Army Announces Wounded Soldier Hotline

Mar 18, 2007
By Army News Service
Updated September 26, 2007

Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline (800) 984-8523 or DSN 312-32800002 24 hours per day 7 days per week

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Army will open the phone Monday on its new Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline, providing wounded and injured Soldiers and their Family members with another way to resolve medical issues.

The hotline also provides an information channel for Soldiers' medical-related issues to go directly to senior Army leadership in order to improve the way the Army serves the medical needs of Soldiers and their Families, said the commander of U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Maj. Gen. Sean J. Byrne.

"We designed this call center to be able to collectively hear what Soldiers say about their health care issues so as issues are raised, we can identify systemic faults or problematic areas and senior leaders can better allocate resources," Byrne said. "It's all about serving our wounded and injured Soldiers and their Families. If we can find a way to improve our system, we will. It's that simple."

Many wounded and injured Soldiers who have supported the Global War on Terror, and their Families, are enduring hardships in navigating through the medical care system, Byrne said.

"Our Army is committed to providing outstanding medical care for the men and women who have volunteered to serve this great nation", Byrne said. "But recent events at Walter Reed Army Medical Center made it clear the Army needs to revise how it meets the needs of our injured and wounded Soldiers and their Families. In certain cases, the chain of command could have done a better job in helping to resolve medically related issues."

Leaders in the chain of command need to know that this call center exists, and that it was not created to circumvent the chain of command, Byrne said.

"In this particularly challenging time, as our senior Army leadership looks to ways to improve our service to wounded and injured Soldiers and their Families, this is another step in the direction of improvement, " he said "Our wounded and injured Soldiers and their Families expect and deserve the very best care and leadership from our Army."

The "Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline" can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, at (800) 984-8523, oversees at DSN 312-32800002, or by email: wsfsupport@conus.army.mil¹. The call center is under the command of the U.S. Army's Human Resources Command.

¹Availability of hotline service expanded on March 26, 2007, which is after this article's originial publication date. The operation information has been updated to reflect these changes.

Source: Army News Service at www.army.mil/-news/2007/03/18/2297-army-announces-wounded-Soldier-hotline/