Scapegoating, Blaming & Denials Over Walter Reed

The issues arising out of the Washington Post expose over conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), the flagship of the Army's Medical Department, have resulted in a lot of turmoil in Washington, at the Pentagon, and in the White House. In typical fashion the fallout immediately initiated the task of finding scapegoats, a series of finger-pointing, and the lopping off of heads--or falling on swords--in order to protect the image of President Bush and the overall mismanagement of the entire executive branch under his command.

The first head to roll was that of the commanding general of Walter Reed Medical Center, Major General George W. Weightman, who only took command six months ago, succeeding the flag officer who was appointed as the Army Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley. General Weightman was made aware of the issues of building conditions and the effect upon care, as well as other pressing issues that one report described as potentially mission critical in that it could hamper the quality of care within the entire WRAMC command, almost immediately upon taking over from Kiley. Kiley on the other hand, was aware of the issues much sooner and for far longer, but passed them off to Weightman without ever really addressing them.

Army Fires Commander of Walter Reed

Kiley's response to the reports was the ultimate denial of responsibility and an immediate appeal to spin the entire ordeal as a problem with the way these issues were being reported. He characterized these issues as being "factual but unfair." My contention is that if these conditions, as reported by the Washington Post, and confirmed by subsequent tours and inspections by every head honcho in the military and government looking to grab a headline, are factual, who has been treated unfairly: the generals and the Army commanders, the president and his cabinet secretaries responsible, or the military members who were forced to live in unsanitary conditions, exposed to the risks of respiratory infections from mold, exposed to disease carrying cockroaches, and not receiving the quality of care--or housing--consistent with their status as heroes?

Walter Reed Stories Factual But Unfair, Medical Chief Says

Another thing that bothers me is that the report of these issues by the media are not the first brought to the attention of the Army commanders of WRAMC, the Army commanders at the Pentagon, the chain of command leading to the Secretary of Defense, or the White House. In fact, Tammy Duckworth, a wounded Army officer who experienced the loss of both legs as a result of an attack by an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), who ran for congress in Illinois, was quoted on Chicago television interviews of having seen cockroaches in her inpatient hospital room while she was at Walter Reed. That occurred sometime in late 2004 and early 2005. Reports of conditions at WRAMC have been surfacing among patients, families of patients and throughout the chains of command within the military, especially the Army, since 2001. So these issues are not new and are not unfair, at least not in the way General Kiley intended. There is a whole list of commanding officers, staff officers, Medical Service Corps, Medical Corps and Nurse Corps officers that have shucked off their duties and responsibilities over several years.

Everyone in the military knows that there are two military hospitals commands that hold a lot of prestige and that the commanding officer of these two flagships is in line for promotion to either the Army Surgeon General position or the Chief of the Naval Bureau of Medicine (BUMED). Walter Reed is the Army command that usually leads to the position of Army Surgeon General (or some other high Medical Corps position) and Bethesda National Naval Medical Center (BNNMC) is the Navy command that usually leads to either the Chief of BUMED, the US Surgeon General, or some other high position related to naval operations.

A secondary flagship medical center for the Army in Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC) located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. BAMC is a prestigious post because Ft. Sam is home of the Health Services Education and Training Center (HSETC), which trains all Army medics, and the Academy of Health Science (AHS), which provides indoctrination training for most of the Medical Corps, Nurse Corps and Medical Service Corps officers in the Army, as well as advanced training for Army medics, as well as inter-service training for Psychiatric Care, Veterinary & Food Service Inspectors, Physical and Occupational Therapies, etc.

Everyone that has ever served in the military knows that there are frequent inspections. In fact, everything gets inspected. Underwear is inspected. Flat surfaces in a room, compartment or space are inspected. Beds are inspected. Walls are inspected. Laundry is inspected. Construction and renovation efforts are inspected. Most importantly, barracks are inspected in some fashion on a daily basis, and a full inspection is held at least once a week, even for patients in a hospital or outpatient setting. It is inconceivable that any commander paying attention could be caught unaware of the issues like those reported by the Washington Post. There is no possible way that General Kiley, or the commanders of WRAMC that preceded Kiley, could claim that they were unaware of the mold hazards, the cockroach infestation, the holes in the wallboard, the unsanitary shower stalls, or the poor food service and sanitation reported not only at Building 18, but throughout the WRAMC campus.

