Comments on: Another Walter Reed Scandal Bigwig Resigns

By: DLS

DLS — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:33:57 +0000

[K]ritter wrote:

> I would agree that there have always been problems with the VA, but when there are > two ongoing wars with casualties, someone â€”like Nicholson needs to make sure the > vets have ready acsess to government services. Also, why was a decision made to > close WR, when it was so obvious that the facility was still needed for incoming
> wounded?

Why weren’t the borders with Iraq and Syria secured?

Poor planning.

Also you may suspect a desire to Cut Costs — and even suspect a desire to Cut Costs in order to redirect the money elsewhere (contractors).

By: Joerg

Joerg — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:15:25 +0000

Thank you for this story and your interesting blog! I failed to send the right trackback with my blog software. Sorry. Here's the correct link:German and American Volunteers Support US Soldiers at Landstuhl Military Hospital

By: kritter

kritter — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:26:08 +0000

From all I’ve heard, Gen Weightman was scapegoated for the problems at WR. I believe there was a public uproar after it was decided to put Kiley in charge-even temporarily. Kiley needed to go because he had long been aware of the problems, and minimized them. Worse he blamed them on some unnamed NCO’s. I wonder if he mistook Gates for Rummy, who put the blame for Abu Ghraib on lower level officers, while allowing the commander to escape without a scratch.

I would agree that there have always been problems with the VA, but when there are two ongoing wars with casualties, someone —like Nicholson needs to make sure the vets have ready acsess to government services. Also, why was a decision made to close WR, when it was so obvious that the facility was still needed for incoming wounded?

Of course it is not all Bush’s fault, but this administration has flaunted their devotion to the troops and their families, plus is responsible for putting them in harm’s way in the first place. The least they could do is make sure that they are taken care of by the army (at WR) and then by the VA. To blame the bureaucracy is poor leadership.

By: DLS

DLS — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:53:35 +0000

> [The SoD s]eems to be a guy who really puts the service first and idology second

> he doesnâ€™t allow cronyinsm to trump responsibility

The one that will (have to) leave may be a fall guy.

This won’t stop the Usual Suspects, which as usual will just have their appetites whetted by honesty or concession of any kind.

More interesting will be how much finally is revealed about VA and what happens in the end. If both parties try to rush to improve VA medicine before the 2008 elections here, the vets probably stand to gain considerably (if the improvements are permanent).

By: Gray

Gray — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:28:22 +0000

Well, I have to admit, that’s a persuasive performance by the new SoD so far. Seems to be a guy who really puts the service first and idology second. Ok, he still has to follow the orders from the CiC, but at least he doesn’t allow cronyinsm to trump responsibility. That’s refreshing after all these scandals without accountability.

By: DLS

DLS — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:43:11 +0000

The “I am not a number” program was launched several years ago. VA care has long been problem-ridden (those of us who are informed have long known it, but for those of you who have just “discovered” this under the latest Bush administration, well, it has been a problem for much longer). The most interesting debate lately has been if the quality care has improved recently, if anything, in later (i.e., Bush) years. There is no consensus on this, however.

As to the earlier program, here you are given a description from a source hardly what so many of you on here would call “far right” (anything to the right of the DLC-DNC):

The Legion, under a program entitled â€œI am not a number,â€? invited veterans to submit their experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. Thousands responded, many testifying that they have waited months, even one and two years, to see a doctor. [...]

â€œItâ€™s unconscionable that hundreds of thousands of veterans are being denied health care. Our young men and women are sent off to war only to return to a health care system thatâ€™s falling apart. The President and Congress were in a great rush to send them into Iraq but seem to be turning a deaf ear to caring for them when they return.â€?

** 1993, not 2007 **

http://www.pww.org/article/view/3520/1/165/

Good luck trying to remedy this. Maybe it’s a way for Dims to steal some more disappointed-to-disgusted GOP voters.

By: DLS

DLS — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:31:08 +0000

I hope the brain-stem-level-at-best-IQ routine Bush-bashers won’t make idiots of themselves once more. VA health care has long been a problem. Look at “I Am NOT A Number!” sometime. VA hospital horror stories are commonplace in doctor training reminescences. VA horror stories are also a warning for those who have naive dreams of “Medicare for All” or any other kind of federal government-provided health care (such as under the weasel phrase of a name, “single-payer” [Who is the payer?].)

Not planning ahead of time for more casualties after the Iraq war? That’s a valid gripe, obviously. Not enough resources placed in Iraq, not enough at home, either.

Just review and reform the VA health care system. It’s a warm-up for all who want federally-provided “universal” health care in the USA. You’ll already be exchanging one set of problems for another by replacing HMOs with “gummint” health care. Why not forestall known problems (which most of you liberals will only now magically “discover”) before they affect everyone else outside the military, too?