Calling health care for wounded warriors a top Defense Department priority, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff urged Congress Wednesday to support the request for $2.2 billion in the fiscal 2011 defense budget to improve treatment and other services.
The request, up $100 million from current levels, will fund a dramatic increase in staff mental-health professionals while advancing research on traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress that have become signature wounds from Afghanistan and Iraq operations.
The budget request includes a 9 percent increase in overall health-care funding, with additional money to provide wounded warrior support to an additional 1,000 servicemembers.
As it sustains health benefits for wounded warriors and enlarges the pool of medical professionals to support them, the Defense Department will broaden electronic information sharing with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The fiscal 2011 budget request also provides funding to maintain first-rate hospitals and facilities and trained staff for the Army’s Warrior Transition Units that support wounded troops and their families.
It also supports improvements in the disability evaluation system.
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