I am proud to announce that April 30, 2008 marks AW2’s fourth anniversary of serving severely wounded, injured, and ill Soldiers and their Families. As you may know, the program was established on April 30, 2004 and was originally known as the Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3). In the four short years since then, we have made great strides in the services we provide Soldiers and Family members.

So often, success is measured by statistics – numbers served, benefits obtained, jobs filled, or website hits.  Yes, these things matter for AW2, but our success really comes from the personal things we do for our Soldiers and their loved ones to help them through overwhelming and difficult times. AW2 Advocates are a constant source of support and comfort to those who have given so much to our country. As one AW2 mother shared recently, “We need someone there we know we can trust.  AW2 is there.” 

Our program is continually evolving to best meet the needs of our Soldiers and Families. For example, just this week we announced a new name for our “Soldier Family Management Specialists.” They will be called “AW2 Advocates.”  When we asked for feedback we discovered that the old name is both difficult to say and to remember and the name AW2 Advocate better describes the work these people do, helping Soldiers and Families every single day.

I want to thank the entire AW2 team for all of their incredible work over the past four years and their continued commitment to our mission. While we are honoring AW2’s four-year anniversary, we are not stopping or looking backward. AW2 remains focused on our pledge to serve our Soldiers and Families for as long as it takes.