Army Wounded Warrior Program: Marking Five Years of Service
What is it'
Army Wounded Warrior program (AW2) provides personalized support to severely wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers and their families wherever they are located for as long as it takes. In the past five years, AW2's population has grown from hundreds to more than 4,000 Soldiers and families. Each AW2 Soldier is assigned an advocate who assists with day-to-day issues in recovery, as well as longer-term decisions such as choosing to remain in the Army or to medically retire. Should an AW2 Soldier leave the Army, his or her advocate continues to offer support for as long as needed. There are now more than 120 AW2 advocates supporting Soldiers and families at locations across the country and beyond.
AW2 supports the most severely wounded Soldiers from the war on terror who have, or are expected to receive, an Army disability rating of 30 percent of greater in one or more specific categories or a combined rating of 50 percent or greater for conditions that are the result of combat or are combat related.
AW2 Soldiers have injuries including blindness/vision loss, deafness/hearing loss, fatal/incurable disease, loss of limb, paralysis/spinal cord injury, permanent disfigurement, post traumatic stress disorder, severe burns and traumatic brain injuries.
What has the Army done'
In the past five years, AW2 has helped more than a hundred Soldiers remain in uniform through continuation on active duty/active reserve.
AW2 has established a career and education section which collaborates with businesses and educational institutions to assist Soldiers with their careers after leaving the Army.
Each year AW2 holds a symposium where AW2 Soldiers and family members come together and vote on the top issues impacting the most severely wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers and their families. The top five issues are presented to Army leadership. In the past five years, dozens of issues have been addressed to advance warrior care.
Why is AW2 important to the Army'
AW2 is part of the Army's Warrior Care and Transition program (WCTP) which unites all Army warrior care programs and initiatives from the battlefield to the home front. AW2 falls under the newly established Warrior Transition Command (WTC) which helps sustain an integrated, comprehensive continuum of care and services that is consistent Army wide.
Resources:
<a href="http://www.aw2.army.mil" target="_blank">Army Wounded Warrior Program</a>
<a href="https://www.aw2.army.mil/_blog/default.aspx" target="_blank">AW2 Blog</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AW2" target="_blank">AW2 Wikipedia entry</a>
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