Is it acceptable to simply say, "I knew nothing about it!" or do we hold the military commanders responsible?

Question

Walter Reed Commanders Admit Fault
By ANNE FLAHERTY
AP
WASHINGTON (March 5) - Flayed by lawmakers' criticism, Army leaders said Monday they accept responsibility for substandard conditions at the service's flagship Walter Reed Army Medical Center but also said they hadn't known about most of the problems.

Democrats and Republicans alike suggested the failings go far beyond the one hospital for wounded soldiers in Washington, and they demanded action. Military leaders - and Vice President Dick Cheney - promised they'd get it.

"We can't fail one of these soldiers or their families, not one. And we did," said Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was in charge of Walter Reed from August 2006 until he was fired last week. He added, "We did not fully recognize the frustrating bureaucratic and administrative processes some of these soldiers go through. We should have, and in this I failed."

Weightman's comments were echoed by other top Army officials at an emotional House hearing held at the hospital itself as Congress began digging into the controversy.

In a session that mixed contrition and clashes, lawmakers said dilapidated housing and excessive red tape were problems beyond Walter Reed, underscoring how recent revelations about the hospital have become a metaphor for broader concerns about the government's treatment of soldiers returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .

"I'm afraid this is just the tip of the iceberg, that when we got out into the field we may find more of this," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that held the session.

Answer 1

The short answer is "No". The "I have no clear recollection of the incident to which you refer" or just the "I don't know" answer has never been an acceptable response to a direct question. It is their job to know and their staff's job to deal with everything under their command. The sad and horrible truth of it all is this: The Generals are taking the fall for the politicians on this one. Military budgets have been and are going to continue to go up but the money is being spent on weapons and weapons systems manufactured in whole or in part in the home state or district of this or that politician. Discretionary spending within the DoD is pretty tight for things like building maintenance and the like and every dime has to be accounted for which is how you get bureaucratic mess that's been created to manage it. All of this shines light on an even bigger sadder more horrible truth: we are XB3, expendable cogs in the machine, the crocodile tears of the politician not with standing!