Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Wounded Warrior barracks founder to retire

The Marine officer who devised centralized barracks for wounded warriors is leaving the Corps.

Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell is scheduled to retire Friday afternoon in a ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va.

Maxwell suffered severe traumatic brain injury on Oct. 7, 2004, during his third and final deployment to Iraq, when his forward operating base was mortared and shrapnel tore through the left side of his brain. As he recuperated, Maxwell realized that being around other wounded Marines helped in the recovery process.

The Wounded Warrior barracks was founded at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 2005. The idea continued to grow and, in June 2007, the Corps stood up its first battalion for wounded Marines, Wounded Warriors Battalion-East at Lejeune. Two months later, Wounded Warriors Battalion-West was formed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

In July, Maxwell underwent surgery to remove a piece of shrapnel near his brain stem that was leeching toxins into his cerebral fluid. The surgery led to a “reoccurrence of right-sided weakness, but has not tempered his resolve,” officials said in a news release.

Maxwell has been awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.