Air Force Wounded Warrior Program Helps Heal Body and Mind

Letting go of pride: Air Force vets adapt to 'invisible wounds'

Army Times

Charlsy Panzino

September 19, 2017

When a friend suggested he join the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, Smith hesitated because he felt his non-combat injuries didn’t warrant joining the program. He didn’t “fit the bill” of those wounded in combat, he said.

Retired Tech. Sgt. Joshua Smith competes in the seated shot put during the 2017 Warrior Games July 5 at Soldier Field, Chicago. (Staff Sgt. Alexx Pons/Air Force)

Two Air Force veterans who were severely injured during their service, and who suffered from the “invisible wounds” of post-traumatic stress, said they had to overcome fear of the stigma sometimes associated with getting help ― and their own pride ― to recover from their wounds.

The airmen talked about their roads to recovery during the Air Space Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Md., Monday.

Former Tech Sgt. Joshua Miller and Capt. Mitchell Kieffer, both medically retired, suffered significant injuries during their time in service. Those injuries led to a string of surgeries for both veterans and, ultimately, a choice: between reaching out to overcome those injuries or to isolate themselves.

Smith joined the Air Force in 2003 as an aircrew flight equipment specialist and served on active duty for 13 years.
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As you can see, it is the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program and not the "project" running ads.

Air Force Veteran Making Airmen Aware of Healing PTSD

Veteran raises PTSD awareness, encourages Airmen to seek support
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
by Sean Clements
5/12/2016

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- After separating from the Air Force in 2014, Travis Johnson returned to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, May 6 to brief newly-minted Airmen on his struggle with overcoming obstacles and expectations of coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Former Scott Air Force Base Airman Travis Johnson with his service dog, Bella. Johnson recently spoke at the First Term Airmen Center to encourage young Airmen to speak openly about their struggles with stress management. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jake Eckhardt)

With his service dog, Bella, sitting by his side, Johnson spoke at the First Term Airmen Center to encourage young Airmen to speak openly about their struggles with stress management.

Through the help of on-base resources, as well as retired Chief Master Sgt. Joe Markin, Johnson is in the process of recovering from a military career comprised of three deployments, including one to Iraq.

With assistance from the Air Force's Wounded Warrior Program and Veterans Affairs office, Johnson has been able to pursue a path of treatment for his PTSD and traumatic brain injury symptoms.

"You can sit and watch a slideshow on resilience training, but this is real life," Markin said to the FTAC class. "This is resilience in the flesh."

Johnson explained how the traditional "be tough" mentality can be a hindrance to successful reintegration after high-stress scenarios, such as deployments. Even with a vast array of support services available to the modern military member, it is still an ongoing struggle to convince Airmen to step forward and seek out assistance.
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Wounded Warrior Program to Enhance Warrior CARE

Air Force Updates Wounded Warrior Program to Enhance Warrior CARE
Air Force News
by Janis El Shabazz
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
Jan 15, 2016

(Photo: U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth.)

The Air Force Wounded Warrior Program has enhanced services to provide more comprehensive care for the wounded, ill or injured recovering service members and their caregivers.

"In the past we offered adaptive and rehabilitative sports camps to wounded, ill and injured recovering service members while providing some additional opportunities for their caregivers. While the camps offered a full schedule we felt we could do more," said Marsha Gonzales, deputy chief, Air Force Personnel Center Warrior Care Division.

Through personal interactions with recovering service members and caregivers, Gonzales said program managers determined they could substantially expand the camps by adding more focused and personalized services. This brought about the new Warrior CARE events, a holistic approach to providing the service and support recovering members and their caregivers have come to expect.

Warrior CARE Events now include:

C - Caregiver Support Program (Training and self-care opportunities for caregivers)
A - Adaptive and Rehabilitative Sports Program
R - Recovering Airmen Mentorship Program (Mentorship for new recovering service members who are paired with recovering service members)
E - Employment and Career Readiness Program
read more here

Air Force Wounded Warrior Program

DCOE Outreach Center
(PTSD and Psychological Health)
1-866-966-1020

Military OneSource
Wounded Warrior Resource Call Center
1-800-342-9647

Suicide Prevention
1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Team Work Got Illinois Disabled Veteran "Home" for Holidays

Note to readers,

“The Wounded Warrior Transition program diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental illnesses right after deployment,” said Scott. “Since I was leaving active duty and returning to the Reserves, these problems sat and pestered me for the next five years.”

is not the famous charity you may be thinking of. The Marines and Air Force have them too.

