Posted on 03/02/2007 1:12:33 PM PST by RDTF
Edited on 03/02/2007 2:03:09 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey resigned Friday in the wake of recent reports of substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a key facility treating troops wounded in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Harvey's resignation at the Pentagon, just a day after Harvey removed the hospital's commander, Maj. Gen. George Weightman, from his post.
A statement from the Army said it had "lost trust and confidence in the commander's leadership."
Harvey had been the Army's top civilian official since November 2004. Before President Bush appointed him to the position, he spent much of his career working for defense contractors, according his Army biography.
Earlier Friday, Bush said he is "deeply troubled" by the reports from Walter Reed and will form a bipartisan panel to assess medical care for wounded U.S. service members.
Is Walter Reed run by the VA?? I thought it was 'regular' Army ...
"...our troops deserve the best care we can provide them, they suffered enough when they were injured, they don't need to have that compounded when they get back to the states."
AMEN.
WR is an Army Command. No different than a hospital on an Army post.
Not that it excuses anything but part of the problem is that most of what is done at WR will be moving to Ft. Belvoir over the next five years under the BRAC. I'm sure priorities for maintenance and building improvements have been low on the list.
That's what I thought, regular Army.
I also assume the general who just got axed must have asked for improvements in the nasty old areas brought out of mothballs. If he didn't he was an incompenet, unethical fool. But if he did and no one higher up responded, not truly his fault ....
Don't bother. Some here could give a damn about the troops if the well being of the wounded threatens GOP poll numbers. They're a disgrace.
This is just standard procedure during an Democratically controlled Congress. He resigned because it prevents a political witch hunt over his position (since there is going to be a commission investigating it). This allows a newly appointed Secretary of the Army to focus on keeping the Army in good shape instead of worrying about how to respond to Congressmen. This is the same reason Rumsfeld resigned--so that the Defense Department could focus on killing terrorists instead of fending off Congressmen.
mega bump to post #25
There will be confirmation hearings for the next Army Secretary.
Army CoS's brother.
[Any hospital in the D.C. area might have a hard time getting good help.]
D.C. is actually a rather small place, but it still has some of the top hospitals in the country, two off the top of my head are Children's Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital. Maryland also has Johns Hopkins. That being said, the medical community as a whole is under strain from rising costs, medical malpractice insurance and a shortage of nurses.
Demographically, the smartest (most educated) people in the country live in and around DC, specifically in N. VA and Maryland, (of course those of you in Seattle may object). :)
Wonder if he's at all troubled by the illegal immigration problems this country faces and the "troubles" on our southern border?
Seems that integrity has taken a vacation around here.
Rummy firing Sec Army White was because he saw White, a retired Army Brigadier General as too "pro-Army" and realistic on the need for transformation of the army without destroying it in the transition.
I am an ex-Navy guy, but have been working pre-deployment Army exercises for the last couple of years. I have nothing less than that the MOST respect for the soldiers. God bless 4ID and 3ID!!
They are TRUE PROFESSIONALS!!
HooAhh
I agree with you.
The state of the VA Hospitals has been poor for many years, throughout various administrations, but it has taken a protracted "war" to bring these problems out, into the national consciousness.
Interesting. He's an armydoc too?
That brings me to congressional oversight. Waxman is going to hold hearings. He's in charge of oversight. Is he going to say that the republicans wouldn't let him check out the facilities?
What the hell good is congress if they don't do their jobs? Every department in the government needs a fumigating. EVERY department.
The bad news just keeps accumulating for "Ole" Bush.
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