Former Walter Reed Chief Apologizes to Soldiers During Hearing

Mar 05, 10:53 PM

Current Headlines: WASHINGTON _ The shameful treatment of U.S. troops wounded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan was exposed to public scrutiny Monday in a series of emotional confrontations.

Soldiers who had been grievously injured in the line of fire stood before lawmakers to give heartbreaking accounts of the bureaucratic nightmares they faced in getting medical care back home.

And Army chiefs, who should have been there to offer help when their troops most needed it, admitted they had failed.

In one of the most emotional exchanges, Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was fired last week as chief of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, faced two badly injured soldiers and the wife of a third who had fought the system.

"I'd just like to apologize for not meeting your expectations," he said from his seat, just feet away from them.

Army Undersecretary Peter Geren, who will succeed fired Army Secretary Francis Harvey, said, "We have let some soldiers down. We're going to fix the problem."

The emotional scenes dominated a House oversight subcommittee hearing at a Walter Reed auditorium that opened under a banner at center stage reading: "Is this any way to treat our troops?"

Witnesses and lawmakers said the medical care offered at the flagship Walter Reed facility was first rate, but they pointed to the bureaucratic maze that soldiers must negotiate to gain access to the care.

They also were critical of the disability ratings system that determines the lifetime care the soldiers can receive.

In a letter to the Army, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said "the disability rating system has not remained relevant for the nature of war wounds" and "our veterans can be better compensated."

Army Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, 41, who lost his left eye and suffered brain damage from a sniper's round in Iraq, told of being forgotten at Walter Reed as he waited for treatment.

He said he "sat in my room for a couple of weeks" wondering when someone would contact him.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., warned that "these problems go well beyond the walls of Walter Reed" and extend to other Army facilities and the vast Veterans Affairs system of 250 hospitals.

In his testimony, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army's surgeon general, who had challenged the problems recently exposed by The Washington Post, acknowledged that the system was "complex, confusing and frustrating. I am personally and professionally sorry."

President Bush has avoided assessing blame, but his chief spokesman said Monday that "in a sense, the president and also everybody within the chain of command are taking responsibility."

___

(c) 2007, New York Daily News.

Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

_____

PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): WALTERREED

GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): WALTERREED

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. 1041341