| I certainly hope that you have been following the shameful story of neglect of our veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The treatment, or lack thereof, of some wounded soldiers there has been a national disgrace. Yesterday Maj. Gen. George Weightman, the commander of the facility, was fired, largely due to the revelations opf the past couple of weeks. He was replaced by Kevin Kiley, a man so indifferent to the wellbeing of soldiers that he once let an injured soldier sleep in his own urine. Really. Check this out from today's Washington Post:
In 2004, Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and his wife stopped visiting the wounded at Walter Reed out of frustration. Young said he voiced concerns to commanders over troubling incidents he witnessed but was rebuffed or ignored. "When Bev or I would bring problems to the attention of authorities of Walter Reed, we were made to feel very uncomfortable," said Young, who began visiting the wounded recuperating at other facilities.
Beverly Young said she complained to Kiley several times. She once visited a soldier who was lying in urine on his mattress pad in the hospital. When a nurse ignored her, Young said, "I went flying down to Kevin Kiley's office again, and got nowhere. He has skirted this stuff for five years and blamed everyone else."
Hell, even the staff at Walter Reed finds Kiley's appointment "demoralizing".
Rep Louise Slaughter (NY-28) has called for Kiley's IMMEDIATE removal. I heartily concur. Here is a portion of her statement:
"The Department of Defense needs to make a choice: does it care about our wounded veterans, or does it care about public relations?" Rep. Slaughter said today. "While I was glad to see that initial steps had been taken to change the leadership at Walter Reed, yesterday's news of Mr. Kiley's appointment was simply baffling. How can a man who stood by for years while American soldiers suffered needlessly be expected to enact real reforms?"
"The outrage of the American public over the conditions at Walter Reed will not be pacified by simply shuffling the deck," Rep. Slaughter said. "Secretary Gates must immediately remove from command anyone who allowed its facilities to fall into such a state of disrepair."
"Our wounded soldiers deserve nothing less than the best health care this country can provide and the best leadership to ensure they receive that care."
Hear hear. Support the troops indeed. |
