Former Director of Selective Service visits Fort Leonard Wood

Former Director of Selective Service visits Fort Leonard Wood

By Cheryl Neely

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Former Director of Selective Service William Chatfield visited Fort Leonard Wood, Sept. 7. He met with the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Chief of Staff, Col. Wade Dennis, in regard to the Disability Program and our Wounded Warriors. He also received briefings from the senior staff at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, the Commander of our Warrior Transition Unit, and the EEO disability program staff.

Retired from the U.S. Marine Corps himself, Chatfield is not a stranger to the military. His dedication to selfless service is obvious when you look at his career-long dedication to this great nation.

Now his life mission is committed to our real heroes, the ones we will not forget, our Wounded Warriors. Chatfield has partnered up with agencies like the USO, the International Brain Research Foundation, American Airlines, Military Officer Association of America, and Chuck and Aaron Norris, just to name a few, to help those brave Americans.

The International Brain Research Foundation is on a mission to combat Traumatic Brain Injuries bring down our suicide rates and provide for the welfare and morale of these great heroes. Their scientifically-based protocol has proven quite successful in effectively treating our soldiers' severe disorders of consciousness. The USO has a new one hundred million dollar initiative called Operation Enduring Care. This program is going to assist the troops recovering at Fort Belvoir and Bethesda hospitals in their efforts to rejoin civilian society through education and training, advocacy, and emotional support.

Chatfield is working with American Airlines and the USO to provide 75 wounded warriors and their loved ones an experience-of-a-lifetime, four-day trip to Las Vegas; to include transportation, first-class lodging and delectable meals throughout each day. Some of the entertainment they will be provided will include Rich Little, the Blue Man Group, Terry Fator, Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band, and helicopter tours of the area. This provides an opportunity to tell our warriors thank you, and motivates them to continue on the positive path toward full recuperation.