Army Surgeon General Ousted

Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley Is The Third Official Forced Out Amid Scandal At Walter Reed

(CBS/AP)  The Army forced its surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, to retire, officials said Monday. He's the third high-level official to lose his job over poor outpatient treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Kiley, who headed Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004, has been a lightning rod for criticism over conditions at the Army's premier medical facility, including during congressional hearings last week. Soldiers and their families have complained about substandard living conditions and bureaucratic delays at the hospital overwhelmed with wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coming three weeks after the revelations of shoddy care at Walter Reed, the wonder is why it took so long, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin, especially when Kiley continued to downplay the problems and said dilapidated conditions in a building where outpatients lived were not his responsibility.

"We must move quickly to fill this position — this leader will have a key role in moving the way forward in meeting the needs of our wounded warriors," Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said in a statement.

Geren asked Kiley to retire, said a senior defense official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was not involved in the decision to ask Kiley to retire, the official said.

The White House said it was not involved in Kiley's forced retirement, reports CBS News correspondent Peter Maer. Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino told CBS News, "We support the accountability measures taken by the Department of Defense and the Army, and to quickly address health issues for our returning servicemen and women."

Kiley's removal underscored how the fallout over Walter Reed's shoddy conditions has yet to subside. Instead, the controversy has mushroomed into questions about how wounded soldiers and veterans are treated throughout the medical systems run by the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs and has become a major preoccupation of a Bush administration already struggling to defend the unpopular war in Iraq.

"I submitted my retirement because I think it is in the best interest of the Army," Kiley said in Monday's Army statement. He said he wanted to allow officials to "focus completely on the way ahead."

Amid the focus on Walter Reed, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson on Monday ordered his department's clinics to provide details about their physical condition by next week to determine if squalid conditions found at Walter Reed exist elsewhere.

Nicholson has been under pressure to reduce claims backlogs and improve coordination at the VA's vast network of 1,400 hospitals and clinics, which provide supplemental care and rehabilitation to 5.8 million veterans.

The conditions at Walter Reed were detailed last month by The Washington Post. Since then, Gates has forced Army Secretary Francis Harvey to resign and Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was in charge of Walter Reed since August 2006, was ousted from his post.

According to a new report by the Army Inspector General, the problems include inconsistent policies, antiquated databases and poorly trained personnel, reports Martin. In other words, the system needed an overhaul even before it was overwhelmed by the thousands of wounded from Iraq.

In a briefing Thursday for reporters at the medical center, top Army officials said they have moved to fix some of the problems at Walter Reed.

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said that officials have added caseworkers, financial specialists and others to work with soldiers' families on problems they have related to the injuries such as getting loans or help with income taxes.

A number of additional investigations have been ordered.

President Bush has appointed a bipartisan commission to investigate problems at the nation's military and veteran hospitals, and separate reviews are under way by the Pentagon, the Army and an interagency task force led by Nicholson.

[lars008-2009]

there is no peace with fascist nazi islam%u2026.. there never has been in it%u2019s 1400 year existence%u2026

dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone....

gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses.....

What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad

Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam..... he killed plenty of them....

In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:

The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
http://www.khouse.org/articles/2007/691/
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2002_winter_spring/terrorism.htm

[grumpas]

When is Bush going to fire himself or Cheney????? This administration has been the most incompetent in the history of this country! The waste and graft are astronomical now. I don't think there is a soul in it that has the brain capacity of a mushroom! They are all good Republican robot's designed to do as they are programed and never have a thought of their own! That's when they get into trouble is when they start thinking for themselves. The whole mess becomes more sickening by the day!

[adventurepa]

Welcome to the "Bush Health Care Program"
We send you over there, to get blown- up and we provide you with a nice hotel room with all the amendities.

Mold
Substandard living
Contaminated food from Halburnthem
The works.

When is enough - enough?
When are the people at the top going to be held accountable?
When are the needs of the wounded soldier going to be what matters most?
The cost of this war is going to continue for these men and women far longer then when it actually ends.

[rharrin1]

When we run out of generals to fire who will we point the finger at next?

Why don't we start firing from the bottom and work our way up?

Accountability will never be reached until our war hero pilot buys a mirror instead of pointing fingers.

