CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project Blog

New Executive Director to be named

2011-01-05T16:04:00.002-05:00

January 5th, 2011 -- Augusta, GA

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project board announces the departure of Executive Director, Ms. Laurie Ott, who has accepted the position of President of the University Health Care Foundation.

Ms. Ott will remain with the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project through March 14th to assist with the transition to her successor. Ms. Ott will join the organization as a board member in April.

The search for Ms. Ott’s successor has begun. Board President Mr. James M. Hull said, “We wish Laurie well in her new endeavor and look forward to her continuing involvement with the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project. Because of her leadership, Augusta is ahead of the nation when it comes to developing the community-based model for reintegrating warriors after combat. The community and the board of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project are passionate about ensuring our warriors and their families thrive, and we look forward to finding the next Executive Director who can help us build on our accomplishments and the region’s unique warrior care capabilities.”

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project is a community-based organization founded in 2007, dedicated to developing best practices to maximize resources and provide world class support for our wounded warriors, veterans and their families. To date, accomplishments include the launch of award-winning marriage enrichment and family reintegration programs that provide communication skills after combat, the launch of the first-in-the-nation Veterans Curation Project (a training and employment program for Iraq and Afghanistan returnees), the establishment of Transition Round Tables and a Research Consortium, which provide the platform for information sharing and increased collaboration among federal, state and local agencies and organizations, the assignment of Federal Recovery Coordinators to Augusta to help wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families, and assisting with the launch of the Veterans Court, which begins later this month.

For more information about the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project, visit our website at www.projectaugusta.org.

Day of Service: Saturday, January 8th, 2011

2011-01-05T15:34:00.003-05:00

Georgia's Governor-elect, Nathan Deal, who takes office January 10th, 2011 in Atlanta, has selected the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project for a Day of Service. Debbie McCord is heading up the local project, where we'll build a play set and complete fencing for a warrior wounded in Afghanistan, SGT (ret.) Darryl Wallace, and his family.

For information about the project or to volunteer, go to the Day of Service Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151908511525019&num_event_invites=0

and ask Debbie how you can help this weekend (Saturday January 8th).

Veterans Curation Project: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2010-11-23T17:27:00.009-05:00

The award-winning Veterans Curation Project continues to gain national attention. The innovative training and employment program for Iraq and Afghanistan returnees was recently featured in Soldier Magazine. The Veterans Curation Project was started first-in-the-nation in Augusta, GA in collaboration with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Warrior Transition Battalion (Fort Gordon), the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, the Department of Labor, and the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project.

Veterans (and uniquely in Augusta, active duty soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion) take part in training, learning how to curate, perserve, inventory, and photograph artifacts, and scan related records. In addition to the curation and computer skills, veterans and soldiers also gain confidence in their abilities, themselves, and enjoy meaningful work in a supportive environment.

The House of Representatives has voted to expand funding for this innovative program. It still needs Senate approval.

To see the article on the VCP, click here: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/11/01/47087-veterans-curation-project-those-who-make-history-help-preserve-it/

KISS Supports Wounded Warriors

2010-10-07T16:11:00.002-04:00

The most storied rock group in history supported the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project this year at every stop along their North American tour. This photo is from the wrap up concert in Fontana, California, and shows the band presenting a check for $501,018 to the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project. Thank you KISS!

Star Note for the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project

2010-10-06T16:09:00.000-04:00

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project received a star note from BG Jeff Foley, now the former commanding general of Fort Gordon, this year. The note from June of 2010 states, "To the Members of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project: I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for the outstanding support you provide to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines and their families serving our great nation here at Fort Gordon. The CSRA is truly a community of patriots. Our service members feel your pride in their sacrifice every day. As we continue to serve our nation with pride, you honor us with your constant reverent support. Thank you, again, for being such a great neighbor and for holding dear the Freedom our service members protect. Sincerely, Jeffrey W. Foley, Brigadier General, US Army, Commanding General"

Veterans Employment Seminar: Know Your Rights

2010-06-15T15:08:00.004-04:00

The first Augusta-area Veterans Employment Seminar was held Monday, June 14th, 2010 at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, presented by the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project and John B. Long, Esq.

