242
243

2000–2009
244

u The Hoff Fountain is especially beautiful in the spring with the tulips in bloom.

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives

No one anticipated that September 11, 2001, a sunny day with bright blue skies, would bring 

such death and destruction to our 

country and significant change to the 

Army and to Walter Reed. The following Global War on Terror, with combat 

in Afghanistan and Iraq, resulted in 

many new and often severely wounded soldiers, as well as other challenges 

being brought to Walter Reed.

The Karen Wagner Sports Center 

(Building 32) was dedicated on September 11, 2003, two years after Lt. 

Colonel Karen Wagner was killed in 

the Pentagon. Karen Wagner was a 

17-year veteran of the Medical Service 

Corps, having served in San Antonio, 

Ft. Lee, Germany, and Washington, 

DC, including a stint at Walter Reed as 

Head of the Personnel Services Branch. 

She had held personnel assignments at 

the Office of the Surgeon General. She 

was a 1984 graduate of the ROTC program at the University of Nevada–Las 

Vegas, where she also played guard on 

the university’s women’s basketball 

team.

The Wagner Sports Center includes a 

gymnasium, three racquetball courts, 

a cardio theater consisting of various pieces of cardio equipment, such 

as treadmills and bikes, a weight area 

consisting of weight-resistant equipment, an aerobics room, and saunas 

and locker rooms for men and women. 

In addition to basketball and volleyball, a variety of other programs are 

offered, such as aerobics classes and 

walking programs, that can be done 

with a group or individually.

As Walter Reed Army Medical Center 

approached its centennial few anticipated that it would be the last decade of 

Walter Reed occupying its Washington, 

D.C., campus. The Base Realignment 

and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended in May 2005 that the Army 

close Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the Army agreed. However, the 

name Walter Reed will be carried over 

to the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the grounds of 

what is now the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. At the time 

of this writing, the future of the Walter 

Reed, Washington, D.C. campus is not 

known.

Despite the BRAC and it implications, 

war wounded continued to arrive at 

Walter Reed. In response to the needs 

of a significant number of amputees, 

the Army funded and built a Military 

Advanced Training Center (MATC) at 

Walter Reed that opened in September 

2007. This facility, designed to augment the capabilities of existing Walter 

Reed facilities, has the latest in computer and video monitoring systems 

and prosthetics to help enhance amputee and patient care through a multidisciplinary approach, with the goal 

Title page - This satellite image of the campus in the mid-2000s shows the 

mature campus in essentially its final state. Only one building was added after 

this image was taken: the Military Advanced Training Center (MATC) located immediately north of and connected to the main hospital building (the large square 

building in the upper right of the image). The only other building constructed during this decade was the athletic facility, the square building in the center left of 

the image just to the east (right) of the L-shaped Mologne House. Known as the 

Wagner Sports Center, this building was named in honor of Lt. Colonel Karen 

Wagner, a Walter Reed alumna killed in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives

244

of returning multiskilled leaders and 

soldiers to duty. The multidisciplinary 

team includes physicians, nurse case 

managers, therapists, psychologists, 

social workers, benefits counselors, 

and representatives of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs.

The MATC has a Center for Performance and Clinical Research or gait 

lab, as well as a Computer Assisted 

Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN). 

The CAREN is designed to build a 

virtual environment around a patient 

performing tasks on a treadmill bolted 
245

to a helicopter simulator. The CAREN 

uses a video capture system similar 

to the gait lab, but with an interactive 

platform that responds to the patient’s 

every move. The CAREN can also assist warriors recovering from posttraumatic stress disorder by reintroducing 

patients to both simple and complex 

environments, and measuring their 

performance while ensuring absolute 

safety.

The MATC has a 225-foot indoor track 

that boasts the world’s first oval support harness.

“It allows the Soldiers to walk or 

run without a therapist tethered 

to them.”

Additionally, MATC includes a rope 

climb and rock wall, uneven terrain 

and incline parallel bars, vehicular 

simulators, a firearms training simulator, physical therapy athletic and exercise areas, and an occupational therapy 

clinic. The facility also has prosthetic 

training and skills training areas, prosthetic adjustment and fitting rooms, 

and separate examination rooms for all 

amputee-related care.

At its centennial, all who have had the 

privilege to serve Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center’s most deserving patients can be proud of their accomplishments in healthcare, medical education, and medical research. Those 

who have provided or received care at 

Walter Reed understand that it is different and unique, and is known across 

the country and around the world. 