Home for the holidays
DVIDS
318th Press Camp Headquarters
Story by Sgt. Elizabeth Barlow
December 25, 2015

BERWYN, Ill.-Just in time for the holidays, one disabled service member and his family received a miracle of a lifetime today.

The mayor of Berwyn, Ill., Robert Lovero, and Frank Amaro, a veteran volunteer, present a donated condominium to a disabled veteran on Dec. 23, 2015. Through a partnership with the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the city of Berwyn, the Olijar family received a fully furnished, permanent new home.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Elizabeth Barlow/Released)

Through a partnership with the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the city of Berwyn, the Olijar family was handed the keys to a permanent new home.

Currently Scott and his wife, Jennifer, live in a one bedroom apartment in a small rural city in Illinois. They sleep in the living room so their 2-year-old son can sleep in the bedroom.

With help from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Berwyn Holiday Fund, the donated condominium was fully furnished and ready to move in for a struggling veteran.

“It’s too good to be true,” said Sgt. Scott Olijar, a Soldier with the 318th Press Camp Headquarters in Forest Park. “I’m waiting for there to be a catch, but there isn’t one. Every once in a while you see someone on the news who seems to get lucky, and you never think that it could happen to you. But it did.”

“I feel like Cinderella,” said Jennifer. “Everything I have ever dreamed of is being granted by a fairy godmother.”
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Wounded Warrior Program Sports At Eglin Air Force Base

Wounded Warrior competition provides new mission, comradery for severely injured veterans
Associated Press
By MELISSA NELSON-GABRIEL
MAY 18, 2015

"I lost my identity after the military. I felt lost. Being part of the Air Force Wounded Warrior program, it helps you to know that there is more to life than the military. I am proud of my service but I have more to accomplish," the Las Vegas, Nevada, native said.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — As an Air Force crew chief in Afghanistan and Iraq, part of Sgt. Tim McDonough's dangerous mission was recovering the remains of soldiers killed in combat.

An explosion in Afghanistan in 2005 changed his life. He suffered a brain injury and nine surgeries later, McDonough has seizures, limited range of motion and host of other medical problems. Even worse, he lost the camaraderie he had with other airmen.

"You are the cream of the crop, the best of the best. You get injured and put off to the side," said McDonough, 40, of Spokane, Washington.

But he has a new mission that has given him much-needed focus and self-esteem. He will represent the Air Force at the 2015 Department of Defense Wounded Warrior Games in Quantico, Virginia, next month.

His sport? Archery.

McDonough is one of about 200 athletes from the Air Force, Marines, Navy and Army who will compete in eight sports, including basketball, swimming and track and field.
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Black Hawk Down CSM Robert Gallagher Died at 52

Decorated soldier from 'Black Hawk Down' battle in Somalia dies at 52
FoxNews.com
Published October 23, 2014

Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher was in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 and in Baghdad for the U.S. invasion in 2003. When he retired, he worked to serve soldiers. He died on Oct. 13 at age 52.
(3rd Infantry Division/Facebook)

A decorated soldier who participated in the Somalia battle immortalized by Hollywood blockbuster “Black Hawk Down” was reportedly found dead in his Georgia home earlier this month.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher, 52, died of natural causes as a result of a heart condition, the Army Times reports. He served as the command sergeant major for the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program, but had extensive experience in major combat operations, including Operation Just Cause in Panama and with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia, which was later made famous by the 2001 film.

“You know, I don’t say this lightly, but Bob is probably one of, probably the best soldier I ever served with, retired Col. Greg Gadson told the newspaper. “That man really cared about soldiers.”

Born in Bayonne, N.J., Gallagher joined the Army in 1981 and later earned several awards and decorations, including a Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. He earned the Silver Star in 2002 during Operation Iraqi Freedom as troops advanced from Kuwait to Baghdad, when he suffered a leg wound but continued to direct his men.
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Army's Wounded Warrior Program Helps Recovery

This is Wounded Warrior Program,,,,,not Project

Wounded Warrior Program Highlights Amputee Soldiers Recovery
AFRO.com
by Maria Adebola
April 23, 2014

The 10th anniversary of the U.S. Army's Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) was celebrated April 22. AW2, joining with the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command (WTC), hosted a media and bloggers roundtable to commemorate the years of successful service.

The panel featured three wounded soldiers, each sharing their story on recover and successful transition into Continuation on Active Duty (COAD) through AW2.

