Center for the Intrepid

On January 26th, a severely injured military service member rehabilitation facility was officially dedicated at Fort Sam Houston, TX. To say the $50 million, privately funded center is "state-of-the-art" is understated. It contains just about every possible modern capability to help rehabilitate service members who have sustained serious injury such as a loss of limbs or disfiguring burns. The 65,000 square foot facility is accompanied by superb housing to allow family members to reside nearby for periods when they are most needed. While the facility is impressive, it's made even more so by the manner in which it was funded through private donations to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. This is not a plea for donations to that cause, but simply recognition to what is being done. To their credit, Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton attended the opening ceremony, along with more than 3000 military and civilian leaders and personalities. Unfortunately, much of the credit for creation of this facility has been lost in the media, which remains obsessed with reporting wartime political debates and casualties, than it is in reporting service member rehabilitation efforts. Once again, those doing all the hard lifting are being overlooked by way too many Americans.