Kiley Blames ‘Junior Level’ Leadership For Walter Reed Scandal
Kiley Blames ‘Junior Level’ Leadership For Walter Reed Scandal
At today’s Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, who oversaw Walter Reed until 2004 and remains Army surgeon general, admitted that the condition in Building 18 was “clearly unacceptable,” but again denied responsibility for it. He blamed the neglect on “a failure of leadership at the junior level in that building.” Watch it:
Kiley’s attempts to shift blame contrasts with the statements of other senior military officials:
From what I have learned, the problems at Walter Reed appear to be problems of leadership. The Walter Reed doctors, nurses and other staff are among the best and the most caring in the world. [Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 3/2/07]
The senior Army leadership takes full responsibility for the lack of quality of life at Building 18, and we’re going to fix it. [Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army vice chief of staff, 2/21/07]
We failed here, we failed in having a facility like this. Unfortunately, it’s a leadership problem. [Then-Army Secretary Francis Harvey, 2/20/07]
Transcript:
CNN HOST: Those Washington Post articles, by the way, that first shed light on the problems, were the issue of some tough questioning for Lt. Gen. Kiley, who’s the Army surgeon general and a former commander at Walter Reed, accused of perhaps minimizing the problems by complaining about the stories. He said today, that he wasn’t talking about the original articles, but some of the articles that suggested that he might be responsible because he commanded Walter Reed back in 2002 to 2004.
[KILEY CLIP]: My concern that the issues in Building 18 — which were clearly unacceptable, clearly unacceptable, and were a failure of leadership at the junior level in that building.
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65 Responses to “Kiley Blames ‘Junior Level’ Leadership For Walter Reed Scandal”
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hmmm … i think this is a good example of ‘the buck stops at those under my command’
March 5th, 2007 at 5:28 pmWow, blaming it on the low-level people that work for them. How long before they start blaming the wounded?
March 5th, 2007 at 5:31 pmYep, there’s the accountability for ya. Never anyone’s fault at the top.
So what are the responsibilities of the folks at the top?
March 5th, 2007 at 5:31 pmKILEY: My concern that the issues in Building 18 — which were clearly unacceptable, clearly unacceptable, and were a failure of leadership at the junior level in that building.
Now that’s a Bush man.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:33 pm“This commitee now calls Donald Rumsfeld to the stand.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:35 pmMr. Rumsfeld?
Mr. Rumsfeld?
Henny penny, now where did he get off to?”
If thats a Republican example of competent leadership, I can sell you a large bridge in New York. Cheap.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:38 pmI’m glad it’s becoming clear that the people in leadership positions, put there by the cabal, are basically of one cut of cloth/ culture. They are examples of a Republican “persona” that is emerging across the board in this country. The persona looks something like this: Republiscum: I don’t care….I want more….get out of my way…..f you….introspection is for weenies……I’m never wrong.
The ONLY reason this group has come to power is that it does not play by the rules consistantly. is single minded and persistant, and takes advantage of most decent peoples good will when they lie and scheme. Because most good people don’t live like they do, it gives the scum plenty of time to steal and lay their deeper and deeper scams. Their time is up.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:39 pmThese “people” are insane!
No responsbility whatsoever. Always someone else’s fault. Just like children, they refuse to admit their wrongs.
Next thing we know, they’ll expect the soldiers who are suppose to receive medical care actually apologize for complaining of sublevel conditions at Walter Reed.
This is freaking DISGUSTING … have they no shame?!
March 5th, 2007 at 5:40 pmEchoes of Abu Ghirab.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:41 pm… How long before they start blaming the wounded?
Comment by Tuber — March 5, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
oh, you haven’t heard yet???
“they signed up” … “they knew what could happen” …
March 5th, 2007 at 5:41 pm“hey, times are hard - buck up”… ad nauseum…
…
He is clearly confusing a leadership problem with a leadership problem.
Are all or most of our military men willing to say anything when they get on the stand with congress? I may have to apologize to all in hoping the military would act, as they don’t appear to have the brains to tell the truth when it counts most. I guess they resemble hitler’s generals after all. They appear willing to commit further war crimes on orders from a known war criminal. They know he is, they have his orders that are against the Geneva Convention
no one is going to blow the whistle on these madmen it appears.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:42 pmDr. Strangelove, would you like to explain the doomsday machine to everyone?
Worked for Bush, gotta give him a chuckle for the ol college try.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:47 pmRemember back in 2001 Alberto Gonzales had time to painstakingly refute the number of doorknobs “stolen”, W keys “missing” and graffiti alleged as the Clinton-ites “trashed” the White House?
