Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet – Army Times
Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media. “Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.
Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6 p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters. They were also told they would be moving out of Building 18 to Building 14 within the next couple of weeks. Building 14 is a barracks that houses the administrative offices for the Medical Hold Unit and was renovated in 2006. It’s also located on the Walter Reed Campus, where reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel. Building 18 is located just off campus and is easy to access.
The soldiers said they were also told their first sergeant has been relieved of duty, and that all of their platoon sergeants have been moved to other positions at Walter Reed. And 120 permanent-duty soldiers are expected to arrive by mid-March to take control of the Medical Hold Unit, the soldiers said.
It's payback time for the soldiers on "medical hold" who spoke to a couple of reporters from the Washington Post, who "snuck in and out of the Walter Reed facilities over the course of four months without the knowledge or permission of hospital officials."
ThinkProgress has a video link and transcripts from a recent PBS Newshour telecast.
It's all over the blogosphere; it's old news at places like Americablog, Daily Kos and Atrios.
Besides the horrific nature of this "medical hold" scandal of neglect and disrespect for our wounded vets, I'm pretty mightily ticked off. Why haven't I heard about this before now, in my local paper? In one of several "local papers" I read via Bloglines? I don't have the Washington Post in my feed, although I often follow links to stories there. I get most of my news from NPR, but it seems I missed Saturday's interview with a veteran. I'll be catching up now.
[tags]Walter Reed, veterans, Medical Hold, Washington Post[/tags]