Along with soldiers Staff Sgt. Julio Larrea, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Redman, and Spc. Joshua Budd, Col. Johnny Davis, director of the Army Wounded Warrior Program, and Thomas Webb, acting commander of the Warrior Transition Command, spoke about the AW2's role –advocating for wounded soldiers and their families.

"What makes AW2 unique is that we support the most severely wounded, and that our support is completely personalized," said Col. Johnny Davis. "Each soldier is assigned an AW2 advocate as soon as they're found eligible, and our AW2 Advocates work with each soldier and family to resolve whatever challenges they're facing, at whatever point of their recovery and transition."

The AW2 program is a major component of the Army's Warrior and Transition Program (WCTP), established in 2004 to support wounded, ill, and injured soldiers, including veterans and their families, with the recovery and reintegration process they will need to reach a stated of independence.
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Retired Marine Col. Tim Maxwell started program for wounded warriors

This is about Wounded Warrior Program and not Wounded Warrior "Project" you see on TV.

Wounded Warrior Program Founded by Col. With TBI
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Feb 19, 2014

Camp Lejeune, N.C. -- A plaque here hangs on the wall at the Wounded Warrior complex dedicated by Gen. James Amos, the Marine Commandant, to the self-described "mean S.O.B." who overcame his own traumatic brain injury to start the program.

The tribute to retired Col. Tim Maxwell read in part that he "led the way for the entire Marine Corps in the uncharted waters of integrating wounded Marines back into operational units."

Maxwell said the idea for the Wounded Warrior program came from a job Amos gave him in the summer of 2005 as he recovered from his own devastating injuries. Amos, then commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune, asked Maxwell to visit other injured Marines on base and at local hospitals to gauge their progress.

Maxwell said he came back with a message for Amos: "Sir, these guys need somebody to be with, they need to be with each other, they need to be hanging together."

"The bottom line -- there's a problem with guys coming back," Maxwell said. "Their fire team, their squad, their platoon, taking care of each other -- that was more important than life," he said.

"You know you matter" in the military, most of all in combat, Maxwell said. The sudden loss of that sense of self-worth that wounded troops can experience "just eats them up," Maxwell said.
read more here

Patrick Murphy To Host MSNBC's 'Taking The Hill'

UPDATE
OMG! There is a great article up and you can read it too but what took me by surprise is one of the links up for what is in the WWP backpacks. (The butt of most jokes) It is stuffed with their logo on everything in it. You can read the rest here but pay close attention to this part since it shows up further down the article. Once you read this, the rest will really get to you. It is a response to a bunch of questions asked.

Is Wounded Warrior Project Scamming The Hearts Of The American People? Posted on December 14, 2013 by Ken Crow This article is a joint effort by Trent Thevenot and Ken Crow

Using numbers WWP has compiled as of August 1, 2013, the organization claims they have provided 17,370 backpacks (See information links about these backpacks at the bottom of this story and you be the judge), 251 warriors served in Project Odyssey, 364 warriors placed in jobs, 205 warriors participated in soldier ride. Without having access to all details, we can only take the organization’s word on these numbers. What do these numbers mean and how much was spent on these programs we really have no idea without doing a complete and unbiased audit to gain a complete perspective. I do believe we can all agree that the Wounded Warrior Project has done a great deal in bringing much needed attention to the needs of the many wounded soldiers coming back from our war on terror throughout the world.

While I think it is a great idea to have at least one show about what veterans face there is something that needs to be pointed out. Wounded Warrior Project is suing a tiny charity, Help Indiana Vets started by a disabled veteran and his wife, also a veteran.

Wounded Veterans' Groups Wage War "They advertise heavily on T.V. and if you pay close attention they do not show one actual thing they have done to help a Wounded Warrior."

Patrick Murphy To Host MSNBC's 'Taking The Hill'
The Huffington Post
Posted: 12/13/2013

Patrick Murphy, a former congressman and Iraq war veteran, will host a second installment of "Taking the Hill" on MSNBC, Stars and Stripes reported on Thursday.

The program, described by MSNBC as "a conversation about veterans issues" and "postwar lives," first aired last month. Murphy, a former representative from Pennsylvania and first Iraq war veteran to hold a position in Congress, also hosted that episode.

The next episode will air Sunday, December 15 at 1 p.m. EST. MSNBC has made no public mention of broadcasts beyond this Sunday, though it has committed to airing 12 documentaries from the Wounded Warrior Project.
read more here

It isn't as if Graham is the first one to complain about WWP.
Wounded Warrior Project a legal scam

Wounded Warrior Project spends 58% of donations on veterans programs

This is what WWP is collecting donations for

"The mission of Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Our purpose is: to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women; to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members."