So when Secretary Gates states, "The care and welfare of our wounded men and women in uniform demand the highest standard of excellence and commitment that we can muster as a government.... When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate, accountability up the chain of command," and General Kiley states, "I'm not sure it was an accurate representation....It was a one-sided representation," we all have to ask who is kidding whom?

We can give Secretary Gates a little wiggle room because of his relative newness to his position, but then we have to take it back because he did not give General Weightman any wiggle room given his relative newness to commanding WRAMC, not that their relative newness is any excuse for treating wounded heroes with such disrespect, disregard and neglect. But then there is General Kiley and his predecessors, and our most inept and spiteful Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who preceded Secretary Gates and was physically present at WRAMC at least a couple dozen times during his tenure. None of these commanders or cabinet level officials deserve our consideration or any wiggle room. This is especially true of Donald Rumsfeld who approached the concerns of soldiers and marines in the field by dismissing the issues of having proper vehicular and body armor, clean water issued by fraudulent defense contractors, and stated, "...You go to war with the Army you have..."

But the biggest scoundrel and hypocrite of all, and the most despicable actor among all directly responsible for the bad care being provided to our war veterans--not only from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from previous wars and combat--is President Bush. Bush immediately began his denial of responsibility and obligations to assure that our troops receive the best care available, but he is now reacting to the issues raised many months ago by numerous veterans' groups (especially the VFW and the DAV) regarding the effect cuts to the VA health care system was having on our returning heroes regarding the types of prostethic devices available to amputees and the care available to vets suffering from acquired brain injuries (ABI), even to the point of shutting down the best brain injury center available for these heroes. While Bush and company have been touting the heroic sacrifices made by our troops, and boasting about how much they respect our military service members, he has been cutting back on the funds available, has not reacted effectively to change the supply issues that deny our troops proper armor (and cause most ABI disabilities), and has been selling the rest of us a bill of goods that doesn't hold true upon delivery.

Our troops and our veterans have been screwed over by this administration. Every veteran that served in good faith and with honor--in peace and in conflict--was promised the availability of VA health care. The problem is that the quality of this care has not always been the best available, often abandoning the system to innumerable foreign trained physicians that are barely able to communicate with patients because of language issues, and the funds for full coverage of all veterans have never been fully appropriated. In fact, the VA health care system is treated as a "discretionary budget item" and is subject to administrative and executive review, and cuts, whenever the government gets a bug up its... er, I mean a bug in its ear. The VFW, American Legion, DAV, AmVets and other veterans groups have been pushing for a fully-funded, fully appropriated VA health care system since long before I mustered out of military service... over 20 years ago.

So, despite the positive step of appointing a commission that is empowered to look at conditions and problems at Walter Reed, all other military medical care centers, as well as the VA, President Bush has failed to follow through with the respect and honor due to our troops and veterans, but continues to toot his own horn and make a big deal about his commitment to our troops... and never deliver with the goods.

Instead of assuring that the needs of our troops and vets are met, Bush has taken credit for their actions and sacrifices, and has ignored the plight of these heroes. Indeed, over 25% of our nation's estimated 3 million homeless are veterans. Thousands of vets returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have suffered homelessness and neglect from the VA. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), related self-medicating alcoholism or addictions, mental health problems, family disasters and crises, or loss of work after returning from war constitute one out of every three homeless people living on the streets, in doorways, garbage bins, under bridges and elsewhere, often only seeking shelter when it is absolutely necessary, often too late to prevent hypothermia, exposure injuries or the effects of long-term health problems. Yet, the mental health and addiction services available to veterans have been consistently cut back during every Republican administration since Gerald Ford, including the current Bush administration.

Family members of our troops have reported--on national news outlets--that they have had to fight for their loved ones in order to get the military and the VA to provide needed care, care that would be considered reasonable and necessary in most other care centers, but largely ignored until these family members raise a stink and fight for the rights of these wounded heroes.

Historically, veterans have had to fight for care related to issues like Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, and other conditions, because the military and the VA have fought their claims for care and/or disability. Currently, the number of disabled vets fighting for disability benefits is backlogged to such a degree that it exceeds any such backlog going back to the Civil War. It even exceeds the backlog that prompted World War I veterans to march on Washington.

