EDITORIAL: Unacceptable

Mar 06, 12:39 PM

Current Headlines: By The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Mar. 6--Many fine young GIs depend on the military to treat them for wounds suffered in Afghanistan and Iraq in the ongoing war on terrorism. However, at this nation's premier military hospital, things have gone awry -- disappointingly awry.

Late last month the Washington Post published stories detailing problems at Walter Reed Army Hospital in outpatient soldiers' on-base housing. One building was singled out as being in bad repair, including having mold on interior walls and a problem with vermin.

Some of the problems were laid at the feet of the medical bureaucracy at the hospital.

But now the Pentagon has begun to clean house, and Congress has ordered hearings.

A week after new Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Walter Reed and said those who were responsible for the problems would be "held accountable," Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey fired the hospital's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, from the command. The next day, Mr. Harvey resigned, despite the fact that his decision about Gen. Weightman had earned immediate praise from Secretary Gates.

According to press accounts, the secretary was less than pleased with the officer chosen by Mr. Harvey to be interim commander. Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the current Army surgeon general and a former commander of Walter Reed, has been accused by critics of long knowing about the problems there and not improving outpatient care.

Gen. Kiley's appointment was short-lived. On Friday, the army announced that Maj. Gen. Eric B. Shoomaker will be the new commander.

While we do not know this to be the case in the Walter Reed matter, there is a tendency among some in the officers corps to be more concerned with their careers than with the tasks at hand. And of course, there are always problems with getting bureaucracies to make necessary changes.

One thing is certain. Our wounded troops should be given the best care possible. Billeting the walking wounded in substandard housing is simply unacceptable.

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