Wife of wounded Fort Benning soldier serving on the Recovering Warrior Task Force

Fort Benning soldier, his wife share experiences of war today at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Suzanne Crockett-Jones serves on task force that looks into programs for wounded soldiers

By BEN WRIGHT - bwright@ledger-enquirer.com

The wife of a former Fort Benning soldier is serving on the Recovering Warrior Task Force, a committee approved by Congress to look into programs for wounded soldiers.

“When I talk to individual service members, I tell them to be their own best advocate and be as informed as possible,” said Suzanne Crockett-Jones, the wife of Army Maj. William Jones. “I try to point them to the place to get good information.”

Crockett-Jones, the mother of three children, was caregiver and advocate for her wounded husband after he was shot three times in an ambush near Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. She and her husband will share their experiences at 10:40 a.m. today as guests at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1442 Double Churches Road, Columbus. William Jones served as Ranger instructor, attended Officer Candidate School and an advanced course at Fort Benning.

Shortly after her husband was injured, Crockett-Jones was asked to serve on the committee looking into injured soldiers even though her husband is still not recovered from battle wounds. Unable to return to an infantry unit, he is now assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground at Aberdeen, Maryland.

In Washington, Crockett-Jones is the civilian co-chair of the 14-member committee made up of seven military service members and seven civilians. Created in 2009 by Congress, the group meets about once a month and visits installations providing services to members in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine. The group will work until 2014, making recommendations to improve services.

On any given day, the Army has 10,000 wounded soldiers. Some only need short term recovery before they’re able to return to their unit. The task force is concerned about soldiers who need more extensive time to recover and must find a new way to serve in the military or become medically retired, Crockett-Jones said.


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