The need for the seminar came up after veterans told us they were being asked inappropriate and possibly illegal questions on job interviews, including being asked for copies of their medical records, and details about their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Monday's seminar, where Mr. Long and Mr. Mont Miller presented information about USERRA (the 1994 act meant to protect service members' and veterans' employment rights) helped give veterans information on how to handle those types of questions.

Among the suggestions given: redirect those kinds of questions to a discussion of your skills and what you have to contribute on the job.

An article on the seminar from the Augusta Chronicle can be found at:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2010-06-14/legal-forum-aims-aid-vets-civilian-jobs?v=1276554666

A follow up seminar will be held in three months. Please check back for exact location and time or contact Susan Folk at Folk.Susan@gmail.com.

Mentor Training Program May 18th, 2010

2010-05-13T22:28:00.005-04:00

Mentor Training & Overview Starts May 18th in Augusta

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project (www.projectaugusta.org) is launching a Mentor Program. This Mentor Program will augment care for those active duty personnel at the Warrior Transition Battalion (Fort Gordon).

Mentors will serve as navigators and sounding boards to help mentees make positive life choices and decisions to help them achieve the best outcomes possible as they make the transition from active duty to civilian status, and reintegrate back into the community.

West Point graduate COL (ret.) Jon Dodson, Mentor Coordinator with the Walter Reed Wounded Warrior Mentor Program will be with us on Tuesday, the 18th of May at American Legion Post 205 in Augusta from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to provide an overview of their program, explain the benefits of mentoring, and he'll also conduct a very brief training on protecting privacy as it relates to health information (HIPAA). Pizza and refreshments will be served. We will also provide an overview of the Augusta Wounded Warrior Mentor Program.

Augusta Wounded Warrior Mentor Program

WHAT WE ARE: An initiative of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project, and a community-based program for soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion on Fort Gordon, GA.

WHAT IS A MENTOR? A navigator and sounding board to assist a Warrior in Transition (WT) in planning a productive and meaningful life and profession after service.

WHO ARE THE WOUNDED WARRIOR MENTORS? This is a volunteer program. Mentors for the Warrior Transition Battalion are Red Cross-trained Veterans who have had successful private sector careers, as well as retired Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers and senior Noncommissioned Officers. The mentors are screened by a panel including Warrior Transition Battalion staff and CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project volunteers.

WHAT IS THE MENTOR’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE WOUNDED WARRIOR?
It is a one-on-one relationship that aims to build a trusting bond between the mentor and the mentee. Our primary focus is the WT.

WHAT CAN A MENTOR DO FOR YOU?
· Help the WT plan for a productive life and profession in the event of separation from the military.
· Help WT set life goals based on their interests and get them on a path towards achieving them. This includes suggesting appropriate professional and personal development opportunities.
· Assist the WT in developing and considering options for the future, and in choosing a course of action.
· Help WT plan their educational goals and assist them in putting a plan into action.
· As appropriate, assist WT in preparing a personal budget and making sound financial plans, encouraging the WT to take advantage of the full range of VA, community and other benefits available.

Please reply to Susan Folk, folk.susan@gmail.com and let us know if you are able to attend!

Directions to American Legion Post 205, 2012 Highland Avenue, Augusta, GA 30904 (Phone: 706-733-4069)

From Ft Gordon: Head east on Gordon HWY/US278/US E/GA-10 E/JEFFERSON Davis Memorial HWY. Turn left onto Highland AVE. 2102 Highland AVE is on the right.

From North Augusta: South on Georgia Ave/US-25 BR toward E SUMMIT AVE. (crossing into GA). US-25 becomes 13th st, 13th St becomes RA DENT BLVD. Turn slight right onto Wrightsboro Road, 2102 Highland Ave is on the left.

Survivor Outreach Services-Augusta, GA

2010-02-10T21:10:00.007-05:00

Fort Gordon's Garrison Commander is increasing outreach and services to survivors of fallen Soldiers.

Contact Suzanne Crosby (suzanne.crosby@us.army.mil), of Survivor Outreach Services to learn more about their upcoming February 25th event that starts at 9:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Cultural Center in downtown Augusta at 13th and Greene Streets.

