'Support the Troops': Just a slogan?
Al Dahler
Columnist

A free and courageous press is an invaluable national asset. Our press has not yet succumbed to the terrorist hysteria or been swallowed up by the Patriot Act despotism. It is still capable and able to shine a light into the dark corners of our government.

By now, most people are familiar with the Washington Post's articles about the deplorable conditions at the Army's Walter Reed Hospital. The focus of the stories was on the treatment of seriously wounded soldiers who are in an outpatient status assigned to the hospital.


The physical and mental traumas suffered by these soldiers will prohibit them from being of further service to the Army. These soldiers have suffered for their country and their lives have been shattered; yet, they are being dealt with most shamefully.

To draw an analogy, the Army's actions toward these soldiers is similar to what would be done with damaged pieces of equipment that are beyond repair and relegated to the scrap heap. The dreadful substandard living conditions and the bureaucratic nightmares these soldiers have to endure are well documented in the Post's articles. President Bush's and the congressional Republicans' mantra of "Support the Troops" rings rather hollow.

As appalling as this story of neglect and indifference is, even more contemptible, in fact rather disgusting, is the Army's response. The first reaction was to discredit the reporters who researched and wrote the story. Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, the Army's Surgeon General and the person most responsible, called it "yellow journalism at its worst."

Next the Army fired a few enlisted men and a junior officer, designating them as the culprits. To top it all, these seriously wounded veterans were made to stand morning inspections as a reprisal and were barred from speaking to reporters. Unlike the Abu Ghraib scandal, none of the gloss-over actions taken have been given credibility. The new Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, was quick to take action. The Army Secretary has been relieved of his duties and several senior officers find themselves in limbo.

Had Donald Rumsfeld still been in charge, he would probably have pooh-poohed the situation by stating some idiom like "you treat the patients with the hospital you have and not with the hospital you wish you had" or some other asinine comment. Rumsfeld was the worst defense secretary in recent history and no apologies to Vice President Cheney.

The pathetic and self-serving responses by senior Army officers clearly point to a lack of leadership. Leadership, I learned, is taking care of your troops commensurate with the mission. When things go well in your unit, the credit goes to your subordinates. When things get fouled up, you take responsibility. As a leader, you are responsible for everything your unit does or fails to do.

These senior officers are perfect examples of careerism rather than leadership. Careerism is a disease that comes to affect too many people in the command structure. Careerism is a me-first attitude, looking out for No. 1. It is hogging all the credit when the unit shines and shifting all the blame on others when things go wrong. It is a continuous jockeying for promotion at the expense of ethical conduct. It is treating colleagues and subordinates as inanimate objects rather than as human beings; it is being willing to sacrifice anyone to advance one's selfish desires.

As the story progresses, it is becoming more complex and disingenuous. Part of the problem seems to be the privatization of support services at Walter Reed with a contract given to a company headed by a former Halliburton executive. Walter Reed Hospital may have become, in part, a victim of the Republican privatization mania.

The question that still needs to be answered is: "Why did it take two newspaper reporters to get something done about this dreadful situation at the Army's premier hospital?" We have to suppose that nothing would have been done had it not been for these resourceful and capable reporters. As a retired military officer myself, the two reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull certainly have earned my gratitude for exposing what is now turning into a national scandal of neglect and disgrace.

Please, Mr. President: Tell us one more time how much your administration supports our troops!