Raise awareness, they do that. Enlist the public's aid, they do that too. Help severely wounded "aid and assist each other" they do that too. So why does it need so much money to get others to do the work?

Charity Navigator Wounded Warrior Project
REVENUE
Contributions
Contributions, Gifts and Grants $143,772,582
Federated Campaigns $3,364,908
Membership Dues $0
Fundraising Events $1,047,555
Related Organizations $0
Government Grants $0
Total Contributions $148,185,045
Program Service Revenue $0
Total Primary Revenue $148,185,045
Other Revenue $6,773,856
TOTAL REVENUE $154,958,901

EXPENSES (Adjusted)
Program Expenses $55,386,953
Administrative Expenses $5,412,693
Fundraising Expenses $34,711,903
TOTAL FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES $95,511,549

Payments to Affiliates $0
Excess (or Deficit) for the year $59,447,352

Net Assets $90,237,753

How our donation program works Tough Mudder encourages participants to raise money for the WWP by giving a $25 refund to anyone who raises $150 or more for Wounded Warrior Project.

When you register for Tough Mudder, an online fundraising link is included in your registration confirmation email.

Send your fundraising link to friends and family, so they can throw down the plastic and donate to Wounded Warrior Project.

If you raise $150 or more, you will be administered a $25 refund one month after the event to the credit card with which you purchased your Tough Mudder registration.

Note: All charitable donations are subject to a transaction processing fee.

Wounded Warrior Project Fundraising Tiers
Goal Prize Receive On
$150 $25 Refund 6-weeks after event
$300 Sunglasses + Compression Sleeve At event (US Only)
$1000 WWP Survival Strap At event (US Only)

It isn't as if no one else is doing all that plus more.

There is Wounded Warrior Program (nothing to do with the above)

The Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) is the official U.S. Army program that assists and advocates for severely wounded, ill or injured Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families, wherever they are located, regardless of military status. Soldiers who qualify for AW2 are assigned to the program as soon as possible after arriving at the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU). AW2 supports these Soldiers and their Families throughout their recovery and transition, even into Veteran status. Through the local support of AW2 Advocates, AW2 strives to foster the Soldier's independence. There are more than 18,200 Soldiers and Veterans currently in AW2.

In order to be considered eligible for entry into AW2, Soldiers must suffer from wounds, illness, or injuries incurred in the line of duty after September 10, 2001 AND:
Receive or expect to receive at least a 30% rating from the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) for one of the conditions listed below:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Severe loss of vision/blindness.
Severe hearing loss/deafness.
Fatal / incurable disease with limited life expectancy.
Loss of limb.
Spinal cord injury.
Permanent disfigurement.
Severe burns.
Severe paralysis.
Receive a 30% rating or greater for one Veterans Affairs Scheduled Rating Decision (VASRD) as rated by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) in any other Special Category (SPECAT)/ Enabling Care (EC) or combat/combat-related condition; OR
Receive a combined 50% IDES rating for any other combat/combat-related condition.

And yes, they do sports too

Crowd gathers to hear Marine Capt. Jason Haag talk about PTSD and his family

PTSD forum attracts a crowd
Fredericksburg News
August 7th, 2013

Roughly 50 people packed into the Free Lance–Star’s community room tonight for a panel discussion on combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

The event came on the heels of a three-part series about retired Marine Capt. Jason Haag and how he and his family have coped with his PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other maladies resulting from his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to Haag—and his service dog, Axel—panelists included representatives from the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, Virginia Wounded Warrior Program and Wounded Warrior Battalion East, which has a regiment at Quantico.
read more here

PTSD: Special series examines Fredericksburg Marine’s experiences
THE SERIES

PART 1: PTSD haunts Fredericksburg Marine and his family

PART 2: Am I some kind of monster?

PART 3: Healing is elusive for combat vet

Wounded veterans bond during nighttime gator hunt

To my friends back in New England, I still love our seafood but I have to tell you that gator tail is fantastic as long as it is cooked right. Fried Gator at the Lone Cabbage is out of this world.

Wounded veterans bond during nighttime gator hunt

Wounded Warriors Derek Stephens, left and Joseph "Buck" Parker, right, show off their catch Friday night on the banks of the Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration Area. A total of ten soldiers from the Wounded Warriors program went on a gator hunt on the restoration area Friday night, August 2, 2013. FWC gave them 11 "tags" to take gators. The event was hosted by the Marion County Sportsmen's and Air Boaters Association along with the St. Johns Water Management District.
Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner

Soldiers Share 'Wounded Warrior' Experience with Adaptive Sports

This is not "Wounded Warrior Project" it is Warrior Transition Unit and there is Warrior Transition Battalion

U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) and the Air Force also has one at Air Force Wounded Warrior Do not get confused.