See their announcement below!

Laurie
_____________________________________________

The Army has implemented the new Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) program to
assist the survivors of our fallen Soldiers. The SOS staff is hosting
"Coffee Break with SOS" as a networking event for event sponsors and service
providers to learn about SOS and meet others who assist our CSRA survivors.

Three tables will be provided for service providers to share their business
cards or brochures with other service providers. When you RSVP, please let
me know if you will want to utilize table space.
"Coffee Break with SOS" will be held on February 25, 2010 from 9:30-11:00
a.m. in the Grand Hall at Sacred Heart (1301 Greene Street). We hope you
will come join us for your midmorning cup of coffee. The event is open to
the public so you may invite other coworkers or friends that might have an
interest in assisting our survivors. Please RSVP to Survivor Outreach
Services by February 22, 2010 at (706) 787-4SOS(4676) or (706)
787-1SOS(1767) or email us at Suzanne.crosby@us.army.mil.

Free Legal Help for Military & Veterans in GA

2010-02-10T21:01:00.003-05:00

Great News for Georgia's Service Members, Veterans and Their Families

The State Bar Association of Georgia has launched a program to provide coordinated and free legal services to military personnel and veterans. Mike Monahan, Director of the program, and Norman Zoller, Coordinating Attorney, visited the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project Transition Round Table today and briefed on the program.

To find out more about it, visit: http://www.gabar.org/programs/military_legal_assistance_program/

or contact Mike Monahan at mikem@gabar.org or Norman Zoller at normanz@gabar.org.

We also plan on including Augusta area attorneys in our next Transition Round Table to better connect the local legal community with our ongoing efforts to streamline the system. The round table provides the platform for networking and harnessing resources dedicated to transitioning service members, veterans and their families.

To get a copy of the next meeting's agenda (slated for April 14th, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.), or to get a copy of the Transition Round Table charter, contact Susan Folk, folk.susan@gmail.com

Laurie

Augusta Leaders Praised for Commitment to Community, Warriors

2009-11-18T10:51:00.012-05:00

Augusta, GA November 18, 2009

Three Central Savannah River Area Wounded Warrior Care Project board members were honored at an Augusta-area Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Jim Hull (President of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project), and board members Clay Boardman and Boone Knox were all recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Augusta area.

Click here to read the article in the Augusta Chronicle:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/11/18/bus_556176.shtml

Also, MG Perry Smith (USAF ret.) has written another piece for the Augusta Chronicle praising community efforts, including those that have completed the campaign to fully fund Augusta's second Fisher House, the home away from home for wounded warriors' family members. This breaks ground December 9th on the campus of the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, and shows the community's total commitment to not only the wounded warriors coming to Augusta for care at our Active Duty Rehab Unit, but also serves as an endorsement of the unique partnership that Eisenhower Army Medical Center has with our VA Medical Center.

To see MG Smith's article, click here: http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/11/18/op__556139.shtml

New GI Bill Emergency Funds (apply online)

2009-10-01T14:58:00.003-04:00

Note: This is a VA news release with the latest information about emergency funds the VA will release beginning October 2nd, 2009.

Please comment about your experiences with applying for the benefit.

Laurie Ott
Executive Director, CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Katie Roberts
Sept. 30, 2009 katie.roberts@va.gov or 202-461-4982

