T
Too_Many_Tools
Guest
Well it looks like the Bush Administration is running scared.
What else is new? LOL
And of course they fire the new guy to shift the blame.
"He is a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months."
Meanwhile they rehire the SOB who was part of the problem.
Now of course we know who the real SOB is who wouldn't spend money on
our injured veterans....
Again anyone thinking about joining the Service should consider this
situation a real life example of how the military really looks out
after its own.
TMT
Walter Reed general fired after failures By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military
Writer
The Army on Thursday fired the general in charge of Walter Reed Army
Medical Center, saying he was the wrong person to fix embarrassing
failures in the treatment of war-injured soldiers that have soiled the
institution's reputation as a first-class hospital.
Less than a week after Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Walter
Reed and said those responsible would be "held accountable," the Army
announced it had relieved Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman of command. He
is a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months.
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." It said the decision to fire
him was made by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.
The Army and the Defense Department began investigations after The
Washington Post published stories last week that documented problems
in soldiers' housing and in the medical bureaucracy at Walter Reed,
which has been called the Army's premier caregiver for soldiers
wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The problems at Walter Reed pertain not to the quality of medical care
for wounded soldiers but rather to the treatment of those who are well
enough to be outpatients, living in Army housing at Walter Reed. One
building was singled out in the Post reports as being in bad repair,
including having mold on interior walls.
Gates issued a brief statement Thursday endorsing Harvey's action
against Weightman.
"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," Gates said. "When this standard is not met, I will
insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate,
accountability up the chain of command."
The Senate Armed Services Committee plans a hearing Tuesday about the
care, conditions and administration for outpatients at the medical
center. One committee member, Sen. Jack Reed (news, bio, voting
record), D-R.I., said Weightman's dismissal was a start. "My sense is
that whatever responsibility he shares is not his alone and that they
have to look carefully at others," Reed said.
It was not clear whether Gates insisted on Weightman's firing, but a
Pentagon official said he had been actively involved in the decision.
Weightman is the highest-ranking Army general to be sacked since Gen.
Kevin Byrnes was dismissed as commander of Army Training and Doctrine
Command in 2005 for an alleged adulterous affair.
In an interview with several reporters two days before the first Post
story was published, Weightman acknowledged shortcomings at Walter
Reed but also said the problems were magnified because of the
facility's location in the nation's capital. "We're a fishbowl," he
said, noting that being in Washington makes it easier for complaining
patients and their families to draw the interest of members of
Congress.
An outside panel of former military officials and former congressmen,
set up last week by Gates, held its first meeting Thursday at the
Pentagon. Headed by two former Army secretaries, Togo West and Jack
Marsh, the panel is reviewing treatment and administrative processes
at Walter Reed and at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda,
Md. It is supposed to report its findings and recommendations by April
16.
The panel's charter, released Thursday, identifies its main goal as
finding the "critical shortcomings" in rehabilitative care,
administrative processes and quality of life for injured and sick
troops, and to recommend how to fix the problems.
The Army has acknowledged problems with the system it uses to evaluate
wounded soldiers in determining whether they are well enough to return
to active duty.
At a breakfast meeting with reporters Thursday, in which he refused to
discuss any aspect of the Walter Reed investigations, Harvey said the
Army also was reviewing conditions at its medical centers elsewhere in
the country. He would not be more specific.
Being relieved of command means Weightman is almost certain to have
lost his future in the Army.
A native of Vermont, he graduated from West Point in 1973 and got his
medical degree from the University of Vermont. He later served as the
surgeon for the 82nd Airborne Division, including during Desert Storm.
He has held a number of medical commands, including service as a
leading surgeon during the initial stages of the Iraq war.
Weightman's duties at Walter Reed will be assumed temporarily by Lt.
Gen. Kevin Kiley, the commander of U.S. Medical Command, until a
permanent replacement is found, Harvey said.
Last week the Army took disciplinary action against four lower-level
soldiers at Walter Reed, including one junior officer, but officials
have declined to publicly confirm any details of those actions.