I really wish he still had his eye for detail now…. But alas, can’t even be bothered. If only he’d been assigned to Walter Reed!!!
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02360.pdf
Check out Alberto’s diatribe from page 88 onward…
March 5th, 2007 at 5:47 pmListen………..it’s the sound of a military career coming to an abrupt end.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:48 pmheckuva job, Kiley
March 5th, 2007 at 5:49 pmNow THATS a Rape-Public-Can role model. Medal of Honor for Mr. Kiley please.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:53 pmHe, and his kind are the reasons why our military is a joke worldwide.
He should be arrested - today - and put in G’timo FOREVER!
March 5th, 2007 at 6:11 pmAshen; actually, the buck stops at the lowest ranking GI in his command(at least where blame is put).
March 5th, 2007 at 6:18 pmKiley is partially right. A complete study will most likely show there was dereliction of duty at all levels. But Kiley can’t use that to dodge his responsibility. If he had made it clear that he had high standards of care throughout the system and got that message down the chain of command these problems might never have occurred.
March 5th, 2007 at 6:25 pmHEED THE CALL FROM CINDY SHEEHAN, MEDEA BENJAMIN, TOM HAYDEN Join the
national *Call-In for Peace*. PDA and its allies are coordinating a
unified phone campaign to get Congress to reject additional Iraq war
funding – the Bush supplemental appropriations request for $93
billion more. With the Democratic leadership signaling weakness and
half-hearted amendments aimed at undermining the surge but not the
war, our coalition is /phoning/ in a loud and clear message: NO MORE
FUNDING FOR WAR. VOTE NO ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL. BRING OUR TROOPS HOME.
. .AND OUT OF IRAQ’S CIVIL WAR. *PDA’s big day is Tuesday, March 6.
Mobilize all PDA members and supporters to phone Congress on Tuesday.
Our special number into Congress is 1-888-851-1879.* When you call
your Senate and Congressional offices, /politely/ tell them one or
two of the following points: Most Iraqis – both Sunni /and/ Shia –
want US troops out of their country and most believe attacks on our
troops are justified. US military force is no solution in Iraq –
especially given the tainted rationales for invading Iraq, cultural
gaps, Abu Ghraib, etc. Diplomacy, not war, is the solution. The
American people at the polls in November and in opinion polls have
expressed their view that the US needs to get out. Four years is
enough! With its Constitutionally-granted “power of the purse,â€
Congress has the duty to end the war by cutting off war funding,
except what’s needed for the prompt, safe, orderly withdrawal of all
our troops.
Each day from March 5 through March 13, different national groups in
our alliance will spark phone calls to Congress. Instead of just one
day of calls, we’ll keep pressure on Congress for over a week leading
up to the Iraq Supplemental vote. Thanks to our toll-free number
(connected directly to the Capitol Hill switchboard), we’ll track how
many calls we can generate when we all work together. Mon., March 5 -
Voters for Peace *Tues., March 6 — PDA, **AfterDowningStreet**,
**US** Labor Against the War* Wed., March 7 — CodePink, Global
Exchange Thurs., March 8 - GSFP Fri., March 9 - Peace Action Mon.,
March 12 - UFPJ Tues., March 13 - All together now! *Join with PDA
members/supporters this Tuesday, March 6 and call Congress: 1-
**888-851-1879.* ** *Please take a minute to share with us how things
went with your call! {http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=1011}*
?
March 5th, 2007 at 6:28 pm#11 Too often members of the military use “loyalty” as an excuse for following illegal orders when it is just a cop out for an absence of moral courage.
March 5th, 2007 at 6:28 pmThose problems certainly existed during his tenure as Commander at Walter Reed. He’s just trying to save his career, which I suspect is just about to go into the dumpster. I’m still mystified, however, why there has been no issue…no coverage…about the guy who was in charge from 2004 until June or July of 2006. Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Farmer Jr. He’s retired now.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2007/ 02/ 28/ AR2007022801954_pf.html
March 5th, 2007 at 6:35 pmNapolean at Waterloo ~ damn troops.
March 5th, 2007 at 6:35 pmAnd these assclowns wonder why fragging occurs???
March 5th, 2007 at 6:37 pm# 21
No surprises here, but ex Walter Reed Commanding General Farmer is now COO of TriWest, a military contractor that describes itself as -
“Triwest Healthcare Alliance is a military healthcare provider and the Pentagon’s third-largest recipient of contracts for medical services from 1998-2003.”
