Army addresses gaps in care for injured troops returning to U.S.

Published: 2007-11-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Wounded veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are about to get more adequate support while they recover at new warrior transition units across the country. "These soldiers deserve the best for giving their all," and until now they had not been receiving it, said Army Sgt. Maj. David Allard, battalion leader for the new unit at Fort Campbell, an Army base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The new units will include physicians, nurses, squad leaders, platoon sergeants and mental health professionals responsible for the soldiers' health care needs. With a new staff and recently completed barracks to house 187 recovering soldiers, Fort Campbell's warrior transition unit is one of the largest in the country. It has been a slow start for Allard and his staff, who are still shifting around office space and realizing changes that need to be made to the barracks to make them fully compliant with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. "It's been a challenge, but worth it," according to Christy Allard, David's wife and a member of the Army National Guard who works on the post with the unit. The Allards are Catholics who attend daily Mass.

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