By serving at Walter Reed during its 

first century, you have been and are a 

part of its great legacy.
246

Aerial view of hospital with the finished Rumbaugh Garage on the left.

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center
247

t The Rose Garden covered in snow 

provides a peaceful, contemplative 

escape from the real world. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, December 14, 2007

p Snow puts a magical glow on the campus. The first snow of 2007 was no exception. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, December 14, 2007 
248

Building 1 decorated for the holiday season. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives
249

The fountain in the Rose Garden and plaque in honor of General George Glennan, Commander of Walter Reed General 

Hospital from 1919 until 1923 and the Army Medical Center from 1923 until 1926.

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives

It’s tulip time at Walter Reed. 

Source: Stripe newspaper
250

p Fine details of the Memorial Chapel architecture are 

seen on the facing page. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works 

Archives; Kathleen Stocker - photographer

u A young couple, Ann Pierce and Ivan Wilson leave 

the Memorial Chapel after their wedding on May 3, 2003. 

Source: Pierce Collection; Elizabeth Sterling - Photographer
251

The figures on the Chapel represent 

the role of the hospital chaplain and 

the Red Cross Gray Ladies in the care 

and recovery of patients. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 

Directorate of Public Works Archives; Kathleen 

Stocker - photographer
252

u A sports center built for rehabilitation was named in honor of Lt. Colonel 

Karen Wagner (pictured above). She 

served as the Medical Center Brigade’s Executive Officer and Secretary of the General Staff at the North 

Atlantic Regional Medical Command. 

She was the Deputy Chief of Staff for 

Personnel at the Office of the Army 

Surgeon General at the Pentagon. 

She served at Walter Reed for seven 

of her seventeen years in the Army. Lt. 

Colonel Wagner died in the attack on 

the Pentagon, September 11, 2001. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 

Directorate of Public Works Archives

p The cover of the Stripe newspaper commemorating the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks and its victims.

Source: Stripe newspaper, Sept. 6, 2002
253

p The guest house, Doss Memorial Hall, was named in honor of PFC Desmond T. Doss. Doss enlisted on April 1, 1942 

as a conscientious objector and served as a medic with the 778th Infantry Division. On April 29, 1945, his unit captured 

the Maeda Escarpment on Okinawa. Six days later, they were forced to retreat. Doss is credited with saving 76 lives by 

lowering his sick and wounded comrades down the cliff one by one over a period of five hours. He was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. He died March 2006. The house has 32 rooms for outpatients and their 

families. 

Sources: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives; Stripe newspaper, July 3, 2008

t Building 38 was renamed Vaccaro 

Hall at a dedication ceremony on 

August 2, 2007. Army Cpl. Angelo 

J. Vaccaro, an Army medic killed 

in Afghanistan while attempting to 

evacuate casualties during combat 

in Afghanistan, is the first service 

member to earn two Silver Star 

Medals in the Global War on Terror. 

The hall will serve as the headquarters 

for the new Warrior Transition Brigade, 

a center aimed at improving outpatient 

services. Maj. General Schoomaker 

and Cpl. Vaccaro’s family members 

participated in the dedication 

ceremony.

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical 

Collection
254

p Program for the dedication of the Military Advanced 

Training Center for wounded soldiers.

Source: National Museum of Health and Medicine, WRAMC History Collection

p One of the new buildings constructed on the campus 

was a new Amputee Center. The modern structure was designed to provide a focused area for soldiers to regain skills 

and return to active lives. 

Source: Stripe newspaper. February 2, 2007

t Groundbreaking ceremony for the 

Military Advanced Training Center 

(also known as the Amputee Center). 

Source: Stripe newspaper

p Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Amputee Center dedication with Maj. General Eric B. Schoomaker, WRAMC Commander, in attendance.

Source: Stripe newspaper
255

The Military Advanced Training Center was officially opened on September 13, 2007. It was designed to treat “Warriors in 

Transition” with limb loss or functional loss to the highest possible levels of activity. 

Source: Kathleen Stocker - photographer
256

The sign at the entrance to the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

Source: Mike Rhode - photographer
257

p A bust of Walter Reed inside the museum doors at the 

National Museum of Health and Medicine. An iron lung and 

vintage X-ray machine stand in the background.

