Posted on Apr 14, 2015
Has anybody been a Commander for a Wounded Warrior Transition Unit? How was your experience?
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I am considering going on an Active Duty Tour, and this is one of the available positions. Your answer and comments will help me make a decision. Thank you!
Army Reserve
Wounded Warriors
Company Commander
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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The one thing you will need to remember, there will be slackers, there will be those that are seen as slackers but aren't. Treat each soldiers as an individual. No one knows what is really happening with them. Don't make excuses for them nor allow them to make excuses. You will do just fine, I would take the command.
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Mixed emotions, years ago they were full of Soldiers who had never seen combat, I had a few reservists who departed mob station and spent two years there playing xbox, chaptered them out for height weight after their return. Then you have plenty of great Soldiers who are committed to serving their country that need the assistance. Best answer I can come up with is to be prepared to spend most of your time with the malingerers and shammers and occasionally provide good assistance to those that really need it. (But same is true with any command)
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MAJ (Join to see)
Thanks for the feedback, Captain. I love to be a commander, but I hate slackers. I put 20 years as enlisted prior to commission and have little patience for those who want to take advantage of the system and live like parasites. Let's see who else contributes. Thanks!
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MAJ (Join to see)
You will need empathy. Transitioning is a challenging time in life, let alone if it happens 10 years earlier then you expected. I, myself, plan on being a career Soldier. If I was told to leave now for any reason, I would be scrambling to figure out what to do next in order to support my family. I would become very self centered and greedy in order to ensure I had income buying food and clothes for my kids. Someone can be perceived as a parasite, however, they are just looking out for number one. In a unit without a cohesive goal in mind, there is no reason to worry about anyone else.
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Never commanded one, but here's my impression. Like nearly everything else in life, you'll have to take the good with the bad. You'll get the honor and privilege of supporting some of our nation's finest heroes as they recover and transition to the next stage in their lives. And you'll get to deal with some of the tiny heated who never had any intent on dedicating themselves to the profession and gave nothing back to the military while taking in as many benefits as they could. And all sorts that fall in the middle. No assignment has ups without downs. But if you're a good leader, don't shy from the opportunity to support some of our finest who deserve the best leadership just because there are some duds mixed in there.
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There was a Warrior Battalion near my last assignment at Fort Gordon because Gordon has a great hospital. This would be a unique assignment for anyone because like someone else said you are not there for training but to help these individuals as they go through medical boards or recover and possibly return to a regular unit again. I met a few individuals who were assigned to the unit at my retirement meetings. I felt like they needed more mentoring as they were not emotionally ready for leaving the Army. I think it would be a great assignment especially if you have an interest in healthcare jobs in the future.
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Not an officer but I did serve as a WTU Clinic NCOIC at ft Bragg in 2010 and as a wounded warrior in 2013. I'm sure times have changed since then but I have high respect for those that have volunteered to serve in this mission. My duty was not like any other since the WT's main mission is to heal and not to train. My main goal was just to simply mentor and assist in whatever transition the WT was going to do.
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Yes. For the past 26 months I've commanded the Ft. Carson WTB. It has been the best assignment I've had in my 28 years of service. I do not look forward to leaving this job next week.
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I can't help you with any knowledge about "Wounded Warrior", but from the positive side I think you will have a rewarding experience. Go for it.
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I'm not sure if he's still active on RallyPoint, but MAJ (Join to see) was a WTU commander at FT Knox.
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MAJ (Join to see)
I am about to list challenges. Not all Soldiers I encountered acted this way. The following are some examples of challenges I had while in command. I will not debate silly issues or other peoples accounts of their WTB experiences.
You have to find creative ways to create Espirit de corps. Everyone is there for themselves because they are not at their organic unit. It have to battle barracks lawyers that inform 18 y/o males that ED is worth 10% disability and cannot be disproved. Then when you try to make sense of it as a CO, and an IG complaint or congressional is submitted against you. Keeping motivation up to stay positive for the Soldiers that really need your attention is paramount. You are in charge of Nurses, Social Workers, and Doctors to figure out and coordinate appointments, leaves, and medications in addition to normal military activities like urinalysis, counseling and PT plans. As for PT, everyone is broke, that is why they are there. However PT is what they need so their injuries do not worsen, but don't tell them that because their rating might drop. They cannot bend over to do toe touches, yet they can bend over to sit in a chair and play video games or get in their car to drive away from a formation. I had a pilot that wanted to be eligible for flight pay, yet wanted to be compensated for injuries through the med board process. That is not possible.
In the end, I loved my command time and enjoyed helping Soldiers transition. The rewarding part is helping Soldiers rehab their injuries so they can be successful in the next chapter of their lives.
Hope that helps a little.
You have to find creative ways to create Espirit de corps. Everyone is there for themselves because they are not at their organic unit. It have to battle barracks lawyers that inform 18 y/o males that ED is worth 10% disability and cannot be disproved. Then when you try to make sense of it as a CO, and an IG complaint or congressional is submitted against you. Keeping motivation up to stay positive for the Soldiers that really need your attention is paramount. You are in charge of Nurses, Social Workers, and Doctors to figure out and coordinate appointments, leaves, and medications in addition to normal military activities like urinalysis, counseling and PT plans. As for PT, everyone is broke, that is why they are there. However PT is what they need so their injuries do not worsen, but don't tell them that because their rating might drop. They cannot bend over to do toe touches, yet they can bend over to sit in a chair and play video games or get in their car to drive away from a formation. I had a pilot that wanted to be eligible for flight pay, yet wanted to be compensated for injuries through the med board process. That is not possible.
In the end, I loved my command time and enjoyed helping Soldiers transition. The rewarding part is helping Soldiers rehab their injuries so they can be successful in the next chapter of their lives.
Hope that helps a little.
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