Needy Warriors Will Get First-class Care

After speaking at the Oct. 31 dedication of Schofield Barracks’ Warrior Transition Battalion Headquarters and Soldier & Family Assistance Center, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard met with veterans and service members attending the ceremony. Photo from Gabbard’s office.

Schofield Barracks officially opened the new $60-million Warrior Transition Battalion Headquarters Oct. 31 amid speeches and ceremonies attended by hundreds of soldiers who will make use of its services.

The just-completed WTB complex (four-story administrative building and five-story barracks) is part of the Soldier & Family Assistance Center, a kind of one-stop-shop for soldiers who are wounded and/or in need of counseling or medical help. With support from Tripler Army Medical Center and Schofield’s Health Clinic, the WTB is now ready to care for more than 400 soldiers, providing primary care and case management so that its patients can fulfill their mission: “I will win my fight to recover as I heal and transition back to the fighting force or successfully into the community with dignity, respect and self-determination.”

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has since been called up to active duty with Hawaii Army National Guard to help lava victims on Hawaii island, gave the keynote address at the gathering, noting the difficulties of returning from deployments and the great need for proper healing. She praised leaders who helped complete the new headquarters, as well as the transition team and its dedicated work.

Each soldier has a primary care manager, a nurse case manager, social worker and squad leader to coordinate their care over a minimum of six months’ rehab and complex medical care.