Army to Eliminate 3 WTUs

Citing the declining number of soldiers attached to Warrior Transition Units, the Army Warrior Transition Command plans to shut WTUs at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Fort Rucker and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. The WTU population peaked at 12,500 soldiers in June 2008, but has since declined to 9,500 and will drop by another thousand by next year, Army officials predict. Soldiers in the units that are closing will remain with them until their transition processes are complete. The WTUs serve sick or injured soldiers, or those with behavioral issues, who require some form of rehabilitative care before they can return to full duty or are released from military service. Eligibility criteria for WTU assignments tightened in July 28. "Now, a WTU soldier must require complex case management and greater than six months of rehabilitative care," said Col. Jimmie Keenan, chief of staff of the WTUs, "and they must meet both of those criteria."