Is the military handling the scandal at Walter Reed Hospital with efficiency or is it all cosmetic and politic

Question

Updated:2007-03-12 13:54:05
Army Surgeon General Forced to Retire
Walter Reed Scandal Claims Another Job
By PAULINE JELINEK
AP
WASHINGTON (March 12) - The Army forced its surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, to retire, officials said Monday, the third high-level official to lose his job over poor outpatient treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Kiley, who headed Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004, has been a lightning rod for criticism over conditions at the Army's premier medical facility, including during congressional hearings last week. Soldiers and their families have complained about substandard living conditions and bureaucratic delays at the hospital overwhelmed with wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .

Kiley submitted his retirement request on Sunday, the Army said in a statement.

"We must move quickly to fill this position -- this leader will have a key role in moving the way forward in meeting the needs of our wounded warriors," Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said in an Army statement.

Geren asked Kiley to retire, said a senior defense official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was not involved in the decision to ask Kiley to retire, the official said.

Kiley's removal underscored how the fallout over Walter Reed's shoddy conditions has yet to subside. Instead, the controversy has mushroomed into questions about how wounded soldiers and veterans are treated throughout the medical systems run by the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs and has become a major preoccupation of a Bush administration already struggling to defend the unpopular war in Iraq.

Answer 1

I was in the Marine Corps for 20 years and can tell you, except for the Navy Corpsmen in the field and on ships, most of the time we were treated like cattle - as were our dependents. Navy Corpsmen and shipboard care are superb. It is usually the big establishments with civil servants who treat us with no respect.

Sorry, but true.

Answer 2

Pretty much the whole problem was cosmetic, (barracks not being up to the soldier's standards) but then it was made political by the Liberal Media...but a place does not get in disrepair that quickly...many of the money and equipment problems that have been brought up can be traced squarely back to the Clinton Administration....Clinton cut the military budget, to "balance" the over all budget...I have worked in the Army Medical Field from 91 to present and the Bush Administration has given the military 200% more money and support that Clinton ever did...do not let these Liberals and the Liberal Media fool you...ask someone who has been on the ground...and the appointment situation in the Military Hospitals has been broken for decades....

Answer 3

you're so crammed with bullsh*t and lies that's spectacular. In 2003 Bush and the Republicans had to diminish the VA monies much greater. It replaced into the Democrats in congress with some cutting-side Republicans that stopped Bush/Cheny from devastating the Veterans administration funds. the place do you get your informations from? My comes promptly from the VA. i'm in touch with the VA, being a vet and that i ask your self what your militia record is or are you one in all those rooster-hawk Republicans. It replaced into for the time of Bush"s administration that the final of Walter Reed replaced into introduced. you think of when you consider which you continiously repeat lies that they grow to be real. generic Republican. Bush and the conservative Republicans have been in value for 6 years and function achieved no longer something for the veterans of this united states of america. Why do no longer you start up telling the actuality. incredibly much each question you ask includes mendacity.

Answer 4

The military is doing what they can.

Remember that Congress is the people who determine what funding Walther Reed gets for building repairs. If Congress does not allocate enough money - then there is nothing the Army can do (it is a Federal crime to spend money for a purpose other than what Congress allocated it for).

In fact I see this as an excellent 'test case' for Democrat claims of how they 'support the troops' - have they allocated any money to fix the problems yet?

Answer 5

if the military was handling it it would not be an issue. Now that it is made public and more information leaks out several people have been replaced to show that they are taking it serious. The whole deal is that several people made the situation and reports were filed. It's a shame people or organizations only respond to media awareness.

Answer 6

It's all CYA. If they actually cared it would not have reached the point that it did.

Interesting how the president and his family get the best medical care absolutely free and all the politicians get it free or at very little cost while the rest of us, even those that go to war to make them richer, have to take what they can get.

I hope people remember that when it comes election time.

Answer 7

The Military will handle it as best as possible...It is a function of the VA which is funded by Congress...Let's see if the Liberal Congress handles it with efficiency or is it all cosmetic and political...

Answer 8

Everything the Bush Administration does is cosmetic and political.

Answer 9

As long as it's in the news then things will be cleaned up at the hospital.