"No Excuse, Sir" Is The Only Answer

Everyone Is To Blame For The Walter Reed Scandal, Except Those Who Got The Story

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

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When I was in the Air Force – a long, long time ago – I was told there were only three acceptable answers when the commander called you on the carpet: "yes, sir," "no, sir," and "no excuse, sir."

Nowhere is "no excuse, sir" more appropriate than in response to the disgraceful treatment we now know that many of our wounded soldiers have been getting.

"No excuse, sir," across the board: from an administration that forgot "support the troops" is more than a bumper sticker; to a military that tried to blame it all on low ranking sergeants.

To a Veterans Administration whose leaders tried to play down the number of serious injuries, yet were so unfamiliar with their own system that too many times, the injured were sent to facilities unequipped to treat their particular injuries.

And, yes, to a Congress and news media that should have uncovered this long ago.

Only three people rise above this mess: Washington Post Reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull and the remarkable Bob Woodruff of ABC News.

The Posties did what the rest of us should have. When they heard the rumors, they took the time to check them out. Not rocket science, just the first obligation of journalism.

Then there is Woodruff, who went to Iraq to get one story, was badly wounded and after months of treatment recovered to find another: the unacceptable way that many who suffered the kind of serious brain injury he suffered were lost in a nightmare of red tape and going without the treatment they needed.

The rest of us should have paid more attention. We can only be grateful to three who did.

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[christineg71]

Everyone is so negitive about Walter Reed's living conditions. Yes, there is need for improvments inregards to the living conditions. I want everyone to know how much respect from doctors all the way to the consolers if it wasnt for all of there help im not sure what would have happen to my husband who was shot over seas. He had great care, the surgerys where hours long an everyone kept things running right. Lets get some positive out there for all who does good. They are soldiers too. Any comments let me know. thanks

[flidoc06]

Thoughts of a retired Army medical officer: Why is LTG Kiley still in office as Army Surgeon General/CG MEDCOM? It's obvious that MG Weightman is a scapegoat in all this uproar. Sure, he should have gone, but so should Kiley, who certainly had prior notice of the problems at "Walter Wonderful".

[texas1cowboy]

I also agree with Bob's commentary. As a Viet Nam era veteran, I know military families have been contacting their Senators and Representatives, therefore did the solders simply get a form letter response? I would like to know why Congress has not done its own investigation based on years of complaints from their respective constituents. Who is policing our elected officials to ensure they stop overlooking the medical needs of our solders. They also bear responsibility for this neglect.

[j_flood]

Well stated Bob - as a fellow Air Force vet I recall the state of affairs during and after Vietnam for wounded soldiers. As a nation we know some truisms, what it says above the doors to the National Archives resonates so true "The past is prologue". They've let us down before, so why shouldn't it happen again. I've received VA care and it was first class all the way. But it occurred in peacetime without the strain of thousands of wounded coming home.

You're right about the lack of action on raising these issues. Where were the 'watchers'? The military needs to have a 'whistleblowers' clause in the soldier's contracts. Too many of them have been good soldiers taking what is handed to them expecting no more or less.

My thanks also go to the Washington Post reporters who uncovered this story. Makes me wonder were all those "Support the Troops" newspapers were too.

[cdnunn]

This is what happens when vital services are privatized and then contracted to the lowest bidder. You get what you pay for. Whoever said that the private sector can always do it better was trying to sell Congress something. This is just another Republiscam and further proof that they're not fit to govern.

[pattipace7]

Without the room here to elaborate further, here is a small solution for a very big problem;
The military hospitals and the Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMC) were not able to meet the needs of all the veterans from past wars, not much has changed, only the amount of veterans that are using these same faculties have tripled. While our politicians are voting on the needed emergency funding for VAMCs (funding for equipment, more medical personal, space and veterans programs) a new type of DRAFT should be implemented; Out of Patriotic duty, humanity, and the future of our economy, just one fourth of the more affluent private medical/mental health facilities should be directed to use their office and expertise just a few hours a month for some of our young veterans. By temporally picking up the slack for the grossly under funded, over booked and under staffed VAMCs, each of our young children/veterans will have a chance to resume a comfortable life as a productive member of the society for which they offered to give up their own life to serve and protect.

[lars008-2009]

I'm shocked, shocked to find such conditions.....
yeahhhhhh rightttttttttt

it is well known to both political parties and all news media that the va/military hospitals have been c r a p..... they always have been c r a p...... but then what do you expect from socialized medicine...... and that is what you will get when the demonic-rats try to force socialized medicine on the usa..... all the hospitals will be c r a p like the va/military hospitals....

reminds me of casablanca.......
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/quotes

[martha532]

Bob, you are one of the most respected journalists we have and I watch you every Sunday morning. Your comments are especially good. But, I do have one complaint and that is the corporate media are stating that this is a surprise. Well, it shouldn't be because it has been widely publicized for years, but the corporate media don't report it. They don't report the truth about anything. Free Speech TV and Link TV and many other independent journalists are the only source of what's really happening. Paul Reickoff has written a book and done a documentary on how our veterans are treated..the title is "When We Came Home". FSTV has many documentaries that the corporate media ignore. When are we going to get back to real journalism? We need another Edward R Murrow, who was not afraid to stand up to power. A free press is what holds this country together, but we don't have it now and the public is in the dark because the corporate media is controlled by so few who in turn control what is aired with their megamillions to special interests and their only interest is in selling cars!

