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Reaction: Walter Reed - "Surgeon General Of Army Steps Down" - Josh White - Washington Post
"Though there had been repeated calls for Kiley to resign as the Army's top doctor during hearings on Capitol Hill, he refused to step aside even as he was grilled about horrid living conditions and a tangled bureaucracy at the Army's flagship hospital. Kiley at first played down reports of problems at Walter Reed-- where he had served as commander from 2002 to 2004 -- but later was far more contrite.Kiley submitted his retirement request on Sunday, according to an Army news release."
The Washington Post 2007-03-13
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Dole, Shalala to Lead Troop-Care Panel" - Josh White - Washington Post
Bush's executive order yesterday created the President's Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, a nine-member group that Dole and Shalala will lead. Its mission will be to examine how wounded forces transition from the battlefield to civilian society and to evaluate "the coordination, management and adequacy of the delivery of health care, disability, traumatic injury, education, employment, and other benefits and services."
The Washington Post 2007-03-07
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Apologies, Anger at Walter Reed Hearing" - Michael Abramowitz and Steve Vogel - Washington Post
Senior commanders sounded more contrite yesterday than they did when the scandal first broke. At one point during several hours of hearings in the auditorium at Walter Reed, Weightman turned to the soldiers and families behind him and apologized "for not meeting their expectations, not only in the care provided, but also in having so many bureaucratic processes."
The Washington Post 2007-03-06
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "Walter Reed Hearing to Put Spotlight on Kiley's Leadership" - Josh White - Washington Post
Kiley, the commander of Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004, has been accused of being brash and indifferent to concerns raised about problems there. After a series of Washington Post articles described the outpatient conditions at Walter Reed, Kiley said the problems "weren't serious and there weren't a lot of them," and that they were not "emblematic of a process of Walter Reed that has abandoned soldiers and their families."
The Washington Post 2007-03-05
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Walter Reed Changes Planned" - Josh White and Steve Vogel - Washington Post
A one-star general -- who has not yet been identified -- will work with Maj. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, a physician who was named on Friday to head Walter Reed, according to two defense officials. The new deputy will be a general who will bring a nonmedical eye to the operation to "make it run like it's supposed to run," said one Army official familiar with the decision.
The Washington Post 2007-03-04
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Army Secretary Ousted" - Michael Abramowitz and Steve Vogel - Washington Post
Later, in an interview, an emotional Harvey appeared both apologetic and defensive. "It's unexcusable to have soldiers in that type of building," he said, explaining why he resigned.But he also said that the Post stories lacked balance. "Where's the other side of the story?" he asked, his voice rising. "Two articles in your paper have ruined the career of General Weightman, who is a very decent man, and then a captain . . . and the secretary of the Army. If that satisfies the populace, maybe this will stop further dismissals."
The Washington Post 2007-03-03
Reaction: Walter Reed -"Army Fires Commander of Walter Reed" - Steve Vogel and Willian Branigin - Washington Post
Army Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who assumed command of Walter Reed in August, will be temporarily replaced by Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley. But the appointment of Kiley, who had earlier been the facility's commander, surprised some Defense Department officials because soldiers, their families and veterans' advocates have complained that he had long been aware of problems at Walter Reed and did nothing to improve its outpatient care.
The Washington Post 2007-03-02
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "Hospital Officials Knew of Neglect" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"A procession of Pentagon and Walter Reed officials expressed surprise last week about the living conditions and bureaucratic nightmares faced by wounded soldiers staying at the D.C. medical facility. But as far back as 2003, the commander of Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who is now the Army's top medical officer, was told that soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were languishing and lost on the grounds, according to interviews."
The Washington Post 2007-03-01
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Review At Walter Reed Is Ordered" - Steve Vogel - Washington Post
The eight-member review group appointed by Gates has been charged with taking a broad look at all rehabilitative care and administrative procedures both at Walter Reed and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Panel members "will be given free and unrestricted access" to visit medical facilities and interview personnel, Gates said.
The Washington Post 2007-02-24
Editorial: Water Reed - "'Frustratingly Slow'" - Unsigned - Washington Post
"Despite promises for reform, the fixes have been, as one congressman observed, "frustratingly slow" in coming. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office pointed to staff shortages as well as uncertainty in how to tackle some of the thornier issues. Last week, President Bush sent to Congress a proposal that would overhaul the military disability system. The product of a bipartisan commission led by former Senate majority leader Robert J. Dole and former health and human services secretary Donna E. Shalala, the proposal would end the duplication -- some would say duel -- between the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs in judging disability and determining the level of benefits and care."
The Washington Post 2007-10-21
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "VA Doubles Disability Aid for Iraq War Veteran" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"VA's swift action to help former Army Spec. Troy Turner followed an article in The Washington Post on Sunday that detailed the financial hardship faced by Turner after his PTSD worsened and he was unable to hold a job. Reliant upon a monthly disability check from VA, the Turner family slid into poverty, a grim reality for many returning veterans with invisible injuries such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury.In addition to granting Turner a coveted spot in a residential treatment program at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, the department is increasing his disability rating from 70 percent to 100 percent, according to a VA spokeswoman, raising his monthly check from $1,352 to $2,781."
The Washington Post 2007-10-20
Ombudsman: Walter Reed - "A Powerful Story at Walter Reed" - Deborah Howell - Washington Post
The two set out, mostly separately and never undercover, and did the kind of plain old gumshoe on-the-record reporting that often goes unrecognized in this high-tech age. They started calling family members -- names they got from the tipster. They went over to Walter Reed to see outpatient treatment for themselves. They quietly observed and did interviews that brought more tips. "No one was really paying attention," Priest said of Army officials, which allowed them to stay "below the radar for as long as we did.
