[Vision2020] Fault at Walter reed

[Tom Hansen]

>From the "Letters" section of the April 2, 2007 edition of the Army Times -

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Fault at Walter Reed

Maj. Gen. George Weightman, former commander of Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, was relieved from his command because of poor living conditions for
outpatients ["Turmoil at the top: Walter Reed scandal claims Army secretary,
leaves force reeling in time of abrupt change," March 12]. He has been
sacrificed for the failures of others, including the commander in chief, the
secretary of defense and Congress.

He had been on the job for six months. The deterioration of facilities
didn't happen in six months; it was long-standing.

I feel it was the result of Congress failing to appropriate sufficient funds
for maintenance of military facilities. This has been a continuing problem
for years, made more critical by a war that has not required sacrifice from
anyone other than our service members and their families.

The president has chosen to fight his war on the cheap with no new taxes to
pay the costs involved. That means that within the military, "deferred
maintenance" becomes a way of meeting funding shortfalls.

What is deferred maintenance? It means not doing maintenance when it is
required.

Would you run your car without changing the oil regularly? That is
effectively what the services are having to do with respect to routine
maintenance of facilities.

Don't blame the commander who isn't given the tools to do the job. Blame the
people who gave him a mission without the resources.

Lt. Col. Thomas E. Washington (Ret.)
Honea Path, S.C.

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There must be millions of us military retirees who are furious, upset and
disturbed by the reports on shabby post-medical treatment of our war-wounded
service men at Walter Reed Army Medical Center ["The waiting wounded," Feb.
26].

Some of us old-timers think firing the top generals involved is not going to
solve the problem. Somewhere in our government, someone should have known
that to put such services out to bid to an already questionable civilian
firm was inviting trouble.

Also, military managers should know that below the professional level in
military installations are lower-paid workers who may lack professional
supervision and skills. There are no excuses, and there is apparently no
investigation into this area.

Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond L. Milz (Ret.)
Roanoke, Va.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.