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Walter Reed Scandal

Walter Reed Army Medical Center has suffered deep neglect for the 6 years American troops have been in Afghanistan and Iraqâ??and thousands of vets wounded there have suffered with it

After some reports in Salon last year, In February, the Washington Post published an expose of squalid conditions and crippling bureaucracy at the underfunded hospital. Worse, it argued, the same troops lionized for fighting the war on terror are returning to find their psychological and physical maladies shelved indefinitely. The scandal has provoked the resignations and firings of Army brass and an ongoing skepticism of the treatment of America's veterans.

Stories

14 Stories

  • August 2008

    • Wounded Vets Assaulted by Mold—Again

      USA Today  |  Aug 18, 08 11:50 AM CDT

      Wounded Vets Assaulted by Mold—Again

      (Newser) - In a replay of the scandalous conditions uncovered at Walter Reed Medical Center last year, an Oklahoma barracks that houses wounded soldiers has become infested with mold, soldiers stationed there told USA Today. Twenty soldiers stepped forward, saying they’d been ordered not to discuss conditions at Fort Sill, which they say are deteriorating despite months of complaints. More »

  • July 2008

    • Charming Army Brass Get Little Rebuke From Vet Care Panel

      Washington Post  |  Jul 23, 08 1:59 PM CDT

      Charming Army Brass Get Little Rebuke From Vet Care Panel

      (Newser) - Faced with little evidence of progress in caring for wounded veterans 16 months after the Walter Reed scandal, US Army generals resorted to battlefield tactics in a hearing before a House subcommittee yesterday, Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post : “A tactical retreat in the face of an overwhelming enemy: the facts.” The generals fell over themselves apologizing, and disarmed the committee with flattery. More »

  • May 2008

    • 'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

      Reuters  |  May 2, 08 7:04 AM CDT

      'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

      (Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted yesterday that the US military made mistakes in taking care of soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Reuters. He said he regretted that veterans had received inadequate care for physical and mental problems, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Gates also acknowledged that not all returning soldiers have obtained suitable housing. More »

  • November 2007

    • Ex-Colleague Blasts VA Nominee

      NPR  |  Nov 2, 07 3:00 PM CDT

      Ex-Colleague Blasts VA Nominee

      (Newser) - Fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical system will take a leader who sees the big picture, a skill nominee James Peake doesn’t possess, an ex-colleague tells NPR. “When I tell you honestly what I think of him, I could lose my job,” said the retired general, depicting ex-Army surgeon general as detail-obsessed and myopic. More »

  • October 2007

    • 'Antiquated' VA Ill Equipped to Care for Vets

      Christian Science Monitor  |  Oct 22, 07 2:25 PM CDT

      'Antiquated' VA Ill Equipped to Care for Vets

      (Newser) - Some 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are eligible for VA benefits, and overhauling the overburdened system is firmly in the sights of  President Bush and a bipartisan commission. Citing "fundamental system weaknesses," a GAO report last week outlined a huge bureaucracy rife with staffing and training shortfalls, confusing policies, and slow decisions, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The bill will be hefty. More »

  • July 2007

    • Injured Veterans Sue US

      Reuters  |  Jul 24, 07 4:53 AM CDT

      Injured Veterans Sue US

      (Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action suit contends. More »

    • Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

      Washington Post  |  Jul 17, 07 3:47 PM CDT

      Head of Veterans Affairs Quits

      (Newser) - The secretary of Veterans Affairs, the head of the second-biggest federal department, is stepping down and will be replaced by October 1, reports the Washington Post . For 2½ turbulent years, Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam vet and former RNC chair, presided over a department beset by criticism and overwhelmed by the flood of service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. More »

  • June 2007

    • Army Hospital MIA on Stress Disorders

      Washington Post  |  Jun 18, 07 4:15 PM CDT

      Army Hospital MIA on Stress Disorders

      (Newser) - Though 20 to 40 soldiers are sent home from Iraq each month with severe mental problems, the Army's largest hospital has no post-traumatic stress disorder center, reports the Washington Post . There is also a severe shortage of doctors qualified to treat these patients. Not long ago, the head of psychiatry sent a memo pleading for more staff. More »

  • May 2007

    • Walter Reed Bars Baez

      Rolling Stone  |  May 2, 07 3:45 PM CDT

      Walter Reed Bars Baez

      (Newser) - Patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center were treated to tunes by John Mellencamp last week, but not Joan Baez—hospital officials refused to let the legendary folk singer and antiwar activist join him. A spokesman told Rolling Stone the request to include Baez came too late. Said Mellencamp: "We asked why and they said, 'She can’t fit here, period.' " More »

  • April 2007

    • Report Uncovered Walter Reed Problems in 2004

      Salon  |  Apr 11, 07 8:12 AM CDT

      Report Uncovered Walter Reed Problems in 2004

      (Newser) - The mess at Walter Reed was detailed in a damning task force report in 2004, obtained by Salon , in which soldiers described their frustrations with outpatient care and bureaucratic nightmares. Not only was the report ignored, but the official who sat on it for three years is now up for a promotion to undersecretary for health at the VA. More »

    • Military Skimps On Soldiers' Benefits

      US News and World Report  |  Apr 9, 07 7:52 AM CDT

      Military Skimps On Soldiers' Benefits

      (Newser) - Soldiers are being deprived of disability benefits, having their injuries downgraded and even being sent back into the field when they're not fit to fight, a U.S. News investigation shows.  An arbitrary and system for rating disabilities has been a problem for years, veteran advocates say, but it's now affecting tens of thousands of soldiers. More »

  • March 2007

    • Army Uses Injured to Inflate Manpower

      Salon  |  Mar 26, 07 9:27 AM CDT

      (Newser) - The Army sent  soldiers recovering from injuries—some still on crutches—to a desert training center in California, in an apparent attempt to pad manpower statistics. Witnesses describe tents at Fort Irwin packed with soldiers in no shape to train, or even to walk, but counted by the Pentagon as evidence of US battle-readiness. Some, their injuries downgraded, were sent back to Iraq. More »

    • Disabled Vets Get Unequal Treatment

      New York Times  |  Mar 9, 07 4:29 PM CST

      Disabled Vets Get Unequal Treatment

      (Newser) - The V.A. is treating some disabled veterans like second-class soldiers, making them wait twice as long for benefits that are, when they finally come, less generous than others get. It all depends on where a soldier lives and how he served—active duty or National Guard. Worst: The more troops a state deploys, the more backlogged the response. More »

    • Walter Reed Exposes Weakened Top Brass

      New York Times  |  Mar 6, 07 1:51 PM CST

      Walter Reed Exposes Weakened Top Brass

      (Newser) - Blame the Walter Reed scandal on "the silence of our top officers," writes a retired Army general. Paul Eaton, who spent a year in Baghdad rebuilding the Iraqi army, says the administration and Congress "pointedly failed to provide the money and resources for our returned troops," and top military officials let it happen. More »

14 Stories

WASHINGTON, DC-- Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Friday, August 26, 2005 in Washington, D.C. Soldiers from all of America's wars in the 20th and 21st centuries have been treated at Walter Reed Army M   (KRT Photos)
Jessica Lynch Expected To Be Moved To Walter Reed Hospital   (Getty Images)