Department of Defense Launches Wounded Warrior Diaries

Defense Department officials yesterday launched the “Wounded Warrior Diaries,” a multimedia Web tribute in which American servicemembers wounded in combat share stories of their service, including their hard-won battles on the road to recovery and the ups and downs of life in the wake of injury.

The Wounded Warrior Diaries feature videos of servicemembers relaying their stories in their own words. The videos are accompanied by a written account of their experiences. The site launched with four diaries, and a new diary will be added each month.

“The diaries are intended to be sources of strength, encouragement and reassurance for other wounded troops and their families,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, DoD’s director of new media, said. “They illustrate the ultimate triumph over injury – returning to full and active lives through hard work and the support of loved ones, the community and the military family.”

In addition, the process of creating the diaries is meant to be therapeutic for the servicemembers, DeWalt said, noting that in some cases, their spouses and children take part in the interviews. “Finally,” he added, “the diaries are created to honor the service, sacrifice, courage and determination of all who voluntarily serve in harm’s way."

Featured this month, are four servicemembers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The Wounded Warrior Diaries launch in November is part of DoD’s Warrior Care Month.

Miltiary Health System Web Town Hall

The Military Health System will host a Web town hall on Nov. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. EST on Health.mil as part of the ongoing dialogue between senior military leaders and service members and their families about the Defense Department’s medical care programs and services for its wounded, ill and injured troops.
Subject matter experts and service members and families who have been touched by warrior care will be on-hand to answer questions. Specifically, representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Army’s Warrior Care and Transition Office, TRICARE and other organizations dedicated to military family health care are scheduled to participate in the event.


Service members and families are invited to submit questions in advance.
Webhall URL: http://www.health.mil/WarriorCareWebhall

Army Transforming Soldier Rehabilitative Care Programs, General Says

The Army has put a lot of effort into improving rehabilitative care for soldiers since coming under criticism in February 2007 for conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Army Brig. Gen. Gary H. Creek said in a bloggers roundtable to discuss the Defense Department’s Warrior Care Month. "We have really, in many ways, transformed (outpatient care) in terms of the facilities that we use, the services that we provide, and the leadership that we have dedicated to that effort – which includes the medical management folks who help soldiers through that," Creek said. "We want to make the soldier very much a part of and responsible for their rehabilitative program, and we want to work hard to measure…how well we’re doing satisfying soldier’s needs, families’ needs…and then listening to them to continue to refine the program."

ATTENTION!

As part of Warrior Care month, the Military Health System launched a short, anonymous questionnaire for wounded, ill or injured service members to provide input about the care they received and what can be improved.

There is a separate questionnaire for families, both available directly here or through the MHS homepage, http://www.health.mil/.

So far, we've received a great deal of response from Soldiers and are now pushing the other services and family members to weigh in.

The deadline is Nov. 28.

Also, MHS will host a Warrior Care Month WebHall on Wed. Nov. 19, where senior military leaders will answer questions from service members and their families about the Defense Department's medical care programs and services for its wounded, ill and injured troops. More details will be available in a few days.

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