Army Secretary Resigns Over Walter Reed Flap

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 04:27:12 PM EST
Tags: Walter Reed (all tags)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today that Frances Harvey, Secretary of the Army, has resigned in the wake of Walter Reed-gate.

A new chief of Walter Reed Hospital has been appointed:

Army officials announced after Gates' news conference that Maj. Gen. Eric R. Schoomaker will be the new commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and North Atlantic Regional Medical Command. Schoomaker currently is the commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Md.

According to the Reuters link above,

That comes as the Bush administration faces questions over a decision to put Army surgeon-general Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, a former commander of Walter Reed, in temporary charge of at the hospital.

Subpoenas have gone out for the House hearing on Monday (received by e-mail.)

Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman John Tierney sent a letter to Major General George W. Weightman, former Commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, regarding the privatization of support services at Walter Reed and its impact on the conditions at Walter Reed. In addition, the Committee is issuing a subpoena to compel Major General Weightman to appear before the Committee on Monday, March 5.

ABC has more on this here.

This story has long legs.

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Army Secretary Resigns Over Walter Reed Flap | 8 comments (8 topical)

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Trial (none / 0) (#1)
by egregious on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 04:40:59 PM EST

Hey Jeralyn, missed you at the Libby trial. Are you coming back?

I've got some thoughts on the Walter Reed story at my humble blog. First time commenting here, crossing fingers hope my link works.

----------egregious

this is very odd (none / 0) (#2)
by Jen M on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 05:14:55 PM EST

Why this time?

Why not any of the other times stories of bad care came out?

Waxman ... (none / 0) (#3)
by Sailor on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 05:48:04 PM EST

... had to subpoena Gen Weightman when the military refused to allow him to testify. Boy the really support the troops.

Not to mention bush calling for a bi-partisan investigation ... months after SecDef rummy's wife knew ... and the rethuglican congress knew.

It's a good thing dems are a majority now or this would have been swept under the rug yet again.

the house of cards, (none / 0) (#4)
by cpinva on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 06:20:57 PM EST

built on a foundation of shifting sand, is starting to crumble. it'll be interesting to see what else starts coming out, now that the administration can't hide behind congress any longer.

Vets Victims of Privatization (none / 0) (#5)
by john horse on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 06:43:31 PM EST

Per crooks and liars link to an article in the Army Times, the problem at Walter Reed was caused not just by incompetent personnel but also by an incompetent philosophy, the conservative belief in privatization.

According to an internal memo:

The memorandum "describes how the Army's decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was causing an exodus of `highly skilled and experienced personnel,'" the committee's letter states. "According to multiple sources, the decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed led to a precipitous drop in support personnel at Walter Reed."

What I don't understand is the silence on this issue on the part of those who support the war. For them, supporting the war means holding your tongue even when criticism is justified. In my opinion, regardless of whether you support the war or are against it we should all support the troops and that should include seeing that they get the best care when they are wounded on the field of battle. For some people, the depth of support is about the width of a bumper sticker.

Why now? (none / 0) (#6)
by TomStewart on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 10:27:47 PM EST

Because before the last election, there was no accountablity, the Repubs in Congress was not about to call hearings on anything the Bush Administration was doing. Now, the tune has changed and Bush has to at least shuffle to it, if not outright jig.

Why are we surprised? (none / 0) (#7)
by Che's Lounge on Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 11:50:40 PM EST

Check out Harvey's bio here. This guy's PURPOSE was to privatize the army. Just more criminal acts by the Bush administration.

Make it small (none / 0) (#8)
by jondee on Sat Mar 03, 2007 at 11:18:14 AM EST

enough that the invisible hand can drown the few remaining hospital stragglers in a bathtub.