You don’t really get the whole picture just by looking at the title.
The hospital’s operations are being moved in August to new and upgraded facilities at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and at Fort Belvoir, Va. The price tag for the new facilities is $2.6 billion.
The hospital in Bethesda will be called the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
So, from old Walter Reed, to new Walter Reed.
Good. A new facility. We owe our guys the best medical treatment they can get.
I agree with Lmo56 as the the “cluster f...” it will be in and around Bethesda, but I have a problem with the complaints and in the calling the 2007 incident a “scandal”.
Here is the story on the “scandal”. I know this is true because of personal conversations with other wounded warriors and my knowledge of the area. After all, I have been at Walter Reed (WR) on Friday nights since Sept., 2005, and have been inside with the troops. I have even played poker with them.
I have never heard a wounded soldier complain about the treatment they received. Their treatment is top notch. Moving to Bethesda will not significantly increase their treatment. In fact, some wounded warriors were being sent from Bethesda to WR for rehab because WR had a better rehab facilities for some injuries. The only complaint I have heard is about the time it takes to be discharged. And most of that was with the VA. The number of wounded around this time was greater than the VA had manpower to handle. Chastise the VA but not WR.
The “scandal” with mold was only one incident. Also, the wounded warrior’s room was NOT inside WR. It was in a WWII era hotel that WR uses when the base is full. Granted the hotel was old and needed remodeling, but it was no where close to being dilapidated.
The reporters lied about who the were to gain access to the hotel.
The room in question was originally not being assigned a soldier because of the mold. But the soldier who occupied it for the “scandal” asked to be there because he did not want to share a room with another soldier.
A group of wounded soldiers from WR even held a press conference to defend WR. Since the press did not get a ‘got ya’ moment, the press conference did not see the light of day. Again, I was there along with several other members of the DC Chapter of FReeRepublic.
Hope this clarifies the misconceptions of Walter Reed. I believe its closing is a travesty.
[Mr] T