Europe Warrior Transition Units continue to grow

By Europe Regional Medical Command PAONovember 3, 2008

HEIDELBERG, Germany (Army News Service, Nov. 3, 2008) - Warrior Transition Units in Europe have made strides in coordinating the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of wounded warriors since the four WTUs stood up officially in January 2008.

"We meet the needs of Warriors in Europe differently than the rest of the Army, since we don't operate from large installations like there are in the States," said Lt. Col. Tom Axtman. He commands the Heidelberg-based Warrior Transition Battalion that coordinates the efforts of the four WTUs.

Those four units - located in Landstuhl, Heidelberg and two in Bavaria - in turn coordinate community-based programs in their area. For example, the Bavaria WTU has platoons based in Schweinfurt, Bamberg, Grafenwoehr, Vilseck, Hohenfels, and Illesheim/Katterbach.

In all, the program synchronizes and supports the needs of Warriors and their Families across 13 communities in three countries. As of Oct. 17, there were 370 Wounded Warriors assigned to the WTUs.

"It is quite a challenge, but we are all committed to seeing that our Wounded Warriors and their Families have access to all of the support services available to them," said Axtman.

The way ahead includes creating a Europe-Wide Warrior Senior Executive Working Group reaching across from garrisons to units to medical facilities, Axtman said. He said the group will help everyone in the command who plays a role in supporting wounded warriors and their families to coordinate efforts and reduce communications barriers that might otherwise get in the way.

Department of Defense-wide information is available at the new Warrior Care Web site at <a href="http://www.warriorcare.mil"target=_blank>www.warriorcare.mil</a>