March 5th, 2007 at 6:40 pm*sarcasm on*
Wow!
What an excellent example of a conservative being accountable for his actions!
*sarcasm off*
March 5th, 2007 at 6:48 pmKiley was personally told by a republican congressman 3years ago. Kiley did nothing, the Repuke congressman did nothing in congress.
Kiley is part of the problem and should be stripped of rank and then fired.
March 5th, 2007 at 6:49 pmI read about Kiley and I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. I DO NOT understand why he still has a job. Perhaps Tony Snow will be able to clarify…
March 5th, 2007 at 6:50 pmWhile I certainly believe Kiley should lose his stars and pension…
…I am not oblivious to the fact that…
…most of those senators questioning Kiley…
…have (along with both Democratic and Repulsivescum Congresspersons) boasted on numerous occasions about…
…touring Walter Reed to visit the wounded troops…
…How did THEY miss this atrocity?
…I’m sure they’ve received complaints over the years…
…Why (like in Iraq) are we wasting taxpayer dollarssending these politicians to “investigate”…
…or otherwise “eyeball” “Green Zones”…
…whether they’re in Iraq OR at Walter Reed?
March 5th, 2007 at 6:55 pmNotice the lack of trolls on this thread?
March 5th, 2007 at 6:58 pmBut it’s not just Walter Reed. That’s just the (suddenly highly visible), tip of an iceberg.
I blogged about scandalous (heartbreaking), vet treatmentf, over a month ago: How America Supports Its Troops …
March 5th, 2007 at 7:10 pmWhile I certainly believe that Kiley deserves to lose his stars and pension…
…I cannot ignore the fact that many of the senators questioning him…
…along with their house colleagues (in both parties)…
…have often boasted of visiting the wounded at Walter Reed…
…What? Does Walter Reed (like Iraq) have a “Green Zone”?
…and what good does it do us taxpayers to fund these representatives’ trips to…
…investigate, assess, or otherwise eyeball situations…
…when they’re ONLY getting scripted, sanitized tours?
March 5th, 2007 at 7:30 pmYou’re in a hole, Kiley, so of course keep digging. Sheesh.
March 5th, 2007 at 7:32 pm[…] rests with him for the conditions at Walter Reed. But here’s him on the same day making excuses and blaming awful conditions at the Walter Reed outpatient Building 18 on what he called […]
March 5th, 2007 at 7:34 pmSorry about double posting…
…TP took an inordinate amount of time posting the first…
March 5th, 2007 at 7:48 pmWith no good straw men in this mess, I’m waiting for the RW Noise machine to start going after the wounded soldiers.
I can just see Coulter or Lufa Bill attacking the “patriotism” of the “whining” soldiers. They’ll say the “whiners” aren’t tough enough to be “real” soldiers.
Perhaps they’ll take the “The military has been infiltrated by liberals” angle.
Then they’ll hold up shining examples of rear-echalon non-coms who are gung-ho on Bush and their holy mission in Iraq.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:11 pmThe problems with Walter Reed and other VA hospitals occurred on the Republican watch because they’re greedy tight asses not willing to spend money on anything that actually helps people. Now they’re left wondering what to do to cover their asses. Greedy bastards.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:15 pm#34 Not to mention their fetish worship of Milton Friedman. They privatized WR and gee…look how well that worked. And they want us to trust them on Social Security. No thanks.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:26 pm#33 Those must be the token liberal soldiers that are whining. Cause a real man would love to lie in his own urine. Just ask O’Reilly.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:30 pmI blame the liberals. I refuse to believe Bush would let this happen. He cares about the troops. Watch a video of him crying with mothers of fallen soliders.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:37 pm#37 Hehe, I think he was actually crying cause mommy (Rove) told him he couldn’t ride his triky.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:41 pmI blame the liberals. I refuse to believe Bush would let this happen. He cares about the troops. Watch a video of him crying with mothers of fallen soliders.
Comment by firehead
You’re so cute.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:58 pm#30 bp
when they’re ONLY getting scripted, sanitized tours?
Comment by big papa
Apparently that has been the case and it never occurred to them to ask “and what’s happening over there?”
Kiley showed himself up as a real a–hole today. Weightman at least apologized, and he was the one fired. Kiley and Farmer need to face the consequences next.
March 5th, 2007 at 9:10 pmThere is one scandal after another in this administration. This is a bad one, but they have overcome bad ones before. Abu Ghraib didn’t topple anyone from a high position either.