What else is new? LOL
And of course they fire the new guy to shift the blame.
"He is a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months."
Meanwhile they rehire the SOB who was part of the problem.
Now of course we know who the real SOB is who wouldn't spend money on
our injured veterans....
Again anyone thinking about joining the Service should consider this
situation a real life example of how the military really looks out
after its own.
TMT
Walter Reed general fired after failures By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military
Writer
The Army on Thursday fired the general in charge of Walter Reed Army
Medical Center, saying he was the wrong person to fix embarrassing
failures in the treatment of war-injured soldiers that have soiled the
institution's reputation as a first-class hospital.
Less than a week after Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Walter
Reed and said those responsible would be "held accountable," the Army
announced it had relieved Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman of command. He
is a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months.
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." It said the decision to fire
him was made by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.
The Army and the Defense Department began investigations after The
Washington Post published stories last week that documented problems
in soldiers' housing and in the medical bureaucracy at Walter Reed,
which has been called the Army's premier caregiver for soldiers
wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The problems at Walter Reed pertain not to the quality of medical care
for wounded soldiers but rather to the treatment of those who are well
enough to be outpatients, living in Army housing at Walter Reed. One
building was singled out in the Post reports as being in bad repair,
including having mold on interior walls.
Gates issued a brief statement Thursday endorsing Harvey's action
against Weightman.
"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," Gates said. "When this standard is not met, I will
insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate,
accountability up the chain of command."
The Senate Armed Services Committee plans a hearing Tuesday about the
care, conditions and administration for outpatients at the medical
center. One committee member, Sen. Jack Reed (news, bio, voting
record), D-R.I., said Weightman's dismissal was a start. "My sense is
that whatever responsibility he shares is not his alone and that they
have to look carefully at others," Reed said.
It was not clear whether Gates insisted on Weightman's firing, but a
Pentagon official said he had been actively involved in the decision.
Weightman is the highest-ranking Army general to be sacked since Gen.
Kevin Byrnes was dismissed as commander of Army Training and Doctrine
Command in 2005 for an alleged adulterous affair.
In an interview with several reporters two days before the first Post
story was published, Weightman acknowledged shortcomings at Walter
Reed but also said the problems were magnified because of the
facility's location in the nation's capital. "We're a fishbowl," he
said, noting that being in Washington makes it easier for complaining
patients and their families to draw the interest of members of
Congress.
An outside panel of former military officials and former congressmen,
set up last week by Gates, held its first meeting Thursday at the
Pentagon. Headed by two former Army secretaries, Togo West and Jack
Marsh, the panel is reviewing treatment and administrative processes
at Walter Reed and at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda,
Md. It is supposed to report its findings and recommendations by April
16.
The panel's charter, released Thursday, identifies its main goal as
finding the "critical shortcomings" in rehabilitative care,
administrative processes and quality of life for injured and sick
troops, and to recommend how to fix the problems.
The Army has acknowledged problems with the system it uses to evaluate
wounded soldiers in determining whether they are well enough to return
to active duty.
At a breakfast meeting with reporters Thursday, in which he refused to
discuss any aspect of the Walter Reed investigations, Harvey said the
Army also was reviewing conditions at its medical centers elsewhere in
the country. He would not be more specific.
Being relieved of command means Weightman is almost certain to have
lost his future in the Army.
A native of Vermont, he graduated from West Point in 1973 and got his
medical degree from the University of Vermont. He later served as the
surgeon for the 82nd Airborne Division, including during Desert Storm.
He has held a number of medical commands, including service as a
leading surgeon during the initial stages of the Iraq war.
Weightman's duties at Walter Reed will be assumed temporarily by Lt.
Gen. Kevin Kiley, the commander of U.S. Medical Command, until a
permanent replacement is found, Harvey said.
Last week the Army took disciplinary action against four lower-level
soldiers at Walter Reed, including one junior officer, but officials
have declined to publicly confirm any details of those actions.