I'm a wounded Marine and I know what these guys are going through," he says of the injured around him while praising the services the battalion offers.
Webster has two Purple Hearts. The first was bestowed after he was wounded in a June 2005 bombing during a raid near the Syrian border. The second Purple Heart resulted from the more severe injuries he suffered three months later.
In his early months of recovery, Webster wasn't part of a group dedicated solely to healing the wounded and injured.
"It was easy to fall through the cracks," he said. "You would wind up having to do everything yourself. This place centers it all."
Since it opened, the battalion has seen 53 troops get well enough to move on.
"Most of these guys have the option of staying in the Marine Corps on limited-service duty," Lawhorne said. "A lot of others are close to retirement and want to make sure they are able to stay in long enough to earn their benefits."
Brain injuries, traumatic stress
To further centralize its services, the battalion will open a large mobile home within the next couple of weeks. It will be a one-stop shop for outpatients and their spouses.
In about three years, the battalion plans to move to a three-story complex that will include a 200-bed barracks.
It's likely many of those beds will be filled by troops suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries, most of which are caused by roadside bombs.
"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."
For those with traumatic brain injury, the battalion works with local hospitals and Veterans Affairs facilities in the region.
A study by the nonprofit Rand Corp. conducted for the Defense Department and released in April found nearly 20 percent of all troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan ---- approximately 300,000 men and women ---- report suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression.
"We're getting constant referrals as commanders and the troops become more and more familiar with post-traumatic stress," Lawhorne said, while seated in her office with a bundle of canes ready to be handed out stacked nearby.
Among the services the battalion provides is a regular group therapy session where sailors and Marines can talk with their peers.
"That kind of mentorship is significant in helping them get better," Lawhorne said.
Healing others, and himself
One battalion member suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder while at the same time helping heal others is Navy medical Corpsman Aaron Siebert of Lake Elsinore.
Siebert was part of a Marine unit working with the Iraqi army in the Anbar city of Habbaniyah when an insurgent's mortar exploded within feet of where he was standing, showering him with more than 100 pieces of shrapnel.
"I mean I got peppered," the 17-year veteran said.
The April 2006 incident, which led to multiple surgeries, occurred on Siebert's third deployment.
Today, he walks with a slight limp. He said he continues to deal with his injuries and the stress from repeated deployments and being the first to treat troops on the battlefield.
He has about three years left to reach retirement eligibility. He said he hopes to complete his service years with the Wounded Warrior Battalion.
"My life in the Navy has been all about serving with the Marines," he said. "I'm rated as non-deployable active duty and having this battalion gives guys a lot of support. It's going to save a lot of guys from ending up on the street."
Siebert is working as the battalion's medical liaison while addressing his own medical and psychological issues.
"I deal with anger, flashback and hyper-vigilence," he said. "I'm getting help, but my best medicine is coming to work here each day and trying to live as a true, happy American after being on the edge of death."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie