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ARMY SECRETARY RESIGNS IN WAKE OF WALTER REED
SCANDAL -- Francis J. Harvey is the latest to
fall.
Former Secretary of the Army, Francis J.
Harvey
This story also notes that Gen. Kevin
Kiley has been replaced at Walter Reed.
Story here...
http://www.examiner.com/
a-596210~Army_secretary_steps_down
_in_wake_of_scandal_at_Walter_Reed.html
Story below:
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Army secretary steps down in wake of scandal at
Walter Reed
By ROBERT BURNS, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey abruptly stepped down
Friday as the Bush administration struggled to cope with the fallout
from a scandal over substandard conditions for war-wounded soldiers at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Harvey's departure, announced on short notice by a visibly agitated
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, was the most dramatic move in an
escalating removal of officials with responsibilities over one of the
military's highest-profile and busiest medical facilities.
Hours earlier, President Bush ordered a comprehensive review of
conditions at the nation's network of military and veteran hospitals,
which has been overwhelmed by injured troops from the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Gates said Harvey had resigned, but senior defense officials speaking on
condition of anonymity said Gates had privately demanded that Harvey
leave. Gates was displeased that the officer Harvey had chosen as
interim commander of Walter Reed - Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the current
Army surgeon general and a former commander of Walter Reed - has been
accused by critics of long knowing about the problems there and not
improving outpatient care.
"I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated
the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter
Reed," Gates said in the Pentagon briefing room. He took no questions
from reporters.
Harvey was at Fort Benning, Ga., on Friday morning when he cut short his
visit to return to Washington to meet with Gates.
On Thursday, Harvey fired the medical center's previous commander, Maj.
Gen. George Weightman, for failures linked to the outpatient treatment
controversy. Many had speculated that Weightman would be relieved of
command, but Harvey's departure was a surprise. His last day in the job
will be March 9.
Peter Geren, the undersecretary of the Army, will serve as Harvey's
temporary replacement until Bush nominates a new secretary.
As Army secretary, Harvey is the service's top civilian official. He
commands no troops. Along with the four-star general who is Army chief
of staff, the secretary has statutory responsibility for training and
equipping the Army. That includes responsibility for budgeting,
recruiting and other personnel and resource policies.
The Army announced Friday that Maj. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, 58, will be
the new commander of Walter Reed, which is located in Washington.
"From what I have learned, the problems at Walter Reed appear to be
problems of leadership," Gates said. "The Walter Reed doctors, nurses
and other staff are among the best and most caring in the world. They
deserve our continued deepest thanks and strongest support."
The revelations about shoddy facilities and wounded soldiers enduring
long waits for treatment have embarrassed the Army and the Bush
administration at a time when the White House is scrambling to shore up
eroding support for the Iraq war. It has prompted numerous calls in
Congress for more information, and sullied the reputation of what is
supposed to be one of the military's foremost medical facilities.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee,
applauded Harvey's departure.
"I commend him for taking responsibility for the problems at Walter
Reed," Skelton said.
The defense secretary indicated he was unhappy with the way Army leaders
had responded to the Walter Reed disclosures.
"Some have shown too much defensiveness and have not shown enough focus
on digging into and addressing the problems," Gates said. "Also I am
concerned that some do not properly understand the need to communicate
to the wounded and their families that we have no higher priority than
their care and that addressing their concerns about the quality of their
outpatient experience is critically important. Our wounded soldiers and
their families have sacrificed much and they deserve the best we can
offer."
The White House said the president would name a bipartisan commission to
assess whether the problems at Walter Reed exist at other facilities.
Last week, Gates created an outside panel to review the situation at
Walter Reed and the other major military hospital in the Washington
area, the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md.
The actions come after The Washington Post documented squalid living
conditions for some outpatient soldiers at Walter Reed and bureaucratic
problems that prevented many troops from getting adequate care.
Harvey has been Army secretary since November 2004.
He is the second consecutive Army secretary to be removed abruptly from
office. In April 2003, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld fired
Thomas White, who had engaged in public disputes with Rumsfeld.
A former businessman trained as an engineer, Harvey counted as one of
his proudest achievements a turnaround of the Army's recent recruiting
slump. The Army missed its recruiting goal 2005 for the first time since
1999, and that same year Harvey instituted a series of changes that led
to a recovery in recruiting.
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Larry Scott --