Additionally, veterans returning from Iraq, Kosovo, or Afghanistan have had tremendous difficulty getting the law that requires employers to reinstate returning vets to the civilian jobs held before being called up and deployed enforced. The DOJ, NLRB, EEOC and President Bush have largely ignored the plight of vets in the position of not being able to get their old jobs back.

So we have all the politicians raising an eyebrow, and huffing and puffing about how they are outraged, but they are part of the problem... indeed a large part of the problem. They stand at podiums, speak on the radio, posture during television interviews and lie to us about how much they care... and the biggest liar is our own president who also has a record of wiggling out of his Air Guard duties.

I am appalled by these reports and the treatment of all our veterans. I am ashamed of our government for not living up to the promises made to those of us that stood up, stood our watches, stood on the wall, stood in harm's way in loyal service to our nation--right or wrong--and are getting the shaft. I am also appalled at the scapegoating, blaming, excuse-making and finger-pointing that is occurring while letting the real culprits and credit-grabbing opportunists get away without any accountability for their long-term failure to meet the needs of our troops and our vets.

RELATED REFERENCES:




Walter Reed Stories Factual But Unfair, Medical Chief Says

Army Fires Commander of Walter Reed: Former Chief, Also Criticized in Troop-Care Scandal, Temporarily Takes Over

Army Secretary Ousted: Second Firing Follows Walter Reed Revelations; Bush Vows a Probe

Back From Iraq - And Suddenly Out On The Streets

Defense Secretary Sends Stern Message About Accountability

Army Secretary Resigns in Scandal's Wake

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans: Background & Statistics

Veteran Care to Be Reviewed After Firing of General

Rotten Homecoming: This Is No Way To Treat A Veteran

Where Does the Buck Stop, Again?

Hospital Officials Knew of Neglect: Complaints About Walter Reed Were Voiced for Years

Who's to Blame for the 'Other Walter Reed'

Administrative Issues Cited at Walter Reed: Report From Long-Running Army Probe Notes Problems; Official Orders Fixes

Battle Worn: After he was injured in Iraq, Richard Twohig found himself fighting an unexpected foe: the U.S. Army.

The Army's Preemptive News Briefing


Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years.

Not all of the quarters are as bleak as Duncan's, but the despair of Building 18 symbolizes a larger problem in Walter Reed's treatment of the wounded, according to dozens of soldiers, family members, veterans aid groups, and current and former Walter Reed staff members interviewed by two Washington Post reporters, who spent more than four months visiting the outpatient world without the knowledge or permission of Walter Reed officials. Many agreed to be quoted by name; others said they feared Army retribution if they complained publicly.

While the hospital is a place of scrubbed-down order and daily miracles, with medical advances saving more soldiers than ever, the outpatients in the Other Walter Reed encounter a messy bureaucratic battlefield nearly as chaotic as the real battlefields they faced overseas.

On the worst days, soldiers say they feel like they are living a chapter of "Catch-22." The wounded manage other wounded. Soldiers dealing with psychological disorders of their own have been put in charge of others at risk of suicide.

Disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked case managers fumble with simple needs: feeding soldiers' families who are close to poverty, replacing a uniform ripped off by medics in the desert sand or helping a brain-damaged soldier remember his next appointment.

"We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months. "We don't know what to do. The people who are supposed to know don't have the answers. It's a nonstop process of stalling."

Soldiers, family members, volunteers and caregivers who have tried to fix the system say each mishap seems trivial by itself, but the cumulative effect wears down the spirits of the wounded and can stall their recovery.

"It creates resentment and disenfranchisement," said Joe Wilson, a clinical social worker at Walter Reed. "These soldiers will withdraw and stay in their rooms. They will actively avoid the very treatment and services that are meant to be helpful."

Danny Soto, a national service officer for Disabled American Veterans who helps dozens of wounded service members each week at Walter Reed, said soldiers "get awesome medical care and their lives are being saved," but, "Then they get into the administrative part of it and they are like, 'You saved me for what?' The soldiers feel like they are not getting proper respect. This leads to anger."