Source: Mike Rhode - photographer

p Part of the display floor at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

Source: Mike Rhode - photographer

p This museum display shows a tent set up to simulate 

the contents of a trauma bay as it would appear in the theater of battle outside Balad, Iraq.

Source: Mike Rhode - photographer
258

p In 1864, the grounds on which Walter Reed now stands 

was the location of Confederate General Jubal Early’s 

troops during the Battle of Fort Stevens. This ground 

marked the deepest penetration of his troops into the District of Columbia. The tulip tree that stood on this spot was 

used by sharpshooters to fire on Fort Stevens. The cannonballs pictured were removed from the unoccupied Lay farm 

house on the property in 1898 by two neighbor boys. One 

of them, Mr. William Burdett, kept them as artifacts for most 

of his life but in 1963 donated them to Walter Reed and 

they became part of this memorial.

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works 

Archives; Kathleen Stocker - photographer

u Close-up of the plaque located opposite the officer’s 

quarters (Building 12).

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works 

Archives
259

This poster hangs in the hallway wall outside the Graduate Medical Education offices in Building 2, the Heaton 

Pavilion. The information about Colonels Kimbrough and Bruton is self-explanatory. The row of photographs 

are of individuals who all completed some, if not all, of their medical training at Walter Reed. Left to right are, 

Lewis Mologne, later a Maj. General and Walter Reed Commander; Jim Rumbaugh, also later a Maj. General 

and Walter Reed Commander; Mike Scotti, also later a Maj. General and Army Medical Department leader; and 

David McLeod, later Chief of Urology and Residency Program Director and currently Walter Reed legend.

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Graduate Medical Education
260

t Incoming Commander Colonel 

Norvell Coots (left) accepts the Walter 

Reed Health Care System flag from 

Maj. General Carla Hawley-Bowland, 

Commanding General of the North 

Atlantic Regional Medical Command 

and WRAMC, during a change of 

command ceremony July 11, 2008 in 

WRAMC’s Wagner Sports Center.

SGM Ricardo Alcantara stands behind 

Colonel Coots.

Source: Stripe newspaper, July 17, 2008; John 

R. Chew - photographer p Maj. General Kenneth Farmer, 

outgoing NARMC and WRAMC Com-

mander; Lt. General Kevin Kiley, Army 

Surgeon General; and Maj. General 

George Weightman stand at atten-

tion during the change of command 

ceremony for incoming WRAMC and 

NARMC commander Gen. Weightman 

on August 24, 2006.

Source: Stripe newspaper
261

p Maj. General Eric Schoomaker, outgoing NARMC and WRAMC Commander and Surgeon General designee (left) with

Maj. General Gale Pollock, acting Surgeon General (center) and Maj. General Carla Hawley-Bowland (right) at the change 

of command ceremony held December 11, 2007 in Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Karen Wagner Sports Center. Maj. 

General Hawley-Bowland assumed command of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center. Maj. General Eric Schoomaker was promoted to Lt. General the next day.

Source: Stripe newspaper, December 11, 2007; SFC Roger J. Mommaerts, Jr., WTB - photographer
262

Mass casualty exercise in 2007.

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical Collection
263
264

p The Walter Reed Army Medical Center patient evacuation vehicle (PEV), a semitrailer-sized hospital on wheels, fits up 

to 12 ambulatory and 16 nonambulatory patients, and allows medical personnel to administer medical treatment en route 

to the hospital.

Source: Stripe newspaper, April 28, 2006

p Mail is a source of connection with the world outside a hospital room. It means that someone took the time to think 

about a patient. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, January 27, 2006
265

From the first Red Cross worker known as the Gray Lady in World War I to the 

present, the Red Cross has been a major presence on the campus of Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center. Whether it is sorting mail, preparing gift bags, or 

singing Christmas carols, the Red Cross volunteers are always there to encourage and cheer the patients and assist the staff. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, 2005 and 2006 issues
266

Sometimes it’s the little things that speed recovery. Here, a young boy shares his birthday presents by bringing phone cards to patients in the hospital. The boy had requested his guests to bring him gifts of telephone 

cards. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, August 29, 2005
267

Father Patrick Kenny visits with an inpatient. It is estimated that he has visited over 150,000 patients during his 27-year 

tenure at WRAMC. All who know him speak of the man who makes them smile. 