Soldiers Share 'Wounded Warrior' Experience with Adaptive Sports
Adaptive Sports Scramble lets soldiers support wounded warriors
August 2, 2012

WIESBADEN, Germany -- Members of the Warrior Transition Unit-Europe had no shortage of takers on an offer to play wheelchair basketball and seated volleyball with them at the Wiesbaden Fitness Center July 6.

"You are certainly an inspiration to me and for anyone who wears a uniform," said Col. David Carstens, commander of the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, at the kickoff of an Adaptive Sports Scramble and barbecue with members of the WTU-Europe. Carstens, along with several other Wiesbaden soldiers and civilians, joined in the games.

Among those who also joined in the game of wheelchair basketball was teenager Derek Williams, who participated in the event with his brothers Darren, 16, Daniel, 14 and David, 12, and their friend Andrew Murray, 16.

"I wanted to support wounded warriors," Williams said. "I wanted to experience not using my legs. It makes me appreciate my legs more."
read more here

Utah war veterans share sobering perspectives of PTSD

Utah war veterans share sobering perspectives of PTSD Summit
 Counselors, social workers learn about veterans’ challenges.
By Kristen Moulton

The Salt Lake Tribune
Mar 30 2012

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Iraq War veteran Gordon Ewell, left, of Eagle Mountain, shakes hands with Col. Gregory D. Gadson, who is with the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program, as they talk during the Utah Veterans and Families Summit at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday.

Justin Watt, an Iraq war veteran, felt he had landed on another planet when he came back to America.

"You go from playing high-stakes poker and doing stuff that matters," to dealing with clueless civilians, said Watt, who was on a Friday panel telling social workers and therapists what it’s like to return from war. The discussion was one of more than 30 sessions at the Utah Veterans and Families Summit, which itself was part of the three-day Generations conference put on by the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute.

A job fair for veterans was also part of the summit at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. The disconnect that warriors feel was the focus of the panel, led by psychologists at the Veterans Affairs George E. Wahlen Medical Center who work with vets who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury. That’s the name used to describe the suffering many vets have over what they did or did not do in war.

 In Iraq, Watt said, "I needed to keep my guys alive and myself alive and hunt down the Number 2 targeted guy in al-Qaida." Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. military airstrike in 2006. Watt was in the 101st Airborne, which was part of the mission to get al-Zarqawi.

Back home, Watt’s job at a buddy’s Salt Lake City computer company put him in the cross hairs of angry customers. "I come home and guys are screaming at me because their computer has been out of their hands for eight hours," said Watt. "You just want to choke them." Vets with PTSD often are angry, but it’s complicated by the fact they are trained, as warriors, to use anger, said Tanya Miller, a VA psychologist.

 "They are trained to turn fear into anger and anger into action," she said. read more here

White House Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride

WH Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride
May 01, 2009
Military.comby Bryant Jordan

They numbered 40. Some walked from the White House on legs of alloy and cable, some rolled out in wheel chairs. Some bore wounds unidentifiable by any prosthesis, chair, cane or crutch.

But all had inside them the steel that served themselves and their fellow troops so well on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and which propelled them to take part in an annual Soldier Ride sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project. The event, dubbed the "White House to the Lighthouse" ride because it runs from Washington and Annapolis, raises funds for Wounded Warriors programs.

"These wounded warriors didn't get to choose the direction their lives would take the instant they were injured, but now they choose to prove that life after injury isn't about what you can't do -- it's about what you can," President Barack Obama said. "They choose to keep their faith with the future. They choose to keep fighting for their brothers and sisters and show them that they're not alone.

As of posting time the White House was unable to furnish Military.com with complete names, service branches or unit affiliations of the participants.

The ride is now in its fifth year, and this year's marks the third between Washington and Annapolis.

Obama was accompanied at the podium by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth. Shinseki, who was Army chief of staff until he retired, had been wounded in Vietnam. Duckworth, who was confirmed to her post only recently, was a helicopter pilot who lost both her legs when she was shot down in Iraq.
go here for more
WH Kicks off Wounded Warrior Ride

PTSD:When the front lines of combat are at home

When the troops come home the families have to fight for them. If we don't, they don't get taken care of. Odd coming from the same country that managed to send millions to wars on foreign lands claiming how much it was necessary for the sake of this nation. You would think that when they came home with wounded bodies or minds, this same nation would be ready to take care of them as much as they prepared to send them into combat. You would also be very, very wrong.

