Posted on 03/15/2007 12:26:00 PM PDT by Albion Wilde
WASHINGTON, DC, March 9, 2007— Most Americans will root for an underdog. Since the dubiously motivated articles stirring up scandal at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center appeared in the Washington Post over the past weeks, the motorists who beeped for our troop-support rally at the gates of Walter Reed on Friday night were now double, triple in number. Now it wasn't just a discreet little toot every five or ten cars; it was many drivers at a time releasing loud, long, sometimes frankly impassioned blasts of the horn, from cars, trucks, Metro buses, even a DC police car – hospital zone or no hospital zone. As inaccurate as they were melodramatic, the articles critical of Walter Reed have drawn the troops into the libmedia's anti-war web of deceit more than ever, forcing them to face the enemy at home as well as abroad.
There isn't space in this weekly chronicle to refute all the when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife allegations and innuendo in those articles. Their transparently disdainful purpose was to demoralize the troops and embarrass the administration – certainly not to benefit the soldiers, veterans and family members who are now burdened by extra layers of uncertainty about their care in the middle of a war that the Loony Left seems to feel is as unnecessary as, say, personal integrity.
What these developments have meant for us in the the DC Chapter of Free Republic is the joy of more visits from troops to our four-corner, Friday-night rallies outside the main gates. This week the Walter Reed Med-Hold platoon sergeant, John Dail, stopped by to shake hands all around.
I asked Sgt. Dail about Building 18, which had been cited by the Post article for mold and vermin. (It's worth noting here that Building 18 is not a medical care facility, it is a barracks. It is not on the main 116-acre campus of Walter Reed; it is a former motel, across the 6-lane Georgia Avenue bounding the eastern perimeter of the base, that was purchased as an overflow residence for outpatient and recovered soldiers waiting for transfers out of Walter Reed. Yet much of the uproar resulting from the articles has created the impression that the patient-care areas of the hospital are similarly contaminated, which they are not.)
"The residents of Building 18 have moved to Building 14, right on the base," Sgt. Dail revealed. "It has apartments with kitchens, DVD players in the rooms. They just got a plasma TV over there. It's a beautiful building – one of the best I've seen in the Army.
"The residents didn't want to move, and didn't really understand why they had to move," Sgt. Dail went on. "But now we are going to improve all the facilities," he added, indicating that the shake-up has resulted in different budget priorities at Walter Reed, which had in 2005 been scheduled to be phased out altogether over the succeeding decade. For now, the Student Company was moved out of Building 14 to off-base civilian housing leased to WRAMC, and the "Med-Holds" were moved into 14, where those who are still reporting for outpatient medical appointments will be closer to the hospital building. The Student Company will now commute to the base.
As for Building 18, the subject of one of the scandal-mongering articles, Sgt. Dail said that inspectors determined "there were only seven rooms in that building that really needed work." My own sources on the base say that the mold was a result of a bathtub overflow, not from a problem in the larger infrastructure. One source, who has managed other residence buildings on the base, said that problems affected less than 5% of the rooms in Building 18, which is only one of many residences serving recovering troops at WRAMC. Other troop accommodations are comparable to upscale hotels, or, like the Fisher Houses, are home-like environments housing entire families of spouses and children of the recovering troops.
Specialist Tim, an MP of the 198th National Guard troop, was wounded in Afghanistan 15 days before the end of his tour. He was thrust into the spotlight on the previous Friday, March 2nd, as he stood near our rally. A Fox affiliate local DC television station interviewed him about the conditions at Walter Reed; he appeared on the 11 PM news for a very brief sound bite. On Wednesday of the past week, he and three other patients, with help from FReeper Just A Nobody, organized a lengthy press conference in support of WRAMC that was attended by major news outlets and then ignored, except for a tiny blip on FoxNews. (Even Demo-leaning pollster Zogby admitted last week that readers perceive a leftist bias in media coverage.)
Tonight, Tim (who will soon return home to Kentucky to continue healing, where he hopes to enter local politics) determined to talk with the anti-war protestors down the block, to lodge his objection to their phony "vigil" outside the hospital. "We need to put our attention back on the War in Iraq, on the Congressional resolution to support the troop surge," he said, "instead of on any problems at WRAMC. Because if we don't, we're just going to have more soldiers in Walter Reed. We need the funds for the ammo and armor to fight the war."
After talking with them, Tim circled back to the FReeper coffee stand. He related that the anti-war protesters said they are bringing "visibility" to their perception that supporting the troops means not allowing them to perform their military jobs. "It's not about visibility," Tim said. "It's about the fact that they're on what I consider sacred ground. This is our home, this is where I live, where my brothers and sisters live who have lost an eye, a leg, part of their brain..." he trailed off, and then continued, eyeing some nearby young FReeper females. "Hitting on women is why I came out here," he joked, "but if there's a bonus like debating with the Commies, I'm for it! They [the Pinkos] seem to think the Afghanistan War is different than Iraq, but I say no. Those people need to move to the other side of the street!"
This week's Honor Roll of troop supporters: FReepers present were Albion Wilde, BufordP, Cindy-True-Supporter, Citizen SMASH, Danang68, Fraxinus, Just A Nobody, Kristinn, PleaDeal, PrezUSA222, Taco Mamma, tgslTakoma, Tom the Redhunter, [Mr & Mrs] Trooprally and VAFlagWaver; lurkers included Amanda, Ashley R, Bill from MD, Chevelyn, Laura Bush, Lindy and Miss USA.