Source: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Graduate Medical Education
268

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the military who sustained 

wounds in combat. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, November 17, 2006
269

p President George W. Bush continues the practice begun by President Harding to visit the wounded warriors at the 

hospital. Here, he is presenting wounded service members with their Purple Hearts.

Source: Stripe newspaper

p The U.S. Postal Service dedicated the new Purple Heart stamp during a ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center where two wounded soldiers were awarded Purple Hearts by General Colin L. Powell (Ret.). Maj. General Elder 

Granger (left) participated in honoring service members at the Purple Heart ceremony on the 75th anniversary of the 

Purple Heart medal. August 7, 2007

Source: Stripe newspaper
270

p Talk show host Oprah Winfrey visits wounded soldiers. 

Source: Stripe newspaper
271

p President-elect Barack Obama meets with CSM James E. Diggs and Maj. General Hawley-Bowland during his visit to 

Walter Reed Army Hospital in the days leading up to his inauguration. 

Source: Stripe newspaper

u The variety of visitors to Walter 

Reed Hospital continues. Here, cartoonist G. B. Trudeau poses for photo 

with a fan during a visit to the hospital 

in February 2006. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, February 3, 2006

t The annual Easter Sunrise Service 

continues to be a major event in the 

life of the Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center. In April 2006, Franklin Graham conducted the service much 

as his father had done years earlier. 

The service was held in the Garden 

near the Pavilion and broadcast on a 

jumbo screen. Ricky Skaggs, Grammy 

winning Country music artist is on the 

right. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, April 21, 2006
272

p The 3D Medical Applications Center provides physical anatomical models and cranioplasty implants using medical imaging data, and is used by physicians, surgeons, and dentists in many diverse specialties. The models have proven to be 

invaluable for presurgical planning on complex cases, allowing for rehearsal of surgery, prebending of plates, and intraoperative reference, which results in reduced surgical time. Here, Chief of Radiology, Col. Mike Brazaitis and Col. (Ret) Steve 

Rouse, confer with Peter Liacouras, PhD in the design of a skull plate.

Source: 3D Medical Applications Center

(Left) A computer model of a skull based 

on CT scan data. (Right) An acrylic skull 

created on a rapid prototyping machine 

based on computer data similar to that 

shown above and on the left.

Source: 3D Medical Applications Center
273

Judge John J. “Jack” Farley, III, tries out a Segway. The Segway, which is controlled by balance shifting, has proven 

to be a useful device in helping wounded soldiers improve coordination while having fun. The nonprofit group Disability Rights Advocates For Technology (DRAFT) has donated more than 150 of these devices to military amputees. Farley, wounded in Vietnam, was a patient on the orthopaedic ward known as the “snake pit” after sustaining 

wounds in Vietnam in 1969.

Source: Douglas Wise - photographer
274

u Prosthetics should look as natural 

as possible. This frequently means 

that artists need to paint the devices to 

match the skin tones and other coloring features of the patient. The image 

shows cosmetic hands before and 

after color match artistry.

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical 

Collection

p Surgical techniques in the operating room have changed over the years. Here, a team works with 3D headsets to perform the latest surgical techniques. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, March 30, 2007
275

t It takes a lot of concentration to 

make the arm do what should be so 

easy. Occupational Therapist Capt. 

Smith-Forbes provides encouragement. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, April 7, 2006

t PFC Tristan Wyatt practices gait in 

the physical therapy clinic. 

Source: Bruce Maston - photographer; National 

Museum of Health and Medicine, AFIP, NCP 

4159

p Physical Therapist Bob Barr adjusts 

the C-leg of Lt. Melissa Stockwell. 

Source: Stripe newspaper, February 28, 2006
276

A soldier practices climbing skill on the rock wall located in the Military Advanced Training Center.

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical Collection
277

Use of a hand-crank bike contributes 

to the development of confidence and 

ability, allowing continued participation 

in leisure activity. 

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical 

Collection

As in the past, integration of a range 

of functional activities during rehabilitation is an ongoing goal in the occupational therapy clinic. While durable 

prosthetic design from earlier years is 

used today, recent research in prosthetics has lead to the development of 

lighter weight components, customization with computer aided design, 

advancement in myoelectric controls 

and cosmetic enhancements. 

Source: WRAMC History Office, PAO Historical 

Collection
278
279

Heaton Pavilion, Building 2, in the spring with the cherry trees in bloom. 

Sources: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Directorate of Public Works Archives; Kathleen Stocker - photographer