Walter Reed general relieved of command

[lovemygoofy]

WASHINGTON - The Army said Thursday that the two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of command following disclosures about inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers.

Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command as well as Walter Reed hospital, was relieved of command by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.

In a brief announcement, the Army said service leaders had "lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's leadership abilities "to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care" at Walter Reed.



At least some action is being taken and accountability is happening. I realize that everyone is going to put their spin on this and I'm sure each side of Congress is going to claim a small victory.

 

[ElizaB39]

LMG, is it okay that I posted this update in the other thread about Walter Reed?

Not sure if that is proper etiquette.

Thanks.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Sure I didn't write I like for people to know that action can be taken no matter the spin that people will put on it.

 

[LuvDuke]

It's about time someone was held responsible for their screw-ups.

 

[LakeAriel]

The power of the press!

good news...

 

[Alicnwondrln]

good

 

[TheDoctor]

This is good news.

 

[TheDoctor]

This is extremely bad news for our wounded soliders. The bushies just put the same general who was responsible for the poor conditions at Walter Reed and in fact who ignored reports of poor conditions back in charge of Walter Reed. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/01/kiley-walter-temporary/

Today, the Army announced the commander of Walter Reed hospital, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, has been relieved of command. According to the press statement making the announcement, Army surgeon general Kevin Kiley will be Weightman’s temporary replacement.

Kiley ran Walter Reed before becoming the Army’s surgeon general. During that time, Kiley ignored multiple complaints about the facility from soldiers and veterans groups. From this morning’s Washington Post:[

A]s far back as 2003, the commander of Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who is now the Army’s top medical officer, was told that soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were languishing and lost on the grounds, according to interviews.

Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, said he ran into Kiley in the foyer of the command headquarters at Walter Reed shortly after the Iraq war began and told him that “there are people in the barracks who are drinking themselves to death and people who are sharing drugs and people not getting the care they need.”

“I met guys who weren’t going to appointments because the hospital didn’t even know they were there,” Robinson said. Kiley told him to speak to a sergeant major, a top enlisted officer. […]

On Feb. 17, 2005, Kiley sat in a congressional hearing room as Sgt. 1st Class John Allen, injured in Afghanistan in 2002, described what he called a “dysfunctional system” at Walter Reed in which “soldiers go months without pay, nowhere to live, their medical appointments canceled.”​

Even now, Kiley has claimed the problems at Walter Reed’s infamous Building 18 “weren’t serious” and he has attacked the media’s coverage of the issue as “one-sided.” “I want to reset the thinking that while we have some issues here, this is not a horrific, catastrophic failure at Walter Reed,” Kiley has said.

So the bush administration is putting the same general who ignored past complaints about poor conditions back in charge of Walter Reed. Again, I guess that failure and poor service is what matters in the bush administration.

 

[Mother Jones]

It's time to start the impeachment hearings on bush and company. It is the only way to get justice done and end this national nightmare.

 

[DawnCt1]

The soldiers are getting excellent care but unfortunately are being housed in substandard barracks. Its a lesson that the Army should have learned from the situation at Ft. Stewart in 2003. The general that was dismissed has only been at his job for 6 months; hardly enough time to drill down through the bureaucracy of the Army and the Pentagon. There is a shortage of physicians that are certified to do the board of reviews that are necessary to expedite all of these cases. Changing generals will not make that problem go away over night.

 

[DawnCt1]

It's time to start the impeachment hearings on bush and company. It is the only way to get justice done and end this national nightmare.

And that is going to produce more physicians that can address the back log of cases. Who do you know that is certified to do that and is standing up to volunteer?

 

[TheDoctor]

I love this quote from Senator Obama http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Video_Barack_Obama_Bush_underestimated_veteran_0301.html

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today addressed recent revelations that the care of veterans returning from Iraq has been severely mismanaged and neglected.

"This administration, I think, has consistently underestimated the resources that are needed to support our veterans," said Obama. "You know, I think, the entire failure -- not just restricted to Walter Reed, but overall -- is scandalous."

Obama's comments come on the heels of an earlier report that highlighted the conditions suffered by Iraq War veterans.

 

[Florida_Mom]

This is extremely bad news for our wounded soliders. The bushies just put the same general who was responsible for the poor conditions at Walter Reed and in fact who ignored reports of poor conditions back in charge of Walter Reed. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/01/kiley-walter-temporary/So the bush administration is putting the same general who ignored past complaints about poor conditions back in charge of Walter Reed. Again, I guess that failure and poor service is what matters in the bush administration.

Cause, you know, they're doing a "heckuva" job.