The Washington Post 2007-03-04
Reaction: Walter Reed - "Walter Reed Stories Factual But Unfair, Medical Chief Says" - Steve Vogel - Washington Post
". . . While acknowledging 'pretty distressing' conditions in some rooms at Building 18, Kiley said the problems were neither widespread nor symptoms of a system that allows soldiers to languish. The building is not 'emblematic of a process of Walter Reed that has abandoned soldiers and their families,' said Kiley, who was commander at the hospital before becoming surgeon general in 2004 . . ."
The Washington Post 2007-02-23
Follow-up: Walter Reed: "A Patient Prosecuted" - Dana Priest and Anne Hull - Washington Post
"Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside after she recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside's superiors considered her mental illness "an excuse" for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post."
The Washington Post 2007-11-02
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "A Wife's Battle" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"Michelle has spent hundreds of hours at the library researching complicated VA policies and disability regulations. 'You need two college degrees to understand any of it,' she says, lacking both. She scavenges information where she can find it. A psychotic Vietnam vet she met in a VA hospital was the one who told her that Troy might be eligible for Social Security benefits. Meanwhile, there are clothes to wash, meals to cook, kids to get ready for school and a husband who is placidly medicated or randomly explosive. Besides PTSD, Michelle suspects that Troy may have a brain injury, which could explain how a 38-year-old man who used to hunt and fish can lose himself in a three-day "Scooby-Doo" marathon on the Cartoon Network."
The Washington Post 2007-10-14
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "Almost Home, but Facing More Delays at Walter Reed" - Dana Priest and Anne Hull - Washington Post
"Last week, Shannon, 43, was back at Walter Reed, but not to say goodbye. The doctors' signatures on two time-sensitive forms in his disability file had expired. He would have to be reexamined by his doctors, he was told, and his medical summaries would have to be written all over again. Unfortunately, the sergeant in charge of his disability paperwork had not stayed on top of his case. 'There was a failure of paying attention to the currency of his paperwork,' a Walter Reed spokesman, Charles Dasey, said last night."
The Washington Post 2007-09-15
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "Little Relief on Ward 53" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"Even though Walter Reed maintains the largest psychiatric department in the Army, it lacks enough psychiatrists and clinicians to properly treat the growing number of soldiers returning with combat stress. Earlier this year, the head of psychiatry sent out an "SOS" memo desperately seeking more clinical help."
The Washington Post 2007-06-18
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "Soldier Finds Comfort at Dark Journey's End" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"At the start of this year, Blackwood, 41, took on a new job as the chief of media relations for the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, based in Crystal City. No one knew that loud noises would trigger a panic attack for her, that she was barely sleeping or eating, or that she was clawing her forearms so fiercely the blood sometimes soaked through her sleeves."
The Washington Post 2007-06-17
Follow-up: Walter Reed - "The War Inside" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
Veterans Affairs will spend $2.8 billion this year on mental health. But the best it could offer Cruz was group therapy at the Bronx VA medical center. Not a single session is held on the weekends or late enough at night for him to attend. At age 25, Cruz is barely keeping his life together. He supports his disabled parents and 4-year-old son and cannot afford to take time off from his job repairing boilers. The rough, dirty work, with its heat and loud noises, gives him panic attacks and flesh burns but puts $96 in his pocket each day.
The Washington Post 2007-06-17
IV-Walter Reed: "'It Is Just Not Walter Reed'" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"Across the country, some military quarters for wounded outpatients are in bad shape, according to interviews, Government Accountability Office reports and transcripts of congressional testimony. The mold, mice and rot of Walter Reed's Building 18 compose a familiar scenario for many soldiers back from Iraq or Afghanistan who were shipped to their home posts for treatment. Nearly 4,000 outpatients are currently in the military's Medical Holding or Medical Holdover companies, which oversee the wounded. Soldiers and veterans report bureaucratic disarray similar to Walter Reed's: indifferent, untrained staff; lost paperwork; medical appointments that drop from the computers; and long waits for consultations."
The Washington Post 2007-03-05
III-Walter Reed: "Hospital Investigates Former Aid Chief" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
"For the past three years, Michael J. Wagner directed the Army's largest effort to help the most vulnerable soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His office in Room 3E01 of the world-renowned hospital was supposed to match big-hearted donors with thousands of wounded soldiers who could not afford to feed their children, pay mortgages, buy plane tickets or put up visiting families in nearby hotels. But while he was being paid to provide this vital service to patients, outpatients and their relations, Wagner was also seeking funders and soliciting donations for his own new charity, based in Texas, according to documents and interviews with current and former staff members."
The Washington Post 2007-02-20
II-Walter Reed: "The Hotel Aftermath" - Anne Hull and Dana Priest - Washington Post
". . . Oil paintings hang in the lobby of this strange outpost in the war on terrorism, where combat's urgency has been replaced by a trickling fountain in the garden courtyard. The maimed and the newly legless sit in wheelchairs next to a pond, watching goldfish turn lazily through the water . . ."
The Washington Post 2007-02-19
I-Walter Reed: "Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army's Top Medical Facility" - Dana Priest and Anne Hull - Washington Post
". . . Disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked case managers fumble with simple needs: feeding soldiers' families who are close to poverty, replacing a uniform ripped off by medics in the desert sand or helping a brain-damaged soldier remember his next appointment . . ."
The Washington Post 2007-02-18