SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii –Tripler Army Medical Center’s Warrior Transition Battalion was deactivated and re-designated a Soldier Recovery Unit during a ceremony here Oct. 1.
The newly renamed SRU is one of 14 to stand up across the nation, marking a major milestone in the Army Recovery Care Program restructure. The re-designation of WTUs to SRUs across the Army will allow caregivers to more adequately concentrate medical and administrative resources on the Soldiers who need them.
“The Soldier Recovery Unit continues to provide critical support to meet the needs of Soldiers who are wounded, ill or injured, and who require medical case management through the triad of care and other medical and non-medical providers,” said Dr. (Col.) Martin Doperak, Tripler’s commander. “Change brings opportunity; the restructuring of a WTB to a SRU signifies a paradigm shift to support our Soldiers.”
As a part of the ceremony, the WTB’s colors were cased; new colors for the SRU were uncased and presented, celebrating the unit’s history and ushering in a new era for the organization.
A new sign in front of the SRU was also unveiled during the ceremony.
“The name, colors, and guidon have changed, but one thing that never will is the commitment to our kanaka--our people,” said Lt. Col. Marie F. Slack, SRU commander. “People are the Army, our most important asset, and we exist to help our Soldiers recover, we exist to help our Soldiers overcome, and today gives the unit a different name, but our mission remains the same, and that is to set conditions for healing and promote timely return to the force, or if needed, to civilian life.”
Over the last 13 years Tripler’s WTB has cared for more than 5,500 Soldiers, many of them injured in support of combat missions around the globe.
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