Secretary Shinseki Announces Ability to Sign Up for Emergency Education Benefit Payments on VA Web-Site this Friday
Vans to Help Veteran-Students
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki today announced further outreach to Veteran-students eligible for a special emergency payment of their education benefits. Veterans can now apply online beginning Oct. 2. Veteran-students can also request courtesy transportation to VA regional benefits offices.
“Our Veterans went the extra mile for their country,” Shinseki said. “One of our top priorities in transforming VA is to be, first and foremost, the advocate for Veterans.”
Last week Shinseki announced that on Friday, Oct. 2, VA’s 57 regional benefits offices will begin providing on-the-spot emergency payments up to $3,000 to students who have applied for their education benefits but who have not yet received a government payment.
Citing the distance many Veterans would have to travel to apply in person at a VA benefits office, Shinseki announced Veterans can also apply online at www.va.gov, starting Oct. 2. The online application will guide Veterans through the process to supply needed information. Shinseki noted that online applicants will receive their emergency payments through the mail after processing.
“VA is adapting to meet the financial needs of our Veteran-students who are on campus,” Shinseki said. “They should be focusing on their studies, not worrying about financial difficulties.”
Students without their own transportation can also request free van service, provided by volunteers, to carry them to the nearest benefits office. To obtain this service, Veterans would have to call their nearest VA medical center and ask for the “Volunteer Transportation Coordinator.” Transportation will be on a first-come, first-served, space-available basis. Veterans can find a map and list of medical centers at http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=1.
Whether traveling by personal vehicle or volunteer van, VA officials suggest students check their mail boxes and banking accounts before leaving home, since some Veterans will find their checks have already arrived. VA would like to recognize the volunteers and Veterans Service Organizations for partnering with the Department to ensure that Veterans’ needs are met.
The emergency checks are an advance on each student’s education benefits, and the amount will be deducted from future benefits payments. Checks will be written at the regional offices for Veterans who bring a photo ID and evidence of their enrollment. VA officials emphasize that $3,000 is the maximum payment, with many Veterans receiving smaller payments based upon their likely monthly education benefits.
A map and list of the participating VA regional benefits offices is available on the Internet at http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=3. The most updated information regarding VA issuing emergency checks will be available at VA’s web site www.va.gov starting Oct. 1.
Applications from approximately 25,000 Veterans are currently being processed for Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit payments to students or schools.

Kayak Program at Augusta VA: How to Help

2009-08-14T09:50:00.005-04:00

The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia is home to the nation's only Active Duty Rehab Unit located within a VA facility. It's treated more than 640 inpatients since opening in 2004, and was featured on the NBC Nightly News in March.

The Kayak Program, overseen by the Recreation Therapist at the Active Duty Rehab Unit, allows Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen healing at the unit to enjoy this outdoor sport and the beautiful Augusta canal as well as the Savannah River. To volunteer your time or to support the program, contact Eric Gray, Recreation Therapist, Charlie Norwood VA Active Duty Rehab Unit at eric.gray@va.gov or call him at (706) 733-0188 extension 6146.

Mentor program for OEF/OIF combat returnees

2009-08-06T11:53:00.006-04:00

The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project hosts a Transition Round Table, providing a venue for networking in order to streamline efforts to help service members, veterans, and their families in transition. A brief overview of initiatives includes an employment and training program in collaboration with the US Army Corps of Engineers (in Archaeological Curation), a collaborative job fair on Fort Gordon for soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion and Iraq and Afghanistan-returned veterans, and a computer training collaboration with the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the Cristina Foundation. We are also exploring pain management programs (civilian, military, and VA programs)to help Iraq and Afghanistan returned service members and veterans.

Art Robb, US Navy (ret.) is a volunteer with our project, and is helping us develop a mentor training program for the Augusta, Georgia area for combat veterans and service members. This program will complement and aid in coordination of efforts by agencies and organizations as well as assist in the transition back into community from combat. To contact Art, you can email him at arobb25@comcast.net or to read his blog (which will appear soon here on our website), you can see it now at: http://combatwarriormentoringblog.blogspot.com/

We hope you weigh in on the need for this type of program, give us information if you know of an existing combat warrior peer mentoring program, or let us know if you'd like to be a sounding board.

Laurie Ott
Executive Director
CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project
laurie.ott@csrawwcp.org
(706) 434-1708

New Federal Recovery Coordinator Call Line

2009-06-25T22:56:00.004-04:00

If you or someone you know needs coordinated care, the national Federal Recovery Coordinator Program just released this new call line.

Share this information with anyone you know who may need to refer wounded warriors and their families to highly specialized and highly trained care coordinators.

Federal Recovery Coordinators are one of the recommendations of the Dole/Shalala Commission and there are currently 13 of them assigned across the nation, including one in Augusta at Eisenhower Army Medical Center's Warrior Transition Battalion.

