JBSA-FORT SAM HOUSTON –
The top senior Army military officials and their spouses visited with wounded warriors and staff at Brooke Army Medical Center April 17.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler III were first briefed on the Army Medical Command scope and structure, while their wives visited the neonatal intensive care unit.
All went to meet with wounded warriors at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center and the Center for the Intrepid.
Odierno met with several injured warriors and their families in the ISR.
The general thanked them for their service and ensured they were receiving the best medical care.
"It's an honor to meet you," he said to Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Edwards, who has burns on 80 percent of his body from an improvised explosive device blast in 2005.
Next on the list was the Center for the Intrepid, where Odierno reunited with four of the nine Purple Heart recipients he presented here in December 2011. They suffered multiple combat injuries from an IED blast in Afghanistan in November 2011.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Burgess, Sgt. Ben Eberle, Spc. Aaron Jacinto and Spc. Edwin Gonzales waited patiently to meet with Odierno again.
"Even though I can't remember our first visit, this is way cool," Jacinto said.
"Following up with us is pretty cool. He kept his word," Burgess said.
Odierno praised the Soldiers for bouncing back so quickly.
Lt. Col. Donald Gajewski, CFI director, then showcased a innovation called the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis, known as the IDEO.
A custom-fit brace created by CFI prosthetist Ryan Blanck, the IDEO offers wounded warriors with lower leg injuries the ability to run and walk again, with little or no pain.
Gajewski spoke about the importance of the device and how it's helping hundreds of wounded warriors return back to active duty and how it helps them get back to their normal activities.
"The (IDEO) is amazing," Odierno said.