LTG Kiley, kindly resign your position and retire. Now, you clueless pusillanimous jerk.

It's a bitter pill to swallow that Dana Priest broke the story but if, in the end, things get fixed and our recovering heroes get properly taken care of... Fine...I'll have a large maragarita to help it go down.... And I'm with you, John....I'm utterly disgusted.

Works for me!! Screw the rules...

I'm no expert on how the Army does things so I'll keep my comments short. Everyone who has served in any of the armed services is well aware that there is NEBER enough money to do all the maintenance that is called for. As a result we have all had to deal with substandard facilities. It's not good, but it is part of wearing the uniform, and it's hardly the world shaking news that the media makes it out to be at Walter Reed. Secondly, I've never been treated at WRAMC, but I've known many who have and my impression has been that the medical care there is really first rate. One of the early lesson I learned in the Marine Corps was that you could tell if a unit was good, or bad, almost as soon as you walked through the hatch (that's the door for you Army types). And it's possible to spot piss poor leadership at a 1000 meters. And it should be obvious to anyone who has read the Washington Post articles (and I almost NEVER believe the WaPo) that the root of these problems has been an absolute failure of Army leadership starting with LGEN Kiley and going right down the chain to the lowest NCOs. The first, and most sacred duty of every officer and noncommissioned officer is to trake care of your people. You look out for your people, particularly those who cannot lookout for themselves - that's Leadership 101. And I see NO evidence that anyone at WRAMC gave a rat's ass about taking care of their wounded warriors. LGEN Kiley served as CG at WRAMC and knew of the problems there. He lives on board and has to see some of the most obvious problems. Witnesses have testified that those problems were directly brought to his attention. And he hasn't done squat. He deserves to be relieved for cause. If fact, he probably should be charged with conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline. And I think a retirement as Colonel might be appropiate. John is right that the Army ought to look to the Marines. But what they need to learn is the rule that we drum into every Marine's head from day one - We Take Care Of Our Own! Marine6 Sends

THe acute cause was leadership. The chronic cause isn't. We need to get real about what having a first rate military costs and budget accordingly. We, the civilians, failed to do that and continue to do that. There's more than enough blame to go around. Kiley's head on a pike doesn't change what happened. But it will serve as a reminder to future commanders to pipe up good and loud when things are sour.

Warning! Shameless self-promotion ahead: Here is my take on the leadership failure... though admittedly, I'm only looking at part of the picture.

Look, the system sucks and the paperwork sucks. The medical treatement itself is good. Thep problem is the guys who are "in between". They are no longer inpatients. They were in a separate building off of campus and they were essentially out of site out of mind, both in treatment and process. There are two failures actually. Leadership and the process. The process is so labor intensive and paper intensive that it is a wonder anyone gets to leave med hold or go to any other place for treatment. Its the same at Ft. Campbell and a few other places I could name. You just haven't heard about it yet. I didn't have time to write last night since I was closing out the February for my office, but I have a lot more to say about the sheer ineptness of this process that is supposed to insure proper treatment, keep the soldier with pay and benefits and maintain accountability of all soldiers. It's a train wreck and the only thing people have done to fix it is to add some stuff to it and change the name. Stay tuned tomorrow for the next "road to Walter Reed"

MAggs, no, really?(dodging M&Ms)

I watched some of the hearing yesterday with the two soldiers and the spouse, describing what they tried to do to improve their situation. I never felt embarrased for being an officer before, I did then.

In the water to snow department. Old news, consider taking a p*** behind the shed at -50 as so very often happens here at Fairbanks.

