Warrior Transition Unit Leaders Had to Be Ordered to Treat Wounded Better?

UPDATE FROM DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Army orders new training for Warrior Transition Units

Sen. John Cornyn, in a strongly worded letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh, said he found “highly disturbing” complaints about verbal abuse, disrespect and unfair treatment within the Army’s Warrior Transition Units, or WTUs.

The complaints were gathered from interviews with current and former soldiers, as well as hundreds of military records obtained by The News and NBC5 through the Freedom of Information Act.

“These news reports indicate a need for increased congressional oversight. Moreover, they raise a number of serious policy questions,” Cornyn wrote in the letter dated Monday.

“The purpose of these WTUs is to help soldiers heal and recover from physical and psychological wounds of war and then either return to their units or transition to civilian life,” he wrote. “Yet, the environment described in the recent news reports ... falls far short of that standard.”

Cornyn’s points

In his letter, Cornyn raised several questions:

Has there been a hostile climate within the WTUs?

Within the WTUs, do key personnel understand post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and recognize it as a legitimate medical condition?

Does the organizational structure of the WTUs result in friction between military requirements and medical needs of soldiers?

Has the Army implemented recommendations from the Department of Defense Inspector General to improve training of the WTU leaders?

Are pharmaceuticals being overused as a treatment for wounded soldiers with PTSD or other psychological ailments?

The answer is yes. We've known about it, screamed about it, cried about it and members of Congress didn't listen.

Army had to issue orders at every Warrior Transition Unit to treat wounded with "dignity and respect." Top that off with they think that a day of training leaders will make enough of a difference to stop the widespread abuse of our wounded. Do they really think a day is enough to undo all this?

It was created 7 years ago. Think about that. For the last 7 years when we were told a totally different story about the care the wounded were getting and how serious the leaders were on addressing PTSD, this was happening. It took NBC news and the Dallas Morning News 6 months to uncover what we've all been talking about and now, finally, something may be done. If you want to know why there are so many suicides, this is a huge part of the reason.

I am very thankful for NBC and Dallas Morning News for uncovering this wide spread abuse of our wounded soldiers.

The best part is now members of Congress are paying attention to this too. Gee do you think they should have done some investigating on their own if they really cared about saving soldiers and veterans? Do you think they should have been paying attention to what all of us knew instead of passing bills to prevent suicides when the answer was already known to most of us?

It all starts with the bullshit of what the DOD has been doing to the soldiers instead of what they claimed they were doing for them!

Army officials order new training to address complaints made by injured soldiers highlighted in an NBC 5 Investigates report. NBC 5 Dallas By Scott Friedman Dec 17, 2014

Army Takes Action on Warrior Transition Units
Injured Heroes, Broken Promises: Army Orders New Training at Warrior Transition Units
NBC 5 report prompts Congressional action on harassment in the Army
By Scott Friedman
December 17, 2014

The training was to be specifically focused on how to treat soldiers with dignity and respect.

“So harassment and abuse is unacceptable in our force.” said Army Warrior Transition Commander, Col. Chris Toner, in an interview last month.

“The message is you can't mistreat these soldiers. The message is you will treat them with dignity and respect,” said Toner.

The investigation showed soldiers with post-traumatic stress describe WTU army leaders cursing at them and telling to get over it.

Spc. Michael Howard said he was told to “man up” while in recovery at a WTU. Other soldiers complained of being ordered to drive to early-morning military formations while being prescribed sedating medications during their treatment.

“On one occasion, I fell asleep at a stoplight with my vehicle in drive,” said Sgt. Zach Filip.

Now Thornberry and Cornyn are calling on the Army to do more to address the allegations uncovered.

"I think it's very concerning,” said Thornberry, the new Chairman-Elect of the House Armed Services Committee.

He said as far back as 2008 the committee saw similar concerns from soldiers and demanded improvement from the Army.

Changes can’t come soon enough for Robin Howard, whose husband Michael Howard was at the WTU at Fort Hood until he retired earlier this year. Michael said commanders left him feeling verbally abused and threatened while receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress and a degenerative brain condition.

“These are real humans they've mistreated,” said Robin Howard.

The Howard’s hope Army leaders will take the new training that’s been ordered to heart.

“I'm hoping that it's more than lip service. I'm hoping they are going to make these changes. The soldiers need this,” said Robin Howard.

The new Army training orders specifically tells commanders care plans for the injured should be, “tailored to the soldier and family.” read more here

They've been getting complaints going back to 2008, yet when suicides went up, they didn't bother to figure out why.