The Federal Recovery Coordinators are assigned out of the VA Central Office in Washington, and that's where this phone number rings. The program director works for the Secretary of the VA as a Special Assistant.

The staff in the DC office encourage anyone (friend, neighbor, loved one, self) to call if they have someone who may need coordinated care. They have criteria they must follow, but they are willing to refer people to other resources if they do not qualify.

Please share this with anyone you know who could benefit from it.

Federal Recovery Coordination Program

Toll-free Referral Phone Lines

1-877-461-0034 or 1-877-732-4456

The Federal Recovery Coordination Program (FRCP) toll-free phone line is an outreach to service members and veterans who are, or who may be, eligible for that Program. If a staff member is not available, the caller may leave a voice message. Calls will be returned the same business day. Any calls received outside business hours (M-F 9am-5pm Eastern) are returned the next working day. General inquiries, referrals or specific questions from family members, healthcare providers and interested others are welcome.

NBC Nightly News Coverage: March 23, 2009

2009-03-23T21:20:00.007-04:00

The NBC Nightly News "Making a Difference"story tonight featured Augusta's Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit located within our VA Medical Center. It's the only such unit like it, and correspondent COL Jack Jacobs (ret.) covered the powerful healing work going on at this unique facility. The unit is an example of Army/VA collaboration, and according to Jacobs, is a "Model for the nation."

COL Jacobs ought to know. This Medal of Honor recipient was wounded in Vietnam, and chronicles his experiences in his new book,
"If Not Now, When?"

The stories of MSG Tom Morrissey and others are featured in COL Jacobs' story. MSG Morrissey credits the Active Duty Rehab Unit at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and its collaboration with Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta with saving his limbs from amputation after he was ambushed with an AK-47 in Afghanistan in 2006. You can hear more of MSG Morrissey's interview here.

LT Joshua Darnell's story isn't all that different from MSG Morrissey. COL Jacobs asked LT Darnell about his injuries, and he reports he's miles from where he was when he arrived at the Active Duty Rehab Unit. You can see LT Darnell's story here.

Both stories join more than 610 other warriors' examples of restoration and healing in August, Georgia. To find out what you can do to support the warrior care mission already underway in our community, check out our website link "How You Can Help."

Computers and Training for Veterans: Collaboration

2009-03-22T10:33:00.008-04:00

Since February of 2009, we've been exploring a collaboration with the National Cristina Foundation, a non-profit that is dedicated to supporting people with disabilities, students at risk and disadvantaged persons. National Cristina Foundation matches computer technology donated from corporations and the public as it comes out of its first place of use to training programs such as ours.

In July of 2008 the Cristina Foundation launched a special initiative with the American Legion in Texas working to provide refurbished computers and access for free computer training to veterans with special needs. The initiative, Linking Together for Veteran's Futures, in coordination with the CompTIA Educational Foundation's Creating Futures program and the Art for Soldiers Foundation, targets eligible veterans who require IT support, many of whom include returning Iraq and Afghanistan service members.

Representatives from the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project, the Charlie Norwood Iraq and Afghanistan Program, and CompTIA's Educational Foundation met recently to determine how to connect the information technology training and certification with returning service members looking to pursue careers in information technology.

The next steps will be to identify ways in which donated technology from the National Cristina Foundation and training from CompTIA Educational Foundation can help veterans in Augusta and prepare them for rewarding careers in IT. The Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center is our primary partner for identifying those Iraq and Afghanistan service members who are transitioning out of active duty and would benefit from access to both the technology and the training.

If you'd like to learn more about this new collaboration, or to support it, contact me at: laurie.ott@csrawwcp.org or (706) 434-1708.

Initiatives Update: Veterans Court, March 2009

2009-03-17T22:36:00.005-04:00

Today I was given the privilege of speaking to the Augusta Bar Association with board member The Honorable Doug Barnard, our retired 10th District Congressman.