I recognize that by writing this email, I am taking one hell of a personal and professional risk, but I do not give a damn. Our soldiers deserve much better medical care than that which they have received lately. So, having said that (and trusting the honor of a fellow warrior that I have never met)….here goes: I have known Kevin Kiley since 1990 or so…back then, he was a brand new Letieuntent Colonel (LTC), Medical Corps, US Army, and was both the Division Surgeon of the 10th Mountain Division, and the Commander, 10th Medical Battalion, 10th Mountain Division. He was an unmitigated disaster at both jobs, in my opinion (in fairness, I must admit that I was a prior service (seven years as an enlisted man…as an Infantryman, Special Forces Operator, and/or Dustoff Medic) First Lieutenant (P) Medical Service Corps officer in those days (P, or Promotable…which means I had been selected for promotion to Captain), so that colors my opinion somewhat). Years later, I had the misfortune of working for him again. He was a COL (P), and the commander of Landsthul Army Regional Medical Center in Germany (BTW, a friend of his (a Two Star General Officer at the Headquarters, US Army Europe, or so I heard) approved “frocking” Kiley. That meant that he wore his one star as a Brigadier General for almost a year before he was actually promoted). By then, I was a Major (O-4) Medical Operations Officer. The things I PERSONNALY saw and observed would turn your stomach…Kiley is a complete and total self serving, narcissistic, self centered, egotistical scumbag as a leader and officer. Having said that, I must be totally fair and admit that his patients LOVED him. He is one hell of an OB/GYN doctor, but a lousy officer and leader. He is, however, one of the “Perfumed Princes” that Col(R) David Hackworth (new deceased) used to call the scourge of the modern US Army. I left my beloved Army in ’97 due to medical problems that could not be fixed at that time…so I have not seen/worked with/for Kiley in years. However, my bride is still an active duty Army officer, and I am now the owner of a small business that builds Medical Equipments Sets (MES) for the US Army, amongst other things. Having said that, PLEASE DO NOT USE MY REAL NAME OR EMAIL ADDRESS. It would cause me and my bride of almost 25 years all sorts of grief (both professionally and in the business world). The reality is, however, that I have, in all probability, given you (or anyone on Kiley’s staff) enough info to well and truly screw over my bride and my little company, if you so choose to do so. I hope not, but tough s—t!!! My bottom line is this: Kevin Kiley. LTG, MC, US Army, is a total and complete loser, and deserves to go down in our Army’s history as the first Surgeon General to be truly “relieved for cause”. Our soldiers, past, present, and future, deserve better leadership from our medics than that which Kiley can and has provided. There, I have now vented an entire week’s worth of spleen. Use my comments (MINUS MY NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS) as you see fit, or not. I hope and pray that Kiley is sacked (like he should have been in the 90’s), and that our medics (and the GREAT soldiers they support) get the kind of Surgeon General that they truly deserve. All the best, Dustoff 339C

Just in my own self-defense, here it is. Real Sorry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEVcCv_xkQ

SangerM - If my post was perceived as an indictment of the entire U.S. Army then I must not have been clear enough. I specificly limited my comments to the obvious total failure of the leadership at WRAMC. I don't dispute that the Army has a policy of taking care of your troops. And I don't dispute that, in general, that policy is observed throughout the Army. Perhaps that is exactly why the absolute failure at all levels of leadership at Walter Reed is so odious. I believe that the systemic failure at WRAMC starts from the very top. When people down the chain see that the most senior officer in the chain (in this case LGEN Kiley) just flat doesn't care about the welfare of the troops, then why should they? I am NOT denegrating the medical care at WRAMC. From everything I have heard and read about the actual medical care it appears to be outstanding. And for that the Army should be proud. But where is the concern for taking care of all of the other needs of these wounded warriors? No one seems to care about ensuring that they get needed appointments, or that their administrative needs are addressed, or that their morale is high. I believe that LGEN Kiley, and all of the others in leadership positions at WRAMC, have failed the basic leadership test. They should be held accountable. And this really isn't an Army versus Marine rant. It's a rant against all those who fail in their duty to take care of the people entrusted to their care. Rank does have its privleges, but it also has its responsibilities. And the first of those is to take care of your troops. Marine6 Sends