By Ian Graham
“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” so the saying goes. When it comes to wounded Marines, the Corps believes nothing else. Even long after separating from the Corps, injured veterans are given the same benefits and care as the ones who are still a part of the Marine Corps’ wounded warrior transition cells.
Marine Maj. Brian Bilski said the Marines’ Wounded Warrior Regiment in Quantico, Va., uses a fairly hands-off approach, even though they maintain a constant presence.
“We just introduce ourselves to Marines pretty much they day they start the rehabilitation phase [of their healing],” he said. “We tell them ‘We’re here when you’re ready.’”
Once the Marine expresses interest to Bilski or another Marine working with the regiment, they determine what the wounded Marine would like to do – and whether entering the workforce, pursuing education or starting a vocational rehabilitation program is the best choice while they’re still a part of the active Marine Corps.
For more information, visit the Wounded Warrior Regiment website.
To talk to the USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment, call 1-877-487-6299
“There’s a program called Operation Warfighter, in which the DOD teams up with other federal agencies, and we can get Marines into an internship that will work around their rehab schedule, and maybe get them into a full-time job,” Bilski said.
During the internship, as with the Wounded Warrior Regiment’s other transition programs, they’re still considered active duty Marines, Bilski added. And because there are transition cells in every battalion and at every military medical center, Marines don’t have to stay in the D.C. metro area to take advantage of the programs.
“We have a lot of transition cells and resources around the country we can tap into,” he said.
Wounded Marines are contacted at least every 45 to 90 days, Bilski said, so they can be kept abreast of current programs and regulations. The Wounded Warrior Regiment operates a call center to receive calls (it’s open 24 hours daily, all year) and contact their 27,000 injured Marines – about 9,000 active and 18,000 veterans, Bilski said.
He said job-hunting has gone well historically for injured Marines. None have expressed interest in an industry or job that they’ve been turned away from, and now many businesses are realizing the marketing potential for hiring disabled veterans, Bilski said, pointing out that a national consumer survey showed more than 90 percent of Americans view businesses that hire disabled employees more favorably than those that don’t.
“Besides being the right thing to do, you’re also giving a little back to someone who’s sacrificed a lot for their country,” Bilski said. “These are people who are flexible, they’ve faced adversity and overcome it, and they can solve big problems. Things we take for granted, like taking a shower in the morning, these guys have learned to do under some pretty difficult circumstances.”
He said the biggest problem he’s seen in getting injured Marines into the workforce is self-doubt and self-deprecation. It’s hard to explain to a 20-year-old that his leadership as a squad leader could make him a more desirable candidate than the average civilian out of college.
“You don’t see leadership over a group like that in the civilian world until you’re a pretty senior manager, and it can be difficult to get a Marine to understand that,” Bilski said. “I tell Marines often, not to sell themselves short. Their skills are valuable, and in some cases everybody can see it except that Marine.”
Bilski said he’s seen an improvement in employment conditions in his time with the Wounded Warrior Regiment. Education has improved, but remains a challenge, because so much about traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress is vague or unique from person to person. The Corps has worked to help companies, and in many cases companies are turning around and sharing that with their managers.
“A lot of employers the Marine Corps work with are providing training for their front-line managers on how to handle disabled veterans and deal with PTSD and TBI patients,” Bilski said.
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