Abu Ghraib didn’t topple anyone from a high position either.
Comment by Marie #40
…not yet…
…but I maintain Marie that…
…Bushiva and L’il Dick may escape man’s justice…
…but there IS a higher authority…
…Karma REALLY is everything…
March 5th, 2007 at 9:21 pm…and somewhere in the world tonight, George W. Bush is smirking.
March 5th, 2007 at 9:29 pm#41 bp
March 5th, 2007 at 9:32 pmI like the Karma thing — but I am selfish enough to want to see them suffer before we all leave this earth.
BTW, I always appreciate your comments.
Comment by Marie #44
Thanks Marie…
…likewise…
…we’re definitely kindred political spirits…
…I too would like to see them receive justice…
…but must maintain my connection to reality…
…the rich have gotten away (at least to the naked “public” eye)…
…with their vile, evil works since man began communal living…
…but the natural order of things always have a way of working themselves out…
…look at the civil rights movement atrocities…
…how they’re slowly resurfacing after all these years…
March 5th, 2007 at 9:39 pmI think Kiley should be busted and sent to clean the latrines.
March 5th, 2007 at 9:50 pmFrom my perspective, it has been open knowledge that the Bushies were lowballing the care of vets for years. As long as the Repugs were in charge of Congress, nothing was going to come of it. All you idiots that voted for these NeoCons, take note — the emphasis is once again on the _CON_.
Bush and Cheney and their toadies belong in prison. It can’t come soon enough.
March 5th, 2007 at 10:14 pmKiley needs to be court-martialed back to private, then forced to clean bedpans at Walter Reed hospital.
March 5th, 2007 at 11:02 pmEvery military leader, from platoon commander to army general, from ship’s ensign to fleet admiral, learns that responsibility starts and ends at the top.
If the ship runs aground because the junior ensign misread his charts, the captain is responsible. He pays the price by not getting his flag. He picked, trained and assigned the ensign and every intermediate commander. He put in place the checks and balances to make sure mistakes were caught and fixed, whether they be people. training, systems, equipment. Whatever.
General Kiley was in direct command of Walter Reed for two years. He lives on post. He continues to oversee Walter Reed and other bases as overall medical commander for the Army. He had and has the power and budget to correct the worst problems. He has the responsibility to advocate for resources he does not already have to fix any others. He is where the buck stops.
General Kiley today forgot command lesson one. He blamed chronic systems failures at Walter Reed on junior officers. Mr. Gates knows better. He knows how to act with dispatch. Mr. Gates should do so now.
March 5th, 2007 at 11:44 pm#48 Let’s hope the captain goes down with the ship. He certainly has earned that right.
March 5th, 2007 at 11:49 pmThe living conditions can be expected when the 2005 BRAC decided to close this hospital and to move operations to the Navy Facility in the Washington Area. What consideration was given to the need for the beds for wounded and injured service personnel? It is like the question that was asked about closing three ammunition plants of the Army. “Do we have adequate capacity?” We may have adquate capacity for the level of the current conflict (except for small caliber ammo which we are buying 800,000,000 rounds from Israel), but we do not for a conflict the size of North Korea, Iran, etc.
The same is true of hospital beds. In 1980 DOD indicated to a resource management call at the Naval Post Graduate School that we would need 55,000 hospital beds if the Russians came westward. What would happen if Iran came west? How many hospital beds would we need for our military?
There is shortsided thinking in Congress. When the Senator from New York indicated that Walter Reed for the jewel of the Army’s Hospitals–how come he did not stop BRAC 2005’s decision on hospital beds? The same is true of Hillary Clinton. Why7 Because they all dislike the military and want the money for other purposes.
If this country goes for universal medical care thru the Government–how many will die because of it? Medicare does not provide a system that is great. I was happy under Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Federal Employee insurance) and unhappy under Medicare. Many doctors are not seeing patients under Medicare and use lame excuses on why not. If you had commercial insurance you would get better care.
Keep Government out of Universal Medical Care.
