two VERY different generals is right

i'd not think twice about having a cup of coffee with general weightman. i wouldn't even let my dog pee on general kiley's lawn

please read this portrait of both generals written in dana milbank's editorial column today in the washington post

it sent shudders down my spine (the general 'it's NOT MY fault, it's his and hers and his and his and hers' kiley parts).

it sure does sound like weightman is a scapegoat here. i'm NOT saying he did a perfect job. i don't know if he did or didn't. i DO know the problems with walter reed started WAY WAY WAY before his command. i DO know kiley KNEW about the problems and 'didn't do any barracks inspections'.

i don't like people being defensive for the most part. i DO admire people who TAKE RESPONSIBLITY. even if they erred. if they OWN UP TO IT, they at least get my respect for that part. kiley gets NOTHING from me. weightman has my respect

Two Generals Provide A Contrast in Accountability


By Dana MilbankWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, March 6, 2007; Page A01

.........How could he not have known that wounded soldiers were living in squalid conditions across the street from his own home? "I don't do barracks inspections at Walter Reed," he said.......

........Lawmakers on the committee, who were visiting Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a field hearing yesterday, quickly tired of the general's I-don't-do-windows routine. Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) accused him of spouting "hogwash." Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) called his position "dishonest."......

........After Annette McLeod's testimony, the couple sat in the first row of the audience, just three feet from Weightman and Kiley as the two generals testified. "The McLeods are right behind you," pointed out Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va). "Do you have anything you want to say to them?" "I feel terrible for them," said Kiley, keeping his back to the McLeods. "We have got to double our efforts, redouble our efforts, to make these kind of cases disappear in the system."
Weightman, by contrast, turned around to the McLeods and spoke warmly, addressing Annette directly. "I'd just like to apologize for not meeting their expectations, not only in the care provided, but also in having so many bureaucratic processes that just took your fortitude to be an advocate for your husband that you shouldn't have to do.........

and another story on the hearings from the wapo

Apologies, Anger at Walter Reed Hearing
Army Chiefs Plead Ignorance, But Lawmakers Are Skeptical


By Michael Abramowitz and Steve Vogel Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, March 6, 2007; Page A01

........Yesterday's hearing, in the main building at Walter Reed, offered more grist for the developing political storm. The emotional impact was provided by three witnesses speaking on behalf of patients at Walter Reed: Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, who lives by the battlefield ethos of not leaving the wounded behind; Annette McLeod, an Army wife who would not stand silent as her injured husband was pushed aside, and Spec. Jeremy Duncan, who spoke out when he could not get the mold in his room removed............
Shannon was shot in the head during a firefight near Ramadi, Iraq, in November 2004 and has languished at Walter Reed ever since, awaiting plastic surgery so he can be fitted with a prosthetic eye. Paperwork for his retirement from the Army has been on hold.
But his ire yesterday was less about his own treatment than about the sense of betrayal he feels for younger soldiers he has tried to shepherd through the bureaucracy at Walter Reed.......

Tech Tags: kevin+kiley walter+reed george+weightman congressional+hearings