Part 9: Pentagon official demands flexibility on BRAC dates
Thursday - 5/12/2011, 7:48am ET
Jim Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, insists wounded warriors will not move from current to new facilities if preparations aren't ready. (WTOP/J.J. Green)
J.J. Green, wtop.com
WASHINGTON - As Base Realignment and Closure dates approach, one top Pentagon official says compromises may have to be made in order to complete the move.
Jim Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, says he will not budge on the process of moving wounded warriors from current to new facilities.
"The biggest problem I have is making sure that if we need to, we can expand or extend the date."
Campbell is not suggesting a date extension needs to happen, but he is adamant about a concrete plan before anyone is moved.
"If we're not ready, we're not going to move anybody because this has got to be seamless -- this has (to) be done right," he says. "We're not just adhering just to the date, we're adhering to a plan that works for these men and women and their families."
While Campbell is not officially involved in the construction and planning for the facilities, he's making sure wounded vets have a say in the process.
"One of the great things about this job is I can get involved in anything if it has anything to do with wounded warriors, so I poke my nose in a lot of areas."
His interest is not always appreciated.
"Some people don't like it," he says.
Like it or not, Campbell plans to keep poking around the BRAC move because of the possibility of something going wrong.
"It was a program that was designed five years ago, six years, whatever the number is, that BRAC would occur September 2011," Campbell says. "A lot has changed in that time period."
"I am amazed that we are as close to a successful plan implementation as we are."
With all the oversight and planning focused on the move, the chances of anything going wrong are remote. However, Campbell feels there are elements that may fall short of expectations. While he wouldn't elaborate, he's assured wounded warriors and their families he's going to be their advocate.
"I can't influence exactly how the construction goes," he says. "I am expected to take a hard look, continuing look at it to make sure that it's going to be satisfactory in terms of a seamless transition."
Campbell says there is still a lot to do that BRAC is not designed to address and he will continue to work after the move is done.
"Right now there is not a good program when a wounded warrior comes into the medical (system). There's not a good program to assess his or her skills, to really get the training and counseling to really decide what they should be doing."
The Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy website indicates their mission is to "ensure equitable, consistent, high-quality support and service for wounded warriors and their families, as well as transitioning members of the Armed Forces, through effective outreach, inter-agency collaboration, policy and program oversight."
Campbell, a Vietnam War veteran, says high quality support involves looking for new ways to help wounded warriors to live more productive lives long after they've left the medical system.
WASHINGTON - As Base Realignment and Closure dates approach, one top Pentagon official says compromises may have to be made in order to complete the move.
Jim Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, says he will not budge on the process of moving wounded warriors from current to new facilities.
"The biggest problem I have is making sure that if we need to, we can expand or extend the date."
Campbell is not suggesting a date extension needs to happen, but he is adamant about a concrete plan before anyone is moved.
"If we're not ready, we're not going to move anybody because this has got to be seamless -- this has (to) be done right," he says. "We're not just adhering just to the date, we're adhering to a plan that works for these men and women and their families."
While Campbell is not officially involved in the construction and planning for the facilities, he's making sure wounded vets have a say in the process.
"One of the great things about this job is I can get involved in anything if it has anything to do with wounded warriors, so I poke my nose in a lot of areas."
His interest is not always appreciated.
"Some people don't like it," he says.
Like it or not, Campbell plans to keep poking around the BRAC move because of the possibility of something going wrong.
"It was a program that was designed five years ago, six years, whatever the number is, that BRAC would occur September 2011," Campbell says. "A lot has changed in that time period."
"I am amazed that we are as close to a successful plan implementation as we are."
With all the oversight and planning focused on the move, the chances of anything going wrong are remote. However, Campbell feels there are elements that may fall short of expectations. While he wouldn't elaborate, he's assured wounded warriors and their families he's going to be their advocate.
"I can't influence exactly how the construction goes," he says. "I am expected to take a hard look, continuing look at it to make sure that it's going to be satisfactory in terms of a seamless transition."
Campbell says there is still a lot to do that BRAC is not designed to address and he will continue to work after the move is done.
"Right now there is not a good program when a wounded warrior comes into the medical (system). There's not a good program to assess his or her skills, to really get the training and counseling to really decide what they should be doing."
The Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy website indicates their mission is to "ensure equitable, consistent, high-quality support and service for wounded warriors and their families, as well as transitioning members of the Armed Forces, through effective outreach, inter-agency collaboration, policy and program oversight."
Campbell, a Vietnam War veteran, says high quality support involves looking for new ways to help wounded warriors to live more productive lives long after they've left the medical system.
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