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WILL ALL THOSE COMMISSIONS AND TASK FORCES
REALLY
HELP INJURED TROOPS AND VETERANS? -- History
tells us: Scandal Sires Bureaucracy.
Story here...
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/06/
Worldandnation/Scandal_sires_bureauc.shtml
Story below:
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Scandal sires bureaucracy
Will reams of task forces help injured troops?
By ANITA KUMAR
WASHINGTON - The biggest problem at the aging Walter Reed Army Medical
Center isn't the moldy walls or rat infestation. It's the redundant
paperwork and months of waiting.
In a word: bureaucracy.
So how did Washington respond when the poor treatment of injured
soldiers was recently exposed?
With more bureaucracy.
There are no less than nine blue-ribbon committees, task forces and
review groups investigating soldiers' medical care, some of them with
overlapping missions.
"Every time I turn around there is a new committee," said William
Bradshaw, national veterans service director for the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. "That's just overkill. Everyone is piling on."
There's the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning
Wounded Warriors, looking into military health care facilities across
the nation. Not to be confused with the Cabinet-level Task Force on
Returning Global War on Terror Heroes, examining the needs of soldiers
injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then there's the Independent Review Group and the Criminal Investigation
Command, both created by the Pentagon. And don't forget the somewhat
secretive internal military inquiries that the Army will release little
information about: a pair of "Tiger Teams" to examine outpatient medical
care and another pair of "AR 15-6 investigations" into the chain of
command and medical care.
Lastly, there's a "Lean Six Sigma" review. Tiger Teams and 15-6
investigations are military jargon for internal investigations. Lean Six
Sigma is a performance review used in the business world to improve
speed and quality of service.
"To me, giving more bureaucrats (authority) to solve a problem of
bureaucracy is just going to hurt our soldiers' treatment opportunities
even more," Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said at a recent congressional
hearing into Walter Reed.
That hasn't stopped Congress from getting in the act.
In recent weeks, the following committees have held hearings: Senate
Appropriations and House Appropriations. Senate Armed Services and House
Armed Services. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and
Senate Veterans Affairs.
Even before the Walter Reed stories broke, the Army's inspector general
was looking into the medical care of wounded soldiers. And Congress had
already called for a commission to review veterans' disability benefits.
Soldiers at Walter Reed and other facilities around the nation have
complained about the long months they spend waiting for the military to
make decisions about their health care and, in turn, their future.
Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, recently acknowledged
to lawmakers that the military suffers from "a bureaucratic morass."
In the days after the Walter Reed stories broke in February, the White
House, the Pentagon and Congress quickly sprung into action.
President Bush selected former Sen. Bob Dole and former Cabinet
secretary Donna Shalala to led the most high-profile inquiry. (They have
a mandate from the president, but none of Congress' subpoena powers.)
"There will be no excuses, only action," Vice President Dick Cheney said
after the group formed. "And the federal bureaucracy will not slow that
action down."
Despite that tough talk, some were quick to criticize the government's
response. They argue that the groups' missions are too close, and that
they are demanding answers and documents from the same people. Others
worry that the findings will be ignored.
"We need decisive action, not commission after commission and report
after report that the president can choose to ignore," said Sen. Patty
Murray, a Washington Democrat.
It wouldn't be the first time that has happened.
Three years ago, the Army investigated complaints that hundreds of
soldiers faced inadequate medical treatment and bureaucratic delays at
Fort Stewart in Georgia.
The headline-grabbing problems prompted a set of commissions, task
forces and review groups.
"The reports have never seen the light of day. They're sitting there,
collecting dust," said David Gorman, executive director of Disabled
American Veterans. "I don't know if it's really going to help (this
time) or not. Past experience and history have made a pessimist out of
me. But you have to hold out hope."
Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Anita
Kumar can be reached at
akumar@sptimes.com or (202) 463-0576.
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Larry Scott --
