Department of Defense cuts services to wounded veterans

The Saturday issue of the Air Force Times reports that the Department of Defense abruptly laid off most of the case workers who have been charged with helping severely wounded soldiers transition back to active duty or civilian life after experiencing life-altering injuries. Everything related to recovery that is not direct medical care falls to caseworkers such as these.

The caseworkers for the Military Severely Injured Center were informed Wednesday that they should finish up all open cases because Friday would be their last day. The center officially opened in February 2005, with its primary offices in Arlington, Va., but also hired advocates at hospitals around the country. Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and Fort Campbell, Ky., all locations serving a high number of returning wounded, had case workers cut. The fate of the caseworkers at Arlington is not yet known, but only Brooke and Tripler Army Medical Centers and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego survived the cuts.

The DoD is now referring all severely wounded military personnel to the Army's Wounded Warrior program. Sources reported that the cuts came about because officials at the Wounded Warrior program felt the MSIC represented a duplication of services, but declined comment when contacted by a reporter for the Military Times newspapers.

“I’m just livid about this...They did a fabulous job for these families. The kind of work they do for these families who are hanging by a thread ... no other organization helped service members and their families like they did.” said Janice Buckley, Washington state chapter president for Operation Homefront, an organization that helps service members and their families with short-term financial needs.

It seems counterproductive to terminate the services of those who assist the wounded, especially at a time when additional troops are being sent into battle and more wounded will be returning to the homefront in need of services. If duplication of services was really an issue, it could have been addressed without the unforeseen termination of the employees and the vital assistance they provided to service personnel in need.