The road to recovery goes through San Antonio.(Brooke Army Medical Center)

The term hero is an understatement for our nation's wounded warriors, who have come home in a manner that can only be described as life-altering.

For our Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen who have been badly burned, the road to recovery usually leads to one facility in San Antonio.

Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, has one of the nation's leading burn units and is home to our wounded heroes who are fighting daily to get their lives back to normal.

BAMC is a modern state-of-the-art, 450-bed health care facility that provides level-one trauma and graduate medical education. Included in the normal bed capacity, 48 are dedicated for ICU beds and 40 are dedicated to the Institute of Surgical Research Burn Unit.

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The Trauma Division is the core of BAMC's ACS (American College of Surgeons) verified Level 1 Trauma Center. Only 97 trauma programs in the United States have received the ACS Level I rating, which is the highest rating a program can achieve. The Burn Center and Trauma and Critical Care Service make up the only Trauma Division in DOD. The Burn Center has eight Intensive Care and 12 Step-down beds, with the capability to expand to 40 beds.

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It is the military's only burn center and is recognized worldwide for its contributions to improved burn survival. The center admits more than 300 patients a year with significant burns.

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Tim Alonzo and HMC Omar Carillo, BAMC naval liaisons, believe the physical therapy and state-of-the-art equipment coupled with the staff at BAMC are extremely effective ways to get the wounded warriors back on their feet.

"It is amazing to see the treatment of our wounded warriors. For people who have just arrived, we meet with them on a 24/7 basis trying to make it as comfortable and smooth as possible. Regardless of what time it is, we are here to make their medical treatment easier for them and their families," said Alonzo.

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Because of the 24/7 rehabilitation, Alonzo had seen a transformation in the wounded warriors under their charge.

"The morale here is through the roof," said …