Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal

"Soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries or stress disorders, others with amputated limbs, have languished for weeks and months on end in vermin-infested quarters waiting for a decision on their military status and a ruling on the level of benefits they will receive if they are discharged and transferred to the civilian-run Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare system.

[2] Significant public and media attention was generated, which in turn prompted a number of congressional and executive actions, including resignations of several high-ranking officers.

[3] The Washington Post published a series of articles beginning February 18, 2007, outlining cases of neglect at Walter Reed reported by wounded soldiers and their family members.

[3] Although the article focused primarily on Building 18, a former hotel just outside the post's main gates, authors Dana Priest and Anne Hull also included complaints about "disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked managers" that make navigating the already complicated bureaucracy to obtain medical care at WRAMC even more daunting.

[4] In 2004 and 2005, articles appeared in the Post and in Salon interviewing First Lieutenant Julian Goodrum about his court martial for seeking medical care elsewhere due to poor conditions at WRAMC.

[5][6] Due to neglect and administrative mismanagement, one outpatient soldier at Walter Reed drank himself to death, and two others died in a high-speed car accident even though the driver was supposed to be restricted to medical center grounds because of past use of illegal drugs.

[9] WRAMC's Building 18 was described in the Washington Post article as rat- and cockroach-infested, with stained carpets, cheap mattresses, and black mold, with some soldiers reporting no heat or water in the facility.

In an attempt to alleviate the toll that Building 18's condition was taking on the wounded soldiers, a staff team headed by a clinical social worker at WRAMC obtained a grant of $30,000 from the Commander's Initiative Account for improvements; however, "a Psychiatry Department functionary held up the rest of the money because she feared that buying a lot of recreational equipment close to Christmas would trigger an audit."

When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate, accountability up the chain of command.The army announced it had relieved of command Major General Weightman, a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months.

In a brief announcement, the Army said service leaders had "lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's leadership abilities "to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care."