[clemenhagen1]

The Bush Administration is on it, folks. Johnny at the Rathole! Heads is gonna roll, boys. Fire the guy who's done been on the job for six months and replace him with...the guy who held the job for years prior to that? Right. That'll do'er. And the bought and paid for press and the "see no evil" talking-point echo chamber right will assert that change is coming for our deserved soldiers. Right. Just like they really went after the people responsible for Abu Ghraid. "The animals remembered - or thought they remembered?" You know, how a few bad apples now rot in Leavenworth prison while those who ordered the torture never even got investigated. Right.

[truth_reason]

It really is disturbing to see that our boys and girls cant get the proper treament needed to fix them up. They put there life's on the line to fight this crazy war and when they get hurt what do they get...squt. Pay attion Bush, do your job right for once, please. Or let some one else do it.

[spargle]

A fitting finale to the failed Bush administration. Bumper sticker politics followed by . . . NOTHING. Support the troops - BRING THEM HOME

[harp1963]

We're sending trillions of taxpayer dollars into a foreign country to rebuild it after we destroyed it, but our wounded boys come home for medical care in a rat hole. Makes perfect sense to me, considering what an idiot our president is.

[karlimhof]

The Bush War :

The only positive things this mad war has accomplished is showing us our weaknesses;

- we cannot allow our elected officials to embark us on adventurist wars

- we have to keep our military strong to protect America, not Israel or to "change the face of the Middle East" or any region of the world

- we have to pay more attention to our veterans needs and normal citizens health care needs (invest money !)

- we have to have a credible response prepared for national emergencies (i.e.katrina)

- we have to become fiscally responsible again

Amen

[navychief8]

Zoroastor,

I wanted to elaborate. I think that the majority of money we are spending goes to just paying for ongoing operations. That is what I meant by trying to catch up.

During WW2, the war was a national effort. That does not happen today. Remember the scrapmetal drives and people doing without so that the troops would have what they needed? I remember the stories my grandparents told me. I am in no way trying to justify the war or its correctness, but if we are going to go to war, we need to do it all the way and not try to do it on the cheap. I think if we would have done that we would have been far more successful.

[navychief8]

Zoroastor,

Absolutely! And I should stated from the beginning, that I was not attacking what you said. I just used your post as an example of the underlying problem. I agree that the people who run the hospital should be taken to task. But I just get mad when I read these posts. As a vet, you and I both know that the average citizen spends little time thinking about us when we are not fighting a war.

p.s.

Thank You for your service and your sacrific

[karlimhof]

I suppose that giving him credit for what has gone RIGHT if you'll admit to anything going right at all, is virtually nonexistent.

Posted by dovestar



Be pleased to hear from what he's done right.

[zoroastor]

NavyChief

How goes it?

Yes I own a fire extinquisher. No I don't check it. Good anaology. Okay, will you give me that it is taking WAAAAY too long to correct the problem of insufficiently equiped troops?

I was there for a year. We were surprised never to have gotten the equipement while in country. We are even more surprised it is still a problem.
I too spent money out of my own pocket for my troops' safety. To me, this only further proves my point.
You are right, the public will have forgotten this "outrage" a year after this is over and will want more military cuts. However, it does not absolve the administration from poor planning -that is their RESPONSIBILITY! that far exceeds my checking my fire extinguisher - and telling the American public that the war would cost 70-90 billion and that Iraq could largely fund it. C'mon we all knew that was a crock as soon as we heard it.

I believe you echoed my thoughts about being prepared to spend more money on the VA and military service.

[navychief8]

Part 2,

After this war ends, will you, the public still care for my and my fellow service men and women%u2019s well being? Or will you the public demand we scale back our spending on the military once again. And again I will go out and spend my money to make sure I and my troops have what is needed to complete the mission.

Our Armed Forces are a mirror image of the society it protects, no better and no worse. So blame the politicians all you want. But I blame you, the public for forgetting about me when I needed you most. Before the fires of war burned.

No Excuse, indeed!

[navychief8]

If they truly believed in supporting our fighting forces, they would never have sent us over there without body armor, or the proper body armor, armored vehicles, etc...

Posted by Zoroastor

Do you ever think about a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall of your home before a fire occurs? Do you ever inspect it to make sure it is still functioning correctly? Do you even own one?

I use this as an analogy to our Armed Forces. We are the proverbial %u201CFire Extinguisher%u201D that the public never thinks about until we are needed. But remember this: The training and equipping we did yesterday will prepare us to fight the wars of tomorrow. The day we cross the line of demarcation is not the time to say I wish I had this or I wish I had that. We fight with what we have.

How many in the public even thought about how well I was equipped for battle prior to 2004? I can%u2019t tell you how many times I spent money out of my own pocket to make sure I had everything I needed to complete a mission. And this was prior to 9/11. After the cold war ended we cut back our spending on the military (remember the peace dividend), and now it shows. We did this because that was what the public wanted. This is not a Republican or Democratic problem as the cut backs started during the first Bush administration and continued through Clinton%u2019s. Now, all the money we spend is to try and catch up and maintain.

[zoroastor]

I came home disabled from Iraq through walter reed in DC. It was okay, but that was early in the war. I could tell then that the resources were stretched. Three years later, this comes as no surprise. Nor should it come as a surprise to our administration. The same thing happened in the 60s and 70s.
I get sick of hearing our leaders say "support our troops" when what they mean is "support our agenda". If they truly believed in supporting our fighting forces, they would never have sent us over there without body armor, or the proper body armor, armored vehicles, etc...
Want to support our troops? Get them out of that quagmire as quick as is safely possible. Be willing to allocate a more significant part of the budget to the VA and military service sector.