To view all of the photos of this FReep by [Mrs] Trooprally, click here.
To view all of the photos of this FReep by PleaDeal, click here. To view a complete archive of Walter Reed FReeps maintained by BufordP, click here.
Great news, BufordP! Thanks for the update!
Albion Wilde: We expect lots of protesters will show up down the street from this Friday night's FReep of Walter Reed, March 16. And the Pinkos have announced an early start time – 6:00 PM – so be there at 5:30 with flags and signs, ready to FReep in our permit-protected, higher-profile area at the gates of Walter Reed, Georgia Avenue and Elder Sts NW. Park on the street to the east of Georgia Avenue.
Bump for DC FReepers and God Bless our troops.
I was so tickled this afternoon to see LeoFl and his dad, LeoFl Sr. arrive at WRAMC main gate, representing the heart of Texas!
They will be back on Friday as well, dressed more warmly, I hope.
Freepers, if you have any extra scarves, hats, gloves and umbrellas - it might be a good idea to ack them in a bag to loan out to folks who traveled in from warmer locales unprepared for our unpredictable March weather.
See everyone tomorrow!
I was looking at that pic of "Salad dressing night". I don't understand why they are allowed to deface the Walter Reed sign on the wall by strewing their garbage across it.
I think if they don't have enough people to hold their signs they shouldn't be allowed to litter the place with them.
I love to meet up with some fellow FReepers.
I don't understand either, Elyse. I don't understand why the skanks were able to spray paint grafitti on the Capitol steps a few weeks back, under the watchful eye of Capitol police.
At the very least, WRAMC could send out a security guard to direct the stinkos to remove their signs to their own hands, or cram them into a garbage can (where they belong). Count to 3, then it's one or the other.
From what I hear, a lot of people are planning to come early in the morning. Also, it shouldn't be too hard to get a ride back to the Metro or even the airport from someone in the DC Chapter. We will be in Constitution Gardens to the east of the VN Wall (towards the Washington monument) and on the north side of the circle around the Lincoln Memorial (towards the VN Wall).
The Capitol police had been told to stand down. I believe they were fearful of the claims of police brutality and lawsuits. Last year, when Cynthia McKinney hit one of them who stopped her because she wasn't wearing her Congress pin, she brought the Jackson/Sharpton/Gregory/Belafonte hustling machine into DC and threatened to ruin the careers of the officers. Also, a skank Congressperson gave Cindy Sheehan a ticket to the State of the Union address last year, where she caused a ruckus and had to be detained. Likewise, the Capitol police were forced to apologize. They have been put in a no-win position by the relentless forces of Relativity and socialism: there is nothing inherently wrong unless the Left says it is...
FReepmail for you.
You're really on fire tonight. I wish I could be there for GOE....:(
Now you remind me of all that krapola that occurred last year. It's obvious how liberalism has penetrated and emasculated our society. Except for those who will stand up to it; how few or how many they are, I do not know. But I know you and the DC FR Chapter are among them.
Excellent dual-freep report! (People were asking about today's action on the other forums as well; I'll try to copy-and-paste over there.) I'll see what extra cold weather accessoriesI can throw into my car to have available tomorrow night and Saturday. I'm aiming to be on the road early tomorrow!
I'll be in DC all day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday. I'll be at the wall as early as the Metro can get me there on Saturday.
I'll look for the FReepers where you indicated on Saturday morning.
Thanks very much for that info.
This article brings to light more of the truth about the conditions there. I have to admit that my room wasn't the cleanest, but I'd rather have a surgery that spares no expense than using that funding for spit-shining my room.
I haven't heard anyone suggest that we get some of the citizens who get a monthly check/housing/additional education/etc to get in these places and spend a few hours a day cleaning, painting, repairing, and "give back"?
I'm glad that care for soldiers is being addressed, but firing all those soldiers won't solve anything there. It is not like those politicians didn't have the opportunity to waltz on over to the very small post and hospital over the past decades and find out how the soldiers are being cared for. I've been going there for about 4 years now for medical care and not much has changed, so none of this is new. I say we cut spending on the social programs and improve the conditions across the board for service members.
This appears to be another way for the Left to undermine the military. It will be harder for recruiting now.
Yes, the "hard core" freepers will probably be there until 9:00 PM at least; they like to wave at the bus of recuperating soldiers returning from their free dinner (away from the hospital!). We'll hope that bus isn't late tomorrow because the weather will be yucky ("wintery mix") and because most of these Freepers will be at the Saturday rally as well.
Albion, I said I'd cross post the report for today's freep at both forums but I'm having trouble connecting to www.usvetdsp.com/eagle. I'm hoping the server is "just" busy with normal traffic, rather than my fear that they're being hacked, as GOE was earlier this week.
Pardon, Jotmo. Yes, we stay at Walter Reed until 9:30 pm or so to greet the bus that brings troops and families back from dinner downtown. There will be lots and lots of action on Friday night, fer shizzle.
We wish you could, too, LaDita! Thank you for your wonderful comments to so many of the WR threads lately, and say a prayer for all the patriots over the weekend. Many prayers, if possible!
Good one! Thanks for your informative post.
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