Warrior Transition Battalion Complex to be completed by December 2012

By Tina Ray
Paraglide

	Graphic by Cook Douglass Farr Lemons/Ltd. Architects & Engineers PA A rendering of the Warrior Transition Complex Barracks.

Since September 2001, more than 38,000 Soldiers have been wounded because of what their country has asked them to do.

So said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, commander of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, at the Warrior Transition Battalion Complex groundbreaking Thursday on Normandy Drive.

Estimated to cost $88 million and be constructed by December 2012, the more than 249,000 square foot complex will help consolidate services and provide comprehensive care to wounded warriors.

“Healing Soldiers is not going to end when we leave Iraq in December 2011. It’s not going to stop and the Army has recognized that,” Helmick said. “This facility will be a state-of-the art facility. It will set the standard for the Army.”

The complex will include Soldier and Family assistance, barracks, dining and housing services and Fort Bragg’s first parking garage, said Lt. Col. Terence S. McDowell, WTB commander. Its construction represents that the scope and complexity of the mission to care for wounded
warriors continues to expand.

“We are committed as an organization to continue to grow,” said McDowell.

Specialist Daniel Hill was assigned to the WTB following a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, which may be marked by inflammation of the intestines. Hill said he appreciates the opening of a new facility on Fort Bragg to care for the needs of wounded Soldiers.

“It’s awesome. I really believe that consolidating the facility is going to make it more convenient and a lot more easier for the Soldier than going from place to place.”

Staff Sgt. Mark Lawrence agreed.

Lawrence serves in Company A of the WTB cadre as a squad leader. Soldiers have routinely had to navigate access to different facilities across Fort Bragg, he said. Having integrated services at the complex will limit the need to go from site to site.

By the time it opens, WTB Spc. Rickie Timberlake expects to be separated from the Army. A three-year servicemember, Timberlake is recovering after the recent removal of a brain tumor. He said he would come back to Fort Bragg to visit after the complex is built.

“It’s a wonderful idea. I’m glad the military came up with it,” Timberlake said. “It’s good for the Soldier, great motivation; something that’s well needed.”

According to the Womack Army Medical Center’s Public Affairs Office, the barracks could cost more than $32,000 and comprise in excess of 53,000 square feet. The dining and Soldier and Family assistance centers and the administrative buildings will total more than 96,000 square feet.

Michael Grier will be project manager for its construction by B.L. Harbert International and said it means a lot of be a part of the process.

“We’re building a facility for the greatest people in the world,” he said.

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