Killeen Daily Herald - Killeen,TX,USA
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald
When Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch was last at Fort Hood during Sept. 11, 2001, the post increased security measures as a response to the terrorist attacks.
At that time, "we went into our bunkers," Lynch said Friday morning. He returned seven years later to take over as III Corps and Fort Hood commander, and "my assessment is that we're still in bunkers."
Lynch talked about community relations and making the post more accessible to the public during an address to the Killeen-Heights Rotary International Club. He was joined by other III Corps officials, including Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Ciotola, the corps' senior noncommissioned officer; Col. Bill Rabena, the corps' fire support coordinator; Lt. Col. Mo Goins, the commander's executive officer; and Lt. Col. Ben Danner, the corps' public affairs officer.
He also talked about issues like housing and soldiers' access to health care.
Lynch considered 10 percent of on-post housing to be substandard and unacceptable. Some housing in Chaffee Village has issues like asbestos and faulty wiring, he said.
The post currently has 80 percent of the health care providers needed and allotted.
The Warrior Transition Unit was created to help wounded soldiers get the treatment they need.
One hundred fifty of the post's WTU soldiers have visible wounds, Lynch said, and 411 have invisible wounds.
One of his passions is figuring out how to build a behavioral health center on Fort Hood.
Spiritual fitness is also an area Lynch is looking to improve. Ten of 13 chapels on Fort Hood don't meet the Army standard, he said. The 33rd Street Chapel is exactly the same as when he and his wife, Killeen native Sarah, were married there 26 years ago.
Officials have designs and plans for a state-of-the-art worship center, but it won't be ready until 2012 at the earliest, Lynch said.go here for more
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