Judge Jim Blanchard spoke about the Drug Court launched in Richmond County last year, and the program's successes. I was invited to observe this Drug Court a week ago, and I was very impressed with the enthusiasm for sobriety on the part of the participants and the impact treatment options have on those who would otherwise be in the throes of their addictions, or in jail, or worse, dead. This treatment court model is of great interest to our project, as we look at the potential to launch a Veterans Court similar to the program in Buffalo, NY and a few other locations across the country. The idea is to connect veterans who end up in front of a judge with the programs, services and benefits they have already earned through their service. The focus of the court in New York state is treatment, and a team approach to challenges facing veterans.

We are fortunate to have a wonderful VA Medical Center in Augusta (the Charlie Norwood VAMC) and program managers and leadership there interested in exploring how to implement the treatment model court for veterans in our area.

March 27th, the Charlie Norwood VAMC will host the Buffalo judge who started the Veterans Court there, for an all day session to discuss how the program works. The CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project is hosting a meeting on this day to bring judicial and law enforcement leadership together with our VAMC staff and the Buffalo judge to explore implementing this here. This small work group will look at the needs of this generation of returning service members' needs, and veterans and their families needs in transition, and ways to meet those needs in collaboration with the Charlie Norwood VAMC.

From the response today from the Augusta Bar Association, it appears our community is ready to collaborate on this type of initiative, and ensure our veterans get the care they need, when they need it.

CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project Update

2007-11-08T14:36:00.004-05:00

It's been an exciting 9 weeks on the job so far for me as Executive Director of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project. In that time, I've had 2 trips to Washington, DC, with 3 visits to Capitol Hill, one meeting at the Pentagon, 2 meetings with Veterans Affairs staffers, and a meeting with Senator Bob Dole and another President's Commission member. Senator Dole co-chaired the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors (PCCWW) and has come up with a plan to "serve, support and simplify" the system helping our returning wounded service members. (To see the report for yourself, go to http://www.pccww.gov/ and click on the final report, or to see where Augusta's mentioned, go to the 149 page subcommittee report.)

Senator Dole thinks Augusta's resources should be used their fullest potential, and served as a wonderful sounding board for me as I continue to explore whether Augusta is uniquely qualified to play a larger role in wounded warrior care.

Some of the findings I have shared with Senator Dole and others:

* The Dole/Shalala Commission has called for recovery coordinators to be placed across the country to lead each wounded warrior through a recovery plan. Since 2005, the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing has had a Clinical Nurse Leader program, which we are exploring as a match for the Recovery Coordinators. Graduates of the School of Nursing's CNL program are decision-makers and leaders who ensure the best outcomes for patients.

* Eisenhower Army Medical Center is a major destination for air evacuees from Iraq and Afghanistan and is home to the Army's Southeast Regional Medical Command. Augusta was listed second only to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in numbers of evacuees from Iraq and Afghanistan in the July 2007 Dole/Shalala Commission report.

* Augusta's Uptown VA Medical Center is home to the nation's only Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit located within a VA facility. It has treated nearly 500 in-patients and more than 1,000 out-patients, all of them on Active Duty. The gold standard of care given at the ADRU to Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen was highlighted in a U.S. Senate field hearing in August. (To see WRDW's coverage of the hearing, go to http://www.wrdw.com/csrawwcp/headlines/11081346.html)

* a disproportionate number of the returning service members come from the southeastern United States (30% of service members call Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky home).

* Of the communities with a regional medical command, Augusta is the most affordable housing market in the nation.

* We have two new employers who are bringing more than 2,000 jobs to the area, which could offer either permanent or temporary employment to the family members of wounded warriors.

* The Savannah River National Laboratory, a Department of Energy research facility, is the only lab of its type that does rapid prototyping. Within weeks, they put robotic cameras in the rubble at Ground Zero after 9/11. The have existing capabilities to be an independent determiner of the robustness and appropriateness of technologies and devices developed for amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan.

* Walton Rehabilitation Hospital (CARF-certified) has expertise with both traumatic brain injury and spinal injury rehabilitation services and has experience in setting up and running transitional living, assisted living and independent living facilities for those with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. The capacity at their transitional living facility can be doubled with very little capital investment.

All of these areas merit full exploration, and I hope this leads us to a consensus of the best way to better serve more of America's men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.