Medical officials estimate that 25% to 35% of about 10,000 ailing soldiers assigned to special wounded-care companies or battalions are addicted or dependent on drugs — particularly prescription narcotic pain relievers, according to an Army inspector general's report made public Tuesday.
The report also found that these formations known as Warrior Transition Units — created after reports detailed poorly managed care at Walter Reed Army Hospital— have become costly way stations where ill, injured or wounded soldiers can wait more than a year for a medical discharge.
Some soldiers have become so irate about the delays in leaving the Army that doctors, nurses and other medical staff say they have been assaulted in their offices and threatened, or had their private cars damaged or tires flattened, the report says.
"I'm very concerned about folks and their personal safety," says Army Col. Darryl Williams, commander of Warrior Transition Units, of those specific allegations. "I'm going after that really, really hard."
Williams, however, called into question findings about high rates of drug addiction and dependency, saying these percentages were based on estimates made by case managers and nurses working with troops, and are not statistically valid.
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