[ramos937]

Kiley was head of WR for about 4 years prior to being promoted; several FBI HQ types hindered an effort to prevent 9/22 and they got promoted; Gen Myers & George Tenant could have helped prevent the Iraq War and they got the Medal of Freedom. I just do not understand how these guys got rewarded for what they did.

[annd2302]

alphaa10

Don't be stepping all over your member until you have a full knowledge of the VET vs the Military.

[alphaa10-2009]

This from the inset-- "Acting Army Surgeon General Gale Pollock is not a medical doctor. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland, and is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist."
---
If any are appalled at what Bush political appointments have done to nullify competence at the federal administrative level, it will reassure further that a former FDA chief has a degree in veterinary science, not human medicine.

And Ann Veneman, who heads the Dept. of Agriculture, is a JD with an MPA and undergraduate degree in Political Science. Veneman was called to make difficult decisions to protect the public health during the BSE scare a little over a year ago.

That matches the background of a former head of NASA, the one who presided over the decision not to have a closer look at the shuttle Columbia before landing. His background? An accomplished accountant.

[fizzal-2009]

If there seems to be a problem how can dropping the axe on hands solve anything. What we now see is there is a few less hands to help the already needy.

[alphaa10-2009]

A persistent and troubling question-- are the current scandalous conditions at the VA only recent? If not, then how many years has this been going on at the VA?

Even if the drop in quality of medical care occurred after the Iraq invasion, why did it take this long to get a news story about it?

[tibu987]

Yes, it is good that the culprits at the top resigned. Now, if they can get rid of the lesser people who treat our vets badly and get rid of them too.
Our veterans deserve nothing less than the very best of care in all areas. This situation should never have been allowed to happen. Let the heads roll, it is obvious they were not taking care of our veterans.

[inventagod]

The Punish button will be enabled shortly. We have temporarily disabled it so no one has an opportunity to comment.

[inventagod]

Wasn't the commander-in-thief the one cutting the vet budget?

Now he is looking into the problem? What a joke...

[j-whitman]

USMC.
We can't forget the total lack of planning in this "War of Roses" that was supposed to last only "Weeks Not Months". That's just added to the problem.

[j-whitman]

USMC,, I can't complain about our military hospitals, they've come a long way since the 60's. I lay blame on the transition from active to discharge, after care & lack of attention by our politicians who just wrap themselves in our flag & ignore the problems.

[j-whitman]

USMC,,, Doing great,, Sunny & in the 80's here in Sacramento -- I'm having a ball slapping these idiot Bush lovers. How about you ??

[gabulldog66]

usmcvn. Obviously, you don't understand what General Officers are. They are the CEO's of the commands. If you are the base commander and happen to be a pilot, you are still responsible for the building on your base.

[jerr11]

First it was Mike Brown, then it was Libby, now it is Kiley. The blame game continues.

I predict the next fall guy is going to be Gen Petraeus. He will be removed in the summer and blamed for all the continuing problems in Iraq.

Evidently the only guy doing a heckuva job these days is the commander-in-chief.

[j-whitman]

Republican's --- The Axis of Failure

[david1737]

Yet another course in Bush's Buffet of failure!

[bluestardad]

LISTEN TO VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY THEN TELL ME WE ARE NOT FIGHTING IN IRAQ FOR ISRAEL NEOCONS!

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AT AIPAC MEETING IS SPEAKING RIGHT NOW ON C-SPAN

Blind support of Israel is hurting American interest abroad. For years no one would say anything against promoting the Israeli agenda for fear of being labeled an anti-Semitist but now America is learning it is also acceptable to disagree with Israeli promoters like these AIPAC members who would gladly sell thousands of American soldier%u2019s lives to promote Israeli interest! America did not perpetrate the wrongs of Europe against its people over 70 years ago and are not responsible for correcting them now! There is starting to be a backlash against Israel and other Middle Eastern countries among the American Public for meddling in the politics of our nation and fighting their proxy wars.
Who cares if a country does not recognize Israels right to exist? For years America did not recognize Peoples Republic of Chinas right to exist either!

Israeli lobbying groups are selling access to American elected as you can see in their lobbying group advertisement below.

http://www.aipac.org/forms/join_aipacClubs.htm