Walter Reed heeds wakeup call
That old saw about the squeaky wheel proves true once again. Hot on the heels of the WaPo's expose of the dismal conditions at Walter Reed, the hospital announced repairs have begun immediately on the horrible Buliding 18 and they will address the other problems. Sure, now they've been humiliated in the press, they're concerned about the soldiers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they've been forced to address this but I don't trust them to follow through anymore than I trust George Bush to make a sensible decision on foreign policy. All too often, once the press leaves, the promised reforms peter out. We see this happen time and time again inside the Beltway with everything from corruption probes to lobbyist and ethics reform. We must continue to press this issue beyond the news cycle. It's the least we can do to support our troops and as Kevin Hayden points out, if there's a VA facility near you, it might be good time to pay a quiet visit and see how your local veterans are being treated. I'm certain this is not confined to Walter Reed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they've been forced to address this but I don't trust them to follow through anymore than I trust George Bush to make a sensible decision on foreign policy. All too often, once the press leaves, the promised reforms peter out. We see this happen time and time again inside the Beltway with everything from corruption probes to lobbyist and ethics reform. We must continue to press this issue beyond the news cycle. It's the least we can do to support our troops and as Kevin Hayden points out, if there's a VA facility near you, it might be good time to pay a quiet visit and see how your local veterans are being treated. I'm certain this is not confined to Walter Reed.
posted by Libby Spencer at 9:04 AM
4 Comments:
That the country who uses its citizens as cannon fodder and abandons them when they are no longer useful can tell us we're not supporting the troops makes me more angry than I have been since 1968.
I was pretty angry in 1968
I was pretty angry in 68 myself. I don't know that there's a word to describe the depth of my anger now. I'm not sure it's even anger anymore. It's more like revulsion, and despair and disbelief.
The ability to care for injured or aging and ill vetrans has always been the military's weak point. They pour so much money and resources into making war without planning for the inevitable aftermath. Because many of these brave men and women feel a continued obligation to their oath, they are reluctant to come forward and complain. You are so right, Lib, it is up to us in the civilian sector to keep up the pressure in a loud and vocal presence in order to get these folks the kind of treatment and decent housing they so richly deserve.
That's the thing Rocky. Walter Reed is getting all this attention because of the article but I know, as I'm sure you do, that the VAs all over the country suffer from the same problems.
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