Paul Rieckhoff: Walter Reed Not Fixed

[babylonsister]

http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,150689,00.html

Walter Reed Not Fixed
Paul Rieckhoff | September 27, 2007


Remember Walter Reed? After the huge scandal last spring, President Bush and the members of Congress promised to improve troops’ care. They promised to take action and get our wounded veterans the care they were waiting for. They promised to make things right. Well, that promise has been broken.

This week, we got definitive proof that our nation’s wounded veterans are still waiting for government leaders to deliver much needed resources. According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the response to shoddy outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been woefully inadequate.

This latest report joins the increasing chorus of bipartisan commissions, independent review groups, and task forces which all confirm that the DoD and the VA are ill-prepared to meet the needs of returning servicemembers. Among its findings, the GAO concluded that there has been little progress in rectifying staffing shortfalls, facilitating VA/DoD data sharing, and streamlining disability evaluation systems. Furthermore, efforts to improve the care provided to servicemembers with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have also been largely unsuccessful: only 6 of the Army’s 32 Warrior Transition Units had completed training for all staff. (You can read the complete report at link)

The bottom line: the problems of Walter Reed have not been fixed. Not even close. More than seven months have passed since the major problems were revealed by the Washington Post--and after seven months, our veterans continue to wait. While Congress and the President went on vacation this summer, people like my friend Annette McLeod and her wounded husband Wendell were paying the price for our governments negligence. Our nation's heroes and their families deserve better.

Americans were outraged when they first saw the images from Walter Reed. It is time for them to be outraged again.

[Olney Blue]

1. This is f*cking unacceptable.

[babylonsister]

2. Agreed. I wish the whole country could get a clue on how these troops

are being supported.

[unhappycamper]

3. Everything I've seen over the last few months sez the same thing.

Check out the Veterans forum.

[babylonsister]

6. It's a mess and no one seems to be in any hurry to fix it. nt

[OzarkDem]

4. Thanks, Congress!

and special thanks to our Dem leaders there who promised to oversee this mess and fix it. I guess they only support the troops when sending them to Iraq, not when they come home.

[babylonsister]

5. The House has been really fine ...

at holding hearings.:eyes:

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=794

Third Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on Walter Reed

The Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs is currently holding a hearing, “Third Walter Reed Oversight Hearing: Keeping the Nation’s Promise to Our Wounded Soldiers.” Representatives of the GAO will be testifying on a new GAO report stating that “Delayed decisions, confusing policies, and the perception that DOD and VA disability ratings result in inequitable outcomes have eroded the credibility of the system… Thus, it is imperative that DOD and VA take prompt steps to address fundamental system weaknesses.”

Yesterday the Democratic Congress continued to carry out its commitment to veterans by making permanent the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROS) Act to provide active duty military personnel with more leeway in applying for financial aid and repaying student loans. The bill was introduced by Rep. Joe Sestak (PA-07).

[OzarkDem]

7. With the power of the "purse strings"

it would be really great if they could use the DoD budget to leverage some real action on Walter Reed. It wouldn't be controversial if they got rid of the Halliburton subcontractor and returned control to the military docs and administrators.

Using the DoD budget for leverage on key problems like this would seem a good strategy. Bush and the Reeps would be hard pressed to vote against the Defense budget if it contained something they didn't like.