National Guard Association of Nebraska

National Guard and Reserve troops who have been wounded or are ill will be allowed to recover closer to home under a new policy of the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command.

Commanders of Warrior Transition Units or Army hospitals will have the authority to transfer an ill or wounded soldier to a WTU or a Community Based WTU near his or her hometown. Previously, soldiers were assigned to the active duty WTU at the mobilization station or Army post where they reported for deployment.

The impetus for the change came from Army Secretary Pete Geren, who has met with hundreds of recovering soldiers in WTUs around the world and was told repeatedly that being away from family and friends during the healing process was a chief complaint.

The Army has established 36 WTUs at active duty Army posts and nine Community Based WTUs around the U.S. The CBWTUs have Army medical personnel assigned to them, but patients normally live at home and undergo treatment in the local civilian TRICARE health network.

"We've found that the family component is critical in the successful healing and transition of soldiers," said Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, the WTC commander. "This is another refinement of the program that better incorporates that critical aspect."

One side benefit of the new policy is to encourage reserve component soldiers returning from deployment to remain on active duty under an Army medical retention program so that any medical issue can be addressed quickly.

In the past, some soldiers opted to demobilize to expedite their return home only to discover health issues that required them to request a return to active duty for treatment.