Milbloggers on WaPo series: Broken system, biased report
Michelle Malkin

I gave my opinion about the WaPo series on the mess at Walter Reed this morning. Here's some diverse feedback from milbloggers and readers:

Smash:

It is the primary duty of every military leader to make certain that the basic needs of his troops are being met. Clearly, somebody at Walter Reed dropped the ball. I'd like to sincerely thank Dana Priest and Anne Hull for bringing these unfortunate conditions to light...

...I have to wonder, however, at the motives of these reporters. They say they worked on this story for four months. Why didn't they approach the officials at Walter Reed as soon as they learned of these unsanitary conditions? Was getting this "scoop" really more important than improving the living conditions of these soldiers?

People, right there's why all I gave Michelle's earlier post was a Nibbles link.  I've been dealing with the VA medical system for over three years now and there's nothing so bad I wouldn't believe it about them.  (I don't have any major complaints about the Marion, IL hospital or the Evansville, IN clinic, other than the fact they keep rescheduling and postponing appointment because of doctors leaving the system, but the Dallas hospital is a very unfunny joke and the downtown St Louis hospital is worse.) On the other hand, never think you have the whole story just because you've read what al-WaPo has to say about something. Michelle's post (Read the whole thing and follow the links) goes on:

Injured Iraq vent/blogger J.R. Salzman, who is recovering at Walter Reed:

I have read what is definitely the most accurate story on Walter Reed Army Medical Center, my home since Christmas Eve 2006, and for many months to come. The original investigating media outlet is the Washington Post, but other media outlets are picking it up. Let's hope others continue to do so and spread the word. It needs to get fixed...

...No one knows where to go to get things done, what forms are needed, or the SOP for getting anything done. Expect to go to half a dozen different places, getting routed from one office to another before finally landing where you need to, only to have to run around to three or four different offices hunting people down for the necessary signatures. To put it plainly, their system of getting things done is more than "broke".

FbL at Fuzzilicious Thinking gives a thumbs-down to the condescending tone of the WaPo series towards the troops:

This article was not written to show the cross-section of survivors and their challenges. No, it was not written to analyze and dissect the bureaucratic inadequacies of post-injury care or the med boards. This was a pathetic piece of propaganda about how all the wounded are to be pitied and how they'll never be able to function in society, and how nobody really cares. The anti-war whisper throughout is almost a shout...

And you want to talk about manipulation of a story by what is not reported? Try this on for size... They mention Code Pink outside the gates, but not the counter-protesters. And Valour-IT gets a mention, though not by name; instead, having to practice the voice software is painted as a burden on the poor addled soldier. ..

Andi at Andi's World, who has been a volunteer at Walter Reed for two years:

Here's the deal - the process at Walter Reed is in need of a major overhaul. Major. From my first visit there, this became evident. Over the process of two years, I've heard dozens of complaints. Complaints that range from seemingly-petty to substantive and legitimate...

...Wounded troops have repeatedly complained about paperwork being mishandled, or worse - not handled at all. The issues that face our wounded troops and their families are substantive, complex and many.

Guess what? This isn't a secret. ...

The Democrats--led by Sens. Obama and Kerry--are now rushing to help. Via The Hill:

Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are sponsoring legislation to improve the lives of recovering veterans at Walter Reed, while Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a cosponsor of the Obama-McCaskill legislation, said that he would explore ways to direct new funds to Walter Reed and make immediate improvements to its veteran housing.

Here's an easy sincerity test: Where do they stand on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions to close and consolidate redundant bases and facilities in their own home states--which would provide tens and hundreds of millions in cost-savings for urgent improvements elsewhere, like, say, at Walter Reed?

No surprises: ...

***

Dan Riehl contrasts the WaPo article with a Washington Monthly article from a couple of years ago. Read my thoughts on his post at his place if you're so inclined.

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 01:02.

Video: Maj. Chuck Ziegenfuss on disgraceful conditions at Walter Reed Hospital
Allahpundit

Can’t put it any better than the boss did:

The mess at the VA and in the military health care sysm is systemic and complicated. Political grandstanding on both sides of the political aisle has impeded reforms for years. The push to modernize and consolidate facilities, including Walter Reed, has been met with fierce resistance–exacerbated by bureaucratic edifice complex. That these failures to prioritize continue in war time unabated is damnable. Any light shone on the soldiers’ toll, whatever the motivations and prejudices of the WaPo reporters might be, is welcome, IMO…

I do hope all the left-wingers who are now newly enraged by problems at the VA sustain their interest beyond the time frame in which these stories maximize embarrassment of their political opponents. Supporting the troops takes much more than exploiting their neglect.

WaPo reports this morning that the military is scrambling to make repairs, especially to Building 18 where the Post found “mold, rot, mice and cockroaches.” Here’s milblogger Chuck Ziegenfuss on CNN discussing his own stay at the facility in 2005. Sounds like it’s been this way for years.

***

Swift Action Promised at Walter Reed 
Investigations Urged as Army Moves to Make Repairs, Improve Staffing
By Dana Priest and Anne Hull

The White House and congressional leaders called yesterday for swift investigation and repair of the problems plaguing outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as veterans groups and members of Congress in both parties expressed outrage over substandard housing and the slow, dysfunctional bureaucracy there.

Top Army officials yesterday visited Building 18, the decrepit former hotel housing more than 80 recovering soldiers, outside the gates of the medical center. Army Secretary Francis Harvey and Vice Chief of Staff Richard Cody toured the building and spoke to soldiers as workers in protective masks stripped mold from the walls and tore up soiled carpets.

At the White House, press secretary Tony Snow said that he spoke with President Bush yesterday about Walter Reed and that the president told him: "Find out what the problem is and fix it."

Snow said Bush "first learned of the troubling allegations regarding Walter Reed from the stories this weekend in The Washington Post. He is deeply concerned and wants any problems identified and fixed." The spokesman said he did not know why the president, who has visited the facility many times in the past five years, had not heard about these problems before.

Walter Reed's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, said in an interview that the Army leadership had assured him that all the staff increases he had requested would be met. "This is not an issue," he said. "This is their number one priority." ...

***

Kim Priestap writes:

... Our entire VA hospital system is sick and must be fixed because our military men and women deserve so much better. It's disgraceful that it's deteriorated to this condition. But, unfortunately, it's not surprising considering it's the US government that runs the entire system.

Which brings us to the bigger picture. John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and many other liberals sing the praises of universal health care. They insist that it is the best way to make sure everyone has the best care possible. However, if the US government is so bogged down financially and politically that it's incapable of providing the best health care possible for our veterans and injured military men and women returning from war who have sacrificed so much to protect us, then how the hell is that same US government going to provide the best health care for the rest of the 300 million people in this country? Universal health care will be a gargantuan version of the VA and military health care systems.