Bureaucratic Nightmare
House Democrats have released an internal memo from Major General George Weightman's deputy to the Army's medical command. The memo dated September 2006 describes how the Army's decision to privatize support services at Walter Reed sparked an exodus of "highly skilled and experienced personnel." Weightman's deputy warned that Walter Reed's "... base operations and patient care services are at risk of mission failure."
The Army awarded the five-year, $120 million contract in January 2006. At that time, Walter Reed had over 300 federal employees in support services. A year later, that number had dropped to under 60. Privatizing key services assured an attrition at Walter Reed, which resulted in not being able to do the job.
The company that was awarded the contract was IAP Worldwide Services. It was one of the companies that had problems delivering ice during FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina. The CEO of IAP, Al Neffgen, is a former senior Halliburton official.
In a letter to General Weightman, Congressman Henry Waxman said it would be "reprehensible if the deplorable conditions (at Walter Reed) were caused or aggravated by an ideological commitment to privatize government services...”
Furthermore, the base closure commission recommendation that Walter Reed be shut down, which meant that it would go to be at the bottom of the list, when it came to maintenance and repair.
Our casualties of war deserve better. Bush has got to stand up and take responsibility for this situation and Congress has got to make sure the money is provided to fix Walter Reed and the entire Veterans Administration hospital system.
Four years in Iraq has produced more than one million veterans, and 30,000 wounded. This issue must be address, because it's really tearing up the morale of our troops, especially those young men and women laying in beds at Walter Reed.
It’s not an isolated problem at Walter Reed. Similar physical problems exist at other facilities and bureaucratic nightmares are a problem cross the country.
As many as 200,000 of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have asked for treatment at the various veteran hospitals and at the military hospitals across the country. There are 500,000 cases requesting help for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Veterans Administration that have not yet been adjudicated.
The Army awarded the five-year, $120 million contract in January 2006. At that time, Walter Reed had over 300 federal employees in support services. A year later, that number had dropped to under 60. Privatizing key services assured an attrition at Walter Reed, which resulted in not being able to do the job.
The company that was awarded the contract was IAP Worldwide Services. It was one of the companies that had problems delivering ice during FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina. The CEO of IAP, Al Neffgen, is a former senior Halliburton official.
In a letter to General Weightman, Congressman Henry Waxman said it would be "reprehensible if the deplorable conditions (at Walter Reed) were caused or aggravated by an ideological commitment to privatize government services...”
Furthermore, the base closure commission recommendation that Walter Reed be shut down, which meant that it would go to be at the bottom of the list, when it came to maintenance and repair.
Our casualties of war deserve better. Bush has got to stand up and take responsibility for this situation and Congress has got to make sure the money is provided to fix Walter Reed and the entire Veterans Administration hospital system.
Four years in Iraq has produced more than one million veterans, and 30,000 wounded. This issue must be address, because it's really tearing up the morale of our troops, especially those young men and women laying in beds at Walter Reed.
It’s not an isolated problem at Walter Reed. Similar physical problems exist at other facilities and bureaucratic nightmares are a problem cross the country.
As many as 200,000 of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have asked for treatment at the various veteran hospitals and at the military hospitals across the country. There are 500,000 cases requesting help for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Veterans Administration that have not yet been adjudicated.
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