San Antonio, Texas –
U.S. Army chief of staff Gen. Mark A. Milley visited with
wounded service members during a town hall-style meeting at the Center for the
Intrepid Nov. 4.
Milley started by outlining his priorities, explaining that
his first priority was readiness of the force, because the U.S. Army is still
actively engaged in combat operations around the world.
“Readiness is the number one priority of the United States
Army,” Milley said. “The second priority is the future of the U.S. Army, 25 to
30 years from now.”
The third priority, the general said, was not in order of
importance, but is “always a priority.”
“Readiness is your current operation, the future of the
force is your future operation and your always operation is to take care of
troops and their families,” Milley said. “It’s that third category that I want
to talk to you all about.”
Milley said he was committed to making sure Soldiers, their
families and civilians are taken care of, not just while on active duty, but
for life.
“It is my goal that we fulfill that commitment to those who
have raised their right hand to serve,” he said. “One of the most important
things people in the military have come to expect and deserve is quality
medical care.”
Milley encouraged all service members to ask questions.
Retired Col. Stanley Thomas, a current patient at the CFI, asked about future
funding and support for the Center for the Intrepid.
“I want to make sure that our troops are taken care of –
period, regardless of cost,” Milley said, adding that he can’t predict the
future, but at some point, we are likely to engage in more conflicts around the
world.
“As chief of staff of the Army, I need to make sure that
places like this continue to operate,” he said, stressing his commitment to
ongoing support.
Milley expressed his awe of the entire military medical
system and the ability to save lives on the battlefield.
“I’m not going to waste good efforts and lessons learned in
the last 15 years of combat. Military medicine is really on the leading edge of
so many advances in medicine,” Milley said.
The service members asked a variety of questions including
the length and frequency of future deployments and the ability to stay in the
military after being injured. He handed several service members business cards
with his contact information so they could contact him personally with their
questions and concerns.
Before Milley left, Air Force veteran Colton Read, double
amputee, wanted to make sure the Army chief of staff understood how much the
CFI helped him during his recovery.
“Personally, I have been
here since 2009 and I just want to tell you how important this place is,” Read
said. “Being able to come back here after being retired … I know it’s beneficial for a lot of guys to
come back here after some time has passed, so we can do it for ourselves and
become more successful.”