Army Surgeon General Resigns

March 12, 2007 — -- The scandal over conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has ended the career of another top Army official.

Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the embattled surgeon general of the Army, has submitted his retirement papers.

A senior defense official told ABC News that Kiley had been forced out.

The official said that acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren had asked Kiley to submit his retirement papers, which he did Sunday, and that Defense Secretary Robert Gates had fully supported the move.

Geren formally announced the move at a news conference today at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Geren did not give a reason for Kiley's retirement, but in a room packed with medical staff and troops said, "A soldier who fights the battle should not have to come home and fight the battle of bureaucracy. … I will never leave a fallen comrade -- that means on the battlefield or in the hospital."

Kiley will be temporarily replaced by the Army's deputy surgeon general, Gale Pollock. Geren told reporters the Army would move quickly to name a permanent replacement.

"We must move quickly to fill this position. This leader will have a key role in moving the way forward in meeting the needs of our wounded warriors," Geren said.

The decision to fire Kiley comes 10 days after Gates fired Army Secretary Francis Harvey.

Kiley, who served as the commander of the Walter Reed center from 2002 to 2004, came under withering criticism after stories in the Washington Post exposed the poor treatment and deplorable living conditions facing some wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.

Kiley's first reaction was to criticize the stories as one-sided "yellow journalism."

"I submitted my retirement because I think it is in the best interest of the Army," Kiley said in a written statement released by the Army.

"I want to allow Acting Secretary Geren, General Schoomaker, and the leaders of the Army Medical Command to focus completely on the way ahead and the Army Action Plan to improve all aspects of Soldier care. We are an Army Medical Department at war, supporting an Army at war -- it shouldn't be and it isn't about one doctor."