New Fort Bliss Program To Help Injured ‘Warriors’ Recover
by Bob Harp
EL PASO — A new program at Fort Bliss is making it easier for soldiers wounded in the battlefield to improve physically and emotionally.
Army officials say more than 3,200 U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat since the war in Iraq began in 2003. More than 30,000 have been wounded in the conflict, they said.
Previously, many injured soldiers were simply nursed back to health and sent back on their way. Now they are receiving specialized care to help them cope with their injuries and continue to serve our country.
“I like to say I’m a patchwork quilt of a soldier. I have a piece of my arm still on my face. A piece of my leg on my arm,” saidStaff Sergeant Scott Gentry, who was injured in Iraq.
Staff Sergeant Shane Zrobeck said the injuries are not just physical but emotional. He found it hard to leave behind his fellow soldiers in the battlefield when he sustained a serious hip injury.
Fort Bliss is sponsoring a new program called the “Warrior Transition Unit.” The program offers a new kind of support for soldiers that have injuries that require more than six months or more months of care.
The soldiers will receive care from specialized physicians, nurse care managers and squad leaders who are dedicated solely to soldier recovery. “I’ve been in the army 14 years and it was hard to leave my guys behind,” said Zrobeck, “[This program] is an opportunity to get better, to heal yourself.”
“In the army, it is very rare to have a colonel come up to youso thatyou canaddress your problems to him personally,” said Lonnie Garrison, with the U.S. National Guard.
The program also allows soldiers to receive medical care at William Beaumont Medical Center.
The program also allows the injured soldiersto remain in thecompany of good friends. “We care for each other, it’s helped me,” said one soldier.
“Here, you have a job, youhave a duty and are actually being held to the same standard as a soldier in the battlefield,” said another injured soldier.
