Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Wounded Warriors and the America Way

"The new organization will allow us to give a personal touch to former Marines," says Col. Gregory A.D. Boyle, the regimental commander. "I want these Marines to feel . . . that they're the center of the universe and that we care about them and we're concerned about them."

When Boyle and other Marine Corps leaders describe the advantages of the new Regiment, one also gets a glimpse of what has been deficient in previous programs. Troops will be helped through loneliness, frustration and depression; troops and their families won't get substandard or unsanitary treatment, won't get lost in the system or fall through the "seams" or the "cracks" of inattention and perfunctory care, troops will get "personal" care and a built-in and focused support network, transportation to appointments and therapy, an advocate, an ombudsman, legal counsel, religious and spiritual support; troops will have assistance in cutting through Marine Corps, Navy, Defense Department, Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security and federal government red tape and in navigating the voluminous paperwork and bureaucratic tangle, and in dealing with military and government boards and commissions, Congressional offices, disability claims, military contracts, insurance policies, discharge papers, as well as external charities and veterans groups; troops will have help in the transition back to units for duty, to the Veterans Administration, or in making their way to civilian life and follow-up family, charitable or government outpatient care, services, and benefits.

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"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi" Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."