The suffering of the men and women serving this nation is not new. What this generation is going thru is the same as other generations before them. The difference is people across this nation have mobilized to deploy on the front lines of this nation to have our veterans taken care of. Quiet heroes arise daily, educated, trained and ready for battle to save the lives of the ones that did come home from combat.

Rev. Mosby is one of the warriors for the warriors battling for lives that do not need to be lost.

The Rev. C. Diane Mosby talks about her son’s struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder Thursday at the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program summit at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center. (Rosanne Weber/staff)

Summit hopes to reach veterans
News Virginian - Waynesboro,VA,USA

By Jimmy LaRoue

Published: November 6, 2008

FISHERSVILLE — “If this is what I’m coming home to – forget it,” Steven Moore said.

He and his godmother, Angita Szelesta, were in the emergency room at a Veterans Administration Medical Center, where she had taken him to get treated for a drug overdose.

Moore had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury following his one-year of military service in Iraq.

They waited for more than six hours, and in that time, the medical center lost Moore’s records, Szelesta recalled.

They left.

Moore had earned a Purple Heart at age 18 following a roadside bomb attack, and when he returned home, he wasn’t the same.

“Steven says he wishes this was one medal he never received,” Szelesta said.

Szelesta spoke also about her own son, Stan Crowder, and his combat experiences. His problems were similar to Moore’s, following a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, but was able to return to combat.

Szelesta, along with a number of speakers, are taking part in the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program Summit at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, which continues today. The conference is designed to increase awareness of combat stress-related issues and brain trauma injuries that affect military members – both active duty and retired – as well as their families.

Rick Sizemore, director of the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, said the goal is that no matter where a combat veteran goes, that he or she can find the needed help.

“That’s the purpose of the Virginia Wounded Warrior network ... to connect all those various services so that there’s no wrong door for a veteran,” Sizemore said.

The Rev. C. Diane Mosby, of Glen Allen, said her son, Geoffrey Mosby, Jr., served for a more than a year in Iraq. Far from the well-adjusted son she knew prior to his joining the Virginia Army National Guard, when he returned in February 2005 as a decorated soldier, her family noticed that he started having increased nightmares and became more reclusive.

“We began to notice a deep dark, darkness in his eyes,” Mosby said. “It was as if he had separated body and spirit.”
click link for more

University Of Kansas Wounded Warrior Education Initiative

Geren visits Fort Leavenworth: Announces start of education program for wounded warriors
by Melissa Bower, staff writer
Published: Thursday, February 7, 2008 12:22 PM CST

Eight Soldiers have been chosen to enter a "Wounded Warrior Education Initiative" graduate degree program shared between the Combined Arms Center and the University of Kansas.

Army Secretary Pete Geren and University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced the program Feb. 6. Upon earning their degrees, Soldiers will remain on active duty for six years.

"This is a new journey that we in the Army and the University of Kansas have taken together," Geren said. "A partnership for these outstanding Americans that have given so much in service to their country."


Geren said the intent of the program was to retain knowledgable Soldiers in the service and to assist them with better job placement. David Lambertson, director of the KU/Fort Leavenworth program, and Ron James, assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, were also credited in the creation of the program. Geren said Hemenway and KU officials came to him with an idea for the program in September 2007.

Army officials want wounded Soldiers to know their country still needs them in active service.
go here for the rest
http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/articles/2008/02/07/news/news1.txt

Soldiers slam Wounded Warrior Program at Bragg

Soldiers slam Wounded Warrior Program at Bragg

By Kevin Maurer - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 7, 2008 7:58:02 EST

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — It took Jay Erwin two months to find the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program at Fort Bragg.

When he finally found the program’s representative — Clyde Foster — he was told that he might not be injured enough.

“I’m not sure if your injuries are significant enough to become a member,” Erwin said Foster told him without seeing his medical records.

Erwin was hit in September 2006 by a mortar that peppered his leg, neck and knee with shrapnel during a mission in Iraq.

“I have all my parts, but they just don’t work right,” Erwin said. He still can’t use some of his fingers.

Foster denies telling Erwin that he wasn’t injured enough.

“I would never tell a soldier he wasn’t injured enough,” Foster said. “[The program] is there for them. We alleviate the bureaucracy so that they can concentrate on their recovery.”
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_woundedwarriors_080107/