thedrifter
05-09-09, 01:43 PM
Wounded Warriors break ground on new barracks
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May 8, 2009 - 6:48 PM
JENNIFER HLAD
Marines and sailors broke ground Friday on a place where wounded warriors will be able to heal, mentally and physically.
The new Wounded Warriors barracks, which is scheduled to take about 18 months to build, will include 100 two-man rooms, living area and kitchenette, fitness, physical therapy and counseling space.
The rooms are designed to accommodate two wheelchair-bound Marines without collisions, said Lt. Col. Thomas Siebenthal, commander of Wounded Warriors Battalion-East.
Camp Lejeune's wounded warriors are currently housed in a 1940s-era building across base from the Naval Hospital. The new facility is just steps away from the hospital.
"It's convenient," said Cpl. Bobby Joseph, a Marine who was injured by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol in Iraq in November 2006. "It is a pain in the butt to get transportation (from the current location to the hospital)."
The barracks is definitely needed, Joseph said.
"This is the best idea I've ever seen," he said. "It's the best thing they've done."
The concept for the wounded warriors barracks came about after Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell and then-Gunnery Sgt. Ken Barnes were wounded in Iraq in 2004. The two, who were both with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, realized as they were recovering that part of the healing process involved interacting with and bonding with other injured Marines.
"How do you get that shared experience when you're all by yourself?" Gen. James Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps said, explaining the concept behind the barracks.
Amos previously served as commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force, and created the Wounded Warrior Support Section in 2005 in a renovated barracks at Camp Lejeune.
"This is probably the greatest day I've had all year long," Amos said Friday. "It's not the culmination, it's just the beginning."
Col. Gregory Boyle, commander of the Wounded Warriors Regiment, said the barracks and other facilities being built on the site - including a Warrior Hope and Care Center and a Fisher House for families of the wounded - will help the Marines "get back to that ‘new normal.'"
"These Marines made a commitment to our country. We owe a commitment to them," he said.
Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467.
Ellie
Comments 0 | Recommend 2
May 8, 2009 - 6:48 PM
JENNIFER HLAD
Marines and sailors broke ground Friday on a place where wounded warriors will be able to heal, mentally and physically.
The new Wounded Warriors barracks, which is scheduled to take about 18 months to build, will include 100 two-man rooms, living area and kitchenette, fitness, physical therapy and counseling space.
The rooms are designed to accommodate two wheelchair-bound Marines without collisions, said Lt. Col. Thomas Siebenthal, commander of Wounded Warriors Battalion-East.
Camp Lejeune's wounded warriors are currently housed in a 1940s-era building across base from the Naval Hospital. The new facility is just steps away from the hospital.
"It's convenient," said Cpl. Bobby Joseph, a Marine who was injured by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol in Iraq in November 2006. "It is a pain in the butt to get transportation (from the current location to the hospital)."
The barracks is definitely needed, Joseph said.
"This is the best idea I've ever seen," he said. "It's the best thing they've done."
The concept for the wounded warriors barracks came about after Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell and then-Gunnery Sgt. Ken Barnes were wounded in Iraq in 2004. The two, who were both with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, realized as they were recovering that part of the healing process involved interacting with and bonding with other injured Marines.
"How do you get that shared experience when you're all by yourself?" Gen. James Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps said, explaining the concept behind the barracks.
Amos previously served as commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force, and created the Wounded Warrior Support Section in 2005 in a renovated barracks at Camp Lejeune.
"This is probably the greatest day I've had all year long," Amos said Friday. "It's not the culmination, it's just the beginning."
Col. Gregory Boyle, commander of the Wounded Warriors Regiment, said the barracks and other facilities being built on the site - including a Warrior Hope and Care Center and a Fisher House for families of the wounded - will help the Marines "get back to that ‘new normal.'"
"These Marines made a commitment to our country. We owe a commitment to them," he said.
Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8467.
Ellie