My experience in the military led me to observe that blame most often tends to be passed down, not up. It's nice to see an exception once in a while:
The Army on Thursday fired the general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, saying he was the wrong person to fix embarrassing failures in the treatment of war-injured soldiers that have soiled the institution's reputation as a first-class hospital.
Less than a week after Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Walter Reed and said those responsible would be "held accountable," the Army announced it had relieved Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman of command. He is a physician who had headed the hospital for only six months.
In a brief announcement, the Army said service leaders had "lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's leadership abilities "to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care." It said the decision to fire him was made by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.
It's easy to see why this happened -- overwhelmed with casualties, the usual screwups of a bureaucracy. But it should have been easy to see it coming, too, yes?
Comments
Yes, and as the story unfolds, it gets worse. I guess the guy the Army Secretary put in charge was the one who was in charge before and let things get this bad - it looks like he had known about it for some time, had listened to several vet groups over the years begging for improvements, and even had a residence across the street from the worst one. So, now the Secretary is booted - ya think that's far enough ?
Right now, I'd say so. If the secretary of the Army is fired, that should give a very clear message to everyone else. Gates' actions have been impressive.