Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior, Oct. 6 2017

Volume 13, Number 10 Published in the interest of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin community • www.irwin.army.mil October 6, 2017
Fort Irwin leads the way for Army medicine with opening of newest, greenest hospital
Codi Kozacek / NTC Public Affairs Office
Commanders and distinguished guests officially opened the new Weed Army Community Hospital at a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 21 at Fort Irwin. Pictured from left to right: Maj. Gen. Thomas Tempel Jr., Commanding General U.S. Army Regional Health Command -- Central and Chief of U.S. Army Dental Corps; Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; General Robert Abrams, Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command; Brig. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, Commanding General, National Training Center and Fort Irwin; Mr. Thomas Reilly, Senior Vice President, Turner Construction Company; Ms. Olivia Templeton, Board Member, Military and Civilian Spouses’ Club of Fort Irwin; Col. Martin Doperak, Commander, Weed Army Community Hospital; and Col. Michael Brennan, Commander, U.S. Army Health Facility Planning Agency.
by Codi Kozacek
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The new $210.9 million Weed Army Community Hospital officially opened Sept. 21 as the most environmentally friendly medical facility in the Department of Defense. Commanders and distinguished guests were joined by hundreds of community members to witness the ribbon cutting and recognize the hospital’s critical contribution to the mission and readiness of Fort Irwin and the National Training Center.
“If you look back over the last 30 or 40 years of success of our land forces, every single success we’ve had on the battlefield you can tie right back to lessons and leaders that were developed here at the National Training Center because of its singular focus and its unique purpose,” Gen. Robert Abrams, Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces Command, told the gathered crowd. He continued, “For those soldiers who help train the Army, they need to know that: A) they will be cared for, and B) they need to know that their family will be cared for and have the very best facilities possible.”
The previous Weed Army Community Hospital building was constructed nearly 50 years ago, and it was undersized for the number of services provided. The new facility is nearly 60 percent larger and features state-of-the-art technology. Notably, it is designed to meet the highest level Platinum certifica- tion under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program – the only medical facility in the Department of Defense to earn such a high rating. During
See Hospital , page 7
Army photograph by Brooks Hubbard IV
The new Weed Army Community Hospital at Fort Irwin, Calif., pictured in this August 2017 photo, is the Department of Defense’s first LEED-Platinum, carbon-neutral medical facility built in the U.S. It generates all of the energy it needs by solar power and other renewable energy systems. It is one of three LEED Platinum medical facilities built in the U.S., but the only one built for the Department of Defense.