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thedrifter
08-16-09, 06:55 AM
New commander for Lejeune Wounded Warrior unit
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 14, 2009 6:12:46 EDT

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Marine Corps’ only East Coast wounded warrior battalion is getting a new commander.

Lt. Col. George S. Benson will take command of Wounded Warrior Battalion-East from Lt. Col. Thomas C. Siebenthal on Friday. The ceremony takes place at Marston Pavilion at Camp Lejeune.

Benson recently returned from a 15-month deployment to Iraq.

Established in 2007, the battalion was created to assist wounded, ill, and injured Marines and sailors through the recovery process.

Siebenthal, from Knox, Ind., was the first commanding officer of the unit and will retire after the command change.

Ellie

thedrifter
08-16-09, 07:18 AM
‘Typical Marine Corps fashion'
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August 14, 2009 5:41 PM
AMANDA HICKEY

When Wounded Warrior Battalion East began in June 2007, stand-ins were used to represent the battalion’s Marines and sailors because few were able to make it through the ceremony.

But as Lt. Col. Thomas C. Siebenthal held the colors for Wounded Warrior Battalion East one last time Friday morning, the Marines standing behind him were solely from the battalion, he said.

Siebenthal, who served as the commanding officer for Wounded Warrior Battalion East since its inception, celebrated his retirement Friday and passed the reins of the battalion to Lt. Col. George S. Benson.

“He has taken this organization and stood it up from scratch. … There is nothing in Marine Corps history about a wounded warriors’ battalion,” said Col. Gregory Boyle, commanding officer for Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment, of which Wounded Warrior Battalion East and West are part.

Siebenthal got the battalion up and running in “typical Marine Corps fashion — better than everybody else,” Boyle said, explaining that the battalion grew from a handful of staff to more than 100 personnel and the ability to help thousands of wounded Marines and sailors east of the Mississippi River.

There wasn’t a “blueprint” to follow in creating the battalion, said Siebenthal.

“We make it up every day almost, which certainly scares some folks,” he said.

During Siebenthal’s time with the battalion it grew to include the Warrior Athlete Rehabilitation program. The planning also included a 200-bed barracks solely for the Marines and sailors, which Siebenthal said will be complete in 2010.

Benson has much to look forward to, Siebenthal said, including working with a “dynamite staff.”

“It’s a family. I know I feel like that and I hope they feel like that too,” he said.

Benson, who recently returned from a 15-month deployment to Iraq, is “excited” to see firsthand what happens once wounded warriors return stateside.

“It’s just so nice to be on this side and see how nice these guys are treated when they’re evacuated back,” he said.

While Seibenthal is not sure what’s next other than settling down in Sneads Ferry, Benson’s main goal is to continue the battalion’s mission to help the wounded.

“If I can do half of what Lt. Col. Seibenthal has done … then that’s great,” he said.



Contact Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com.

Ellie