Laurie Ott, the former local newscaster, gave an incredible presentation at the Committee for Good Government meeting recently at the Julian Smith Barbecue Pit.

Mrs. Ott has a mission whose goal should be shared by all Augustans. Improving the care of our wounded warriors -- the namesakes of her organization, the CSRA Wounded Warrior care Project -- has become that goal.

How many Augustans are aware that 70 percent of returning wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are from the Southeast? Many studies of the volunteer armed forces have shown the disproportionate representation of the South compared to New England and other parts of the country in service to our country, but when presented as a casualty list, that overrepresentation strikes a different chord.

War wounded are triaged back to the United States from secondary facilities in Germany. The No. 2 referral center is the Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon.

REHABILITATION PROGRAMS for wounded with traumatic brain injuries, amputations, blindness and other debilitations are established across the country in places such as Walter Reed, Brooke Army Medical Center, Palo Alto, Tampa, Minneapolis and other sites.

Two problems arise from this program. The first is that Walter Reed and Brooke are at opposite extremes of the region that nearly three-quarters of the wounded call home. Other centers are completely outside the region.

The second is that politics often trump practicality as to where the wounded are sent for rehabilitation.

If such a large number of war wounded are sent to Fort Gordon, why are not more chronic problems being treated at the excellent but underused facilities at the Uptown VA Hospital right here in Augusta? The facility has fantastic equipment, staff and adequate funding, but is underused by 50 percent.

AUGUSTA IS UNIQUELY situated to serve the Southeast -- making the lives of the families of the wounded far more tolerable in terms of travel. Furthermore, Augusta is unique technologically in that the Medical College of Georgia, the digital telemetry programs of the Signal Corps school at Fort Gordon and the prototype development programs of the Savannah River National Laboratory are all located here, and are all capable of contributions to solve the specialized challenges of rehabilitating our valiant protectors.

All Augustans can help in this project by contributing to Mrs. Ott's drive to raise the money to build Fisher House facilities to house 21 families of these men and women to whom we owe so much. The money raised here will be matched by federal funds to realize such an achievement. Augustans will benefit in the long run by becoming a home to the technological developments and the spinoffs that will emerge from our involvement.

We who benefit from the sacrifices of the troops in our armed forces should not hesitate to rally to this cause.