Back to Walter Reed and other Military Hospitals. They are trying to make it a long stay for the badly wounded coming back to get them to take severance pay and go to the VA for benefits. Doing this they lose TRI-CARE coverage for their family, use of PX, Commissary, Base Facilities, Military Air on Space Available, use of military clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals. They can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of benefits over a life time by not stick it out for a disability retirement from the military under the Career Compensation Act of 1949. For more information E-Mail gtnickolas@juno.com and put in subject: “info on Career Compensation Act of 1949″
March 5th, 2007 at 11:54 pm#50 This was a private venture George. This is the result of privatized healthcare. This is what happens when Halliburton is “taking care of you”. Nice try though. Next time do some homework before taking Rush’s word for it.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:00 amThe most honorable man in this group has been MG Weightman, who has taken direct responsibility for these problems from the beginning and blamed none of his junior leaders publically. Perhaps the most disappointing leader is LTG Kiley who spent more time in recent days casting blame than outlining plans for how to fix the issues…
March 6th, 2007 at 1:06 amWhat would happen to a corporate CEO in this situation???
#52 The CEO would get a $50 million severence package. I am not sure the heads (even that scumbag Kiley) are truly at fault. This has become a privatized industry. Where are the IAP World Service officials?
March 6th, 2007 at 1:16 amJim Nicholson, the head of Veterans Affairs, has experience as a real estate lawyer, started a company building custom homes, and was made ambassador to the Vatican because of his work electing Republicans. That should make him extremely capable to head Veterans Affairs.
He was in Vietnam 35 or 40 years ago, too.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:04 amIf privatization is the true problem here, good luck in seeing any improvements - privatization is the real Bush Bible…he will not waver from that - they’ll come up with some phantom problem, thereby framing the debate on their own terms, and then they’ll proceed to attack (or appear to attack) the problem on there own terms, it will be a massive failure and they’ll pat themselves on the back for a job well-done and hope no one notices….
March 6th, 2007 at 7:08 amAbu Ghraib didn’t topple anyone from a high position either.
Comment by Marie —
I’d still like to hold out some hope that some heads will roll this time. After all, Congress is no longer led by Dennis Bastert and Bile Frist. Moreover, let’s face it: many Americans, who might not feel so disturbed by the mistreatment of brown-skinned Arabs who speak a different language and practice a dfferent religion, will be appalled in cases involving one of their fellow citizens.
March 6th, 2007 at 9:11 amKiley needs to rent a clue. I am amazed that he continues to deny responsibility at Congressional hearings. That is extreme arrogance. You can be sure that the calls for his head are multiplying. Kiley needs to be forced into retirement, now!
March 6th, 2007 at 9:47 am“Worked for Bush, gotta give him a chuckle for the ol college try.”
Bush came out and admitted to mistakes in Iraq, and accepted responsibility. Also, I don’t recall him blaming those beneath him for much of anything. If anything, he defended them long after he should have dropped them like a bad habit.
This guy is a completely different type altogether.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:31 pmThis is a good example of how well government run, aka socialized, medicine will work, should the left ever manage to finally institute it.
I weep for our future.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:32 pmKiley, YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF DISCARDED TINFOIL, YOU WARPED LEAD SOLDIER, YOU SOCIOPATHIC F*CK-UP, YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF RANCID HYENA-SHIT, YOU BOMBASTIC IMBECILE–YOU DESERVE A FACE-SHATTERING PUNCH IN YOUR ARROGANT FOUR-EYED FACE, YOU COWARDLY SCUM AND I WILL DELIVER IT RIGHT NOW ON BEHALF OF ALL THE BRAVE VETERANS AND WOUNDED YOU TROD ON WITH YOUR UNCARING, CRIMINAL NEGLECT AND SHIRKING OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!!! BLAM! SOCK! SMASH! MAIM! THERE–YOUR LYING YAP-TRAP LIES TORN AND BROKEN, YOUR GLASSES SMASHED INTO YOUR COLD EYES, YOUR NOSE SPLAYED AND YOUR PATHETIC FACE A WELTER OF BLOOD AND MASHED FLESH–HOW DOES THAT FEEL, SCUM?
March 6th, 2007 at 3:23 pmHere’s something to chew on. For the past ten years the DoD has spent nearly 10 billion dollars on an electronic health record. Yes, that’s billion, not a typo. That averages a billion dollars a year and there is no end in sight. As one who uses it, I can tell you it is by far the worst EHR currently up and running. It makes my job mor edifficult, notes are more difficult to read, and it decreases my efficiency.
As for socialized health care, look at the complacency in our active military system/VA. i’ve been seen at the VA as a patient and the docs and other health care professionals are TOP NOTCH. Now, apply that to the entire country. There’s your health care system. Is it any wonder why young smart people are becoming lawyers, MBAs, plumbers, etc and not doctors?
March 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm[…] He blamed the Walter Reed conditions on “a failure of leadership at the junior level in that […]
March 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm