Bragg commander orders inspection of battalion
The commander of Fort Bragg and the 18th Airborne Corps has begun an inspection of the battalion that helps soldiers suffering from physical or mental problems, starting with a meeting with wounded troops and their spouses.
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The Fayetteville Observer reported (http://bit.ly/zWWdTt) that about a dozen wounded soldiers and others met Wednesday night to discuss problems in the Warrior Transition Battalion. The meeting followed a decision Tuesday by Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick to investigate the battalion.
Fort Bragg Inspector General Maggie Dunn attended the meeting to gather information and determine how to set up the inspection. Participants complained that some soldiers are overmedicated while others are unable to get the help they need.
The Warrior Transition Battalion was created in 2007 in response to the scandal over shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Fort Bragg's unit is among more than 30 across the Army.
The battalion helps soldiers, many of whom were wounded in combat, navigate the medical system and monitor their progress and treatment.
Families told Dunn that they think the unit is trying to weed out soldiers.
"Any charge of not taking care of our soldiers or not doing our job is something we're going to take seriously," Brig. Gen. Michael Garrett, chief of staff at Fort Bragg, told WRAL News on Thursday. "We're going to look into it. The way that we do that is directed inspections."
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