Air Force Aid Society always there for wounded warriors Published Sept. 26, 2012 By Tammy Cournoyer Air Force Personnel Center Warrior and Family Operations Center JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- As the numbers of combat-injured Airmen have grown during the past few years, Air Force Wounded Warrior Program officials have built a support infrastructure they rely on to help handle complex, non-medical issues facing wounded warriors. When Airmen are injured, every aspect of their lives is impacted. Things they would normally take for granted now require expert hands-on involvement to make sure nothing goes awry. The Air Force Wounded Warrior Program staff assigned to the Air Force Personnel Center serves as the hub for the many agencies involved in caring for wounded warrior special needs. One of the agencies care managers and wounded warriors call on regularly for assistance is the Air Force Aid Society. One of the society's emergency assistance caseworkers, Scott Hald, assists wounded warriors who need financial assistance in the form of grants or loans from the time they are medically evacuated in the combat zone - until his or her full return to duty or transition to civilian life - and in many cases afterward. Q: How would you describe what you do for Air Force wounded warriors? A: After evacuation from the combat zone and upon arrival at a medical facility, the society provides a $500 comfort grant to the Airman for immediate needs. What we try to accomplish with our assistance is to stabilize the wounded warrior and his or her family by identifying the "must pay bills" between the time he or she is retired and when their benefits start. In some cases this may be a significant period of time so in many instances we assist multiple times with the understanding that we cannot continue to assist on an ongoing basis. When this occurs, the AFW2 Program looks for alternative helping agencies to assist the wounded warrior. Occasionally, we are asked to assist wounded warriors who remain on active duty or are going through the medical board process. Q: What is the most common assistance you provide - loans or grants? A: The most common assistance we provide is basic living expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle payments, food, etc. When determining loan versus grant we consider each case individually. We obtain an application from the wounded warrior and discuss the case with their care manager, recovery care coordinator and the Airman and Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant to make sure we have all the facts to make the decision on whether we should assist with a loan or grant. To give you a few facts, since Jan. 1, we have assisted 40 wounded warriors with $58,000, of which 38 wounded warriors were given assistance in the form of grants for a total of $57,000 and two received interest-free loans. Q: Do wounded warriors warrant special service? If so, why? A: I don't know if it's special service as much as special care when handling a case involving a wounded warrior. When we receive a request for assistance from a wounded warrior, we try to quickly gather the information needed so we can expedite the request to solve the problem. Q: Without naming names, what are some cases that stand out in your mind? A: We helped purchase a $20,000 specially equipped van for a triple amputee wounded warrior. The society recently provided a grant for a past-due mortgage of more than $4,000 to a wounded warrior after he had heart surgery and was out of work for three months. We also helped a wounded warrior with a grant for more than $12,000 to have a lift installed on his van making it easier to access and exit the vehicle. Q: What is the most satisfying part of your job? A: I think the most satisfying part of my job is that the Air Force Aid Society allows me the latitude to work a case for a wounded warrior and be able to disburse funds quickly without any bureaucracy or red tape. This enables us to make a positive impact on the life of a wounded warrior. Q: If you could speak with each wounded warrior personally, what would you like to say? A: I would say thank you for your service to your country, and I understand the many sacrifices you have made to protect our freedom here in the U.S. I would go on to say as a retired Air Force senior noncommissioned officer, I can understand the complications in their life; and hopefully, the assistance we give will help get their life back to some sort of normalcy.