Gates Calls Squalid Conditions at Walter Reed 'Unacceptable'

Feb. 23, 2007 — -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates called squalid conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center "unacceptable" and announced an investigation that he said would ensure that those responsible would be held accountable.

Gates made his comments at an unusual news conference at the medical center, where a recent investigation by The Washington Post found that an outpatient facility was dilapidated and infested with mice and cockroaches, and patients have complained that a nightmarish bureaucracy has left wounded veterans in need.

"This is unacceptable, and it will not continue," Gates told reporters.

In a marked contrast to his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, who was known to publicly criticize press reports, Gates took the unusual step of thanking the reporters who brought the story to his attention. After the series ran over the holiday weekend, Gates said he walked into a staff meeting Tuesday with the Post stories in hand.

He entered the briefing after meeting with President Bush, whom Gates said was "understandably concerned and emphatic" that the problems be resolved.

"The men and women recovering at Walter Reed and at other military hospitals have put their lives on the line and paid a considerable price for defending our country," he said. "They should not have to recuperate in substandard housing, nor should they be expected to tackle mountains of paperwork and bureaucratic processes during this difficult period for themselves and for their families. They battled our foreign enemies; they should not have to battle an American bureaucracy."

Gates announced that he had formed an independent review group that will include eight officials to investigate rehabilitative care and administrative processes at Walter Reed and at the nearby Bethesda National Naval Medical Center.

The groups co-chairs are Togo West, former secretary of veterans affairs and secretary of the Army under President Clinton, and Jack Marsh, former secretary of the Army under President Reagan.

Other group members include Former Rep. Joe Schwarz, R-Mich; former Rep. Jim Bacchus, D-Fla., who is now at Vanderbilt University; retired Gen. John Jumper, former Air Force chief of staff; retired Lieutenant General Chip Roadman, former Air Force surgeon general; retired Rear Admiral Cappy Martin, former Navy deputy surgeon general; retired Command Sgt. Major Larry Holland, formerly with the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.

"I have no information to suggest there are problems at Bethesda or elsewhere such as we have learned about here at Walter Reed, but we need to know the scope of this problem," Gates said.

The group is to report its findings within 45 days in a report that Gates said would be released to Congress and the public.

No one has offered to resign due to the scandal, Gates said.

"With responsibility comes accountability," Gates said. "It is my strong belief that an organization with the enormous responsibilities of the Department of Defense must live by this principle of accountability at all levels."