Wounded Warrior Project Responds to Obama Announcement of Afghanistan Troop Level Drawdown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union Address announcement that 34,000 service members will be returning home from Afghanistan, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, will be standing by to welcome home these brave men and women who have served their country during this conflict.

“Wounded Warrior Project stands by at the ready to assist the brave men and women who’ve served valiantly and will now be returning home to their families and communities”

As the campaign in Afghanistan draws to an anticipated close, WWP remains committed to helping Wounded Warriors and their families, through a holistic approach to recovery. WWP’s 18 programs and services are designing to assist in the healing of the mind (through programs like Project Odyssey) while fully engaging the warriors with programs in education (TRACK™) to job placement (Warriors to Work™) to Warrior-to-Warrior support (Peer Mentoring).

WWP has also recognized the need for ongoing, long-term care, through initiatives like the Independence Program – a community-based reintegration program designed to assist the most severely-injured Warrior in improving his or her physical, social, recreational, cognitive, emotional functioning in the home and community. Five new pilot programs are being pioneered by WWP, including peer-facilitated support groups and a helpline program designed to offer Wounded Warriors telephonic mental health support.

“Wounded Warrior Project stands by at the ready to assist the brave men and women who’ve served valiantly and will now be returning home to their families and communities,” said Steve Nardizzi, executive director of Wounded Warrior Project. “Many of the service members returning from the conflicts in Iraq and now Afghanistan have not only suffered multiple wounds – physical and emotional – but face multiple challenges, including uneven access to care, gaps in treatment and barriers to achieving economic empowerment. We remain committed to their long-term care and rehabilitation in order to foster the most successful and well-adjusted generation of wounded veterans in our nation’s history.”

WWP serves service members and their families who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001. To see the impact that WWP’s programs and services have made on Wounded Warriors and their families, please visit http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission/who-we-serve.aspx.

About Wounded Warrior Project^®

The mission of Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.