Respect and Concern for Our Veterans

As a nation, we’ve asked an awful lot of our soldiers and the least we can do is take care of them.  But unimaginable bungling by the Pentagon, and exposed by the news media, is cause for real concern- and outrage. In less than a week, we’ve learned of two colossal blunders that are an insult to every enlisted person in this country.

First, the Pentagon severed the electronic link that allowed doctors at the VA to access medical records stored on an incompatible computer system at DoD for treatment of wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.  In the Senate, the Democratic chair and Ranking Member of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee sounded the first alarm in a letter to the Pentagon, which was ignored until a reporter called for comment.  Within hours of the published report, Rep. Bob Filner, chair of the House Veterans Committee and I introduced legislation demanding the link be restored.

Then, we learned in a first rate piece of journalism by the Washington Post that as many as 80 outpatient veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are staying in a building where the living conditions are utterly disgraceful.

In both cases, news stories triggered action by the Pentagon.  The electronic link has been restored and steps are being taken to remove the mold and rodents from the building.  That’s today’s story, but one has to wonder what else we don’t know.  Are there other dreadful stories about the quality and availability of care for our veterans hiding in plain sight just waiting for an enterprising reporter?  As a medical doctor, I hope not; but, as a Member of Congress, I fear that may be the case.