A Gap in the System

On Monday witnesses testified of the abysmal conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital, as well as the thick bureaucratic red tape that delayed the recovery of countless soldiers wounded in battle before a congressional panel. News of the horrid conditions in building 18, a building where recovering soldiers and their families reside came to the attention of the media and since then the outcry has been loud and to the point. So much to the point that the army’s top civilian, Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of the Army resigned this past Friday. Defense Secretary Robert Yates had already fired the Walter Reed’s commander, Major General George Weightman before Friday, but the damage has already been done to the Army’s reputation for medical care.

More fallout may occur due to the scandal, as Lt. General Kevin Kiley, the Army Surgeon General seemed to be testifying for his job on Monday. He essentially admitted that the Army dropped the ball, but in so many words as not to make it appear that things were as bad as the media would lead us to believe. Besides the conditions of the hospital, witnesses also testified to the fact that extreme gaps exist in the system. One witness testified that it took months for a vital test result to come back, which typically only takes a few days. Others testified that the wait for services and support took months, sometimes appearing as if the Army did not know that these people existed. Lt. General Kiley acknowledged that gaps existed and that they would be fixed.

It appears as if the Army hasn’t exactly been prepared for the sharp influx of severely wounded troops to enter their facilities. In turn this has led to a sharp decline in the quality of care that some of our wounded soldiers are getting, which is inexcusable. I may disagree with the war, but I do not disagree with the troops. The troops deserve the best care available, no matter what the situation may be. A Congressman asked Lt. General Kiley is he had the appropriate funding in order to ensure that this would never happen again. Kiley responded yes, but the Congressman reiterated that Congress is fully behind supporting the medical care of troops, damn the costs. If Congress is behind the funding of the medical system and the funds are there, one must ask, what in the hell went wrong?